HP Pavilion s3120n Slimline Desktop PC

The Bottom Line
HP's Pavilion s3120n slimline desktop system is a great overall value for those looking to get a small form factor desktop. While it may not be one of the fastest small form factor systems on the market, it certainly comes packed with features and is more the capable as a general purpose PC.

Pros

* Wireless Network Adapter Built-In
* Relatively Low Cost
* Pocket Media Drive Bay

Cons

* Slower AMD Athlon X2 4200+ Processor
* Half-Height Expansion Slots Limit Card Choices

Description

* AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core Desktop Processor
* 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
* 320GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive
* 16x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner With LightScribe
* NVIDIA GeForce 6150 Integrated Graphics
* HDA Audio
* v.92 56Kbps Modem, 10/100 Ethernet and 802.11b/g Wireless
* Five USB 2.0 Ports, One FireWire, 15-in-1 Memory Card Reader
* 13.9" x 4.2" x 10.9"
* Vista Home Premium, MS Works 8, Roxio Creator, Norton Internet Security

Guide Review - HP Pavilion s3120n Slimline Desktop PC

9/27/07 – While most small form factor systems tend to use the new Intel Core 2 Duo desktop or mobile processors, HP has decided to stick with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 line of desktop processors. For the Pavilion s3120n system, it uses the X2 4200+ dual core model. This definitely puts it at a disadvantage in terms of processing prower compared to many of its competitors, but it still is plenty for most user applications. The two full gigabytes of PC2-5300 DDR memory allow it to run smoothly even with the Vista Home Premium operating system.

Storage with the Pavilion s3120n is excellent. The system comes with the 320GB desktop sized hard drive that provides plenty of space. If you need additional space, the front of the case has a slot for an optional HP pocket media drive. This is essentially a external notebook sized drive that docks easily in the supplied drive bay. Optical storage is handled with a standard 16x dual layer DVD burner that also supports burning labels to LightScribe compatible media.

Graphics wise, the integrated NVIDIA GeForce 6150 does provide better 3D graphics support than the Intel integrated solutions, but it still will not really handle most 3D PC games. There is an available PCI-Express x16 graphics slot, but it is limited to only using half-height designed cards that can be quite difficult to find.

One of the big surprises with the Pavilion s3120n though is the networking. The system comes with a built-in 802.11b/g wireless networking adapter. This makes connecting the system up to an existing wireless network a breeze and allows more freedom in placing it in the house. Of course, there is still a 10/100 Ethernet and v.92 modem for those requiring wired networking.