HP Pavilion Elite m9040n PC

The m9040n is set to supplant the m8100y as the high-end multimedia desktop in HP's Pavilion lineup. It packs a similar processor and even more multimedia features than its predecessor. The m9040n has the usual media-friendly attributes: an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 quad-core processor, 3GB of system memory, about 640GB of hard drive space split between twin 320GB hard drives in a RAID 0 array, an over-the-air ATSC (HDTV) tuner (a CableCARD tuner is an option), wireless networking, a digital media card reader, and virtually every port you can think of that will let you hook up a camera, camcorder, MP3 player, or VCR. Smooth doors swing forward to cover these ports and keep the front panel looking clean and neat when they're not in use.

The interior of the case is unfriendly to upgrades. Wires snake throughout the case, and the cage for one of the removable drives obstructs the memory slots. You can remove the cage, but upgrading this system would still be inconvenient. Good thing just about everything you need is already in the system's chassis. The m9040n even has an integrated IR sensor (USB dongles for the MCE remote are one of my pet peeves), but this forward-looking desktop also includes an IR blaster so that you can still control an external cable box if you need to. Last but not least, the top panel on the m9040n is worth special attention: It has a rubberized surface to hold your personal electronics, such as an iPod or digital camera, and cable management near the back to keep USB cables for these products where you expect them to be. Neat stuff.

Although there is no extra room inside the case itself, the m9040n is one of the most expandable desktops I've seen as far as hard drives are concerned. There's an Easy Backup button on the front panel, which is like having a Maxtor OneTouch backup hard drive built into your desktop. Hitting the button brings up a wizard that helps both novice and expert backup artists set the m9040n to back up manually, or as a scheduled automatic backup to either the Personal or Pocket Media Drive (this also works with a third-party external hard drive hooked up via USB). The same button can be used to invoke a restore command that gets your files back if you accidentally erase them. The Easy Backup button also works with internal drives, both of HP's Media Drives, network drives, or external USB or FireWire drives.