HP Pavilion 23

Bottom Line

If a high-resolution screen and all-in-one convenience matter more to you than stunning performance, the HP Pavilion 23 is a good choice that won't bust the budget.

Performance

Bright screen, muted performance. The HP Pavilion 23's standout attraction is a vibrant, high-resolution 1,920-by-1,080-pixel screen, with excellent viewing angles, superior to many in pricier all-in-ones. A DVD burner is standard in most retail configurations, but that can be upgraded to a combo DVD/Blu-Ray player if you customize the computer at HPs web site. The built-in speakers are "surprisingly good", says Troy Dreier of ComputerShopper.com. You almost have a complete family home entertainment center. Not quite. There's no TV tuner card or HDMI input.

With an AMD Trinity processor, 4 GB of memory and 500 GB hard drive, you won't have a problem surfing the web, emailing or using basic computer programs. But reviewers say performance is sluggish in heavy-duty applications and multitasking. Numerous upgrades (power, storage, memory) are available for the base model. A step-up configuration (*Est. $700 and up) with an Intel i3 Ivy Bridge processor (upgradeable to i5) and a minimum 6 GB of memory offers sturdier performance and graphics to handle light 3D gaming. This all-in-one lacks a touch screen so it doesn't support Windows 8 touch screen features.

Design

Easel style is easy on the eyes. The HP Pavilion 23's minimalist easel-style design is unobtrusive and offers an adjustable screen angle.

It also provides a good collection of connectivity options. There are two USB 3.0 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, wired (Gigabit Ethernet) and wireless (802.11b/g/n) networking, an audio output, an SD Card reader, a built-in webcam, and headphone and microphone jacks.

Support and Reliability

Moderate but adequate. The HP Pavilion 23 is covered by a basic one-year warranty and around the clock phone support in English and Spanish. On-site services are provided only if an issue can't be corrected remotely. In user satisfaction surveys conducted by PC World and others in 2012, HP ranked slightly above average in support and reliability in the eyes of home users. Extended service contracts are available for a fee.

Value

Good value for light computing. The low price is somewhat compromised by the low performance of the HP Pavilion 23. Still, the high-resolution screen, all-in-one convenience and decent connectivity makes this all-in-one a worthwhile option for buyers who aren't power users.