The HP Compaq dc5750—Hewlett-Packards fourth-generation AMD processor-based business desktop—offers energy efficiency in a small footprint for organizations looking to reduce their power bill and green their IT systems.
Starting Jan. 31, HP began shipping Energy Star 4.0-compliant configurations of the HP Compaq dc5750. The EPAs updated eligibility requirements, which go into effect July 20, call for 80 percent efficient power supplies and lower idle wattage ratings.
The HP Compaq dc5750 comes in two compact sizes to match its small appetite for electricity: The small form factor chassis measures a lean 4.5 by 15.5 by 13.5 inches. A tad larger, the microtower is 14.85 by 6.95 by 16.85 inches.
eWeek Labs tested an HP Compaq dc5750 equipped with a dual-core Advanced Micro Devices Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor (2.00GHz), 894MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive, combo DVD/CD-RW drive and 32-bit Windows Vista Business. Pricing for this configuration starts at $629 and costs are the same for either Windows XP Professional or Windows Vista Business pre-installed.
An HP Compaq dc5750 specifically configured for Energy Star 4.0 with an AMD Athlon processor, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, an 80GB hard drive, 512MB of memory and DVD/CD-RW combo drive starts at $609.
While our test machine may not have passed Energy Star 4.0 muster, its 35-watt TDP (Thermal Design Power) processor performed typical productivity tasks with quiet aplomb.
During normal use, the fans and hard drive were hardly audible, even with the chassis mounted above the desk right beside the LCD monitor.
The integrated ATI Radeon X300 graphics chip handled Aero Glass features in Vista Business with ease, and the X300s separate DVI (Digital Video Interactive) and VGA ports can be used simultaneously to provide dual-monitor functionality.
For more demanding graphics duty such as rendering, the PCI-Express x16 slot opens up a multitude of options for adding a discrete video card. However, quad-monitor setups are possible when using a discrete graphics card from ATI in conjunction with the onboard Radeon X300 hardware.
Storage choices include 80G, 160G, or 250GB 7,200RPM SATA 3.0G-bps hard drives. With a second hard drive, HP offers RAID1 (mirroring) protection against disk failure at no extra charge. Set up is done at the factory, and the drives will immediately begin mirroring on boot-up with no additional configuration required.
A Broadcom Gigabit Ethernet NIC provides connectivity, and eight USB ports (two in the front and six on the rear panel) offer abundant peripheral support.
For large-scale enterprise roll-outs, eWeek Labs recommends HPs optional ProtectTools Security Manager. HPs software gives IT managers centralized credential management with support for multifactor authentication and single sign-on.
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