http://www.amazon.com/Pavilion-M9250F-Desktop-Processor-Premium/dp/B0015LMOXE or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883107658 I was looking for a new computer that wasn't expensive but still had decent graphics and newer technology. This seems to meet both requirements. I still want to be able to play the latest games though. I know i probably didn't need the quad core or 4gb for that matter but for the price i couldn't resist. The price i am paying is $650 CAD before tax. I didn't post the actual place its found before everyone steals it from me . So tell me the good and the bad about it. Keep in mind i am currently using a single core amd with 512mb and 128mb graphics card, so don't try bring me up to an 8800gtx like every other reply on the internet. The model 1 up is $1500 and the model 1 down is $1400
if you can get it for that price it is not a bad buy at all. it should do about anything you would need to do.
What are the pros/cons of it? Most of the reviewers on newegg claim the graphics isn't that good and either is the power supply if u plan on upgrading. Some of them upped the 4gb ram to 8gb. I can always do that in a couple of years but to up the card i would need to also upgrade the powersupply. The only time i opened my computer is to swap graphics card and i am sure memory is even easier but what about power supply if i do plan on upgrading in the far future. Still a good buy?
The PSU is very easily changed. RAM is easily changed as well. It basically just pushes into the slot and when you want to remove it you push 2 tabs and it pops out. The 8600GT is a mid end gaming card now days. Its exactly like the 9500GS except the 9500GS is built on a smaller die so it runs cooler. Other than that their specs are identical. I can run everything on high except for Crysis with my laptop and its 9500GS. Now mind you a desktop 8600GT will have much higher core clocks, memory clocks, and shader clock speeds. You will be able to OC much more and increase your cooling to achieve a higher stable OC. The 8600GT should be fine. If you want to upgrade in the future consider building your own computer and buying parts seperately. For about $1300USD you can build a system with a Wolfdale E8400 and the best GPU on the market, ATI Radeon 4870. If that isnt an option try to find a prebuilt computer that has a motherboard that will be compatible with ATI GPUs. Thats where the performance is right now and most prebuilt systems are Intel/NVIDIA based.
If your are planning to do allot of gaming I really suggest you to build your own PC with a nice dual core and a good GPU. By the time Quad cores are utilized more often you can get a very good and cheap processor, one which is much better then the commonly used Q6600. -Demonon
I thought quad is better than dual? I also thought duals are only better at higher ghz's. Even though this computer bios does not allow overclocking. Couldn't you just overclock the quad to the same ghz as the e8400 and have 2 more cores? I checked and intel only has 4 models that has over 2.67ghz so the q6700 is still pretty good right?
I don't know how to build a computer and i am not an extreme gamer who needs to play everything on high and use crysis as a benchmark. I tried to find a computer for under $1000 and had decent graphics.
To OC you can use RivaTuner. You just increment a little at a time, run a stress test until you see glitching(artifacts, snow, tearing) in your game and then back down a bit until its gone and you should be fine. Right now nothing is optimized for a quad core. Everything is optimized for Dual core. In the future quad core will be amazing, but until programs are written to take advantage of it nothing will happen. The E8400 is a dual core extreme processor. Its one of the best on the market at the moment. Where are you located? I know a few people that work at Circuit City, Best Buy, and a few other electronic stores. Im sure I could pull some strings or find something for less than $1000 that would be good for gaming.
No I answered that in my previous post. It has alot to do with the core speeds, FSB, timings, multiplier, and alot more. So you can get stuff shipped to you from say newegg, tigerdirect, Circuit City, and Best Buy? EDIT- Assuming you can order from one of the above. How is this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883229042
Not sure i want to spend $200 more for a better card and processor that will only last 1-2 years until more games can use quad cores.
This system is damn good for its price! When you get it, make sure to do a fresh install of Vista. It will perform even better since there will be no bloatware any more. If I were you, I'd take it while it's still available. Of course, you can build a better system for that price, so if you have the technical expertise I would consider building a system too.
Yes. Ambient he can only do a fresh install if he wants to shell out the money to pay for it from Microsoft which will cost upwards of $125 or more for the OS itself. He can just uninstall it using something like Your Uninstaller 2008! or PC Decrapifier found at http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/
What is a known "safe" speed to overclock to for q6700? When i mean safe i mean no risk of damaging anything or getting an unbootable system. The powersupply is only 350W. I was hoping atleast 3GHZ. I already placed the order.
Just noticed that is U.S price. Which makes the total way over $1000. I also don't believe they will ship to canada as i could only enter zip code.
Hey Coolio, check out NCIX.com. Use the PC Configurator and you should be able to gear up a nice computer in your price range. They are a good company to deal with. They ship from British Columbia.
Yahoo message boards arent any place to brag about finding a comparison. When I got my laptop I researched the same laptop with the 8600GT or the 9500GS. Trust me when I say the 9500GS is the same thing, but a smaller die. A card on a smaller die generates less heat thus runs cooler. I said the 9500GS is better. The forum you linked to, although isnt a good place, also supported what I said. There is not a specific set temperature for OCing the Q6600. How far you can OC is correlated directly to your cooling system. If you have a phaze cooling system or water cooling system in place you can hit higher and faster OCs than you can with an intake and exhaust fan.
