Tossup between two computers.

[Daiquirii]

I have almost come to a decision for which computer to buy, but it came down to these two computers.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11319351

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11319343

The main difference is the processor, AMD Phenom X4 9750(2.4GHz) vs Intel Pentium E6300(2.8GHz)
The intel 2 core model is 20$ cheaper than the AMD 4 core. Everything on the AMD seems slightly better except for the GHz. I'm leaning towards the AMD, but would just like some feedback. I read about the quadcore systems being more "futureproof."

I will be using the computer for some light gaming, and light graphics work, here are the settings for the game I play, but I didn't have trouble running it on my 3 year old toshiba laptop that had 1gig ram. There is also a high possibility that wow will be installed for my boyfriend's use, but that ran no problem on my laptop as well.


SYSTEM-------------Minimum Requirements-----------------------RECOMMENDED SETTINGS
CPU------------------Intel Pentium IV 1.6GHz or equivalent------Intel Pentium IV 2.0GHz or equivalent
RAM ----------------512MB -------------------------------------------1GB
GRAPHIC CARD----nVIDIA GeForce MX or equivalent-------------nVIDIA GeForce TI or Radeon 9200



And, as an aside, looking at the specs of either computer, would I be able to just plug in my Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 HTS541080G9SA00 Hard Drive in one of the expansion slot/bays. I would like to salvage the files on it, laptops motherboard bit the dust, which is why I'm getting a new pc.

 

[fpsdominator]

I think the top link is the way to go

 

[CooLWoLF]

Neither. Both would be terrible to play games with since they do not have a dedicated graphics card. Overpriced if you ask me and others will agree. Are you experienced at all with building computers? Have friends that are experienced?

 

[jsc]

And, as an aside, looking at the specs of either computer, would I be able to just plug in my Hitachi Travelstar 5K100 HTS541080G9SA00 Hard Drive in one of the expansion slot/bays. I would like to salvage the files on it, laptops motherboard bit the dust, which is why I'm getting a new pc.

I am not going to weigh in on the "Which computer?" or the "Buy, or build?" questions. The prices for both are not that bad and you have a warranty and you can always add a video card later if you need to. If the games that you play run fine on a laptop, they'll run fine on a desktop with integrated graphics.

Having said that, yes, you can do better if you build it yourself. After all, nearly everyone here built his first computer at some time or another (me -'76).
----------
Overclocking since 1978 - Z80 (TRS-80) from 1.77 MHz to 2.01 MHz

 

[loneninja]

I'll say get the first one.

 

[Daiquirii]

I haven't built before, closest I've come is cracking the old laptop open to reattach the wifi card when it wiggled loose. Building takes time, and its something I wouldn't want to rush into. I've looked at barebone kits which run around the same price range and specs as the pre-assembled models, but I may just be looking in the wrong places.

 

[jj463rd]

Why not go for something like this instead.Although about $100 more in price it uses the faster Phenom II series CPU,uses a AM3 770 chipset motherboard,DDR3 RAM and has a decent Nvidia 9800 GT graphics card.Also the power supply is beefy as well.
An AM3 motherboard is more futureproof since it's AMD's current platform.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227151

On the review someone mentioned some of the components and obviously it has the 3.1 Ghz Phenom II X2 550 BE CPU which is great for gaming.

gigabyte ma770t-ud3p mother board
HITACHI HDD 500gb
A-DATA ram 4gb
XION power supply 700 w
XFX NVIDIA GeForce 9800GT 512MB

Here is the motherboard at newegg although it's a 770 chipset model that's perfectly O.K. for running one graphics card.It also has the added advantage that since the motherboard comes from a big name motherboard maker you will be able to upgrade the CPU in the future if desired.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128392

That HP Phenom 9750 system I didn't see any way to upgrade the CPU to a Phenom II series CPU although it uses an outdated ASUS motherboard no BIOS update was available as far as I could see.Why limit yourself with an already outdated system.