Review

Created: March, 1999

Hewlett Packard Pavilion 9682C Desktop Computer

By Simon Walker, Cyberwalker Media Syndicate

The Pavilion 9682C is a very high-end consumer PC from Hewlett Packard.

Shipping with a lot of horsepower and every port and gadget that a true nerd could need, it is a well thought-out bundle.

Considering the $3,049 Canadian (monitor not included) price tag, you'd expect a lot of goodies -- and Hewlett Packard delivers.

This is a fast computer that is well suited to the Web, powered by a 650 MHz Intel Pentium III processor and containing a 100-megahertz front-side bus.

At 40 gigabytes, the hard drive is huge. The system comes with 128 megabytes of RAM -- enough to handle almost anything thrown at it -- and the RAM is expandable to 768 MB.

The components work well together. No compatibility problems were found during extensive testing. The Pavilion 9682C's strength is also its weakness, however -- the bundle. The collection of hardware offers an amazing range of functionality with compatible components.

But you don't have a choice in the components that you get. If this amount of power and combination of components is what you need, it's worth the hefty price tag. Otherwise, you might want to look elsewhere. There are drawbacks. The Polk audio speakers that hang off of the monitor don't keep up with the quality of the rest of the package. The tower is ugly (as all the Pavilions have been). The box is short and stubby and its face is translucent deep purple plastic. The rest of the box is gray.

If Hewlett Packard is aiming at the marketable iMac look, it missed. This computer ships with Windows 98 Second Edition and a typical consumer software bundle that isn't particularly special -- Microsoft Works 2000, Microsoft Money 2000, Quicken Basic 2000 and QuickLink III by SmithMicro (fax). For added measure, Microsoft Encarta 2000 Encyclopedia HP Internet Center, HP Internet Tutorial, Trellix Web (Web site creation), Adaptec Easy CD Creator, Adaptec DirectCD, MusicMatch Jukebox 4 and VirusScan by McAfee are included.

Reviewer's rating: 4 / 5

Comments: The Hewlett Packard 9682C is a high-quality complete consumer computer system. It would be recommended to anyone who needs all the power built into it but is probably not worth the price if you don't. It loses points for its low-quality speakers and tacky design. This model appears to be available in Canada only. The version sold in the U.S. is the 9686C, which ships with a 700 MHz processor for $2,399 US (about $3,600 Canadian).

More info: http://www.hppavilion.com/

Price: $3,099.99 Canadian, U.S. equivalent is the 9686C, which ships with a 700 MHz processor for $2,399 US.

System specifications:
--Microprocessor - Intel(r) Pentium III processor 650 MHz Front-side bus
-- 100 MHz Hard drive
-- 40 GB Ultra DMA Memory
-- 128 MB SDRAM, expandable to 768 MB Primary cache
-- (L1) 32 K Second-level cache
-- (L2) 256 K advanced transfer cache Multimedia drive
-- 8x maximum speed DVD ROM Diskette drive
-- 3.5 Data/fax modem
-- ITU V.90 K56flex modem, data/fax only (33.6 Kbps send/download up to 56 Kbps/14.4 Kbps fax) Video graphics
-- NVIDIA TNT2 Vanta(tm) 3D AGP graphics card Video memory -- 8 MB SDRAM MPEG -- MPEG2 for full-motion digital video Sound
-- Premium Polk Audio Stereo Speakers with PowerPort Technology Keyboard
-- One-touch Internet keyboard with 2 USB ports Mouse
-- two-button scrolling mouse with USB connector Total expansion slots
-- four PCI, one ISA, one AGP Available slots
-- two PCI External ports
-- four USB, two serial, one parallel, one game port Total drive bays
-- External (1) 3.5 Available bays
-- Internal (1) 3.5 Memory slots
-- 3 DIMM

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