- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 33 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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11 out of 15 people found this review helpful
0.5 stars
"Better be satisfied with analog output..."
Pros: it'd be nice to use Aero...
Cons: HP slimline hardware cannot be upgraded!
Summary: I had forgotten, years ago, someone told me never to buy HP=since there was no way to upgrade them, I should have remembered. SINce i got s3020n(the s stands for slow), I have been trying to hook up with a low-profile video card to improve performance, SLI would be nice to augment chipset,OR AT LEAST GET DIGITAL output for MONITOR ! Vista will tell you VIDEO CARD IS the lowest rated performer in this system. I have called and written Hp and checked the internet forums. This is some major crap here, it only has a 108 watt power supply, the heat inside case is formidible, you don't want anything blocking the fan, which sounds like bacon frying, at least - I hope that sound is the fan! Cnet, for the past 5 years, i've bought all my equipment based on your reviews. Please take that line out of review about 'possible add on pci-X2 express card', it's not out there and it's not going to be. So, i have a great paper weight( a really slow one), and learned a valuable lesson. I really got to say "shame on you for leading us on". If you don't believe me, call your local Best Buy, and they can tell you! And I have it in print from HP if you want a copy, this is verbatim HP : "Actually you cannot upgrade hardware on a slimline PC"., I looked on site for how to email copy to Cnet unsuccessfully, so this is the next best thing I can do. so beware of HP my fellow surfers!
- 2 replies to this review
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I upgraded my PC with hardware that i did not even buy from hp and they did not have a problem with it.
The bad thing about the slimlines is that they do suck, badly. I have had to send mine back to hp for repairs twice and i have owned it for only 7 months. The crappy integrated video card overheats since there is no fan on it and it shares a tiny heat sink with the integrated networking controller.
I installed a 512 mb Nvidia card and upgraded it to 2 GB RAM and the power supply went out i sent it to HP (with upgraded hardware) and they repaired the power supply at no cost (still under warranty) and shipped it back to me.
Overall i'd say HP has excellent customer service, and some good computers, but the slimeline series are garbage. -
What are you using this computer for? Also you seem like you tried to upgrade the computer as soon as you bought it. Why would you buy a slim shell computer and try to upgrade? These style computers have always seems like as a what you buy is what you live with computer.
HP Pavilion Slimline s3020n:
