HP Pavilion p6710f

HP Pavilion p6710f

There have been many changes in the country and the world over the last several months, but there's seldom reason to expect too many from a budget desktop. Nonetheless, the HP Pavilion p6710f, available exclusively at Staples, offers some. Though in many ways identical to its predecessor, the Pavilion p6610f ($529.98 list, 3.5 stars), it introduces two significant changes that help keep this model relevant for 2011. First, it's bumped up the capacity of its hard drive a full third, from 750GB to 1TB. Perhaps even more significantly, it also costs less - whereas the previous machine cost about $530, you can get one of these for only $479.98 (list). You'll have to make the typical sacrifices about computing and graphics performance that almost any budget system requires, but even so, the p6710f gives you quite a bit for your money. Like most other members of the Pavilion family, the p6710f's midtower case is equal parts bare-bones and sleek. It's mostly black, with a glossy front panel, silver trimming, and a power button that glows white when the computer is on.