Looking simply for a graphics card is not just a bad idea, it's a horrible idea. Although they do offer a significant performance benefit, they also can be bottlenecked by processor, RAM, and hard drive speeds. It's never a good idea to look at just one part of a computer and say it's good.

A 9500GT with 1GB of memory is actually pretty close to the performance of a 4850, two of them would be equal, if not better. If they're overclocked, one is probably about as good as a stock 4850. It depends on the rest of the system as well.

I have an HP Pavilion a6330f I upgraded, personally I rather like HPs although their airflow sucks and they come ready and loaded with adware pop-ups. Places like CyberPower and IBuyPower, while cheaper than some factory built systems, are still significantly marked-up compared to building it yourself. Not to mention when you build it yourself, there's no hunting down various part names. Here's my HP that I only put about 550 into (including monitor)

HP Pavilion a6330f

AMD Phenom x2 64 @ 2.8Ghz

3GB 800Mhz DDR2 Memory

500GB HDD @ 7200RPM

19" LCD Monitor

Nvidia 8600GT  @ 512MB - OCed

5 case fans

Edifer 3 piece speaker system

I also have a Dell XPS 420 which I've put much more into (around 2 grand) and it's quite a nice gaming machine, the specs are in my sig and I'm updating them now.

By the way Robby, let me quote your post here:

"I think it was the best bang for my buck. I spend $999.97 not including monitor. Think you can find somehting better?

Let me see it.

And you can build it yourself."

Then here:

"Like I said you cant build it yourself.

And I aint no computer geneious either so idk.

It prob would have cheaper to go somehwere else like cyper whatever it is but I like that HP is a somewhat good company.

Idc I like my computer and I think the graphics card is really all that matters to me.

I just want to be able to play game.

Fucking haters."

You tend to contradict yourself a bit. Not to mention defying logic, as a gaming PC is simply a very powerful PC and is also faster on any other app then something that's not built for gaming.

Thank you,

 - Eric

nickelpat I'm having trouble reconciling your post with the other topic you just created.  As you said in your other post, SLI only matters if a game can take advantage of it.  Games that are able to benefit see a wide range of performance gain, with some only getting a few fps, and many can't use the SLI at all.

But interestingly, the HD4850 crushes the 9500GT whether the 9500GT is SLI'd or not. At the resolution he'd be running at a single HD4850 is literally 100% faster than an SLI 9500GT setup (it doesn't even beat the HD3850).  So there's really no question given the prices involved.

Single cards will always get their max performance where SLI is hit or miss so I always suggest going with the single card all things being equal.   Plus by going with the single card you can more easily move to an SLI setup in the future if you feel like it, without having to get a much more expensive mobo for a tri- or quad- setup.

Also in regards to 'looking at the video card only'.. this would be true if either CPU was horribly underpowered, but they aren't.  The i7 doesn't blow the Phenom II away, there is little bang for your buck in fiddling with 2 well performing CPUs compared to stepping up a whole class in video cards at that point.

Originally posted by jdkskip

Originally posted by robbykl1415

Look guys I was just trying to share my shit with you guys and let you know the new specs on my comp.

I'm not really looking to get flamed or aynthing shit.

I mean like I said in my original post in not some computer fucking guy and I can put together my own comp.

This is the best I could find so yea.

Fucking haters man I swear.

 

Your title asks for feedback, so why are you getting all upset about it? 

Feedback yes but rudeness wasnt really what I was looking for.

Im new to buying computers and I just wanted to know if I got a good deal.

I dont know.....my mother raised me not to be rude to people whom i dont know or dont deserve it so thats just me.

Originally posted by nickelpat

Looking simply for a graphics card is not just a bad idea, it's a horrible idea. Although they do offer a significant performance benefit, they also can be bottlenecked by processor, RAM, and hard drive speeds. It's never a good idea to look at just one part of a computer and say it's good.

A 9500GT with 1GB of memory is actually pretty close to the performance of a 4850, two of them would be equal, if not better. If they're overclocked, one is probably about as good as a stock 4850. It depends on the rest of the system as well.

I have an HP Pavilion a6330f I upgraded, personally I rather like HPs although their airflow sucks and they come ready and loaded with adware pop-ups. Places like CyberPower and IBuyPower, while cheaper than some factory built systems, are still significantly marked-up compared to building it yourself. Not to mention when you build it yourself, there's no hunting down various part names. Here's my HP that I only put about 550 into (including monitor)

HP Pavilion a6330f

AMD Phenom x2 64 @ 2.8Ghz

3GB 800Mhz DDR2 Memory

500GB HDD @ 7200RPM

19" LCD Monitor

Nvidia 8600GT  @ 512MB - OCed

5 case fans

Edifer 3 piece speaker system

 

I also have a Dell XPS 420 which I've put much more into (around 2 grand) and it's quite a nice gaming machine, the specs are in my sig and I'm updating them now.

By the way Robby, let me quote your post here:

 

"I think it was the best bang for my buck. I spend $999.97 not including monitor. Think you can find somehting better?

Let me see it.

And you can build it yourself."

 

Then here:

"Like I said you cant build it yourself.

And I aint no computer geneious either so idk.

It prob would have cheaper to go somehwere else like cyper whatever it is but I like that HP is a somewhat good company.

Idc I like my computer and I think the graphics card is really all that matters to me.

I just want to be able to play game.

Fucking haters."

 

You tend to contradict yourself a bit. Not to mention defying logic, as a gaming PC is simply a very powerful PC and is also faster on any other app then something that's not built for gaming.

 

Thank you,

 

 - Eric

Eric,
 

I did not contradict myself.

I meant to say you cant build it yourself in the first post.

I just forgot the t thats all.

simple mistake.

I also like HP, so we have one thing in common.  But I must tell you from what I'v read and everything AMDs suck for gaming.

I dont know if thats a fact but it seems to be a.....how do you say.....I dont know the word but a lot of people seem to agree on that aspect of computing.

Is computing a word?

If it isnt it should be......I copyright that shit.

What card you "need" depends on what "resolution" you play at.

Below 1680x1050, into the 1280s and what not, you're more cpu intensive than on the gpu (of course, there are exceptions but generally). A single 8800GT/9800GT, 4830, 4850 (512), 4870 (512) will do you fine in this range, especially if you can get a C2D e5200 (or higher) or any amd x2 at 3.0 ghz +.

At 1680, you're more GPU intensive but the CPU still matters. A 4850 (1gb), 4870(1gb), GTX 260, sli 9800 GT are recommended cards for this area.

At 1920x1080/1200, I'd highy recommend nothing less than an amd x2 at 3.0 ghz+ or better yet, a C2D/Quad at 3.0ghz +. For the gpu, nothing less than a 4870 (1gb) or a GTX 260. You should however be aiming to get the 4850x2 (2gb), or 4870x2 (2gb), or GTX 280, 285, 295 if you want to play with settings all maxed out and have decent fps.

At 2560x1600, which for gaming...if you got the cash, nothing less than xfire 4870 / x2 (1gb), or sli GTX260 and higher.  This is a obscene resolution to play at, because you need an obscene amount of gpu power to run it smoothly...especially in games with lots of people in it which are fighting, socializing, etc.

I'd say the sweet spot is between 1680 or 1920, i'm personally at 1920 (24inch dell 2408wfp) using a 4870x2 and loving it.

Your machine seems pretty decent to me...but don't ask for opinions and then complain about the responses.  Everyone isn't going to automatically sing hyms of praise and build a statue commemorating your pc purchase.

Originally posted by robbykl1415

I also like HP, so we have one thing in common.  But I must tell you from what I'v read and everything AMDs suck for gaming.

I dont know if thats a fact but it seems to be a.....how do you say.....I dont know the word but a lot of people seem to agree on that aspect of computing.

That Intel's CPUs perform better pretty much comes down to whether you're dropping the cash on one of their higher end models that outclass AMD's.  If you are buying mid-range (anything sub-$250) they are very competitive.

I believe the Q9400 you're getting benchmarks right around the Phenom II 940 and they're both the same price, though Intel based mobo's tend to be a little more expensive.. but still they are very competitive with each other atm.

Originally posted by DeeJay612

Your machine seems pretty decent to me...but don't ask for opinions and then complain about the responses.  Everyone isn't going to automatically sing hyms of praise and build a statue commemorating your pc purchase.

Its just called commen decency thats all.

I only ask for what I give.

Why trust HP? Their computers and customer service are horrible, and they have been found to use refurbished parts in new PCs.

You asked for an opinion. If you don't expect to get your setup criticized, then don't ask.

i buildt my own and its alot better and cheaper then fuking HP lol

Intel Core i7 920, 2.66Ghz, 8MB Cache
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5, LGA1366
Ram 6GB 3x2GB DDR3 1333Mhz, A-Data XPG Extreme Edition Vitesta
2TB, 2 x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black 32MB S-ATA II, 7200rpm
2 x Geforce GTX 260 216-pipes, 896MB
LG GGC-H20L Blu-Ray (läsare) / DVD±RW
and blabla the rest of the usual stuff

Personally i dont really like brandmade systems like HP, IBM etc.

Mine:

Enermax Big Chakra Tower with 850W

Asus Striker II Formula 780i Chipset

Intel Q9550  4x2,83 GHz

8 GB 1066 RAM

ATI 4870x2 with 2x1GB DDR5 RAM

2 DVD/CD Re-Writers (Samsung & LG)

Apacer Multicardreader internal

Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion

2x650 GB WD HD

1x750 GB Seagate HD

Win XP64 Pro

If i was you i would not take Vista home pro. I had this before and had loads of troubles getting the 4870x2 properly run (maybe its now better with ccc9.2). If you choose Vista, then take Vista Ultimate 64

With XP64 everythings running really fine, nice and slow. Even DirectX10 is not (yet) supportet but i guess even without that you got a hot configuration with this above, ok it maybe costs a bit more. Its hard to say because i live in Switzerland so i dont really know the prices which must be much lower than in this dam* expensive country here :P

Personally i dont really like brandmade systems like HP, IBM etc.

Mine:

Enermax Big Chakra Tower with 850W

Asus Striker II Formula 780i Chipset

Intel Q9550 4x2,83 GHz (running on 1366FSB)

8 GB 1066 RAM

ATI 4870x2 with 2x1GB DDR5 RAM

2 DVD/CD Re-Writers (Samsung & LG)

Apacer Multicardreader internal

Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion

2x650 GB WD HD

1x750 GB Seagate HD

Win XP64 Pro

If i was you i would not take Vista home pro. I had this before and had loads of troubles getting the 4870x2 properly run (maybe its now better with ccc9.2). If you choose Vista, then take Vista Ultimate 64

With XP64 everythings running really fine, nice and slow. Even DirectX10 is not (yet) supportet but i guess even without that you got a hot configuration with this above, ok it maybe costs a bit more. Its hard to say because i live in Switzerland so i dont really know the prices which must be much lower than in this dam* expensive country here :P

The point is: you can upgrade a system like the above one everytime without any problems.

whoops sorry for doublepost - seems like a bit lag