• PC World
• »Computers
• »Desktops

Hewlett-Packard refreshed its Pavilion and Presario desktop product lines this week with several new models designed to appeal to multimedia users and assuage security fears among consumers.

It has been over two years since the completion of HP's merger with Compaq, and the company continues to offer two distinct consumer desktop brands left over from the pre-merger companies.

The Pavilion brand was HP's prior to the merger and it serves as the high-end flagship for HP's strategy to make digital imaging the center of the consumer PC experience with its HP Image Zone digital photography software.

The Compaq Presario brand is designed for the home multimedia user. The new Presario SA4000 systems come with HP's recently introduced Personal Media Drive, a removable hard drive that can store digital content or other files and connect to other PCs through a USB cable.

Both HP product lines are available with processors from either Intel or Advanced Micro Devices. They also come with the Intermute Protection Suite from Intermute, which includes pop-up blocking software, a spam filter, and an adware and spyware detector.

System Specs

HP introduced five new PCs within the HP Pavilion a600 series. The cheapest models in the category are the a610e, based on AMD's Athlon XP processors, and the a600y, based on Intel's Celeron processors. Both of those units cost $349 after rebates and have 256MB of memory, a 40GB hard drive, and a CD-RW drive.

Several more expensive PCs are also available with more powerful processors from both Intel and AMD, as well as more memory and larger hard drives.

Customers can purchase custom Pavilion a600 PCs on HP's Web site immediately, and preconfigured models will be available on the Web site and through retail outlets starting July 11.

The new Presario SA4000 PCs are distinguished by the Personal Media Drive slot. HP introduced this feature last week with the launch of the HP Media Center m1000 Photosmart PC based on Intel's new 915P chipset. The Personal Media Drive can hold up to 160GB of data to make it easy for consumers to back up their PCs or transfer files between PCs.

The SA4000T models come with a choice of Intel's new Pentium 4 processors and will be available next Wednesday from HP's Web site for a starting price of $950, after a $50 mail-in rebate. The SA4000Z models use AMD's Athlon 64 processors and will be available from the site on July 21 starting at $820, after a $50 mail-in rebate.

HP also introduced the Compaq Presario SR1000 series at the low end of the new Presario lineup. These PCs start at $429 for preconfigured models, and are available immediately.

All of the new PCs will be available just as the back-to-school shopping season kicks off in July and August. The PC industry considers this period the second-most important shopping period of the year, behind the fourth-quarter holiday season.