If you’ve been waiting to purchase a business PC prepared for tomorrow’s 64-bit world, the Dx5150 Business Desktop — HP’s first business system to have an Athlon 64 CPU — may be just what you need.
Built around AMD’s 2.2-GHz Athlon 64 3500+ processor, the Dx5150 is ready for future 64-bit operating systems; plus, it comes stocked with components.
HP shipped our preproduction unit with 32-bit hardware device drivers and the 32-bit Windows XP Professional. HP also offers the unit with Microsoft’s 64-bit Windows XP Professional X64 Edition at no extra charge.
In addition to its 64-bit-ready processor, the Dx5150’s motherboard features ATI’s Radeon Xpress 200 graphics chip set. It also supports dual monitors (one VGA, the other DVI-D), a rarity for a PC with integrated graphics.
Three of our test unit’s six easy-to-access, tool-less drive bays were occupied (by CD-RW, floppy, and hard drives), leaving available space for two externally accessible (one 3.5- and one 5.25-inch) drives and one internal (3.5-inch) drive. The Dx5150’s surprisingly robust array of expansion options includes two open PCI-Express slots (one x16 for graphics cards, one x1 for compatible modems and LAN cards), two open PCI slots, and two open memory slots.
Our Dx5150 microtower test system came with 512MB of RAM and a 40GB hard disk. This PC’s cost, as configured with the 17-inch HP L1740 LCD monitor, is US$915.
The Dx5150 earned a respectable score of 88 on our WorldBench 5 tests, in line with what we would expect for a desktop with this configuration. The L1740 monitor that came with our unit displayed sharp, clean text and colorful graphics with good details.
The Dx5150 is a solid PC with an excellent warranty. It should prove a good fit for anyone who wants to make a forward-looking investment in a 64-bit business system.
Dx5150 Business Desktop
HP Preproduction model, not rated
Expandable options and a 64-bit CPU make this business PC a good investment for the future.
Current price: $745
