This HP PC's suitability for gaming-

The Game Room
1

A friend and I are looking at this HP for her gaming purposes. She’s especially into the Thief series and Morrowind.

Gaming Computer Experts- please let us know what you think-

Product number
FK790AA
Introduction date
07-Aug-2008
Country/region sold in:
United States
Canada
Hardware
Base processor
Phenom-9750 (A) 2.4 GHz (95W)
2000 MHz HyperTransport 1.0
Socket AM2+
Chipset
GeForce 6150SE nForce 430
Motherboard
Manufacturer: ECS
Motherboard Name: MCP61PM-HM
HP/Compaq motherboard name: Nettle3-GL8E
Power supply
350W
Memory
Component Attributes
Memory Installed 8 GB
Maximum allowed 8 GB (4 x 2 GB) (64-bit OS)

4 GB* (4 x 1 GB) (32-bit OS)

*Actual available memory may be less
Speed supported PC2-6400 MB/sec
Type 240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM

Hard drive
750 GB SATA 3G (3.0 Gb/sec)
7200 rpm
16X DVD(±)R/RW 12X RAM (±)R DL LightScribe SATA drive
Must use Double-Layer media discs in order to take advantage of the DL technology
Must use LightScribe-enabled media discs and supporting software in order to take advantage of the LightScribe technology
Function Maximum speed
DVD-RAM Up to 12X
DVD-R DL Write Once Up to 8X
DVD+R DL Write Once Up to 8X
DVD+R Write Once Up to 16X
DVD+RW Rewritable Up to 8X
DVD-R Write Once Up to 16X
DVD-RW Rewritable Up to 6X
DVD ROM Read Up to 16X
CD-R Write Once Up to 40X
CD-RW Rewritable Up to 32X
CD-ROM Read Up to 40X

Wireless
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n
Video Graphics
AMD Radeon HD3650
512 MB DDR2 memory
I/O Ports: HDMI, VGA, DVI-I (dual-link)
Sound/Audio
High Definition 8-channel audio
ALC 888S chipset
Network (LAN)
Integrated 10/100 Base-T networking interface
Memory card reader
IR Receiver
Supports the following cards:
Compact Flash I
Compact Flash II
IBM Microdrive
Secure Digital (SD)
mini-SD
MultiMediaCard (MMC)
Reduced size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC)
MultiMediaCard Plus (MMC plus)
MultiMediaCard Mobile (MMC mobile)
Memory Stick
Memory Stick Pro
Memory Stick Duo
Memory Stick Pro Duo
SmartMedia
xD Picture Card (xD = extreme digital)
External I/O ports
I/O ports on the front panel
Port type Quantity
15-in-1 (4 slot) with IR Receiver One
1394 One
USB Two
Headphone One
Microphone One

I/O ports on the back panel
Port type Quantity
PS/2 (keyboard, mouse) Two
VGA One (disabled due to the installation of a graphics card)
USB Four
1394a One
LAN One
SPDIF out (coaxial) One
Audio (side speaker out, rear speaker out, center speaker out, line-in, line-out, microphone) One Each

Expansion slots
Slot type Quantity
PCI One (One available)
PCI Express x16 One (None available)
PCI Express x1 Two (One available)

Drive bays
Bay type Quantity
5.25" Two (One available)
3.5" Two (One available)
Personal Media Drive One (One available)

Keyboard and mouse
HP multimedia keyboard
Quebec Keyboard Kit (French Canada only)
HP PS/2 optical mouse
Software
NOTE: HP provides basic support for software that comes with the computer. For in-depth feature assistance, refer to the help section in the software or on the software vendor’s Web site.

Software titles that shipped with PC Software Category Software Title
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium with Windows Media Center (64-bit) with Vista Service Pack 1

CD/CD-RW/DVD/DVD+RW Windows Movie Maker & Windows DVD Maker
CyberLink DVD Suite 5
LightScribe Template Labeler

Entertainment, Music & Games My HP Games

Imaging, Photography, Video & Film HP Photosmart Essential 3
Muvee autoProducer

Productivity Adobe Reader
Microsoft Works 9
Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 Trial

Security Norton Internet Security 2008 (60-day security update subscription)

Support HP Total Care Advisor
HP Hardware Diagnostic Tools
Help & Support Center
HP Easy Backup
Online documentation

Recovery HP Recovery Manager

Internet Solutions Microsoft Internet Explorer
Yahoo toolbar
ISP offers

HP Partner offers (may vary) Snapfish PictureMover (US only)

2

Just checking - you did notice that it’s listed as both “Refurbished” (means used) and “Out of Stock” at that link?

3

She would be way overpaying for the hardware included, specially taking into account that it’s a refurbished system. CPU is Phenom I which is ok. GPU however is not very good. It will play Morrowind and thief, because those are old games, but it’s not going to serve her very well if she ever plans on moving to newer games.

This isn’t the best deal around, but if I wasn’t going to build it myself (blasphemy!) and I was on a budget I’d go for something like the following, which would come out to about the same price:

And replace the included Gefore 6 series with this:

That’s all the gaming computer she’s going to need for the foreseeable future.

4

Please explain- how this machine is better with half the memory and half the processors (dual core vs quad)? Also my friend wants to know why all the gaming forums she’s checked on recommend against Vista while this gaming system is on Vista? (Yes, I know the HP is also Vista, but we were going to ask for it to be changed to XP)

Shibboleth- Yeah, I know it’s Refurbed & Out but we were looking at it in the event they get more in.

5

The amount of memory doesn’t affect gaming, heck doesn’t affect most things after the 2 gigabyte mark. You won’t see the difference between 4 and 8 unless you are doing some seriously heavy picture/video work. It certainly won’t translate into more FPS’.

A similar thing happens with the quad vs dual core CPU. Today’s games don’t take much advantage of multiple cores. So right now it is better to have two faster cores than four slower ones. Granted, the Phenom is a better chip than the Athlon X2, but in terms of gaming performance your video card will have a much higher impact than the CPU in most cases.

XP is a relic. Don’t bother spending extra money on it. Vista is a solid OS and I haven’t had any problems running games on it. Still, if your friend is allergic to it for some reason, take out vista and install windows 7 RC 1 (available at your local torrent search engine) for free (it’s a better OS than either XP or vista) and worry about paying for it when 2010 rolls around and it’s available at retail.

So my recommendation essentially trades some CPU performance for a video card that is 10x better than what comes with the HP. And That’s where you’re going to find the most bang for your buck in terms of gaming rigs.

This is why I don’t buy prebuilt systems. It’s hard to find the right balance between video card, cpu, and supporting hardware (ram, motherboard, hard drive, optical drive and power supply) AND a good value for the machine you’re getting. Which is why my first recommendaiton is: build it yourself. you’ll safe money and it’ll be a lot easier to find that balance of power where you need it, skimp where you don’t .

6

FT, that system is way overpriced.

7

Totally. I’m in the process of specing a totally new build, and I could spend about $100 less for a much more powerful system.

8

Would you or your friend be willing to do that F T? I mean put a PC together? It’s like a lego set really. It’s pretty hard to screw up. Then again if you DO screw up you’re usually… well screwed :slight_smile:

9

And from the reviews I’ve heard, the 64 bit version of XP is terrible as far as drivers and compatibility go - and if you’re using more than 3GB of RAM, you NEED a 64bit OS or you won’t be able to use it (Only something like 3.2GB is “seen” by the OS).

I’ve been using the Windows 7 beta since February and I’ve had no complaints about it so far. In fact, the only reason I’ve booted into XP in recent memory was to delete a few programs to free up disk space.

I’d say stick with the Vista 64 OS, or if you’re feeling adventurous, get the Windows 7 beta until it comes out for retail.

And I’d say the setup from Newegg would probably outperform the HP one. If you find one with 4 memory slots, though, you could easily upgrade to 8GB of ram in the future.

10

Whether you pay $500 or $2000 for a system, you’re going to get either an AMD or Intel CPU. Get the fastest CPU you can, but the exact clock speed isn’t critical as long as it’s reasonably up to date.

For a gaming system, you want plenty of RAM and a good (not onboard) video card. Get at least 4GB of RAM and a pay at least $100 for an aftermarket video card.

The other thing you want is an optimized system. Uninstall everything you don’t need, or ask/pay someone to come in and remove unnecessary services and programs from your system.

11

I agree with everything control-z said, and will add that if you are willing to go the extra step and build your own system, you don’t have to deal with all the weird shit that comes installed on prebuilt systems.

12

The video card is always the killer. If you see a cheap computer touting a blazing fast CPU, tons of RAM, big honkin’ storage…check the video card. It’ll almost always be some POS. For a gaming PC, the video card is the lynchpin; while the other specifications do matter, they won’t cover for a weak video card, and a strong video card can carry computers with weaker CPUs and less RAM.

My own computer died last Friday, and I ordered a new computer from a custom shop online. I’m capable of building computers myself, but it’s a lot of effort and hassle, I don’t have a good workspace, and computers I build myself don’t come with a 3-year warranty. I put the following together for just under $800:

Video: ATI Radeon HD 4870 512MB
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E8500 (2x 3.16GHz/6MB L2 Cache/1333FSB)
Motherboard: Asus P5KPL-CM Intel G31 Chipset w/6-channels, Gb LAN, S-ATA 3Gb/s, USB 2.0, Single PCI-E
RAM: 4 GB DDR2-800 PC6400
Storage: 500GB 7200 RPM SATAII
DVD: LG 22X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive

A few other things added to the cost here and there, but those are the relevant specs. I guarantee you it’ll blow the pants off the HP computer in the link.

Edit: It’s also worth nothing AMD CPUs tend to be cheaper than Intel, but right now Intel’s mainstream chips are better than AMD’s.

13

That was true for awhile, but I believe AMD’s Phenom II chips currently offer better performance/dollar than Intel all the way through to the upper midrange of CPUs. True, Intel’s i7 line is better than anything AMD has out, but with starting price of ~$280, i’d hesitate to call it their “mainstream” just yet.

14

Just a few quick comments-

I’m in Indiana, my friend’s in Idaho. Neither of us have any experience building computers & I’d be afraid to try.

She has a friend who would supply her with a superior video card if she did get this computer.

The computer is available new elsewhere on the Net. The HP link is just the first place I saw it.

Thanks for everyone’s suggestions- I’m running them past her & she’s running them past a friend of hers who knows computers better than she or I do.

15

There are no performance graphs on that page you linked, but I’m guessing intel’s c2d c2q lines still dominate AMD clearly in the lower price range.

16

Sorry, the performance graphs were on one of the sub-links of that original link. Of particular note is the $145 Phenom II X3 720 BE, which beats out the more expensive Core 2 Quad Q8200 in a majority (3/4) of the gaming benchmarks, as well as the $245 Phenom II X4 955 BE, which beats the (again, more expensive) i7 920 in the same 3/4 benchmarks. Hopefully this encourages intel to lower their prices.