[mikey7132]

Hello everyone. I've just joined so ill just give you guys the modelsIm thinking about these for starters:HP Pavilion Media Center TV m8120nGateway Desktop Q6600 GM5478Well, I have been thinking of replacing my 5 year old desktop with a pc that has a quad processor. Which one of these offers the best performance? They look pretty much alike (i think), except the HP's video card sucks. Will these handle Crysis ok? which graphics card do i need for that? I just want a fast PC that is able to multi task Photoshop, firefox, Itunes etc etc nicely. Not to mention play the latest games. Btw, my budget is $1500

[lilxkid24]

try my guide it should be a good aid for buying a computer.http://forums.pcworld.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15562

[mikey7132]

Yes I already read it and I can't decide!!!! Nice guide btw. but, just to start out, which one of these 2 is the best buy?

[lilxkid24]

Gateway Desktop Q6600 GM5478 has a bit better video card

[mikey7132]

Yes, but the HP's memory is expandable to 8 GB. Gateway's is 4. And it has a tv tuner among other things..

[jbking]

You do realize that if you try to go over 4 GB you'll have to go to the 64 bit version of Vista and will likely run into driver issues, right?Regards,JB

[mikey7132]

Yeah, and thats why i have to stick with the 32 bit one for now. Im just trying to make it future proof.

[lilxkid24]

i would go with the gateway because of the video card lol but i personally don't like gateway much. I like either going with hp or dell.

[PeggyFair]

[quote name='lilxkid24']i would go with the gateway because of the video card lol but i personally don't like gateway much. I like either going with hp or dell.Why don't you like Gateway? lol..I'm thinking about buying my new computer from them.

[lilxkid24]

[quote name='PeggyFair']> {quote:title=lilxkid24 wrote:}{quote}i would go with the gateway because of the video card lol but i personally don't like gateway much. I like either going with hp or dell.> > > > Why don't you like Gateway? lol..I'm thinking about buying my new computer from them.I just dont like the name lol Gate way just sounds weird to me lol plus i don't like the logo and the computer cases of it lol. Hardware is good though depending on what you buy

[rgreen4]

Looking at the specs on the HP m8120n on the Best Buy site, it is a retailer system built on the m8010y frame. The specs are good, with the weakness of the video card, but then its the easiest item to replace, as long as you don't go for a big card with an large fan. The space in the case is limited.If you don't need wireless, you can gain space by removing the wireless card and just using the ethernet port.One thing you may not be aware of unless you have looked at the system specs in the support and troubleshooting section of the HP website - it has an ASUS OEM motherboard. You won't find it listed on the ASUS website, but the label is on the mb, and details on the mb along with photos are on the HP website.I have the predicesssor m7690y with the first version of the ASUS mb in these machines and I like the machine. I am looking for a better video card, I just haven't settled on one yet, and since I'm not a big gamer, the current one is an ok card.The m8120n also comes with 3MB, which was going to be my recommendation after reading your first post, as the effective utilization of the memory with a 32bit processor is not much more, and why pay for 4 when you can only use 3?An interesting sidelight on the two hard drives, one is between and area covered by the two vertical front doors. The one on the left is for a Personal Media Drive and the one on the right covers the front panel audio/video/USB/Firewire ports. The drive is mounted vertically and attached to the PMD cage. The second drive is mounted flat on the bottom of the cage with screws up through the bottom. I added the second drive to my machine, and have not had any problems.And one other factore - the Boss Black Box!

[mikey7132]

[quote:62da092371]The m8120n also comes with 3MB, which was going to be my recommendation after reading your first post, as the effective utilization of the memory with a 32bit processor is not much more, and why pay for 4 when you can only use 3?[/quote:62da092371]Correct me if i'm wrong, but don't you mean 3 GB? I went to my local best buy and tested them with the annoying Windows User Experience Index. You know that the final rating is based on the lowest score. In Hp's case it was 3.3. Gateway's was 4.3 if i remember correctly. What I found strange is that the Gateway had 2 Gb of ram while HP has 3. The Gateway's score was higher in the memory/ram department. Also, Gateway's disk data transfer rate was slightly higher.

[rgreen4]

Yes, I did mean GB. The Windows user experience is comprised of many factors, Ram is part, and 4GB will not do you any good on a 32 bit processor. CPU speed is part, and the video card is part. We have already pointed out that the video card in this machine was weak, but mine is also and I have been using it for 8 months, looking to Get Around Toit.The Windows User Experience is NOT a scientific test in the same vein as PCWordbench is, but gives a rough idea. My HP m7690y with C2D E6400 and nVidia 7300LE gives a 2.5. Most of the games I play are in the Windows group, and they require 2.0.What makes you say that the Gateway has a higher disc transfer rate? Both machines use 7200 RPM SATA discs. The BB spec sheet says the Gateway is an SATA II, but the HP is also as no one makes SATA I disc anymore, that selection is by the presence of a jumper. The HP MB DEFINITELY DOES SUPPORT 3.0 SATA.The HP has the option of the same graphics card as the Gateway, if you custom order, but that will cost you more than buying the $100 card outright from Newegg. You can install it yourself and since both original and replacement cards are nVidia, no driver change is needed.You asked why people are not very fond of Gateway. The big 3 in pers. comp. volume are HP, Dell and Acer. Then you have the second tier of Sony, Toshiba and maybe Gateway. Having prowled the Gateway site a bit in attempting to find data for people, its not the easiest to use. I'm most familiar with the HP site, so I like that. The Dell site is good, with drivers easy to find. Acer is similar. With the exception of HP, my hands-on experience is the ease of getting info to help people.

[mikey7132]

Thanks. I think i'll go buy the HP. By the way, what is using up its PCI express x16 slot? By the way, I am a gamer and i am expecting to run Halo2, Crysis, Fear etc. Am I forced to use Direct 10x?

[spike]

[quote name='mikey7132']Thanks. I think i'll go buy the HP. By the way, what is using up its PCI express x16 slot? By the way, I am a gamer and i am expecting to run Halo2, Crysis, Fear etc. Am I forced to use Direct 10x?If you're going to have Vista, you WILL be using DX10, Video games of that intensive nature will REQUIRE a very powerful GPU, or.you will have......lots of lag. If you insist on buying a preconfigured computer, and want a poerful video card you will NEED a much larger power supply also, so.........a big PS, and a big GPU = extra $$$$$$$$. The alternatives are to buy a better computer to start with, they all make gameing capable rigs, but they are horribly expensive, ......or build one, or find someone locally to build one for you.

[mikey7132]

Hmm, building a PC sounds enticing. But I have never built a PC before. All that I have done on this one was add a new hard drive, adding a 1 gb ram module, and adding a video card.

[MrBlint]

I recently bought the HP m8120n. I thought it was odd for a "Media Center" computer to not include even cheap speakers. No big deal i thought.. I'll just plug my old speakers in, right? Wrong. It doesn't come with a sound card. Just audio outputs from the motherboard. No big deal i thought... my old HP had on board audio too, and i plugged my speakers in that and it had plenty of power. But not my new HP m8120n. It doesn't support non-powered speakers. Just what I want... one more thing to plug into my power strip.Well still, i can listen to music from the headphone jack, right? Wrong. If I plug my headphones in, turn the volume all the way up, I could still probably hear someone whisper in the room. My laptop headphone output has more power. At least I won't suffer any hearing loss.It has lots of audio outputs... that have to be plugged into a separate amplifier. Or, I could go out and buy and install a sound card. Of course that would most likely render all those pretty audio outputs useless.Maybe I'm being picky, but is it asking too much for a so called "Media Center" computer to have powered audio output??? My 7 yr old non-"media center" HP had powered audio that was so loud if i had the volume up even half way, it would blast me out. Other than that, I like it.

[mikey7132]

You just "like" it? What do you mostly do on it? Do you multitask programs?

[mikey7132]

I think i'll get it. Although i do worry about the limited space because I want to install another PSU. Yeah, I don't need the wireless adapter. and if its necessary, ill remove the tv tuner too.

[MrBlint]

Well i use it for pretty much everything except maybe serious gaming. But one thing ive always done on my computers is listen to music. With this computer, you cant put a set of headphones on and crank it up, because there is no audio power. You'll hear the music. You'll also hear the air conditioner running. When i watch DVDs I usually wear headphones too, and again, its no good. The only solutions are to plug the audio outputs into a separate amplifier, or go out and buy a sound card. I shouldnt have to do this for a brand new computer that boasts its media capabilities. My first computer that I bought in 1994 had better audio.So did the one i bought in 2001. So does my laptop. Other than the audio, and the fact that this computer comes with zero disks (no software, no operating system, no restore disks), I like it. Its plenty fast. I even like Vista (so far).