HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f Desktop PC
The HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f ($419.99 checklist, at Staples) is 1 little type element (SFF) desktop that’s priced and equipped as an entry-level Pc. For just a little more than $400, you are able to get a small, quiet desktop that will perform much quicker than a similarly-priced nettop. But you will find so numerous functions lacking on the Slimline, it may also have been put in a mini Pc chassis like a nettop: The program is larger, yet does not take benefit of the extra space. The system is okay out of the box, however it is essentially non-upgradable. It feels as if HP took too a lot out to hit a cost point, and that’s not how you would like to really feel about a buy that is supposed to final you five to seven many years.
Design and Feature
The s5710f comes within the exact same Slimline chassis that HP has utilized because the s5120f in Mid-2009. It includes a minimalist style, with a faceplate produced of glossy black plastic and black painted metal sides. You will find perforations on the aspect and top, having a warning sticker telling you to avoid putting the s5710f’s side panel up in opposition to a wall which means you won’t block the cooling vents.
The small chassis also means inner expansion room is at a bare minimum. The only available expansion space is a single half-height PCIe x1 card slot, in which you are able to add, say, a Wi-Fi card. That’s fairly anemic to get a user-serviceable desktop, and a quick take a look at the motherboard shows why. The desktop’s motherboard is really a full-sized ATX board, but to be able to shove the board inside a SFF chassis, a few shortcuts were taken. The s5710f actually has two bodily PCIe x1 slots, but 1 is blocked. The inner power provide is within the way, and there’s solid metal where the card cutout ought to be. The motherboard has room (and accessibility) for a half-height PCIe x16 card slot, however the connector was by no means installed. No PCIE x16 slots indicates that you’re restricted towards the integrated graphics. Ditto for four memory DIMM slots: two are present, but two were never set up. I comprehend that a much more than one hundred,000-unit run although leaving these elements off the motherboard will conserve HP a lot of money, but this practice shortchanges customers who want to upgrade their desktop in the long term.
The outdoors of the case has six USB two.0 ports, which is typical for entry-level desktops. There aren’t any FireWire, USB three.0, or eSATA ports, but entry-level customers are unlikely to become too hung up about their absence. What counts for most people is that you can hook up 4 more peripherals (tough drives, printers, Wi-Fi adapters, and so on.) right after you have hooked up the included wired keyboard and mouse. The s5710f includes a 6-in-1 card reader, which covers the major players and variants (SD, Memory Stick, xD), but that also indicates that users of older formats like Compact Flash and SmartMedia are from luck. The s5710f’s DVD burner is concealed under a door, so the front of the desktop is as svelte as possible.
The s5710f’s 640GB tough drive is a respectable amount of drive space, especially considering that 500GB was considered exorbitant just a couple of many years in the past. Even so, the desktop is inundated by a glut of bloatware that consists of such repeat offenders as eBay, HP Games, Skype, and Snapfish. Additional towards the mix are HP Music (Rhapsody), HP Movie Store (Roxio), and five e-readers (Blio, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, Press Reader, and Zinio). Why do we need so numerous, when they are all available for download from the Internet? The desktop also arrives with HP Download Retailer, which is a Web-based online retailer that allows you to purchase and download programs over your Internet connection. I wish that HP Download was the only piece of extra software around the program. Then the user could pick and choose which software to try out and purchase (or not). The s5710f arrives with a 60-day trial subscription to Norton Internet Security, but I’d like to see at least a year’s subscription to help protect customers from online threats.
Performance
HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f The s5710f was no slouch on our benchmark tests, thanks to its AMD Athlon II X2 460 processor and 3GB of DDR3 memory. It’s not the fastest desktop in its class, but did complete the Handbrake test in less than 3 minutes (2:55) and the Photoshop CS5 test in just under six minutes (5:58). In comparison, the Intel Core i3-powered Gateway SX2850-33 ($549.99 checklist, 3.five stars) was quicker (2:24 Handbrake, four:15 CS5). On the other side, Atom-powered nettops like the Asus Eee Box EB1501P (11:20 Handbrake, 19:17 CS5) and Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150 ($399 direct, four stars) (12:31 Handbrake, 23:38 CS5) were much slower. I would feel comfortable recommending the s5710f if you were planning on doing an occasional photo or video edit. But if 3D gaming is ever in your long term, I’d skip this desktop and go with something having a fully functioning PCIe x16 card slot: The s5710f has poor 3D performance, and there is no way to upgrade it.
The HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f may be a passable desktop Computer for the buyer who absolutely, positively has to spend $420 or less, but you will find better choices out there. For example, the Gateway SX2850-33 is $120 more expensive, but has much more future-proofing with HDMI, a a lot quicker Intel Core i3 processor, Wi-Fi, and expandability. If you think you’re ever going to extend the life of your program by adding cards or a better monitor, the Gateway SX2850-33 is a better choice. Speaking of choice, the entry-level desktop Editor’s Choice Asus Essentio CM1630-05 ($479.99 list, four stars) is really a better choice, and it is also an overall better desktop for only $60 more. The CM1630-05 has a complete tower chassis for better expandability, a larger 750GB hard drive, competitive performance, along with a great deal less bloatware.
Specifications
- Type Mainstream, Multimedia, Value
- Processor Family AMD Athlon II X2
- RAM 3 GB
- Storage Capacity (as Tested) 640 GB
- Graphics Card ATI Radeon 3000
- Primary Optical Drive Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW
- Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Price Range $329.98 – $419.99
The HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f ($419.99 checklist, at Staples) is 1 little type element (SFF) desktop that’s priced and equipped as an entry-level Pc. For just a little more than $400, you are able to get a small, quiet desktop that will perform much quicker than a similarly-priced nettop. But you will find so numerous functions lacking on the Slimline, it may also have been put in a mini Pc chassis like a nettop: The program is larger, yet does not take benefit of the extra space. The system is okay out of the box, however it is essentially non-upgradable. It feels as if HP took too a lot out to hit a cost point, and that’s not how you would like to really feel about a buy that is supposed to final you five to seven many years.
Design and Feature
The s5710f comes within the exact same Slimline chassis that HP has utilized because the s5120f in Mid-2009. It includes a minimalist style, with a faceplate produced of glossy black plastic and black painted metal sides. You will find perforations on the aspect and top, having a warning sticker telling you to avoid putting the s5710f’s side panel up in opposition to a wall which means you won’t block the cooling vents.
The small chassis also means inner expansion room is at a bare minimum. The only available expansion space is a single half-height PCIe x1 card slot, in which you are able to add, say, a Wi-Fi card. That’s fairly anemic to get a user-serviceable desktop, and a quick take a look at the motherboard shows why. The desktop’s motherboard is really a full-sized ATX board, but to be able to shove the board inside a SFF chassis, a few shortcuts were taken. The s5710f actually has two bodily PCIe x1 slots, but 1 is blocked. The inner power provide is within the way, and there’s solid metal where the card cutout ought to be. The motherboard has room (and accessibility) for a half-height PCIe x16 card slot, however the connector was by no means installed. No PCIE x16 slots indicates that you’re restricted towards the integrated graphics. Ditto for four memory DIMM slots: two are present, but two were never set up. I comprehend that a much more than one hundred,000-unit run although leaving these elements off the motherboard will conserve HP a lot of money, but this practice shortchanges customers who want to upgrade their desktop in the long term.
The outdoors of the case has six USB two.0 ports, which is typical for entry-level desktops. There aren’t any FireWire, USB three.0, or eSATA ports, but entry-level customers are unlikely to become too hung up about their absence. What counts for most people is that you can hook up 4 more peripherals (tough drives, printers, Wi-Fi adapters, and so on.) right after you have hooked up the included wired keyboard and mouse. The s5710f includes a 6-in-1 card reader, which covers the major players and variants (SD, Memory Stick, xD), but that also indicates that users of older formats like Compact Flash and SmartMedia are from luck. The s5710f’s DVD burner is concealed under a door, so the front of the desktop is as svelte as possible.
The s5710f’s 640GB tough drive is a respectable amount of drive space, especially considering that 500GB was considered exorbitant just a couple of many years in the past. Even so, the desktop is inundated by a glut of bloatware that consists of such repeat offenders as eBay, HP Games, Skype, and Snapfish. Additional towards the mix are HP Music (Rhapsody), HP Movie Store (Roxio), and five e-readers (Blio, Barnes & Noble Nook, Kobo, Press Reader, and Zinio). Why do we need so numerous, when they are all available for download from the Internet? The desktop also arrives with HP Download Retailer, which is a Web-based online retailer that allows you to purchase and download programs over your Internet connection. I wish that HP Download was the only piece of extra software around the program. Then the user could pick and choose which software to try out and purchase (or not). The s5710f arrives with a 60-day trial subscription to Norton Internet Security, but I’d like to see at least a year’s subscription to help protect customers from online threats.
Performance
HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f The s5710f was no slouch on our benchmark tests, thanks to its AMD Athlon II X2 460 processor and 3GB of DDR3 memory. It’s not the fastest desktop in its class, but did complete the Handbrake test in less than 3 minutes (2:55) and the Photoshop CS5 test in just under six minutes (5:58). In comparison, the Intel Core i3-powered Gateway SX2850-33 ($549.99 checklist, 3.five stars) was quicker (2:24 Handbrake, four:15 CS5). On the other side, Atom-powered nettops like the Asus Eee Box EB1501P (11:20 Handbrake, 19:17 CS5) and Lenovo IdeaCentre Q150 ($399 direct, four stars) (12:31 Handbrake, 23:38 CS5) were much slower. I would feel comfortable recommending the s5710f if you were planning on doing an occasional photo or video edit. But if 3D gaming is ever in your long term, I’d skip this desktop and go with something having a fully functioning PCIe x16 card slot: The s5710f has poor 3D performance, and there is no way to upgrade it.
The HP Pavilion Slimline s5710f may be a passable desktop Computer for the buyer who absolutely, positively has to spend $420 or less, but you will find better choices out there. For example, the Gateway SX2850-33 is $120 more expensive, but has much more future-proofing with HDMI, a a lot quicker Intel Core i3 processor, Wi-Fi, and expandability. If you think you’re ever going to extend the life of your program by adding cards or a better monitor, the Gateway SX2850-33 is a better choice. Speaking of choice, the entry-level desktop Editor’s Choice Asus Essentio CM1630-05 ($479.99 list, four stars) is really a better choice, and it is also an overall better desktop for only $60 more. The CM1630-05 has a complete tower chassis for better expandability, a larger 750GB hard drive, competitive performance, along with a great deal less bloatware.
Specifications
- Type Mainstream, Multimedia, Value
- Processor Family AMD Athlon II X2
- RAM 3 GB
- Storage Capacity (as Tested) 640 GB
- Graphics Card ATI Radeon 3000
- Primary Optical Drive Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW
- Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Price Range $329.98 – $419.99
