HP Pavilion Elite m9200t March 30th, 2008 | by Josh Norem
Full Review - Use and Testing
Use and Testing Sadly, we were unable to test the PVR functionality of the included TV-tuner and remote control as we don’t have cable television. However, on the surface it appears to be a very comprehensive package. The included Media Center remote control is loaded with features designed for controlling an HTPC using the ten-foot interface.
Since this is a PC for mainstream users, we weren’t surprised to see a large, fold-out guide showing us how to get the m9200t setup. It includes big pictures showing all the connectors and where to plug in the keyboard, etc.
Once we booted up the system, an annoying “let’s set up your PC” routine launched that requires numerous click-throughs just to get to Vista’s desktop. Once we had arrived there about ten minutes later, we noted a very typical software environment replete with typical big-box bloatware and toolbars. We find this stuff highly annoying, and HP puts it more in your face than most companies by not only having a Yahoo toolbar embedded in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen, but also a second Yahoo toolbar docked at the top of the screen that has links to numerous Yahoo offerings. Even worse, if you try to close the docked toolbar at the top of the screen it just vanishes to the system tray. Who even uses a Yahoo toolbar anyway?
General Performance
Since the system comes with a quad-core CPU, 2GB of RAM and a zippy hard drive, general windows performance was very good. The system’s Windows Experience Index is listed as 4.0, which is better than average and seems about right for a system with these specs. We ran PC Mark Vantage on the m9200t and it scored a very respectable 3806. We also ran 3DMark 06, and as expected it performed poorly, scoring a measly 1630. We were able to game on the GeForce 8400 though, albeit at lower resolutions. We were able to play Bioshock on medium settings at 800x600, and Portal at 1024x768. It should be noted too that the videocard has an HDMI port for use with HDTVs. 
The m9200t includes a TV-Tuner as well as a Media Center remote control.
by Austoah on November 8, 2009:
“I purchased to this computer to run my small business. basically needing it for the office professional suite. I was indecisive between this or a laptop as this was a pretty expensive desktop. deciding on this unit feeling that if I paid a little more hopefully...” More...