If you're looking for a new Windows Vista–compatible standard for your
business desktops, the HP Compaq dc5750 Small Form Factor PC should be on your
shortlist of candidates. The dc5750 is designed for typical business workloads
such as running Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, and other end-user or developer
applications. It’s not intended for high-end tasks such as graphical rendering.
The unit I reviewed was equipped with an AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core CPU running
at 2.0GHz; 896MB of RAM; an 80GB, 7200rpm Serial ATA (SATA) hard disk; an ATI
Radeon X300 integrated graphics controller with 256MB of allocated video memory;
and a CD-RW/DVD combo drive. There was no diskette drive. For ease of access,
the dc5750 provides two USB 2.0 ports as well as headphone and microphone jacks
on the front of the unit. The back of the box sports a Gigabit Ethernet adapter,
six USB 2.0 ports, a serial port, a parallel port, audio line-in and line-out
ports, a VGA port, a Digital Visual Interface (DVI) port, and keyboard and mouse
ports.
The nicely designed case opens with a push button located on top of the unit—no
tools required. Inside is a 240-watt power supply and two low-profile PCI slots:
a PCI Express X1 slot and a PCI Express graphics slot. The dc5750 supports as
much as 4GB of Double Data Rate 2 (DDR2) SDRAM in four DIMM slots. Although
the motherboard supports up to four SATA drives, there's room for only two in
the box; additional drives need to be external.
The test system came preloaded with Windows Vista Business; there are several
other OS options. The system booted up to Vista’s logon screen from complete
power off in about 30 seconds. Unlike some of the higher-powered systems we've
reviewed lately that produce a lot of fan noise, the dc5750 is completely quiet.
One pleasant surprise, considering the unit has an integrated video adapter,
is that the dc5750 provides full support for Vista's Aero UI. Vista is known
for its demanding video requirements, typically needing a dedicated video card.
This is the first unit we’ve tested that can display the Aero Glass effect
using a lower-cost integrated video adapter. The integrated video provided 1280
_ 1024 resolution. The system can support multiple monitors by using both the
integrated video adapter and an add-on PCI Express video card. For enhanced
security, the system also provides Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 support.
In addition, the system came with a copy of Symantec AntiVirus Corporate Edition
10.2, HP’s backup and recovery software, and the HP Compaq Business PC
Documentation and Diagnostics CD-ROM.
Running the average Office and Microsoft .NET development tasks, the system
performed well—it wasn't as fast as some high-performance workstations
we’ve reviewed, but it was completely satisfactory for general-purpose
business tasks. Vista’s overall system performance score was 3.0. The
Vista performance score is governed by the component with the lowest measurement,
which on this unit was the integrated video adapter. Nevertheless, the adapter
did provide full Aero support, which is the important factor. (To learn about
the Vista performance score, see the Web-exclusive article "How do I update
my Windows Vista performance score?" January 2007, InstantDoc ID 94805.)
If you're looking for a new business desktop with a good balance of value,
performance, and quality, the dc5750 is a great choice. Its low price and full
support for the Aero UI makes it a cost-effective way for organizations to upgrade
to the next generation of Vista-compatible business systems.
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