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The good: No-nonsense design; low price for included features; dual core processor helps with multitasking.
The bad: Sluggish multimedia performance; reviewed spec needs upgrading; Vista Basic lacks Windows Media Center.
The bottom line: The price of the HP Pavilion a6400z is definitely tempting, but you'll be much better off if you spend a little bit more on the right upgrades. This $340 configuration compares well with other PCs in its price range, but for $80 more it becomes a much more compelling desktop.
Specs: Processor: AMD Sempron 2100+ (1.8 GHz); RAM installed: 2 GB SDRAM; Hard drive: 250 GB Standard See full specs >>
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 04/10/2008
- Released on: 03/31/2008
The HP Pavilion a6400z desktop is a versatile machine aimed at meeting your basic home, school, or work computing needs. Our review configuration of the a6400z came in at $340, but with a few key upgrades on HP's Web site you can turn this into a much better system for less than $100 more. If you make those upgrades, you'll find yourself with one of the best budget systems around. In its current configuration, the a6400z compares well with other systems in its price range, it's just hard to get too excited about it, knowing what you can get if you spend just a little bit more.
The a6400z has a simple, elegant chassis design that looks a lot like the HP Pavilion Elite m9040n with a similar glossy and matte-black palette. Unlike that system, the a6400z's lower half is practically empty except for the HP logo and a few stickers--no dubiously useful removable hard drive bays. The a6400z's lines are symmetrical, clean, and unassuming--exactly what you'd want in a no-nonsense budget system. The lowest bay features two USB 2.0 ports, but that's it for the media bay. Our review config came with no media card reader, but HP offers one for only an extra $10. That's just one of the upgrades we suggest.
| HP Pavilion a6400z | eMachines T5254 | |
| Price | $340 | $400 |
| CPU | 1.8GHz AMD Sempron 2100 | 2.1GHz AMD Athlon BE-2350 |
| Memory | 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM | 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM |
| Graphics | 128MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6150SE | 128MB (shared Nvidia GeForce 6100 |
| Hard drive | 250GB, 7,200 rpm | 320GB, 7,200 rpm |
| Optical drives | 16x dual-layer DVD burner | 16x dual-layer DVD burner |
| Operating system | Windows Vista Basic | Windows Vista Home Premium |
The eMachines T5254 compared above is eMachines' most recent $400 desktop. We have reviews of last quarter's $349 T3642 and the $429 T5246, but with the model outlined above, eMachines appears to be splitting the difference with the new T5254. Compared with the $340 HP, it's no surprise that the $400 eMachines looks like a more robust system. The eMachines' key differentiators are the faster, higher-end Athlon BE-2350 chip, the larger hard drive, and Vista Home Premium. If you're willing to spend $420, you can bring the HP up to a par with those features, and also include a faster, more robust 2.3GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ chip.
As configured, our Pavilion a6400z review unit was not much of a performer, especially when you compare it with eMachines' T5246 from last quarter. Still, we can use that system to project how an upgraded a6400z might fare.
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Rendering multiple CPU | |
Rendering single CPU |
As you can see, the Pavilion a400z clung to the bottom of all four speed tests. It only edged out the single core eMachines T3642 on tests where having multiple cores has an impact, such as Photoshop. You'll notice that the eMachines T5246 beats the HP on every test, though, and by a significant margin. The reason is because that eMachines model has a 1.8GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ chip in it. Now imagine if the HP were configured to match but included the even faster 2.3GHz Athlon 64 X2 4400+. Without actually testing it, we can only speculate how an upgraded version of the a6400z might perform, but all indications are that it would deliver the best bang for the buck in this price category.
The a6400z being a decidedly budget system, it really is a basic PC. HP offers options for more RAM, a larger hard drive, and wireless networking, but video-oriented hardware such as graphics cards, TV tuners, or Blu-ray drives is absent from HP's configurator. You get some room available for aftermarket upgrades, including a PCI-Express graphics card slot and room for a second hard drive. The system only has two memory slots, however, and both are currently occupied, so you'll need to discard the current RAM if you want to expand it yourself.
Software-wise, the Pavilion a6400z is equally spare. The Windows Vista Home Basic experience is not significantly different than Vista Home Premium. You lose the translucent windows and the other special visual effects, but most of the core functionality is there. The one feature you might miss is Windows Media Center, but as this is a traditional desktop design, we don't suspect you'd use this system as a living room PC. We're also not surprised to see that HP retains its hold on the Most Cluttered Desktop award. (Really, you need a desktop shortcut to eBay?) At least Total Care Advisor, HP's software suite that provides system care advice, remains useful.
HP offers a one-year parts-and-labor warranty with the purchase of the HP Pavilion a6400z. You also get 24-7 toll-free phone support, as well as a service that allows an HP technician to control and fix your computer remotely. You can also extend the warranty in two-, three-, and four-year increments, and HP also offers plenty of support resources online.
Find out more about how we test desktop systems.
System configurations:
Acer Aspire M5100
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.19GHz AMD Phenom 9500; 3GB DDR2 667MHz SDRAM; 256MB (shared) ATI Radeon HD 1250 graphics chip; 500GB 7,200 rpm hard drive
Apple Mac Mini
Apple OS X; 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo; 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 64MB (shared) Intel GMA 950 integrated graphics chip; 120GB 5,400rpm Hitachi hard drive
eMachines T3642
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.6GHz AMD Athlon 64 4000+; 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6100 graphics chip; 160GB 7,200 rpm Western Digital hard drive
eMachines T5246
Windows Vista Home Premium; 2.21GHz AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+; 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6100 graphics chip; 400GB 7,200 rpm Western Digital hard drive
HP Pavilion a6400z
Windows Vista Home Basic; 2.1GHz AMD Sempron 2100+; 2GB 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM; 128 MB (shared) Nvidia GeForce 6150 SE graphics chip; 250GB 7,200 rpm Hitachi hard drive
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