in design to the Pavilion Media Center m7780n we reviewed at the start of the year -LRB- HP moved to its current Media Center chassis in the spring -RRB- . We turned on the system and looked over the components , expecting to find a few incremental upgrades from the previous models . Instead , we were shocked to find not only a quad-core processor but also 3GB of fast 1,066 MHz memory -- 1GB more than we anticipated . A quick scan of our quad-core reviews confirmed our suspicion : this is by far the cheapest quad-core PC we 've reviewed . HP is able to keep the price down in large part by not going after gamers with this system -LRB- the preloaded trial offers -- shovelware -- also help subsidize the cost of the PC -RRB- . Instead of putting money toward a powerful but pricey graphics card , HP uses a low-end Nvidia GeForce 7350LE TurboCache card . It borrows resources from the main system memory when it needs more than its 128MB of dedicated video RAM , but it 's more than capable for everything but supplying suitable 3D framerates as our tests show .
-LRB- CNET.com -RRB- -- The HP Pavilion Media Center TV m8120n is proof positive that quad-core processing is ready for mass consumption . This $ 1,150 entertainment-minded desktop serves up Intel 's Core 2 Quad Q6600 CPU , a quad-core chip that up to this point we 've seen only in much higher-end systems meant for gaming . While HP 's own Pavilion Slimline or Apple 's Mac Mini might be better fits for most people looking for a PC to pair with their plasma , the m8120n is a great buy if you need a high-end PC that can do pretty much everything outside of gaming . This fixed-configuration retail PC serves up a host of audio and video connections , plenty of hard drive space , more memory than we were expecting , and integrated Wi-Fi -- all inside a functional and good-looking case . The result is a surprisingly powerful media PC ; you wo n't find a better performer for less . Only its lack of a next-gen optical drive prevents a higher recommendation . We 're also not thrilled with the amount of shovelware . Aside from its black exterior , the m8120n is similar