HP's Pavilion Elite m9000t desktop gets reviewed

Earlier this month, we noticed that fence-sitters in the drawn out format war could play both sides by picking up the towering m9000t with an HD DVD / Blu-ray combo drive built right in. For those still wondering if it's worth the coin, ComputerShopper managed to sit it down and answer that very inquiry. For starters, the hardware in this "entertainment PC" was said to be mighty robust, and all around performance seemed to exceed expectations. There were no complaints when watching high-definition films, and while this thing wasn't exactly built for gamers, it managed to pass a Company of Heroes test with flying colors. The only notable dig on this otherwise solid machine was the unfortunate lack of "couch-friendly peripherals," but for under $1,500, the Pavilion Elite m9000t was still deemed "an excellent choice."

[Joseph @ Oct 18th 2007 5:56PM]

Blog Spam w/ out pics.

/me = dissapointed

[Rob @ Oct 18th 2007 6:19PM]

This is a very nice system. However, the pictures of the inside of the case, well it's a mess in there. I'm sure there are better ways to arrange the wires.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=83-107-498-22.jpg&Image=83-107-498-22.jpg%2c83-107-498-06.jpg%2c83-107-498-07.jpg%2c83-107-498-08.jpg%2c83-107-498-09.jpg%2c83-107-498-10.jpg%2c83-107-498-11.jpg%2c83-107-498-12.jpg%2c83-107-498-13.jpg%2c83-107-498-14.jpg%2c83-107-498-15.jpg%2c83-107-498-16.jpg%2c83-107-498-17.jpg%2c83-107-498-18.jpg%2c83-107-498-05.jpg%2c83-107-498-03.jpg%2c83-107-498-19.jpg%2c83-107-498-21.jpg%2c83-107-498-04.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&Depa=0&Description=HP+Pavilion+M9040N(GN553AA)+Core+2+Quad+Q6600(2.40GHz)+3GB+DDR2+NVIDIA+GeForce+8400GS

And why is something this "advanced" still sporting ps/2 ports? I've recently bought three computers, granted not at this price, and they were all USB ports. Also, is that a fax/modem pci card. What is the point of this system? Anyone who is willing to pay up this much money for an "entertainment pc" more than likely is not going to use ps/2 keyboard and mouse, or have dial-up. I'm not making fun of it. I'm just curious why they chose to include such old tech with what it seems to be a very powerful system. Maybe I'm missing something.

[ether @ Oct 18th 2007 7:51PM]

A Fax/Modem card is kind of nice if your DSL happens to go out for a day and you'd like to still have some internet connectivity. Obviously you're not going to be streaming video to it with that, but it's better than no connectivity at all. Most DSL providers have an option to get an emergency dial up account or include it, at least mine does (Pacbell).

You got me on the ps/2 ports though...maybe it's just a motherboard they use in a lot of systems to cut down costs which hasn't been truly redesigned in a while.

[monstertech3000 @ Oct 18th 2007 8:10PM]

The modem: for happy hacking. Can you imagine turning this into, among many other things, a home-brew TiVo?

While I admit the ps/2 ports are a bit strange, I also think it would be nice for people who still have ps/2 universal remote receivers, ps/2 kvm switches, etc. Keep in mind that a multimedia box like this is likely to be used with a lot of goofy, often non-standard hardware, and the less adapters people have to use to make everything work the better.

[Bluestealth @ Oct 19th 2007 9:38PM]

If your classification for an advanced computer is that it have no PS/2 ports... well I gotta tell you... there arn't too many "advanced" computers around. Your senseless argument over one of the most common peripheral connectors after USB is dumb. It doesn't make practical sense to remove them unless you make your own keyboards, and can force people to upgrade.

I haven't used a PS/2 keyboard on my computer for a while, but I continue to use them on a number of systems, even some that you might consider "advanced", because they happen to work, and don't need upgrading.

There is also a reason that USB to Serial adapters are probably one of the most common demands for a lot of laptops. Just because you see "legacy" equipment as not "advanced" doesn't mean that is obsolete, worse, or must be replaced. I suspect that you may own some "apple" computers, or only own laptops. I believe this because these are about the ONLY systems that you cannot find PS/2 on. Only a handful of desktops have shed themselves of this "legacy" connector.

OK, enough ranting. I still can't believe the people replying after you were just as dumb.

[dave @ Oct 22nd 2007 10:35PM]

stop whining. does it bother you so see ps2 on a computer?
id rather have more options than less.
and just to let you know, my $100 wireless logitech keyboard/mouse are ps2 and I had to buy a ps2-usb adapter because my mobo didnt have a connection for it....

[kekk @ Oct 18th 2007 6:37PM]

is this available in europe? (holland)

[RJ @ Oct 19th 2007 7:03AM]

I have the version of this sold in Hong Kong, exactly same except no HD drive but better than standard US spec with 1Tb HDD, 4gb memory with wireless keyboard / mouse. PAL tuner. So far so good, no hardware problems, just dealing with a few vista issues and almost all resolved. Matching 24inch monitor arrives soon, should be good. Bought for editing HD video from camera, much faster than last system which ran all night.

[Dave @ Nov 24th 2007 7:55PM]

RJ, How has the HP m9000t system worked out for HD video editing? I am planning to purcahse for that sepcific reason. Planning on Q6600 quad processor, 4G RAM, & 2x400G HDDs in Raid O. Also, what software are you using? Am deciding b/w Pinnacle & Vegas. Vegas works really nice with import from Sony camera but like Pinnacle ability to burn HD format on standard DVD burner.

[Jerry @ Dec 6th 2007 12:26PM]

I just purchased on of these through the local Sam's Club, bundled with the HP 22" wide flat panel. Mine has the "normal" non-BlueRay / HD DVD burner (aka it's a SuperMulti w/Lightscribe), and the 8400GS video card. That's okay, since I don't intend it to ever actually occupy the same space as my HT equipment. I got it primarily to get me relatively up-to-date again (coming from a custom built 4+ yr. old Athlon XP 2500+ w/AGP motherboard setup), mostly because I do a lot of home video editing / DVD creation and VHS-to-DVD conversion, along with gaming.

Coming from that Athlon system, which not to long ago received a nice video card infusion in the form of an ATI Radeon X1950 Pro AGP 256MB card, the nVidia in the new system is a tad weak. I'll be leaving the modem where it's at, though I briefly considered pulling it and subbing in an additional 5 port (4 in/1 out) USB 2.0 card. But I've already ordered an Antec Neo 650 watt power supply (found the blue lighted one on sale for only $5 more after rebate than the 550 watt model), along with an ATI Radeon HT3870 to replace the medium wimpy 8400GS. Throw those into the case, and it's pretty much done for any internal card-based upgrades, even taking up the PCI-e x1 slot's space. Again, s'okay, for my purposes now.

It'll be a fairly healthy kickbutt system, considering bang-for-the-buck. Coming from a former miserly overclocking build-it-yourself hardcore gamer now on a budget, this isn't too shabby a setup. I briefly considered all the components I'd need to replace to bring the old desktop up to par, and in the end it's just far more reasonable just to buy OEM and add on.

On the topic of PS2 ports, I'm not using them with mine, because (obviously, as the one in this blog), this PC came with the wireless combo. But HP still offers the non-wireless kb / mouse too, at least if you custom build a system through their web store, and those use the PS2 port if I read the info correctly. Nothing wrong with that, as it leaves the USB ports completely free for all the other external doohickeys available now!

[Carmine Giattino @ Dec 6th 2007 9:46PM]

I just bought this system and only paid $585 with free shipping on the HP website with a coupon that was advertised online. I saved over 40%. I got a core 2 duo E6750, 2 gigs of ram, 320 gigabyte HD, 8400gs 256mb w/HDMI output(sweet!), DVD multi-drive w/lightscribe, TV tuner and a couple of other goodies. I will be upgrading the power supply and video card in the next few months and I can't wait to tear it up on Need for Speed Pro Street!!

[Usman @ Dec 7th 2007 4:01PM]

I order one too, but with a Quad-core Q6600. My total was $649, can't beat that price for a 4-core system.

[Paul @ Dec 10th 2007 5:06PM]

Aww, you beat me by 50 bucks. I wasn't able to use the $450 off coupon for some reason and had to settle with the $400 off one. I got the following:

- HP Pavilion Elite m9000t PC
- Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
- Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Quad processor Q6600 (2.4GHz)
- 2GB DDR2-667MHz dual channel SDRAM (2x1024)
- FREE UPGRADE! 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400GS, DVI-I, TV-out, HDMI
- No Modem
- 320GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive
- LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive
- 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, 1394, video, audio
- ATSC-NTSC TV tuner with PVR, FM tuner, remote
- Integrated 7.1 channel sound w/front audio ports
- Norton Internet Security(TM) 2007 - 15 Months
- Microsoft(R) Works 8.0
- HP keyboard and HP scroller mouse

Still not a bad deal. I'll probably upgrade the video card later on, but for now it should suit my needs.