HP Pavilion a1520y Product Specificationhttp://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?docname=c00732301&...
HP Asterope2-GL8E motherboard (ECS RC410-M) Radeon Xpress 200http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?docname=c00714533&...
Video is upgradeable. There is a PCI Express x16 slot for a video card.
You would not need a lot of video card, to make Aero a bit snappier.
The built-in video in the chipset, support Pixel/Vertex Shader 2.
http://www.powerspec.com/systems/system_components.phtml?component=12...
http://xtreview.com/review152.htm
"To benefit from Aero Glass it will at least be necessary to have i945G at INTEL,
the 915G is not offering any support . Microsoft states besides that INTEL will not
propose a driver WDDM for i915G...NVIDIA GeForce 6150 supports for its part the Aero
interface offered by Vista Beta 2 t, just like Radeon Xpress 200 from ATI. we note
that during our tests we observed a rather weak performances in the resolution 1280x1024,
default resolution of many LCD monitor, with this kind of IGP. The fault in particular
with the shared memory..."
Built-in video uses some of the system memory, so the whole 1GB is not
all given to the OS.
Vista Home Premiumhttp://
www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/homep...
The other issue, is memory upgrades. There are two memory slots. The
system probably has 2x512MB DDR2 in it right now. Vista likes memory,
and uses it for caches of various sorts. (WinXP is not quite as aggressive
as Vista in that regard.) You can use up to 2x1GB sticks of DDR2. So you can
double the current memory, by removing the existing memory and inserting new
memory.
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Pavilion a1520y
HP vs17x monitor:
http://reviews.cnet.com/lcd-monitors/hp-vs17x-flat-panel/4505-3174_7-...
"This model features a 1280x1024 native resolution.
Description: The HP VS17X is a 17 in, flat panel computer monitor. Compared
to other flat panel monitors on the market, it is relatively inexpensive
at around $220. It has a built-in set of stereo speakers. This model
features a 1280x1024 native resolution. Weighs 10.4 lbs.
Suggestions: (1) Before purchasing an LCD monitor, consider visiting your local store
for a live demo to ensure that its overall image quality, color, and
sharpness meets your expectation."
So whether the whole thing is a good deal, really depends on whether you'll be happy
with it. It is upgradeable, and adding a video card, adding some memory, changing the
monitor, could all improve it - if necessary. Everyone has different expectations
from computers - I've worked with people who don't mind waiting 2 minutes for their
word processor to load
Others would instantly be driven crazy if they don't
get a response in a quarter second.
Paul
