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General discussion

New Computer

Jul 5, 2005 2:17PM PDT

I'm a college student almost ready to begin my junior year. I'm also somewhat of a gaming enthusiast and would like very much to dive deeper into that hobby.

The catch is, for the past two years I've been using an HP Pavillion notebook (1.8GHz Celeron, 40gig HD, 447mb RAM, Radeon IGP 340M). It's turned out to be a real workhorse and has kept up with me admirably, but it's limits are now readily apparent.

Don't get me wrong, it plays some of my favorite games (Rainbow Six 3, Star Trek: Bridge Commander, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City), but with newer titles like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, The Sims 2 and Half Life 2, my hands are tied.

Space is also another issue. I've got a large MP3 collection, download mods for my games and occasionally I'll download music videos/movies. The space problem has gotten to the point where I recently had to go out and buy an 80gig portable hard drive.

I started computer shopping two months back, keeping important factors like price and expandability in mind.

Two weeks ago, I found the perfect machine; an HP Pavillion (a1034n) with a 3GHz P4, 200Gig Hard Drive, 1 Gig of Ram and a Multi Format DVD-ROM/CD-ROM drive. Yesterday however, Best Buy pulled the machine from their lineup.

Now, I'm forced to fall back onto my second choice. It's an HP Pavillion, with the same exact specs as the other machine, except this happens to be a 'Photosmart/Media Center' PC (mod. m1264n).

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=320291&pfp=BROWSE

Barring any major financial disasters, I should have enough to get this within the next month-month and a half.

For moderate gaming plus day to day stuff (word processing, internet etc.) I'm thinking this will be a pretty solid investment (esp. since I'm on a somewhat limited budget), but what does everyone else think?

Comments/Tips/Suggestions would be appreciated as well as comments from people who've actually dealt with this model or similar ones like it =)

**Keep in mind, since I'm looking to get deeper into gaming, I'll definitly be upgrading the onboard video/audio setup**

Discussion is locked

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RE:
Jul 5, 2005 3:09PM PDT
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that is a superb computer for your needs except
Jul 6, 2005 1:21AM PDT

the gpu. it has integrated, which although it is possible to game on,(check intels website and look for the compatability list) you will not get very high frame rates. it DOES have pcie so i would say get a nvidia 6600gt since you dont have to much money to spare.

it has a good cpu, good sata, 1GB of ram upgradeable to 4GB of DDR2 which is good.

everything is about media and music like you requested, so nice job picking a good machine. just upgrade the gpu to 6600gt or higher and you will be gaming away.

konny

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RE:
Jul 6, 2005 3:05AM PDT
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man thats gay otherwise, it was a nice computer
Jul 6, 2005 3:14AM PDT

go with the gateway, upgrade the gpu to the card i recomended and you will have a 64 bit pc ready for the future of gaming.

konny

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What about this one?
Jul 6, 2005 7:15AM PDT

Okay, the lack of a PCI express slot bummed me out, but ahh well.

I went back to Best Buy's website and found a Gateway that slightly outperformed that HP I was talking about.

The specs of this machine (mod. 830GM) are basically the same, except the P4 Processor uses Intel's "EM64T" technology which basically means it 64-bit compatable.

It's also slightly more expensive, but if this is indeed a good machine, than I think I'll spring for it.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7131089&type=product&productCategoryId=cat01172&id=1110263403701

And as for the graphics upgrade, I'm either gonna go with an X850 XT P.E. or a 6800 Ultra. By the time I get enough money together (months and months down the line), ATI & nVidia's new chips should push the prices of those two I mentioned, down to a more reasonable level.

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(NT) (NT) Very nice
Jul 6, 2005 7:17AM PDT
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perfect choice
Jul 6, 2005 7:24AM PDT

good pc, gateways support is superb. you are right about the gpu prices falling, thats what im waiting for.

konny

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RE:
Jul 6, 2005 10:22AM PDT

I already recommended that in my first post... Don't think you can get much of a gfx update without a psu upgrade, and not sure if its propritary so might just get a 6600gt, nothing like the 6800ultra or other power consuming chips.
Roger

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the psu is not proprietary btw
Jul 6, 2005 10:38AM PDT

that power supply is 100% atx compatable, it is the exact same mechanism used on the 820gm, e.g. my pc which i upgraded to an antec true 480. so you are safe unlike dell

konny

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New PSU?
Jul 6, 2005 3:28PM PDT

So you're saying I'll have to shell out an extra couple bucks for a higher wattage power source before I go and upgrade? If so, how high should I go (to accomidate a high end card) ???

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well, you only have to buy one when you upgrade
Jul 7, 2005 1:12AM PDT

anything higher than a nvidia geforce 6600gt will require a new power supply. (6800 series and 7800 series) ati, anything from the x800 series, including the xl will require a new power supply.

i bought an antec true 480 for $120 at frys, but they fell in price by a lot.

i would go anything above 400 watts.

konny

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Re:
Jul 8, 2005 7:51AM PDT

You can get a Fortron AX-500a Blue Storm for 78 bucks shipped, Very nice Psu. Dual rails, Sheilded cables and Fortron is one of the few PSU builders that actually under rate their PSU's. Mine is solid as a rock and if you check around you will find that Forton's are indeed a quality PSU.

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Lower Price.........
Jul 8, 2005 7:03AM PDT

I was out doing some comparison shopping & what not today and found this same machine on sale at Nebraska Furniture Mart (local midwest retailer) for $739......a whole $140 cheaper than Best Buy.

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Err.....what PC are you talking about...
Jul 8, 2005 7:56AM PDT

I can't seem to find it at this Nebraska Furniture Mart. Do you have a link (URL) that we can look at?
http://megamart.nfm.com/

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RE:
Jul 7, 2005 10:56AM PDT

I would reccommend switching off of hp and going to a company like dell or emachines they preform better and are worth the price you pay, HP's technology becomes outdated quickly and is never that great in the first place. HP/Compaq try to turn out as many new systems as they can in a year and that lowers the overall quality of each system. I highly reccommend purchasing a dell or emachines system, on the other hand there is alwasy the custom option. Buy the parts and assemble it your self or pay some one to do it.

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RE:
Jul 7, 2005 5:35PM PDT

Check the reply entitled 'What About This One?' I have already switched off of HP/Compaq and have moved to Gateway, with eMachines as a distant second