@ xelink - Look at the last 2-3 posts, have a question for you. Hey guys, going to be purchasing a new computer very soon.. was looking at this one because it grabbed my attention really fast. I need a REALLY reliable computer. I've bought 2 computers the past 3 years, none of them have been so great and they have all costed me over $1200 each before taxes, this one is cheaper, however it seems to have MANY great specs, so thought I'd get some views on it. I am a student so I need a fast computer, very reliable, good for multi-tasking, etc. I am a somewhat gamer as well. If you can suggest a better model for me, feel free to say so! The TV tuners and all that crap, I don't really need it to be honest. Hewlett Packard - Pavilion Media Center TV m8120n Desktop With Intel® Viiv™ Processor Technology Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Processor Q6600 • Intel® Core™2 Quad processor Q6600 with 4 processing cores, 1066MHz frontside bus, 8MB L2 cache and 2.4GHz processor speed per core • 3GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM for multitasking power • SuperMulti DVD±RW/CD-RW drive with double-layer support records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media; supports DVD-RAM; also supports LightScribe direct-disc labels using compatible LightScribe media This desktop computer features an ATSC/NTSC tuner that allows you to watch TV on your computer in lush high-definition. The 640GB of hard drive space provides plenty of room for your favorite multimedia, downloadable with the built-in high-speed wireless LAN, and the Personal Media Drive bay allows you to add even more to your collection. Product Features: The Intel® Core™2 Quad processor delivers 4 complete execution cores in 1 processor for better multitasking and multithreaded performance; Intel® Smart Memory Access optimizes data bandwidth to accelerate and improve instruction throughput Intel® Advanced Digital Media Boost accelerates the execution of Streaming SIMD Extension (SSE) instructions to significantly improve the Media Boost performance on a broad range of applications, including video, audio, image and photo processing Intel® Viiv™ technology enhances your digital entertainment experience with improved performance when watching movies, listening to music or viewing digital images 640GB Serial ATA hard drive capacity (320GB x 2; 7200 rpm); front-panel HP Personal Media Drive expansion bay to easily add a third, removable hard drive (Personal Media Drive not included) NVIDIA GeForce 7530 LE graphics with TurboCache and 128MB dedicated memory, with up to 623MB total available graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vista; composite video input; TV-out and DVI; high-definition audio (8-speaker support) High-definition TV tuner (NTSC and ATSC) with PVR (personal video recorder) and FM tuner; HP Media Center remote with IR receiver Front-mounted 15-in-1 media reader supports CompactFlash Type I/II, Secure Digital, mini Secure Digital, MultiMediaCard, Reduced Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC), MultiMediaCard+ and MultiMediaCard Mobile Also supports Memory Stick, Memory Stick ---, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick --- Duo, SmartMedia, xD-Picture Card and Microdrive 2 IEEE 1394 interfaces and 6 high-speed USB 2.0 ports, both front and rear accessible, for fast digital data transfer and easy peripheral connectivity Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g); built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet networking interface with RJ-45 connector; 56 Kbps modem HP multimedia keyboard and scroll mouse Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium Edition operating system preinstalled; software package included with Microsoft Works 8, muvee autoProducer, Roxio Creator and more -- Processor Brand Intel® Core2 Quad Processor Speed 2.4GHz System Bus 1066MHz Cache Memory 4MB + 4MB on die Level 2 System Memory (RAM) 3GB Type of Memory (RAM) PC2-5300 DDR2 Hard Drive Type Serial ATA (7200 rpm) Hard Drive Size 640GB Graphics NVIDIA GeForce 7530 LE Video Memory 128MB (dedicated); up to 623MB (allocated by Windows Vista) Personal Video Recorder (PVR) Yes TV Tuner Yes MPEG Yes Audio High-definition (8-channel support) Modem 56 Kbps**Capable of receiving 56 Kbps downloads. However, current regulations limit download speed to 53 Kbps. Network Card Built-in 10/100Base-T Ethernet networking interface (RJ-45 connector) Wireless Networking Built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g) -- Price: $1,114.99 (Before taxes) Thanks for your time. (If you need any other information, look up the name of the computer on google.)
Yeah, a friend of mine told me that as well; not too interested in saving $200 since I have had some minor problems with custom built systems.. don't want to have a headache over that.
I spose it's better in some ways, but if you buy a pre made computer, the manufacturers do some strange things to stop you from upgrading yourself. For example, my old computer had the memory and graphics card superglued in lol, i was well pi--ed off.
That's crazy that the graphics card would be glued in - neever heard ov anything like that. System sounds great, I wish I had the money for one myself.
3GB ram= bad, 2Gb or 4, no 3gb. For the rest, motherboard will probably crap and the videocard sucks hard.
I recommend you build it. I understand that you have had problems but you can either find a friend or even I can help you . I dont like the memory size. get an even number, 2 gigs or 4. And if you're a heavy gamer, try to get a better GPU
I don't play games too often to be honest, so it's not such a big thing for me. I just need a really reliable computer that does not crash on me when I open 5-6 applications at one point; I am a very big multi-tasker and I'm not a fan of slow motion movement. However, I do have one question. Why do you suggest that I get an even number memory size?
You need something reliable, you don't play games, and you're looking to spend $1000+? Sounds like you need a Mac. Apple's Core 2 Duo iMacs are an extremely good deal in personal computers right now. I've had extremely good experiences with their products.
what's wrong with other people? I know a fair bit too (xelink basically taught me all he knows) The first option would be to build it yourself as you could get a better PC. But if your set on a prebuilt then here's what I think. The Quad core is nice but the 7350 le is a horrible card. If you are "somewhat" of a gamer I don't know what that means. but if you plan to play new dx10 games you will need better better then a 7350le if you want a better gpu I suggest dropping down to an E6600 and going with a higher end card like an 8800 or 2900 im not sure you will be able to overclock as it's a prebuilt the ram is ddr2-667 which i consider kind of slow unless your timings are good but i don't know the brand or IC of the ram so 3 GB tells me nothing and it being a prebuilt you woulden't be able to change ram settings things that can go wrong with this 1)BAD RAM 2)Not being able to overclock/ram timings due to BIOS locked 3)bad mobo 4)bad psu 5) case with bad airflow and or crappy fans so i really suggest you build your own for a much better deal from www.newegg.com if your US. it's very easy to put together the parts stuff i would suggest if building yourself all parts are on newegg gigabyte ds3 p35 mobo crucial ballastix 2*1GB (Micron D9GMH IC's) E6600 and thermalright ultra 120 extreme hsf 8800GTX corsairhx520W PSU (seasonicm12 unit and acts as a single +12v and there is no OCP militer on the rails) or silverstone OP650w the silverstone Decathlon is same as OP if you want modular or the Enhance ENP 500w on ewiz.com is a great deal, very good and server psu building yourself would be cheaper and with the ability to overclock you could smash the packard @ stock overclocking=free performance
I can understand the concern of being worried. heck I remember my freshman year I had an athlon XP system and I was worried as hell when I went to swap RAM. conversely I've never ------ed anything up and I'm a fairly negligent person(case is routinely left open even while eating and drinking, lay food ontop of case while open etc.) basically all you need to remember is that if you build it yourself EVERYTHING tends to have 1-5 year warranties and in some cases lifetime warranties. few things to note 3GB RAM vs. 2GB RAM is mostly worthless if all you do is game. I went from 2-4GB and I noticed zilch difference. RAM is one of those things which drops in price 50% each year anyway so the point is mute my advice if you go the OEM route buy your own graphics card. Downgrade to the lowest ---- they offer on a model buy your own RAM, downgrade to the lowest volume they offer. a lot of OEMs charge $200 to upgrade from 1GB RAM to 2GB RAM. that works out to $400/GB for really low performance RAM.Right now I can buy 2GB high quality RAM for $70-90 after rebate. 2GB ----ty stuff for $60 w/o rebate. that works out to $30/GB. GFX card. they charge an arm and a leg. $600 cost to upgrade from a $100 card to a $400 - no thanks I'll pass. also intel price cuts on july 22nd. MSRP on the q6600 goes from $560 to $266 Merged Post: sounds like you've never used a highend PC and have no *nix experience outside of Darwin(aka the base of OSX) OSX sucks. It sucks almost as bad as windows. Unlike winblows though, it doesn't have the 3rd party support to make up for it.
