HP Pavilion Power 580-023w Gaming Tower Review

HP Pavilion Power 580-023w Gaming Tower Review

The HP Pavilion Power 580-023w is a gaming computer HP have released to compete in the budget / entry to mid-level pre-built gaming PC market. In this review, we’ll take a look at the pros & cons as well as it’s gaming performance.

Name: HP Pavilion Power 580-023w Gaming Tower, Intel Core i5-7400, NVIDIA GTX 1060 3GB Graphics, 8 GB Memory, 1TB Hard Drive, Windows 10
Date First Available: Nov 2017 (From Amazon)
Category: Gaming Computer
Price: 

 from Amazon

HP Pavilion Power 580-023w Gaming Tower Review

The HP Pavilion Power 580-023w is a gaming computer HP have released to compete in the budget / entry to mid-level pre-built gaming PC market. While the RRP can be quite a bit higher this PC is commonly on sale for under $700. Check for any sales on Amazon here and try your luck.

One of it’s top competitors is CyberpowerPC’s GXiVR8020A4 gaming computer which we’ve extensively reviewed in the past.

This is a very similar PC to the HP Pavilion Premium Gaming Desktop which is also available on Amazon for similar prices.

HP Pavilion Power At A Glance
9/10

PCBA's Rating

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HP have come up with a great deal for an entry to mid level gaming computer.

⊕ Value for money!
⊕ Good graphics card for this price range
⊕ Intel i5-7400
⊖ Could be expensive to upgrade
⊖ Smaller case may further limit upgrades

As far as budget pre-built gaming PCs go, the HP 580-023w is a great deal if you manage to find it for under $700. A solid CPU and Graphics card combo coupled with sufficient DDR4 RAM makes it possible to get into gaming at a very affordable price range.

GFX

Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB

CPU

Intel i5-7400

RAM

8GB DDR4-2400

STORAGE

1TB HDD

  • Windows 10 Home
  • Onboard Wi-Fi
  • Comes with keyboard & mouse
  • 8x DVD-RW Drive
  • 1Gb Ethernet (LAN)
  • 7 in 1 Card Reader
  • Compact Design
  • VR Ready: No

Read more >>

Introduction

This HP 580-023w sets out to solidify HP’s presence in the gaming PC market with a range of great hardware choices without blowing out the budget. This particular model is already one of the top-selling units on Amazon, and with good reason.

In this review we’ll take a look at the pros and cons, overall performance and try to answer the question – is it worth the money?

Contents (Click to View Contents)

Pros

  • Price
  • Good CPU
  • Good graphics card
  • Low power usage and temperature

Cons

  • Low graphics card memory
  • CPU might make upgrades hard
  • Case lacks some space for future upgrades
  • No SSD

Who Is It For?

The HP 580-023W is an entry to mid-level gaming computer for those who want a no-nonsense way to get a gaming computer capable of playing the latest games without breaking the bank. No tools required, no building custom PCs. Just buy, plug in and load up your favorite games.

Who Isn’t It For?

The HP 580-023w is designed to be an off the shelf gaming PC solution. It’s a great option for entry to mid-level gaming but it isn’t designed as a hardcore top end gaming machine. While you CAN upgrade certain parts of the computer you may struggle if you plan to modify it into a full-blown top end gaming rig.

If you don’t plan on playing games at all then this computer will obviously still work for you but you could save some money by looking at other non-gaming options such as the Acer Aspire ACKi5 we reviewed recently.

What You Get

Hardware

HP has chosen a great list of components for the 580-023w.

Hardware Summary
GFX Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB
CPU Intel i5-7400
RAM 8GB DDR4
Storage 1TB Hard Drive
MBU Unspecified
PSU 300W

Processor (CPU)

The rock solid Intel i5-7400 has been included in this PC. This is a quad-core 3.0GHz CPU which can burst up to 3.50GHz when needed. These i5’s are a super common choice for entry to mid-level gaming PCs as they offer a good level of performance while also remaining cool and reliable at a low cost.

While this i5-7400 is good at this level it may not allow you to make full use of an upgraded graphics card if you ever swap out the GTX 1060 down the track. It will still perform well, just be aware they may be a slight bottleneck depending on the game and graphics card you upgrade to.

Graphics Card (GFX)

HP has included a Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB graphics card. The GTX 1060 is a great card in this price range and performs very well. Its top competitor is the RX 580 4GB which is usually about 5% better (within a few FPS). The advantage of the Nvidia GTX 1060 3G over the RX 580 4GB is much lower power consumption and less heat generation. Some may argue that Nvidia release more reliable drivers as well, but this could be debated.

The downside to the GTX 1060 3GB is the limitation of only 3GB of video memory. If you’re playing at “Full HD” resolution (1080p) then you should be fine but don’t expect to get too involved in super high-resolution gaming. We’ll take a look at some benchmarks below for more details.

Motherboard (MBU)

HP have used their own HP Odense2-K motherboard for the 580-023w.

This motherboard utilizes the Intel H170 chipset. It supports 2 sticks of DDR4-2400 RAM up to a total of 16GB (two 8GB sticks). It also supports processor upgrades with a TDP of up to 91W should you ever choose to do so.

The Odense2-K has one PCI-e 16x slot (sorry, no dual graphics card upgrades) but does have integrated / onboard graphics in-case your graphics card ever dies. Note that you cannot use the onboard graphics at the same time as your GTX 1060 video card however.

Below is a list of Input / Output ports from the HP product page.

  1. USB 2.0: 2
  2. LAN (Ethernet)
  3. HDMI out: 2
  4. USB 3.0: 2
  5. Audio: Line in
  6. Audio: Line out
  7. Audio: Microphone

Memory (RAM)

The HP Pavilion Power 580-023w comes with 2 x 4 GB RAM modules (sticks) totaling 8GB. This can be upgraded to a maximum of 16GB if required but keep in mind that the motherboard only has 2 slots. This means you would need to buy a 16GB kit of ram (2 x 8GB) to replace the existing 8GB (2 x 4GB).

The type of ram installed is DDR4-2400 which is also listed as the highest speed supported for the motherboard.

Storage

A single 1TB hard drive comes pre-installed with Windows 10 and provides ample space for most user’s files and games. A popular upgrade to this computer is the addition of a Solid State Hard Drive (SSD). This is not necessary but can be a nice upgrade to reduce the time to boot (turn on) the computer as well as the time to load into games and map changes. Check out our guide on installing hard drives (and SSDs) here.

Power Supply (PSU)

HP don’t specify the brand of the power supply but do give you the following specs:

300 W internal uATX E-STAR 6.0 Bronze power supply

As with most pre-built computers, they are built to a certain price point. Because of this, the power supply is usually chosen to work with the current components and don’t typically support many upgrades.

If you plan on upgrading this computer in the future, you may need to upgrade the power supply to a larger unit at the same time.

Make sure you protect the computer from power surges using a surge protector. Check out our recent article for more information.

Other Inclusions

WIFI and Connectivity
Built in 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac WiFi supporting both 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.

Gigabit Ethernet (LAN) wired connection.

Optical Drive
A 8x DVD reader/writer is included.

Operating System 
Windows 10 Home comes pre-installed.

Other
A HP 7 in 1 card reader (for SD cards etc).

Case
The case is a fairly compact design. This makes it easy to transport and fit into small computer desks but does not leave a huge amount of space inside the case for upgrades. If you do plan on upgrading anything in the future, make sure you check that the next components will fit inside.

  • Height: 36.40 cm (14.33 in)
  • Width: 16.51 cm (6.50 in)
  • Depth: 37.80 cm (14.88 in)
  • Weight 7.15 kg (15.77 lbs

Peripherals/Accessories
The HP Pavilion Power 580-023w does comes with a very basic keyboard and mouse combo but if you want to get the most out of your games I would suggest some higher quality units, especially the mouse. Take a look at our guide on gaming mice for some more info.

Support/Warranties
HP doesn’t specify the warranty details in their documentation so we cannot confirm the type and duration. Being a large and reputable company we would expect at least a year but please check with them first if this is of concern for you. If you’re buying from Amazon you will also get their 30 day return policy.

Performance

Let’s take a look at the performance and benchmarks of the HP Pavilion Power 580-023w.

Usage

The 580-023w is a entry to mid level gaming PC which is capable of playing all of the latest games out of the box. It’s Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB graphics card is a great choice in this range and will excel in a number of aspects.

Where it excels:
  • 1080p Gaming (Full HD)
  • Low power usage
  • Low heat
It’s also capable of:
  • Streaming games via Nvidia ShadowPlay
  • Running other demanding programs (e.g. photoshop, CAD programs etc.)
May struggle with:
  • High resolution gaming such as 4K
  • Situations demanding high video memory (mostly higher than 1080p resolutions)

<Click here to view HP Pavilion Power 580-023w Reviews on Amazon>

What Games Can It Play?

Since the HP Pavilion Power 580-023w is considered to be a entry to mid level gaming computer released very recently you can expect it to be able to play all new games at reasonably high quality settings. Keep in mind that the GTX 1060 graphics card in this model only has 3GB and may limit the resolution or texture size which you can play at.

With that in mind, let’s take a look as some of the frame rates you can expect.

1920×1080 using high-ultra presets

  • GTA 5 (~60FPS)
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider (~65FPS)
  • Farcry Primal (~55FPS)
  • Fallout 4 (~75FPS)
  • Battlefield 1 (~65FPS)
  • Deus Ex Mankind Divided  (~60FPS)
  • E-Sports Games Like LOL, CS:GO, Overwatch, Rocket League, DOTA2 (100+)

You can check several videos on youtube of other people with similar setups (i5-7400 + GTX 1060 3GB) to see if the games you want to play perform well. Here are a few examples.

 

 

 

Upgradeability

The HP Pavilion Power 580-023w is built as a prebuilt gaming PC package.  As with all prebuilt PCs, the components used are designed to work together with little regard for upgradeability. System builders do this in order to keep the costs down. With that in mind, let’s take a look at some potential upgrades.

Recommended Upgrades (Short Term/Immediate)

This HP Pavilion comes with a 1TB HDD (spinning Hard Disk Drive). A solid state drive (SSD) can increase the operating speed and loading times dramatically, especially when turning on the computer and loading into games (or changing maps):

  • Solid state drive (SSD) installation
    The Odense2-K Motherboard has 3 SATA slots. You should find 1 spare to install the SSD. If you run out of free slots you’ll have to replace either the existing optical drive (DVD) or hard disk drive to accommodate the more devices.

Future Upgrade Pathways

Depending on the quality settings you want to run for future games this computer should last a couple of years without substantial upgrades. If you find the need to gain more gaming performance you can look at the below upgrades.

  • RAM upgrades
    This PC comes with 2 x 4GB sticks of DDR4 RAM. There are no free slots to upgrade so you’ll have to replace the existing two sticks with 2 x 8GB to get 16GB total. 16GB is the maximum supported for this motherboard. Remember – upgrading your RAM will only improve the speed of the computer if it’s currently running low on RAM!
  • New graphics card + CPU + power supply upgrade
    This is the big one. If you are finding the need to run higher resolutions or higher quality settings in future games you will need to look at upgrading these 3 components at the same time. Why all 3? Well:

    • Firstly, the power supply is rated for 300w which is fine for the current components but may not be enough if you upgrade to a more powerful graphics card. Power supply and graphics card upgrades typically occur at the same time when you have a prebuilt system like this.
    • Second, the current CPU is a solid choice for the current system but unfortunately it may “bottleneck” any higher spec cards. So, if you plan to upgrade the graphics card you should also consider upgrading the CPU to make sure you get the most out of the new graphics card.
  • Case
    The case that comes with the Pavilion Power is very compact. You may not be able to fit new components such as very large graphics cards. Unfortunately, we don’t have exact measurements for maximum graphics card size but I do know that the depth of the entire case is only 14.88 inches. Comparatively a GTX 1080 graphics card is 10.5 inches in length – if you take into consideration the space the hard drives and case bezels you may not fit the card!

Other Upgrade Considerations

The keyboard and mouse that comes with this PC is very basic. If you want a better gaming experience we recommend upgrading to a more gaming oriented keyboard and mouse combo. Check out our article on gaming mice here for ideas.

Pricing/Value

If you can find this for under $700 then it’s a very good deal. You get an out of the box, plug and play PC gaming experience which will be relevant for a number of years. While there are several improvements that HP could have made, such as more video memory and a slightly better CPU, they would not have been able to get the price this low if they had done so.

Check out the current price using this link to Amazon – they regularly have sales.

Alternative Products

A good alternate worth considering is the CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme GXiVR8020A4 Desktop Computer  which is typically just a little more expensive. The CyberPowerPC has very similar hardware specs except they’ve chosen to use the AMD RX 580 4GB instead of the Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB. The RX 580 4GB has a slight FPS advantage in most games (about 5%) but has a few downside too such as heat, power consumption and some might argue that their drivers are less consistent (but this is debatable).

Summary/Overall Impressions

HP’s Pavilion Power 580-023w is a great buy if you can find it under $700. It’s a solid entry to mid level pre-built gaming system which requires very little setup effort to get going. Just plug it in, install your favourite games and start gaming.

<Click here to view the HP Pavilion Power 580-023w on Amazon>

Reference: Other Specifications

Show details
Full name: HP Pavilion Power 580-023w

Model number: 580-023w

Main Specifications: 7th Generation Intel Core i5-7400 processor (Up to 3.5GHz), Windows 10 Home, 8GB DDR4 2400MHz Memory, Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB, 8X DVD Reader/Writer, 1TB Hard Drive.

Audio: High Definition Audio with 5.1-Channel Audio Support

Ports: 3 – USB 3.0 Ports, 4 – USB 2.0 Ports, 1 – HDMI Port, 1 – VGA Port

Connectivity: Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11a/b/g/n/ac WiFi, Bluetooth 4.2

Other: 7 in 1 Card Reader, USB Keyboard and Mouse

Dimensions: Height: 36.40 cm (14.33 in), Width: 16.51 cm (6.50 in),Depth: 37.80 cm (14.88 in)

Weight: 7.15 kg (15.77 lbs) (system unit only)

More details: Available here

 

 

17 Comments

    • Hi Braydon, yes that should be fine – PC parts inside are typically standardized and any new case you get should also be built to work with any PC parts, so moving all the components over should be okay.

    • Hi Vincent,
      Depends on your budget, and what kind of performance you are going for. How much do you want to spend, and what are you trying to achieve with the upgrade? I assume gaming?

    • Hi Matthew,
      Often there are a few different manufacturers offering the same model of graphics card, for example Nvidia, MSI Gaming, EVGA, ASUS (and more) all make versions of the GTX1080. Each manufacturer’s model may have a different physical size, depending on how they’ve decided to design the card.
      Because of this, your best bet might be to measure the available physical space for a graphics card in your PC, and then based on that do a search for GTX1080’s, and look for one that is under the size you measured.
      Hope this helps!

    • Hi Cameron,
      Do you mean you want to replace the PSU in this computer? This computer is a prebuilt offering from HP, so it already comes fitted with the stock 300W power supply.

      If you’re wanting to change that out for a larger Wattage unit, be sure to first check on the form factor (physical size) of the existing PSU in the case – it may be physically smaller in size than the most commonly used standard size PSU, since the Pavilion does have a small case size. From what we’ve seen, physically smaller sized PSU’s aren’t as commonly available, and don’t seem to be that well standardized in terms of their physical dimensions (different brands/manufacturer’s supplies may vary in size).

      The best we can recommend here is maybe checking out the ‘SF’ or ‘SFX’ PSU’s which are units with a smaller form factor (smaller physical dimensions). From here, double check the actual product dimensions against the stock PSU that is inside the HP Pavilion to make sure the replacement unit will fit.

  1. What are the hdmi ports labeled hdmi 1 and hdmi 2? The only one that seems to work is the one coming from the graphics card that is not even labeled.

    • Hi Edward,
      The motherboard itself has 2 HDMI ports and you would use these for attaching monitor displays – but only if you were not using a graphics card.

      However, since the HP Pavilion Power does come with a graphics card, you need to use the display ports from the graphics card, NOT the motherboard (this ensures that your graphics card is actually being used to output to your monitor display(s).

      • Hey, so I don’t have any clue what I did but I got the onboard graphics to work at the same time as the GPU. I changed a BIOS setting and then rebooted my PC like 4 times and suddenly after leaving both displays plugged in, the one connected to the MOBO just turned on. It was magical. I was able to confirm that the display adapters being used were indeed the GTX 1060 AND the *insert basic integrated graphics adapter name here*.

  2. I got this computer for christmas, and yesterday my HDMI port just stopped working. Is this a common problem and how should I fix it.

    • Hi Chase,

      I haven’t heard of that being a common problem.

      A few things could cause that. When you say the HDMI port stopped working do you mean only that port? Do any other ports on the graphics card still work? If they do, you would need to check the basics first like reconnecting the HDMI cable and trying a different HDMI cable altogether. If none of the ports on the graphics card work then you would need to start testing the card itself. The way you approach this will depend on your exact symptoms such as whether you receive display during boot but not in Windows vs no display at all. You can start with the basic cable change test, move on checking drivers (if there is display during boot) and then trying reseating the graphics card. If none of these work let us know and we can look at some other tests.

      Good luck and hopefuly there’s nothing seriously wrong!

  3. I accidentally got liquid on the motherboard, and it kinda don’t want to turn on anymore. Can you possibly recommend me a good replacement motherboard. Preferably one with good upgrade possibilities.

    • Sorry to hear about that Conrad! Most PCs don’t like swimming 🙁

      If you’ve confirmed that the motherboard is dead then there are a few motherboards to choose from:

      These two use the Intel H270 chipset which is the more recent version of the H170 which this PC originally comes with. They can take up to 64GB of RAM and support AMD CrossFire (can run two AMD graphics cards) but no SLI (can only run 1 Nvidia graphics card). Both are the Micro ATX form factor (size) so they should fit in place of the existing motherboard.

      ASUS PRIME H270M-PLUS
      GIGABYTE GA-H270M-DS3H

      If you would like the be able to run dual Nvidia graphics cards in SLI you can take a look at these Z370 based motherboards. The Z series of intel chipsets is more of an “enthusiast” line. These will take 64GB of RAM but will also allow overclocking of your CPU and RAM, support Nvidia SLI and a heap of extra features. Again, these are both Micro ATX to make sure they fit in the case.

      ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-G
      MSI Z370M GAMING PRO AC

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