HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT AIO

Pros Intel Core i3 processor provides solid mid-range performance. Boasts a 1080p display with 10-finger touch. Excellent audio quality.

Cons IR-based touch makes for clunky display design. Fairly basic feature set. Bottom Line The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT is a solid all-in-one desktop, with good day-to-day performance, but a ho-hum collection of features.

By Brian Westover

These days, mid-range desktop PCs come in all shapes and sizes, but the All-in-One form factor has definitely come to the forefront as the desktop of choice. The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT AIO illustrates why this is, combining a basic mid-range collection of components and features in an all-in-one design, providing a touch-based Windows 8 experience that won't clutter your desktop, and is just as usable in the family room or kitchen as it would be in the home office.

Design and Features
The HP TouchSmart uses what is now a tried and true design for HP, with an easel back stand and a single riser bar holding up the PC off the desk. There's not really a place to stow a keyboard when it's not in use, but the easel stand does allow you to adjust the angle of the all-in-one somewhat, while the riser bar provides a solid foundation for the display.

The TouchSmart features a 23-inch display with 1920 by 1080 resolution, offering support for 1080p HD content and providing plenty of room for multitasking with two or more tiled windows. Unlike capacitive touch displays, which feature edge to edge glass and narrow bezels, the TouchSmart's IR-based touch screen is actually recessed slightly, with a black plastic bezel surrounding the display. Yet another black border inside surrounds the display, letting you still use all of the side swiping, edge touching gestures of Windows 8, but it adds up for a total 1.8 inches of space between the edge of the display and the edge of the chassis.

The accompanying DTS Sound, however, was very good, with surprisingly strong bass and crystal clear treble, even at high volumes. This is one system that will actually fill a room with sound, and does it without any unwanted buzzing or distortion.

There is one compromise in the name of affordability, however. The TouchSmart comes bundled with an inexpensive wired keyboard and wired optical mouse. The keyboard feels lightweight and on the cheap side, but the chiclet keys are better than expected on a bundled accessory, and the keyboard has Windows 8 commands and media controls built-in. The mouse, on the other hand, is less impressive, with a glossy top surface that shows every fingerprint and smudge, and plastic construction that feels flimsy.

On the right-hand side of the system is a tray-loading optical drive (DVD+-RW DL). On the left, you'll find connections for headphones and a mic, an SD card slot, and two USB 3.0 ports. On the back are four more USB 2.0 ports, along with line-out for audio. Networking is also built-in, with an Ethernet connection and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

The all-in-one also boasts a 1TB 7,200rpm hard drive, offering plenty of space for your programs, files, and media library. The system comes with Windows 8 preinstalled, along with a few extras, like a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security, a 30-day trial of Microsoft Office 365, and a handful of games from WildTangent. HP also offers tools for organizing and sharing your music and photos with HP Connected Music and HP Connected Photo. Included on our review unit were two extras from Adobe, Photoshop Elements 11 and Premiere Elements, for photo and video editing. What doesn't cost extra, however, is the included one-year warranty.

Performance
With an third-generation 2.8GHz Intel Core i3-3220T dual-core processor and 6GB of RAM, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is fairly basic for a mid-range system. You won't be editing hours of HD video on this PC, but it's just right for being the center of home organization. For a mid-range system, the Core i3 processor offers decent performance, especially compared to the lower-powered alternatives found in some competing systems. For example, while the TouchSmart 23-F260XT scored 3,145 points in PCMark 7 productivity tests, while the Acer Aspire A5600U-UB13 scored 2,377 points equipped with a low-voltage mobile Core i5, while the AMD-equipped Vizio 24-inch Touch All-in-One (CA24T-B0) scored 1,612 points.

Similar results were seen in Cinebench R11.5, where the TouchSmart 23 scored 2.75 points, putting it well ahead of the Acer Aspire A5600U-UB13 (2.09), Acer Aspire AZ3-605-UR23 (1.79), and the Vizio CA24T-B0 (2.05). This solid performance also extended to multimedia tasks, propelling the TouchSmart 23 through our Handbrake and Photoshop tests in 2 minutes 34 seconds (Handbrake) and 5 minutes 53 seconds (Photoshop CS6). For Handbrake, this performance is a tad slow—most competitors completed the test in less than 2 minutes—but the Photoshop performance is pretty good, ahead of all but the Editors' Choice Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Late 2012).

The one area where the TouchSmart 23 didn't lead its other entry-level competitors was in graphics performance. Utilizing Intel's integrated HD Graphics 2500, the TouchSmart 23 fell behind in 3DMark 11 and both of our gaming tests, Heaven and Aliens vs. Predator. None of the comparable systems offer playable results in either game, but the Vizio 24-inch CA24T-B0 did pull into the lead thanks to AMD's excellent graphics solution.

Conclusion
All things considered, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is a good choice for the buyer who wants a PC for keeping the family organized, putting Internet access in the kitchen or living room, or just wants a touch-capable all-in-one for day-to-day use. However, if you don't particularly want Windows 8 or touch capability, we'd recommend the Editors' Choice for mid-range all-in-one desktops, the Apple iMac 21.5-Inch (Late 2012), which offers competitive performance and side-steps some of the perceived problems with Windows 8.

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HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-f260xt review: This clunky-looking budget all-in-one will save you money and space

HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-f260xt $800.00 HP resurrected the all-in-one concept many years ago, but there's nothing particularly great about this model. Here's hoping the company shakes the industry up again soon.

I love the sturdy, rectangular stands on the Toshiba and Dell all-in-ones, but I must admit they’re not exactly space efficient. HP’s Pavilion TouchSmart 23, which costs $800 as of 8/29/13, might not be the most attractive AIO of the bunch, but its signature picture-frame design certainly helps it take up less desktop real estate, which is always a plus if you’re trying to fit a 23-inch TouchScreen AIO on a cramped dorm-room desk.

The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23’s design is functional, if not very sexy. The system has a glossy 23-inch touchscreen, which is surrounded by a slim bezel under edge-to-edge glass. Around this bezel is another bezel that’s thicker and fabricated from matte-black plastic. A silver metal frame is wrapped around this, extending past the bottom of the screen (where the speakers are located) to rest on your desktop. The entire system is propped up via an easel-like stand, which is sturdy, space-efficient, and easy to adjust.

HP's Pavilion TouchSmart is a well-built all-in-one, but a middle-of-the-road performer.

The biggest issue with this design is that it’s just not very attractive. While the Toshiba and the Dell look like they’re floating in midair, the TouchSmart 23 just looks clunky. And don’t even get me started on the bezel-within-a-bezel look.

Design issues aside, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is a solidly average performer, with a Intel Core i3-3220T processor; 6GB of DDR3/1600 memory; and 1TB, 7200rpm hard drive working together to deliver a Desktop Worldbench 8.1 score of 110. Like the other systems in this roundup, the TouchSmart 23 is good for schoolwork and basic entertainment, but not great for graphics-intensive editing or high-resolution gaming. In our Dirt Showdown graphics test (1024 by 768 pixels, image quality at Low), the TouchSmart 23 managed a barely playable 32.5 frames per second. Its BioShock Infinite performance, at the same settings, was worse: just 15.9 frames per second.

None of the all-in-ones delivered great gaming performances, but some machines were definitely better than others.

The TouchSmart 23 display resolution is the typical 1920 by 1080 resolution. It looks good: Images and text are crisp and colors are accurate, but I couldn’t shake the perception that video looked dull on this machine. Perhaps I’m used to looking at oversaturated, strangely vibrant screens, but the TouchSmart 23 just seemed to lack oomph. It is, on the other hand, a very good touchscreen, with smooth, accurate touch and a slick, sensitive surface.

The system also boasts a very usable wired USB keyboard, with flat, island-style keys, excellent feedback, and a comfortable feel. It’s a bit loud, but had no problem typing quickly and accurately on it. The mouse, which is also a wired USB model, felt just a little less comfortable. Its shiny, curved form factor isn’t very ergonomically designed, and it felt a bit awkward in my hand.

PCWorld's Desktop Worldbench 8.1 benchmark suite measures performance with a number of productivity, creation, and entertainment programs.

HP’s Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is a sturdy-looking computer with a slim, space-saving design. Although it lacks the minimalist sexiness that many other AIOs boast, it’s a solid performer with decent peripherals, a good port selection (including two USB 3.0 ports), and acceptable performance.

Editor's note: This all-in-one was reviewed as part of a roundup for back-to-school season. You can read that story, along with reviews of the five all-in-ones we compared it to, here.

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HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT AIO

Pros Intel Core i3 processor provides solid mid-range performance. Boasts a 1080p display with 10-finger touch. Excellent audio quality.

Cons IR-based touch makes for clunky display design. Fairly basic feature set. Bottom Line The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT is a solid all-in-one desktop, with good day-to-day performance, but a ho-hum collection of features.

By Brian Westover

These days, mid-range desktop PCs come in all shapes and sizes, but the All-in-One form factor has definitely come to the forefront as the desktop of choice. The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23-F260XT AIO illustrates why this is, combining a basic mid-range collection of components and features in an all-in-one design, providing a touch-based Windows 8 experience that won't clutter your desktop, and is just as usable in the family room or kitchen as it would be in the home office.

Design and Features
The HP TouchSmart uses what is now a tried and true design for HP, with an easel back stand and a single riser bar holding up the PC off the desk. There's not really a place to stow a keyboard when it's not in use, but the easel stand does allow you to adjust the angle of the all-in-one somewhat, while the riser bar provides a solid foundation for the display.

The TouchSmart features a 23-inch display with 1920 by 1080 resolution, offering support for 1080p HD content and providing plenty of room for multitasking with two or more tiled windows. Unlike capacitive touch displays, which feature edge to edge glass and narrow bezels, the TouchSmart's IR-based touch screen is actually recessed slightly, with a black plastic bezel surrounding the display. Yet another black border inside surrounds the display, letting you still use all of the side swiping, edge touching gestures of Windows 8, but it adds up for a total 1.8 inches of space between the edge of the display and the edge of the chassis.

The accompanying DTS Sound, however, was very good, with surprisingly strong bass and crystal clear treble, even at high volumes. This is one system that will actually fill a room with sound, and does it without any unwanted buzzing or distortion.

There is one compromise in the name of affordability, however. The TouchSmart comes bundled with an inexpensive wired keyboard and wired optical mouse. The keyboard feels lightweight and on the cheap side, but the chiclet keys are better than expected on a bundled accessory, and the keyboard has Windows 8 commands and media controls built-in. The mouse, on the other hand, is less impressive, with a glossy top surface that shows every fingerprint and smudge, and plastic construction that feels flimsy.

On the right-hand side of the system is a tray-loading optical drive (DVD+-RW DL). On the left, you'll find connections for headphones and a mic, an SD card slot, and two USB 3.0 ports. On the back are four more USB 2.0 ports, along with line-out for audio. Networking is also built-in, with an Ethernet connection and 802.11n Wi-Fi.

The all-in-one also boasts a 1TB 7,200rpm hard drive, offering plenty of space for your programs, files, and media library. The system comes with Windows 8 preinstalled, along with a few extras, like a 60-day trial of Norton Internet Security, a 30-day trial of Microsoft Office 365, and a handful of games from WildTangent. HP also offers tools for organizing and sharing your music and photos with HP Connected Music and HP Connected Photo. Included on our review unit were two extras from Adobe, Photoshop Elements 11 and Premiere Elements, for photo and video editing. What doesn't cost extra, however, is the included one-year warranty.

Performance
With an third-generation 2.8GHz Intel Core i3-3220T dual-core processor and 6GB of RAM, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is fairly basic for a mid-range system. You won't be editing hours of HD video on this PC, but it's just right for being the center of home organization. For a mid-range system, the Core i3 processor offers decent performance, especially compared to the lower-powered alternatives found in some competing systems. For example, while the TouchSmart 23-F260XT scored 3,145 points in PCMark 7 productivity tests, while the Acer Aspire A5600U-UB13 scored 2,377 points equipped with a low-voltage mobile Core i5, while the AMD-equipped Vizio 24-inch Touch All-in-One (CA24T-B0) scored 1,612 points.

Similar results were seen in Cinebench R11.5, where the TouchSmart 23 scored 2.75 points, putting it well ahead of the Acer Aspire A5600U-UB13 (2.09), Acer Aspire AZ3-605-UR23 (1.79), and the Vizio CA24T-B0 (2.05). This solid performance also extended to multimedia tasks, propelling the TouchSmart 23 through our Handbrake and Photoshop tests in 2 minutes 34 seconds (Handbrake) and 5 minutes 53 seconds (Photoshop CS6). For Handbrake, this performance is a tad slow—most competitors completed the test in less than 2 minutes—but the Photoshop performance is pretty good, ahead of all but the Editors' Choice Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Late 2012).

The one area where the TouchSmart 23 didn't lead its other entry-level competitors was in graphics performance. Utilizing Intel's integrated HD Graphics 2500, the TouchSmart 23 fell behind in 3DMark 11 and both of our gaming tests, Heaven and Aliens vs. Predator. None of the comparable systems offer playable results in either game, but the Vizio 24-inch CA24T-B0 did pull into the lead thanks to AMD's excellent graphics solution.

Conclusion
All things considered, the HP Pavilion TouchSmart 23 is a good choice for the buyer who wants a PC for keeping the family organized, putting Internet access in the kitchen or living room, or just wants a touch-capable all-in-one for day-to-day use. However, if you don't particularly want Windows 8 or touch capability, we'd recommend the Editors' Choice for mid-range all-in-one desktops, the Apple iMac 21.5-Inch (Late 2012), which offers competitive performance and side-steps some of the perceived problems with Windows 8.

View the original article here

HP Pavilion TouchSmart 11z-e000 review: A budget 11.6-inch touchscreen laptop that runs at a snail's pace

HP Pavilion TouchSmart 11z-e000 $430.00 If you must have a notebook with a touchscreen, HP delivers a lot of computer for very little money. But you’ll need to be patient with this one’s performance.

HP’s Pavilion TouchSmart 11z-e000 is one the smallest, lightest, and least expensive notebooks we’ve ever reviewed. It’s also one of the slowest, finishing dead last on nearly every criterion in our five-system roundup except two important ones: weight and battery life.

Despite carrying a price tag of just $410, this Pavilion has a touchscreen. It measures just 11.6 inches, but delivers ten-point touch and the same 1366-by-768-pixel resolution as the other budget notebooks we looked at. Once you get over its diminutive size, you realize that the display is actually pretty good. Though it has a minor issue with vertical off-axis viewing, it’s much better than the screen on the Toshiba T Satellite L55Dt-A5253. Augmenting the Pavilion’s touchscreen is a trackpad that supports Windows 8 gestures such as two-finger scrolling, zoom, and rotate. Mechanical right and left mouse buttons are situated beneath the pad.

HPThe HP Pavilion TouchSmart 11z-e000 is a very inexpensive touchscreen laptop.

Apart from its small size, the Pavilion doesn’t look like a cheap PC. Though its case is composed almost entirely of plastic, the finishes on the lid and chassis are dead ringers for brushed aluminum, and the computer feels very sturdy despite being just 0.86 inch thick. Although this laptop was one of the lightest we considered for our roundup, its 3.4-pound heft is not especially impressive for its overall size.

As you might expect, the most powerful notebooks also had the shortest battery life.

If you have large fingers, you won’t like the reduced size of the Pavilion’s non-backlit keyboard. The keys are only slightly smaller than average, but the difference drove me crazy during touch-typing sessions. The laptop is too small to accommodate a numeric keypad, too—and I loathe its arrow keys’ design. Rather than laying them out in the familiar inverted T formation, HP made the right and left keys oversize, and the up and down keys half-size—and bookended by the other two.

The Fn keys have common tasks (such as volume and media player control) assigned to them by default, so you don’t have to hold down a second key to use them for those purposes. Speaking of media, the Pavilion has surprisingly good speakers, augmented by DTS Sound+ audio-processing software.

Benchmark performance

Egad, is this computer ever slow! Much of the blame can be laid at the 1GHz AMD A4-1250 processor that runs the show. This is paired with 4GB of DDR3/1333 memory, which HP says is upgradeable to 8GB. But since the machine has only one DIMM slot, you’ll need to toss the existing 4GB DIMM to do so (unless you buy the 8GB version at the outset). Our review model came with a 500GB hard-drive upgrade (the stock machine packs a 320GB hard drive), but both drives spin their platters at an unhurried 5400 rpm. There is no SSD option available, and the only optical drive option is external.

Our Notebook WorldBench 8.1 suite includes a broad array of benchmarks for evaluating a notebook's performance.

The Pavilion TouchSmart’s pitiful Notebook WorldBench 8.1 score of 64 matches that of the $539 Dell Latitude 3330, but its scores on most of the other benchmarks are significantly worse than the Dell’s. For example, the Latitude earned a PCMark 7 Productivity score of 932, versus the Pavilion’s mark of 348. And the HP’s scores on our media editing and encoding tests were off-the-chart bad. On the plus side, the superior graphics processor integrated into the AMD A4 processor helped level the playing field in at least some of our gaming benchmarks.

Connectivity and conclusion

One of the ways that HP kept this computer’s price so slow was by provisioning it with cheap networking capabilities. The Realtek RTL8188EE Wi-Fi adapter is a single-band 802.11n model that supports a maximum physical link rate of just 150 mbps, and its hardwired ethernet adapter maxes out at 100 mbps.

HPHP's Pavilion TouchSmart is less than 1 inch thick, but it's rather heavy for its size.

For better wireless networking performance, you can plug an adapter into one of the Pavilion’s USB ports. It has two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port, plus a multiformat media card reader. HP provides both HDMI and VGA video outputs.

The HP Pavilion TouchSmart 11z-e000 is tough to beat on price—you get a lot of computer for the money. Its closest rival in price—Dell’s Latitude 3330—costs $100 more, doesn’t have a touchscreen, and carries a smaller hard drive. The Dell is slightly faster and has a larger display, but I think the TouchSmart 11z is a better value in the long run.

Editor's note: This notebook was reviewed as part of a roundup for back-to-school season. You can read that story, along with reviews of the five notebooks we compared it to, here.

View the original article here