HP Pavilion p7-1235 Pro Reviews

Despite the HP Pavilion P7-1235's reasonable price tag, better systems with more nimble processing power or included monitors make for better options.

For under five and a half centuries, the HP Pavilion p7-1235 minitower is nicely priced and a well-built, expandable, and reasonably well-appointed desktop or under-desk PC. It's particularly suited for families seeking a second or third PC or budget-minded multitaskers looking to take advantage of its dual-monitor support (although an HDMI output for the latest displays would be welcome). Its graphics are also respectable, as integrated graphics go. Occasional gamers will find themselves able to play some semi-demanding titles at minimal resolutions and detail settings. But its AMD processor delivers disappointing performance. Especially when compared to the 3GHz second-gen Core i5-2320 in the Acer Aspire M3970G, the 3.2GHz A8-5500 is a letdown for productivity and multimedia applications. It evokes a couple of cautionary lessons for shoppers, like "Newer is not always better" and "Don't judge solely on specs" (clock speeds and core counts, for example).