http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/ [...] 00t_series
if i can get it for about 100 bucks cheaper (through a webcoupon or something.) i'm thinking about getting the slimline with a Intel Core2 Duo processor E4700 (2.6GHz), 3gb of ram, 500gb hd, tv tuner, and a 8500gt for video with HDMI out. here's my case... i have a laptop i play most games on. this Slimline will be connected to my 26 inch tv via HDMI. does any1 have a 8500gt? what types of games can it handle? im gonna be playing CS:S, Wolfenstein ET, and COD4 at most. i play casually... cause i dont have the time. is the slimline worth it? thanks for your input!
i think i might buy this if i can find out more about the 8500gt low profile card that is in there.  

I have a s3100 and the power supply will not allow a good graphics card. The supply is only 160 watts I think. I wonder if HP put a larger supply in that model?  
 I wouldn't buy it because you can't upgrade. Unless they changed it.

The 8500GT is a travesty of gaming design. Think 6600GT, and then think worse. It doesn't beat a midrange card from 2004. You should never, ever consider gaming with an 8500GT, unless you want to deal with eyesore resolutions and little to none graphical quality.

Old windows 98 games...  the 8500GT is NOT a gaming card in the least.  The HP Slimline is not a gaming PC in the least.  If you want to play ANY sort of games you are going to want to either buy or build a budget gamer.  Tom has a $500 build right now in its articles that is really a nice little budget gamer. You could whip that together, throw in a $99 copy of Vista Premium and have at it. That is my recomendations. I saw that HP slimline at walmart and to be honest the only time I would recommend that is for someone who wants to browse the internet and use maybe word, excel, etc.

The HP Slimline is nothing more than a laptop trying to act like a desktop. We carry them at work and I still don't suggest them to anyone. Spend the money on a real PC.

Gaming with 8500gt?
Do want to play Half-life?
I mean the first one.

ok. im going to need a more in depth explanation of this pent up hate of this 8500gt you have. currently im running a
 
17 inch HP pavilion laptop.  
2gb ram
 Intel core 2 duo T7250 @ 2ghz with 2mb L2cache i believe
nvidia geforce 8600M GS (the GS model is a 8500gt in disguise.)  
 
now you mean to tell me that a computer with a  
Intel Core 2 Duo processor E4700 2.6GHz (with 2mb L2 cache i believe)
3gb of ram
8500gt (low profile)  
 
would play games worse than my laptop. I'm able to play COD4 (i'll admit, on low settings, but def playable.) i can play CS:S on high, and even world in conflict on med-low settings. are we just being picky, or does this setup im looking at just blow ass? im really only looking for a Media Center to sit next to my tv. i'd like to be able to play a few games every now and then is all...it wont be my main gaming computer, but i'd like to be able to possess the ability to play these games is all. thanks for your input!

Well yes, you can play them. But it looks so bad its hardly worth it.

ok so then my question now is.. should i expect better, worse, or similar performance out of that HP slimline setup compared to my laptop. (if i choose to take that route?)

don't do stupid! don't buy that slimline! never do it! because your laptop is good enough!
 
if you want to spend for a new pc, make sure it is twice better than the thing you have!
and a 8500GT for gaming? not! i did game on a 7500 card, NOT good! and the 8500GT is something indeed like my old 6600GT. and i already bought a new gpu, so if you buy that 8500, you won't be happy!!

Check out Tom's VGA Charts.  You will see that the card is pretty gimped.  Will it work?  Sure, most games will play with low settings and a low resolution.  But, will you be happy with that?  Only you can answer that.

heh perhaps ill just go with a normal tower.... i guess. that thing would be nice to have .... the main, as i said b4, would be a media center. would sit next to my tv, and i'd use the tv tuner function and use the remote with windows media center.... it would be one pretty B/A setup if you ask me. lol.

if you want to use it as a telly, just get a good card! because i guess you want a big screen!

You get what you pay for. END of story.  a 8500GT isn't a gaming card and you shouldn't expect such.  don't go cheap or you will be sorry.  You want a media center PC? So buy a media center PC not a slimline HP.

ok. (i know i should probably just build a pc at this point...) but if i go a step or 2 up with HP which would be the m9200z:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/ [...] 00z_series
is amd quadcore any good, or should i go with an Intel computer. the highest on this model for video card is a 8600gt. would you go with that? or should i buy something that i can just put in a 9600gt?

 
the problem is, if you buy such like that, and you want to put in a new high-end card, let's say the 9600GT is high-end at the moment. you need a new psu (with 6pinconnector etc.)
 
you can't do bad with that amd quad, and if you don't want to game the latest games, that 8600GT is good enough. was it 512 mb? and are you planning to use 22 inch screen for watching tv? because 256 is to low for big screen at res 1600

oh i know i'd need to upgrade the PSU. and its a 26 inch screen....but i usually use the 1366 x 768 resolution (native resolution of the tv.)

if you feel allright with your choise, just do it. if you want to upgrade psu and later gpu, just do it. but if i were you, just check the price of a custom build on with same specs, and see if it is cheaper.  
 
have fun with your pc