Home > Consumer Reviews > HP Pavilion a350n Desktop PC (2.80-GHz Pentium 4 (Hyper-Threading), 512 MB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, DVD+RW/CD-RW Combo Drive)

This computer is awesome! This computer is unbelievably fast. Because of Hyper Threading technology, XP thinks this computer has 2 processors. When you go to Windows Task Manager and look at the performance screen you see two processor boxes, very cool. It also has everything most people would need or want... 160GB, 7200rpm hard drive, DVD+R/RW drive that burns DVDs and CDs. It has a second CD-ROM drive to use for copying directly to the burner. It has a front panel 7 in 1 memory card reader, high speed video card with TV out, 2 firewire (1394) ports, 6 USB 2.0 ports, HP Image Zone, Director and Memories Disk creator software. It supports 5.1 audio. It also includes software to burn CDs and DVDs. Other than a better keyboard and mouse, there is not much you would need to add to this computer. Take a high grade look at the 350n, I don't think you will be disappointed.

I recently upgraded from HP Pavilion w/ Celeron to HP Pavilion a350n w/P4 Hyper Threading and all I can say is....WOW!! This computer is super fast, and has all the latest features you could ask for. DVD+RW/CD-RW, front access usb ports, good tech specs, etc, etc, etc...In a word it is very "current." I have broadband internet and whoah..this is awesomely fast. I love it and it's my new "baby!" It's my first REAL computer! It is too new for me to have any complaints yet, however, I think I have grown attached enough that I will be able to get over any let downs, if any, pretty easily. Ultimately, I chose this HP Pavilion a350n over the HP M series(media center) and Sony Vaio RS420 due to price, but I don't belive I have sacrificed much more than more expense, ALTHOUGH, I am aware of how much more HP M's offer. I would've been just as satified (if not more),I think, but the HP M's are just too expensive for me, and like all electronics, have a tendency to break down. tacvba@comcast.net

My employer (a small software company) just bought these for all the developers (including myself). They're barely faster than the Athlon XP 2000+ workstations they replaced. HP cut several corners with this model:

- There are no available internal or external drive bays
- The power supply is only 250W
- They skimp on the RAM, using DDR333 instead of DDR400 despite the 800FSB processor
- The hard drive is mounted in a bizarre plastic vertical bracket which isn't very secure and tends to vibrate
- There are no CDs included with the system (except one Microsoft Works disc). There are no restore CDs, let alone Windows install discs (but my Pavilion ze4240 notebook I bought a year ago came with both--shame on HP for backing down on that).

Since the systems shipped with XP Home and we need Pro, we reformatted the hard drives. And now we have no way of installing the DVD burning software that came with the systems. HP wants $9 for an HP RecordNow install disc.

My parents own a Gateway, a Sony and a Dell - all three purchased in the last three years. It is my opinion that all three systems were a waste of our money - with graphics and shared memory. Great service from Dell and Gateway but they often times told my brother, sister, and I as college students we did something wrong. I guess when one of use turned the PC on, it was wrong thing to do.

My dad's firm uses HP Servers and he was referred to look at the HP Pavilions. He is an IT Manager and knows how to get answers to his questions. The HP service recommended he take a look at the Pavilion line that were introduced in the 2nd half 2003 and my dad did so.

My mom and dad ended up buying me an HP a350n for Christmas. I had it setup and burning DVDs in under one hour. It is so very quiet and very powerful. The CPU is a P-IV with HyperThreading - meaning the CPU can run tasks in parallel. I mean the unit is very fast. And the graphics card, although not the best on the market, is very adaquate for gaming, burning and viewing DVDs, digital photography, and my college work. My dad loaded software he purchased from Microsoft - including Office and Visio.

The HP a350n is fabulous. Now, I can do my homework and research work from my apartment at college and do my digital photography too.

A friend received a Sony DS420 for Christmas. Both the HP a350n and Sony DS420 are comparably equipped - with the Sony coming with more software titles but a slightly smaller hard drive. My friend and I were going to run benchmark tests side-by-side. But, two weeks after Christmas, my friend is still waiting to setup his Sony. At first, he could not get support to give him a straight answer to why Windows XP would not load. His recovery files were not there. He finally got some help from Sony service and an RMA for the HD. I helped him extract the HD from the case and package it up to be returned. There is no assurance the HD is the problem. I suspect the problem is the HD controllers on the mother board. My friend paid for expidited S&H or else it would be longer time without his "new" PC. He is waiting for the HD to be returned. He will go to college without it - and wait until he comes home for a holiday.

I had a few problems with my A350n but nothing serious. The XP operating system (XP Home) needed some tweaking that my dad helped me with. And HP Service helpdesk was excellent too! I spoke with a "David" who was very helpful and curteous. I am no "hot-shot guru" but he stepped me through some evaluations / testing, explaining what the test results meant and what to do to resolve the problem.

The HP a350n is a fabulous computer. I am a happy and satisfied HP customer.

Now, we are packaging the unit up so I can take it to college with me when I leave on Saturday for the San Francisco Bay area.

I am excited about my HP Pavilion a350n. Thank you HP!

I bought my first HP a350n 3 weeks ago for $1,000. Decent package of hardware for the price and it worked fine for a week. Contacted HP's online tech support about a trivial problem and they had me perform a system recovery that blasted my downloaded programs to Saturn (after assuring me no programs would be lost). Their technical expert neglected to tell me to disconnect the printer before doing the system recovery which evidently damaged the system.

I returned the PC and like either an idiot or masochist, I bought another a350n through Amazon.com/Home Depot due to what seemed like a great price, $796. That a350n ran OK for one day before seizing up and losing Internet connections. HP's telephone tech support had me perform 2 system recoveries, again sending my programs into deep space. Every day since then I have spent numerous hours online with HP's tech center in India which is apparently manned by untrained goat herders or with HP's telephone tech people. The a350n seizes up, loses Internet connections, loses settings, and generates a steady stream of serious error messages. HP's technical instructions are contradictory, nonsensical, bizarre, inaccurate and sometimes make problems worse. HP's technical wizards have not helped me resolve a single problem. I have spent night after night online with HP and it's like something out of the Twilight Zone. They give instructions that are impossible to comply with, contradict each other, fail to respond, and accomplish nothing (while telling you what a "valuable customer" you are).

I bought an HP based on horror stories I read about Dell's tech support center in India, never imagining HP's online center was also manned by lackwits in India. HP's telephone tech support is no bettter. They castigated me for downloading Windows XP updates from Microsoft which both Microsoft and other HP tech reps said the a350n needed. They complained I am running too many programs while I ran as many on an old Emachines PC with only a 400 Mhz Celeron and 32 MB of RAM. The a350n has a 2.8 Ghz Pentium 4 with 512 MB of RAM yet I have had far more problems with it in 3 weeks than with my old Emachines relic in 3 years. If you get an a350n that works, great. But if you need competent technical help, forget HP. Now I understand why Home Depot was selling them for only $796.