All right, I am pissed at both Best Buy and HP, but mostly HP since the last comp we got from Best Buy was great. First of all, It is a Media Center PC, so you would assume that it comes with a TV Tuner card, since what the hell is the point of getting Media Center if you aren't going to be watching TV on it. Without that it's just XP Pro with a fancy looking version of WIndows Media player. HP doesn't seem to think so, and so it didn't come with that. Then, it says on the box that it has approximately 1 GB of memory and a 2.20 GHz Processor. I happened to look at the system specs, and it's 960 MB of memory and the processor only runs at 1.77 GHz. To make matters worse, I'm pretty sure they purposefully lied on the box, since right above that info is a disclaimer that they aren't responsible for errors or omissions. They put that there to cover thier asses in case someone ever bothered to check thier computer's specs. Even if being a 64-bit processor makes up for the lack of power in Memory and clock speed, it's still terrible to mislead people about thier computer's specs.
The difference between the quoted specs and what your computer tells you is this. In sales speak a Gig is 1,000,000,000 however in binary terms a Gig is 1,073,741,824. So when you take your Gig of memory and turn the sales version of a Gig into that Binary version of a gig you go to 931 MB.
Ya, I'm sure there is a funny math way that makes it all make sense, but it's still dishonest. The computer I'm using now has specs that match up with what it said on the box.
First of all, I wasn't invloved in the actual buying process. This was my parents, and my Dad has finally reached the stage in life where you need someone younger than you to handle technical matters. Sadly, he won't admit it. I would have looked at the specs and asked about a tuner card. My Dad, like the grand majority of people, saw that Media Center allows TV playing (our other comp also has it), and assumed that it would have the required hookups. Yes, they never said that it HAD the card, but neither did it say that it DIDN'T, and most people wouldn't assume that you need to go out and buy another peice of hardware to get full functionality. Yes, my Dad should have been more careful. BUt that doesn't exonerate HP of being decietful.
well its not like a tv tuner is that expensive, I got mine for 70 canadians. still you can go get a refund or exchange for it ....I belive(I remember returning my sis compac since the ram was faulty- as in the idiots put 256 instead of 512-) and RAM is never exact. you learn that in computer technician class. I also believe you should tell them about how you payed for a higher end machine (2.2), and got (1.7) so at least you should at least try to change it....is not like you lose anything by trying.
Your RAM is also messed up because you have intergrated graphics, wich sucks. Not all Media Center PCs come with the tuner card btw, only the more expensive ones. With the proc speed you need to go under the bios and check the system multiplier. I'm not quite sure what it should be set at but the equation is multiplyer*bus speed=proc speed. All you have to do is find out you bus speed and divide that by what you proc speed is supposed to be. This will tell you what your mult should be set at and you can adjust it yourself.
Whenever you become financially independent, I encourage you to bypass brand-name packages altogether and learn how to put together your own computer. It's not rocket science, and it's the only way to know exactly what you're getting. I just put together a P4 3.4 GHz with 2 GB of RAM on an ASUS motherboard with a GeForce 7800 GT card. It was an excellent deal because I went a step down for everything - 3.4 as opposed to 3.6, DDR as opposed to DDR2 RAM, 7800 GT as opposed to 7800 GTX.
This is the best way to go. Or get a barebone system. Atleast the mother board and proc are already installed and in somecases already burned in. These are usually very good deals. Me, I just bought a cheap computer that had the mother baord w/chipset I wanted and a decent hard drive. I upgraded from there.
I know how to put a computer together, it's just easier for my parents to go out and buy a pre-made. And yes, I know that RAM isn't exact. But the rounding on the box shouldn't be higher than the rounding on the machine. Ya, we are returning it tomorow. But we'll probably get fucked over again. My Mom is insisting on doing it alone since she's worried that I'll cause a scene or something, and she knows nothing about computers. I'm also going to buy a decent video card for it, but that doesn't matter if we return it and buy one that doesn't suck instead.
HP's desktop division could take a few cues from its server division. We use ProLiant DL360 G4 servers at work and they are rock-solid, physically and operationally. Their internal construction is superior to that of the IBM xSeries 346s that we also use - none of that flimsy sheet metal or those indecipherable locking mechanisms for which IBM seems to have a hard-on.
Just wait until you have to use HP's "tech support". That's an adventure not even Indiana Jones would want to tackle.
