- Apr 29, 2012
- 10
- 0
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I am looking at immediately ordering a new HP desktop PC for my kids with a new Ivy Bridge processor. Even if building the system myself would end up being cheaper or better because of being able to build it exactly as I would like it, I really don't have the time to devote to that right now. Therefore, I would just assume buy a new one from HP, Dell, etc. I like HP's build quality overall.
In particular, I am looking at an HP HPE h8t series desktop PC. Let me make a couple of comments that explain my situation. The processor choices that HP offers and that I think would be the best for the kids needs and that would allow the computer to last for a few years would be the Intel i7-3770 or Intel i5-3550. Both are quad-core chips, but HP is charging $100 more for the i7-3770. As noted below, the key differences between these two processors is the built-in Graphics and Hyper-Threading.
Based on the games my kids play (see notes below), would the built-in graphics be good enough? If the Intel HD Graphics 4000 (that the i7 has) would NOT be good enough, then an obvious question is whether or not Hyper-Threading is worth much now or in the foreseeable future? Granted, I will use the PC some for ripping DVDs I own to MKV or Xvid files, but the primary use will be by my kids.
*If neither the Intel 4000 or 2500 graphics would be good enough and the usefulness of Hyper-Threading is questionable, then it would seem that the best CPU choice would be the i5-3550 since it is $100 cheaper. The extra money would be put towards a GPU upgrade. That said, maybe the safe choice is the i7-3770. I would like feedback on this.
Finally, there is the GPU option. Below, I have listed GPU options HP offers when customizing this HPE h8t series desktop PC. Are any of these pretty good for my kids gaming needs? If the consensus is that none of these are worth the money or are a bad bang-for-the-buck, then I would probably just go with the included cheap card and plan on buying one separately and adding it. That said, I would prefer not to do that unless the options HP is offering are really crap or way overpriced.
Thank you in advance for all the feedback and help.
-SM1LE
System Specifications:
I. Processor/CPU: Intel i7-3770 or Intel i5-3550
If you look at the specs, you'll see that the only difference between these procs are a slight difference in frequency, the i7-3770 has Intel HD Graphics 4000 while the i5-3550 has Intel HD Graphics 2500, and the i5-3550 is missing Hyper-Threading.
II. Current Graphics Card: Intel HD Graphics 4000 or Intel HD Graphics 2500 (depending on the CPU I choose)
These are the graphic card options HP is currently offering...
-- 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7450 [HDMI, DVI, VGA via adapter]
Included in price
-- 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7570 [HDMI, DVI, VGA via adapter]
+$20.00
-- 2GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 530 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]
+$50.00
-- 2GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7570 [DVI, HDMI, DP & VGA via adapter]
+$50.00
-- 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7670 [DVI, DP, HDMI, VGA via adapter]
+$70.00
-- 3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 [DVI, HDMI, VGA]
+$100.00
-- 1GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti [2 DVI, mini-HDMI. VGA adapter]
+$150.00
III. Display Resolution: 1600x900
IV. Power Supply Unit specification: 300W or 460W (HP offers a 300W, 460W, and 600W PSU, but it seems like the 460W would be the best fit for my situation and how the PC would be used.)
Purchase Details:
I. Budget? I would rather not spend more than ~$150 to upgrade the GPU and then only if will make a serious difference.
II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)? No, outside of company with a solid track-record. I have EVGA and XFX cards, but I'm open to other manufacturers. I would choose stable, reliable drivers over performance, but outside of that, I don't really have a preference between Nvidia and AMD/ATI.
III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI? No.
IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs? Undecided and that is why I am asking for feedback.
V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
Currently and probably for the near future, my kids play a lot of LEGO games, such as LEGO Indiana Jones II, LEGO Batman, LEGO Star Wars The Complete Saga, etc. They would like to be able to play Toy Story 3: The Video Game, LEGO Star Wars 3, Cars 2: The Video Game, Spider-man Web of Shadows, and other similar type video games that we already have and/or would come out over the next couple of years. They would never anytime soon be playing first-person shooters, Modern Warfare, etc.
The desired detail level is medium to high with at least 800x600 resolution, if not somewhere around 1024x768.
The kids do play HeroUp.com quite a bit, play other web-based games, use YouTube, etc.
VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase? No to both CPU or GPU. Sure, I could in the future, but unlikely.
In particular, I am looking at an HP HPE h8t series desktop PC. Let me make a couple of comments that explain my situation. The processor choices that HP offers and that I think would be the best for the kids needs and that would allow the computer to last for a few years would be the Intel i7-3770 or Intel i5-3550. Both are quad-core chips, but HP is charging $100 more for the i7-3770. As noted below, the key differences between these two processors is the built-in Graphics and Hyper-Threading.
Based on the games my kids play (see notes below), would the built-in graphics be good enough? If the Intel HD Graphics 4000 (that the i7 has) would NOT be good enough, then an obvious question is whether or not Hyper-Threading is worth much now or in the foreseeable future? Granted, I will use the PC some for ripping DVDs I own to MKV or Xvid files, but the primary use will be by my kids.
*If neither the Intel 4000 or 2500 graphics would be good enough and the usefulness of Hyper-Threading is questionable, then it would seem that the best CPU choice would be the i5-3550 since it is $100 cheaper. The extra money would be put towards a GPU upgrade. That said, maybe the safe choice is the i7-3770. I would like feedback on this.
Finally, there is the GPU option. Below, I have listed GPU options HP offers when customizing this HPE h8t series desktop PC. Are any of these pretty good for my kids gaming needs? If the consensus is that none of these are worth the money or are a bad bang-for-the-buck, then I would probably just go with the included cheap card and plan on buying one separately and adding it. That said, I would prefer not to do that unless the options HP is offering are really crap or way overpriced.
Thank you in advance for all the feedback and help.
-SM1LE
System Specifications:
I. Processor/CPU: Intel i7-3770 or Intel i5-3550
If you look at the specs, you'll see that the only difference between these procs are a slight difference in frequency, the i7-3770 has Intel HD Graphics 4000 while the i5-3550 has Intel HD Graphics 2500, and the i5-3550 is missing Hyper-Threading.
II. Current Graphics Card: Intel HD Graphics 4000 or Intel HD Graphics 2500 (depending on the CPU I choose)
These are the graphic card options HP is currently offering...
-- 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7450 [HDMI, DVI, VGA via adapter]
Included in price
-- 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7570 [HDMI, DVI, VGA via adapter]
+$20.00
-- 2GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 530 [DVI, HDMI, VGA adapter]
+$50.00
-- 2GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7570 [DVI, HDMI, DP & VGA via adapter]
+$50.00
-- 1GB DDR3 AMD Radeon HD 7670 [DVI, DP, HDMI, VGA via adapter]
+$70.00
-- 3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 545 [DVI, HDMI, VGA]
+$100.00
-- 1GB DDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 550 Ti [2 DVI, mini-HDMI. VGA adapter]
+$150.00
III. Display Resolution: 1600x900
IV. Power Supply Unit specification: 300W or 460W (HP offers a 300W, 460W, and 600W PSU, but it seems like the 460W would be the best fit for my situation and how the PC would be used.)
Purchase Details:
I. Budget? I would rather not spend more than ~$150 to upgrade the GPU and then only if will make a serious difference.
II. Any particular preferences (Manufacturer[nV or AMD], Brand[XFX, Sapphire, EVGA, etc], Cooling Solutions)? No, outside of company with a solid track-record. I have EVGA and XFX cards, but I'm open to other manufacturers. I would choose stable, reliable drivers over performance, but outside of that, I don't really have a preference between Nvidia and AMD/ATI.
III. Do you plan to have any Multi-GPU solutions such as Crossfire or SLI? No.
IV. Have you previously looked at a product(s) which you feel would fit your needs? Undecided and that is why I am asking for feedback.
V. What are your needs for this GPU? Which games(If any)do you intend to play? If you have this information at hand, what are the desired detail levels?
Currently and probably for the near future, my kids play a lot of LEGO games, such as LEGO Indiana Jones II, LEGO Batman, LEGO Star Wars The Complete Saga, etc. They would like to be able to play Toy Story 3: The Video Game, LEGO Star Wars 3, Cars 2: The Video Game, Spider-man Web of Shadows, and other similar type video games that we already have and/or would come out over the next couple of years. They would never anytime soon be playing first-person shooters, Modern Warfare, etc.
The desired detail level is medium to high with at least 800x600 resolution, if not somewhere around 1024x768.
The kids do play HeroUp.com quite a bit, play other web-based games, use YouTube, etc.
VI. Do you plan on overclocking the card you intend to purchase? No to both CPU or GPU. Sure, I could in the future, but unlikely.
Last edited:
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