HP Media Center m1160n Photosmart PC (2.20 GHz Athlon 64 3400, 512 MB RAM, 200 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD-RW Drive))

Rating:
Summary: Exceptional computer for a new age!!
Review: It seems like when you are faced with upgrading to a new computer, you have no idea what benefits a DVD writer, video card, or more RAM or gHZ may have. Well this computer is your next step up from the typical web-surfing and word processing machine!

Windows XP Media is a MUST HAVE over a Windows XP Home computer! You get all the benefits of XP Home (once you're used to it's bubble attempt at user a friendly atmosphere), and you get TiVo, that's right, TiVo (or at least it looks and acts like TiVo) on your computer! Recording cable onto the huge 200GB hard drive is easier than using a VCR! Point at what you want to record on the on-screen TV guide, and it shall be done... Then if you want to save it, burn to DVD! For playback, get ready to upgrade all your home DVD players to ones that will play back rewriteables. (We're headed there anyway). Unless you use the video out option on the computer to a TV as opposed to your computer monitor.

You can still use the DVD drive to burn regualr CDs like most of us have just become used to. And the CD burning speed is as fast as needed. The extra CD drive makes it nice for copying old files to DVD.

I had been drooling over the Sony VAIO (which offers the same features) for a couple years now but it's price left it so far out of reach. HP's version of a media center offers as much, if not more. You keep all that you're used to, web-surfing, word processing, games, and now DVD recording at a great price!!

This computer performs much faster than expected. The AMD processor is great and very reliable from other reviews I've read. 512K is enough memory to do all you want, but you should upgrade to 1GB for running multiple applications (i.e. web surfing while a DVD is burning). Put it all together and you are at the starting point of the new generation of computers. Once double-sided DVDs become cheap, you'll be burning movies like mad, and making the neighbors jealous that your DVDs hold 2x as much as theirs.

My final advice: check out the Sony Vaio along with this machine at your local store. It does just as much and puts $500 to $700 back in your pocket. Then make upgrades as you would on any other computer. In truth, the difference from an old 40GB hard drive, internet-ready, CD rewriting computer to the HPm1160n (with Windows Media Center THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE MAKER) feels like going from an old 80's Apple IIe to a Mac.