Customer Reviews
superb 
2008-07-02
Extremely happy with my new system. No porblems have surfaced using Vista as of yet.
AV input 
2008-06-24
This is a nice computer but one of the main reasons that I bought it was because it had the audio/video input card in the front of the tower in the fourth picture. I was wrongly mislead when I just got it in the mail there was no such interface, but other than that I don't really have a problem with it. This makes me mad because I bought a new monitor separately in faith that I would be able to use it to hook my 360 to my computer and play on my monitor (I have to still see if that is possible).
Like the computer - don't like the operating system. 
2008-06-20
The HP Pavilion M8430F Desktop PC I purchased from amazon.com arrived within 2 days of the order. Perfect timing. Initial setup was easy and the documentation, though minimal, was adequate. After several days of working with the unit the DVD recorder/player stopped working. I immediately called HP's toll free customer support and after turning the unit over to their control on-line, the technician edited the registry and solved the problem. I was impressed to say the least. The unit is fast at rendering video clips, which is the main reason I chose this computer in the first place. However, that said, not all of my video/audio editing software has installed successfully. The software in question was updated to work with Vista but apparently only works with Vista's 32 bit version. From what I can glean from user forums the software really doesn't like any version of Vista. So, now I am at a crossroad. I'd like to go back to Windows XP Pro in order to get ALL of my software to work, but in so doing I will apparently lose the use of that 4th gig of ram and possibly all of the Windows Media Center capability that the unit has to offer. Decisions, decisions. I like the computer - but I don't like the operating system.
WoW... Amazing PC!!! 2008-06-09
I must say that after buying Dell for the last 5 years this is such a much better system for the hard earned buck. I replaced my monster XPS700 with this one and I slapped an NVIDIA 9800 GTX card on it and this baby rocks. I am running WoW and AoC without any issues whatsover. This one is worth getting....!!!
Best Value Computer 2008-06-01
I have had this computer for 3 months and love it. I have had no problems at all it runs very quiet and blazingly fast. My Vista experience rating on this is 5.7. This is a great machine.
Pretty decent for off the shelf 2008-05-31
The HP Pavilion Media Center M8430F TV desktop PC is designed and built for your digital life. Take control of your digital entertainment with a PC that helps you consolidate, organize and play your favorite TV shows, movies, music, photos and videos. The Intel Core 2 Quad processor delivers four complete execution cores within a single processor, delivering unprecedented performance and responsiveness in multi-threaded and multi-tasking business and home use environments. The built-in TV tuner and personal video recorder let you watch, pause, rewind and record live television - with no monthly fee. The free online Electronic Program Guide lets you review the TV schedule and choose a single episode or an entire series, so you can watch your favorite shows on your own time, at your own convenience. And always be connected to the Web wherever you decide to place the M8430F in your home with the built-in 802.11G Wireless. NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT with 512MB dedicated with up to 1791MB Shared Graphics Memory NTSC TV tuner over-the-air ATSC high-definition television tuner, and FM tuner LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+-R/RW with Double Layer High Definition Audio, 8 speaker configurable Built-in 802.11B/G Wireless 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet LAN 15-in-1 card reader Front ports - 2 x USB, IEEE 1394, Composite video-in (Front) Back ports - 4 x USB, IEEE 1394, 2 x PS2 ports (keyboard, mouse), Audio left/right-in, S-Video-in, Digital Audio In/Out, Microphone/Line-in/Line-out, Rear speaker-out, Side speaker out, Center (subwoofer), RJ-45 (LAN), RJ-11 (Modem), VGA, TV-out, DVI-I out, HDMI out Expansion slots - 1 x PCI (occupied), 2 x PCI Express x1 (one available), 1 x PCI Express x16 (occupied) Drive bays - 2 x external 5.25 (one available), 1 x external 3.5 (one available), 2 x internal 3.5 (one available) Monitor is not included
Best thing to happen to computing 2008-05-25
This Pavilion and Windows Vista have been an awesome upgrade. It's amazingly quiet (dare I say "silent"?) when I am playing World of Warcraft, burning a DVD or using a high-memory program like Photoshop. In fact, I can do all three at once and this beast doesn't break a sweat. A great price for a quad-core with plenty of RAM and a good graphics card. I'll plan to add more RAM eventually, but so far the included 3 GB has been great.
Great computer!!! 2008-05-17
So, I buy a new desktop every five years or so, and my old XP with 1G was running pretty slow, so I figured time to switch machines. I looked around at the 'build your own' part of the HP and Dell sites, and they were a little expensive for what I wanted (quad processor, 4G RAM), and was prepared to plunk down $1300+ for the HP m9160f. Then I noticed this machine at Best Buy for $400 less, went on-line, checked out the reviews and made my purchase on Amazon (which was about $100 less than Best Buy).
This is a fantastic computer, fast and quiet. I'm not a gamer, but do like to download/play music and videos I find online while listening to radio, surf around, use business applications, etc. I've had this for three weeks, and it's done it all without breaking a sweat. Vista takes a little getting used to, but the transition wasn't as painful as I feared. Nor was transferring my files over, I just put them on my external hard drive and copied them back onto this machine. All XP hardware for the old computer (wireless keyboard and mouse, old Canon MP390 printer) hooked up fine, I just plugged the stuff in, along with my broadband cable, and it was ready to go. I also picked up a new HP w2207 monitor with the deal for $250.
This is simply an incredible upgrade for an incredible price, I'd recommend anyone looking for a state-of-the-art machine pick this up.
A Real Beast 2008-05-15
This PC can do it all. I am a big gamer and that is the reason i purchased this PC. Just to test it out I had a game running, music playing, downloading off the internet AND ran a PC scan and the game NEVER slowed down. Amazing. If you don't like the Norton's it comes with, just uninstall and get a free anti-virus program off the internet and your all set. It comes with so many PC diagnostics and auto updates you barely have to do anything to keep it up to date on drivers and BIOS. Many people say they don't like Vista and their is some validity to this. However, you can go into control panel and select "classic xp" under themes and it will look and act just like XP, set your PC up and when you are ready, switch to Vista theme. For the price you cannot beat this machine. get it now before energy prices make everything more expensive. Very satisfied.
Best choice for a Media Desktop 2008-05-12
I am an IT professional, so I usually tend to prefer building my own machines. Nothing I could build could come close to touching this box. It is silent, fast, feature-rich, and very affordable considering the specs. Most importantly, everything works the way it should.
The one negative is the inevitable crap-ware they load up on it. It's going to take you some time to remove all the garbage (Wild Tangent games, etc...). Uggh. But this is easy to do even for a non-technical person, and every manufacturer loads this garbage up on their machines.
Specific features that shine:
-Digital TV Tuner works great... I didn't think I would use it but I am.
-750 GB Removable HD option is fantastic (go ahead and spring for it, worth every penny)
-Case is a little cheesy-looking but is DEAD SILENT
-Remote actually useful in living room situation
-Wireless configured in seconds
-Vista is ACTUALLY WORKING WELL AND IS EASY TO USE
I highly recommend this system for anyone but the most demanding user, and you really can't beat the price for what you're getting.
Enjoy!
