HP Pavilion HPE Phoenix h9t Gaming PC?

It's decent for the most part but there's a couple of things that are questionable (Beats audio - blech) but the biggest problem with computers like HP and Dell make is that they don't use standard form factors (making upgrading difficult or in some cases near-impossible) and the other thing is that they overload the drive with tons of junk software that you don't necessarily need (Norton).

The specs are pretty decent and the 550 is a decent card even if it's a bit underpowered for games like Skyrim or BF3.

It has a standard micro atx mobo. I ordered this machine on the 8th. The day it came out. But, still do not have it. Do to a part delay issue. So, I can cancel if so. I really like the new Alienware X51. But, even if I went for the most expensive one which is $1,149. It has no ssd and second drive. Which makes me think the current pc edges it out including the warranty. 2 years compared to 1 year with Dell. As for the junk that comes with OEM's. I do a clean install right away of only the os and drivers.

I ordered a HP Pavilion HPE h9t customizable Desktop PC this past weekend and got a GREAT DEAL on it . Paid $1654.00 shipped ! !

Here is my confiquration ( I'm not a gamer ( yet ), just needed a PC for everyday use ) :

• Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium [64-bit]
• 2nd Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600 processor [3.4GHz, 8MB Shared Cache]
• 12GB DDR3-1333MHz SDRAM [4 DIMMs]
• 1TB 7200 rpm SATA hard drive
• 600w Power Supply
• Microsoft(R) Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
• Norton Internet Security(TM) 2012 - 15 month
• 3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 [DVI, HDMI, VGA]
• Air Cooling Solution
• Blu-ray writer & SuperMulti DVD burner
• Blu-ray player & DVD player
• Premium Wireless-N LAN card and Bluetooth(R )(2x2)
• 15-in-1 memory card reader, 4 x USB 2.0 (front), 2 x USB 3.0 (top)
• No TV Tuner
• Beats Audio (tm) -- integrated studio quality sound
• Premium HP keyboard and optical mouse
• HP x2301 23-IN Micro Thin LED Backlit LCD MONITOR
• HP 2.0 Compact Speakers
• HP 4yr Elite Desktop with 24 mo wrty
• HP Photosmart 5514 e-All-in-One
• 2-yr NBDE Deskjet/Photosmart/Fax (Low)

Nice. I really like mine it is so fast. You will really enjoy it. To bad you did not add a ssd though. 10 second boot time! But, you can always get one in the future. My order got delayed twice. But, HP gave me free shipping plus 10% off my pc. So, all in all. I got it for $1,033.09 shipped.

If you'd waited, you'd have got a third generation Intel Core i7 and a 3GB AMD Radeon HD 7950 for around 1'700 US$.

I just bought a HP Phoenix rig as well, right before the change over to Ivy Bridge CPUs. But I'm good with my choice and Im not regretting it at all. In fact, I'm still within my 21 day exchange window and I could return it and then order the same rig with Ivy Bridge instead of my Sandy Bridge CPU if I wanted to. But I'm not planning on it.

My i7 2600 with liquid cooling runs really cool and quiet, and is very fast with my overclocked XFX 6950 card. It destroys any game or program I want to run, including BF3. I don't know why I would need more. Plus- I've read a lot about the i7 3770k running hot, very hot in fact when compaired to my i7 2600. And I really have no desire to overclock anymore, I just wanted a good fast reliable pre-built rig than had a good warranty with it (mine came with a 2 year warranty)- and all the components I wanted for around $1000 (blu-ray cause we watch a lot of movies, 2TB HDD cause I needed extra storage space, plenty of RAM [came with 16GB], good heatsink or cooling option [came with Asetek liquid cooler], and the 600 watt PSU was certainly enough to run my XFX 6950 card. The wi-fi card, free Norton anti-virus (not a 30 or 60 day limited use version either, but the full Internet Security for 15 months FREE), were all nice bonuses. I had to leave off the SSD for now (which was an option) due to my ~$1000 budget, but I'm planning on adding one within the next few months myself.

Also, I remember only too well about all the motherboard problems those early adopters had who jumped right out and bought a Sandy Bridge CPU when the very first came out. It was a nightmare that costs Intel 100's of millions to fix and frustrated a lot of people.

And what is the performance boost with a 3770k over my 2600? +/- 10%. Nah, not worth it for the extra heat, and possible chipset headaches. I'll stick with the i7 2600. It really is a great processor.