HP Pavilion p6687c-b

HP Pavilion p6687c-b

For just under a grand, the HP Pavilion p6687c-b ($999.99 list), available at Costco, gives you quad-core power and a large HD monitor. A massive hard drive and two-year warranty make this desktop bundle a good deal, but mediocre performance and the lack of a Blu-ray drive keep it from being a great one. Design-wise, the p6687c-b is the spitting image of the p6607c-b ($799.99 list, 3 stars), which isn't surprising since they both use the same piano black mid-tower chassis. There's no tray on the top of the case, like the one found on the HP Pavilion Elite HPE-447c-b ($1,349.99 list, 3 stars), and no USB ports mounted next to the 15-in-1 card reader. Instead, there are two USB ports hidden behind a sliding panel on the front of the desktop, along with headphone and microphone jacks. There are two optical drive bays, one of which holds a standard DVD multi-drive. For this kind of money I'd like to see a Blu-ray drive here, especially since the system is bundled with an HD monitor. The bundled 25-inch HP 2509m monitor ($349.99 list, if purchased separately) has a resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 and can display high definition movies and other content in 1080p.