HP Pavilion Elite Quad-Core i7

[heygoaliegoalie]

Hello,

I am an almost-50 dad of a soon to be 13 year old so a little mercy please. Woot.com has the above-referenced desktop on sale today, and I am thinking of purchasing for my son as a b-day gift. This will be to take him through high school, but also for gaming and I understand that I would need to upgrade the video card. Can you please advise as to whether this makes sense as the base machine, and if so then a recommended card under $200? Thanks so very much. Dave

 

[heygoaliegoalie]

Hello,

I am an almost-50 dad of a soon to be 13 year old so a little mercy please. Woot.com has the above-referenced desktop on sale today, and I am thinking of purchasing for my son as a b-day gift. This will be to take him through high school, but also for gaming and I understand that I would need to upgrade the video card. Can you please advise as to whether this makes sense as the base machine, and if so then a recommended card under $200? Thanks so very much. Dave

Adding some basic info on the desktop:


Specifications:

Processor:
Intel Core i7-2600 3.4GHz

Processor Core:
Quad-Core

Memory:
8GB DDR3 (PC3-10600)

Graphics:
ATI Radeon HD 6450 (512MB dedicated)

Video Ports:
DVI, HDMI

Hard Drive:
1.5TB SATA (5400rpm)

Optical Drive:
Blu-ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Double-Layer & LightScribe Technology

Audio:
Integrated IDT 92HD89E

 

[celpas]

upgrade the gpu to amd 6770 and you are good

 

[heygoaliegoalie]

Celpas - absolutely perfect, will swap out when it gets here. Thanks so very much.

 

[trogdor796]

Keep in mind that they often only put adequate power supplies in those machines to power what is in them. Meaning, you may need to replace the power supply as well to power a better card. What resolution monitor is your son playing at? The 6770 is a good gpu, but there might be a better one depending on the resolution. You're a good dad, and I'm sure your son should be very happy with his gift!

 

[heygoaliegoalie]

Trogdor - thanks so much, that is certainly a valid consideration as well. This "board " as we called them back in the day (I last messed with this stuff on an Amiga 2000 with the Video Toaster board) is quite good. Short run answer - Sylvania LC 195SLX which he currently used exclusively with his Xbox. The relevant specs for the monitor:
Digital Tuner ATSC

Maximum Resolution 1366 x 768
Brightness 420 Nit
Comb Filter 3D Y/C
RMS Output Power 20 W
Maximum Response Time 8 ms

We will eventually invest in a more appropriate display for him, hoping that he will pony up for that himself once the rest is in place for him! Again, thanks so much. Dave

 

[heygoaliegoalie]

Updated: Found this on sale for $89 at Best Buy, and grabbed one. This will be his monitor.
HP - 20" Widescreen Flat-Panel LCD Monitor

•Ultrafast 5 ms response time
Allows pixels to change colors quickly to avoid streaking, blurring and ghosting in fast-moving scenes and video games.
•20" flat-panel LCD
Thin enough to fit in areas with limited space and wide enough to view several images at once.
•15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
Provides a large quantity of shades between black and white.
•250 cd/m² brightness
For a highly visible display and clear images.
•1600 x 900 maximum resolution
Provides a high level of detail for a clear display.
•170° horizontal and 160° vertical viewing angles
Let you see the screen clearly from multiple vantage points.
•DVI-D with HDCP and VGA inputs
Allow you to connect both digital and analog devices.
•On-screen display adjustments
Allow you to make adjustments quickly and easily.

 

[trogdor796]

The 6770 shouxld be fine for that resolution. I use a 4870 and my brother uses a 5770, both are very close to the 6770 for performance. We each have 1680x1050 monitors and we can run most games good on high/max settings. You may have to leave certain things like shadows and anti-aliasing turned down a few notches, but besides that I think your good to go, especially with that monster of a machine to go along with the 6770!

 

[heygoaliegoalie]

Trog - thanks so much. I ended up picking up an HP monitor at Best Buy last week - better to ask the wife forgiveness than permission? - as long as this thing will run Call of duty - he will be a happy newly minted teenager.

•Ultrafast 5 ms response time
Allows pixels to change colors quickly to avoid streaking, blurring and ghosting in fast-moving scenes and video games.
•20" flat-panel LCD
Thin enough to fit in areas with limited space and wide enough to view several images at once.
•15,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
Provides a large quantity of shades between black and white.
•250 cd/m² brightness
For a highly visible display and clear images.
•1600 x 900 maximum resolution
Provides a high level of detail for a clear display.
•170° horizontal and 160° vertical viewing angles
Let you see the screen clearly from multiple vantage points.
•DVI-D with HDCP and VGA inputs
Allow you to connect both digital and analog devices.
•On-screen display adjustments
Allow you to make adjustments quickly and easily.

 

[trogdor796]

Should easily handle and Call of Duty Game that comes out in the next few years. Call of Duty games are nowhere near the most demanding games on the market. Hope he likes it!