Purchasing a gamer desktop.

[illegalbrown]

Alright, I am a college student who is looking for a good computer at an affordable price. I know desktops for gaming and big time processors cost a lot but I was wondering if it was possible to purchase a low end gaming desktop that would only need one or two upgrades and save money. I was looking to purchase an HP pavilion elite HPE-300z, it has AMD Athlon(TM) X4 635 quad-core processor [2.9GHz, 2MB L2, up to 4000MHz bus], 6GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs] from 4GB, 750GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 500GB, 512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450, and Windows 7. Would this be enough to at least play high demanding games at mid settings until I switch out the graphics chip? This would cost 580 plus tax, or if you have any other suggestions on a different computer that would be better. Looking around the range of 600.

 

[WR2]

512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450. Would this be enough to at least play high demanding games at mid settings until I switch out the graphics chip?

It would depend on the game and the screen resolution of your monitor - but probably not.

You'll need to pay attention to the power supply. If it's just a 300W PSU you'll need to think about buying a replacement for your video card upgrade.

 

[WR2]

Here is a review of the HD 5450
It has a bunch of different games benchmarked.

 

[loneninja]

5450 is rather lack luster for gaming, but if you get the comp and throw a 5670 in it you shoudl be able to run most any game on med settings at 1440x900 or higher resolution.

 

[illegalbrown]

Ill be connecting this desktop with my Samsung 22 inch lcd tv, and the games I am interested in playing would be Starcraft 2 and Crysis for now.

 

[WR2]

What resolution is the Samsung? 1366x768?
You'd be playing Crysis in low graphics settings. Starcraft might be OK in medium.

 

[illegalbrown]

1360x768

 

[WR2]

I think there is a good chance you'll get playable frame rates at medium settings with StarCraft2
THG Starcraft2 testing

 

[WR2]

HP pavilion elite HPE-300z, it has AMD Athlon(TM) X4 635 quad-core processor [2.9GHz, 2MB L2, up to 4000MHz bus], 6GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [3 DIMMs] from 4GB

If you have the option stick with 4GB of RAM and get the next higher Athlon II X4 640 CPU.

 

[illegalbrown]

So then what should I do will I be able to play the game especially online without any hassle with my TV and will I be able to swap out the graphics card with an affordable one that will make my desktop better?

 

[illegalbrown]

So switch the processor your saying?

 

[WR2]

I just looked and HP doesn't offer an option for the X4 640 CPU.
And that 6GB RAM is a free upgrade from 4GB so you're not paying extra for it.
A better CPU would have been more useful than an extra 2GB of RAM.

Also HP is offering a HD 5770 as an option on the website. So you should be able to add a better video card - something like a HD 5750 or HD 5770.
A HD 5750 should be a good match for 1366x768 gaming resolution.

 

[illegalbrown]

So the extra GB of RAM I dont really need and I could spend that money towards the graphics chip?

 

[WR2]

It's a free upgrade - so you wouldn't save anything by choosing 4GB.
And you don't want to pay HP extra for a video card upgrade.
It's wayyyyy cheaper to do that yourself.

 

[WR2]

THG article: Best Graphics Cards For The Money: August 2010

 

[illegalbrown]

So this computer would be a good desktop to buy and just upgrade the graphics card on my own.

 

[WR2]

It's 'good' but not great, for gaming.
You're paying for a HD 5450 video card, but you're going to take that out and buy another video card.
With a video card upgrade you'll end up playing something closer to $700.

 

[illegalbrown]

It's 'good' but not great, for gaming.
You're paying for a HD 5450 video card, but you're going to take that out and buy another video card.
With a video card upgrade you'll end up playing something closer to $700.

What about this, HP custom, p6550z, Athlon II 250 dual core processor [3.0ghz, 2MB L2, 4000 MHz bus], 4GB DDR3 1333 MHz, 500GB 7200rpm SATA hard drive, 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 220 for $619.

 

[WR2]

A GT 220 is about one step up from a HD 5450.
You're still paying for a GT 220 video card that you're going to end up replacing.

 

[illegalbrown]

So even the 5570 is that much better than the 5450 cause if it is two times as better than I would rather pay for that one cause it is only 22 more dollars for the 1GB, or is that the dual cards.

 

[WR2]

If I were in your position I'd get the HP p6550z with Athlon II X4 435 CPU, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD and HD 4200 integrated graphics for $520.
That way you're not paying for a graphics card you'll be taking out of your system.
Then you can get yourself a HD 5670 for $80 or a HD 5750 for $140.
That would put you at a final price of $600 or $660 instead of $700 or $760.