[Venicius]

My computer is nearly dead (an old Dell Inspirion laptop) and I'm in the market for a new computer, preferably a desktop.
I've looked at HP, Lenovo, and Dell and want to know what you guys think of these computers.   Anybody have these?  If so, how do they perform?

HP Pavilion HPE h8136t

http://shopping.hp.com/en_US/home-office/-/products/Desktops/HP-Pavilion/B4J27AV?HP-Pavilion-HPE-h8-1360t-Desktop-PC&jumpid=em_r329_hhos_6221&aoid=127388&email=null&rid=3524DBBF15D00CCCB1E86CB8CBA598EC


Lenovo IdeaCentre K430 - 31093AU

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/web/LenovoPortal/en_US/builder.workflow:Enter?sb=:000001C9:00004E15:


and a Dell XPS 8500

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=dxcwps1&model_id=xps-8500&c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19

[LHN91]

You'll find VERY quickly that nigh on all of us here who are technically inclined build our own systems. Especially at the prices you're already looking at, you can build a pretty capable gaming box yourself, with better parts than what the OEMs are offering.

edit:
i.e. the 7570 in that XPS is frankly anemic.

[zookeeper]

As usual, it all depends on what you want to do with it. You can surf the web, watch movies and play Freespace on pretty much anything you can find on the shelf, but if you want to play the latest games with highest graphics settings for the next two years, you'll need something better.

[Venicius]

Actually, I'd be content play games from the last 4 years at high graphics.

[LHN91]

Then, again, that 7570 is a bit too anemic. I'm running a Geforce 650 and it's about as low as you'd want to go while still playing on high at native resolution. I can manage around 30 fps at 1920x1080 with most things on high in Borderlands 2, and that's with a fairly mediocre processor. So that would mean you'd need to get about a 7750 or a 650 or greater to be satisfied.

[KyadCK]

Alright;

CPU: Intel i3-3220 $129.99
MotherBoard: ASRock H77M $69.99
GPU: XFX HD Radeon 7870 $249.99
RAM: G.Skill 2x4GB 1333 $33.99
PSU: Corsair CX430 v2 $44.99
Case: CoolerMaster HAF 912 $59.99
SSD: Samsung 830 128GB $89.99
DVD: Samsung 22x DVD Burner $16.99
Windows: Win7 Home Premium 64-bit $99.99

SubTotal: $795.91
$50 in Mail In Rebates
Total: $745.91

If that is cutting too close, then replace the GPU with this one:
GPU: XFX HD Radeon 7850 $179.99

Which changes the Subtotal to $725.91, keeps the $50 in Mail In Rebates, and makes the Total 675.91.


How to build your computer:
How To 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIXAtNGGCw (already covered by the list above)
How To 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_56kyib-Ls
How To 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxaVBsXEiok

[Klaustrophobia]

cutting the SSD is a MUCH better way to cut the cost.  drastic reduction in price plus huge gain in storage space, only at the cost of loading time. 

[KyadCK]

cutting the SSD is a MUCH better way to cut the cost.  drastic reduction in price plus huge gain in storage space, only at the cost of loading time.

That SSD cost as much as a 1TB HDD, no more. A 500GB cost $10 less. A 320 cost $60. A 250 cost $50. The SSD will not be a significant price cut.

Considering he has delt with this laptop drive for years, which is probably 120GB (maybe 250), I think he will be fine with a 128GB SSD. If he absolutely needs more storage space, there is always the HDD in the almost dead laptop.

[Klaustrophobia]

$40 less for double the storage sounds like a hell of a deal to me.  and last i checked, online prices are still overinflated compared to physical retailers from the flood nearly a year ago.  unless waiting 15 seconds for windows to load instead of 5 or whatever an SSD does it in REALLY bothers you, the performance impact of a traditional HDD is negligible next to stepping down the vid card.

[KyadCK]

$40 less for double the storage sounds like a hell of a deal to me.  and last i checked, online prices are still overinflated compared to physical retailers from the flood nearly a year ago. unless waiting 15 seconds for windows to load instead of 5 or whatever an SSD does it in REALLY bothers you, the performance impact of a traditional HDD is negligible next to stepping down the vid card.

You do not understand what it does, but you are willing to put it down. Good to know.

Besides windows loading, it also obviously helps games load faster. It improves the entirety of using the computer in responsiveness. Moving files, even between the same drive, doesn't take as long. All programs on the SSD take less time to start. O nthe whole, an SSD, even a bad one, makes the computer feel faster. SSDs are the new "add more ram". If the computer is feeling slugish in it's old age, an SSD can bring it back from the dead.

Again, if he needs more storage, he can always add the laptop's HDD.

Also, considering the fact the 7850 is around on level with a 570/6950 with the latest drivers, and can OC all the way up to 7950 levels should he ever need it, the trade off is not that bad.

Please know what the technology is, and where it stands, before cutting down suggestions. Or maybe spec one out yourself if you think you know better.

[Klaustrophobia]

i know perfectly well what it does.  reduce load times.  let me go back and read my original post again.

only at the cost of loading time. 

yep there it is.

i picked the loading windows example because typically it's the biggest offender.  the rest, except for copying huge files, is trivial.  and if you're copying files to a different disk which is the norm at least for me, you're limited by the other drive anyway.  in games or general OS responsiveness, there is ZERO perceptible load lag from my budget-level 1TB HDD.  game levels load so fast i can never read the hint text or see whatever built-in splash screen is there to cover the load pause.  i have a hybrid disk in my laptop (bought it on sale for cheaper than i could get a 2.5" normal HDD), which operates effectively as a SSD based on how i use my laptop.  i'm not talking completely out of my ass here.  windows load time was cut in about half, no perceptible change anywhere else.  i even went so far as to benchmark it with PCmark before and after, because i was curious as to the real improvement myself.  windows startup was the only thing that changed in any significant way.

to get back on a more productive note with this post, Venicius, if you don't mind the extra cost and don't need the file space, sure, go ahead and buy a SSD.  I'm only saying if you want to get the cost down, it's a place to do it with the least performance impact possible.  yes, you can overclock the card, but getting it stable all the way to the higher-tier clocks is somewhat rare, and you can't overclock in the additional stream processors.

[KyadCK]

i know perfectly well what it does.  reduce load times.  let me go back and read my original post again.

only at the cost of loading time. 

yep there it is.

i picked the loading windows example because typically it's the biggest offender.  the rest, except for copying huge files, is trivial.  and if you're copying files to a different disk which is the norm at least for me, you're limited by the other drive anyway.  in games or general OS responsiveness, there is ZERO perceptible load lag from my budget-level 1TB HDD.  game levels load so fast i can never read the hint text or see whatever built-in splash screen is there to cover the load pause.  i have a hybrid disk in my laptop (bought it on sale for cheaper than i could get a 2.5" normal HDD), which operates effectively as a SSD based on how i use my laptop.  i'm not talking completely out of my ass here.  windows load time was cut in about half, no perceptible change anywhere else.  i even went so far as to benchmark it with PCmark before and after, because i was curious as to the real improvement myself.  windows startup was the only thing that changed in any significant way.

to get back on a more productive note with this post, Venicius, if you don't mind the extra cost and don't need the file space, sure, go ahead and buy a SSD.  I'm only saying if you want to get the cost down, it's a place to do it with the least performance impact possible.  yes, you can overclock the card, but getting it stable all the way to the higher-tier clocks is somewhat rare, and you can't overclock in the additional stream processors.

Like I said, spec out your own if you don't think mine is good enough. You still havent done so, so I assume you don't actually give a damn. You haven't even suggested what to replace the SSD with, which is very improtant to do, or the person, who doesnt know better, will get the cheapest thing there not knowing what is good or bad.

Take the 15 mins it will take and spec something out, it would have taken you far less time than trying to rip on the one person who actually did the work.

[EternalRuin]

TBH, I've got to agree with Kyad. An SSD is far and away the best way to improve computing experiences today, period. Processors, RAM, and even graphics cards have now evolved to the point where for the vast majority of users there will be an abundance of power for a rather low price; only high-end gaming, server tasks, and various workstation tasks will require a more expensive product from the above. On the other hand, computers are still handicapped by hard drive read/write times that aren't all that much improved from a decade ago. SSDs can and do cut down boot times by a whole order of magnitude, and make most simple applications (word, web browsers, etc.) boot instantly as opposed to a ~2-5 second lag, which makes for a very noticeably different and much more satisfying user experience. And yeah, for things which do require a lot of loading (like high detail game levels) it will cut down the loading time by an order of magnitude, as well.

TL;DR: SSDs may be expensive, but their added benefit really will improve the overall experience, to a much higher degree than every other component (the next item of importance would be the graphics card, if you're a gamer, but even then you don't need THAT powerful a card to run really any game at this point above medium settings). Hence, it's best to include an SSD even if you have to skimp on other components, simply because it'll be the best value for your money in your daily use.

Also, to the OP, you don't really have to choose between SSD and a hard drive, if you don't want to. You can find super cheap hard drives now anyways, for about $50 for a 500 GB HD. So if you really need to use that much space, it wouldn't cost very much to upgrade

[Venicius]

Wow, thanks guys!  I'll look at those videos and see what's involved in building a computer.  Oh, does it matter what case or is it just that the case with the link has more bays in it?

[KyadCK]

Wow, thanks guys!  I'll look at those videos and see what's involved in building a computer.  Oh, does it matter what case or is it just that the case with the link has more bays in it?

I default to the HAF 912 because it's cheap and good, and no one i've recomended it to has complained yet. If you tell me what you want in a case (smooth outside, a certain look, etc), I'll find a different one.

[Venicius]

I was just thinking about cutting costs a little with a slightly less expensive case.

[LHN91]

You can get cheaper, but then you're likely sacrificing either case quality, ease of building the computer or cooling performance (Or a combination of the three).

I'm running a Cooler Master Elite 341 which runs around $35 (which has been replaced by the 343 I believe) and while I like it and it's a solidly built case, it's a bit tight to work in and larger cards video cards (like my old 4870) don't fit particularly well, coming right up within a half inch of the drive cage.

[Mongoose]

Those videos are awesome; totally bookmarking them for if/when I have the money to build something.

[KyadCK]

I was just thinking about cutting costs a little with a slightly less expensive case.

I can probably find a slightly cheaper case that is good, but that's about as low as you can go without sacrificing quality. I know of a large number of good cases, but they're all in the $50-60 range for the cheap ones. Beneath that you're giving up things as LHN91 said.

Those videos are awesome; totally bookmarking them for if/when I have the money to build something.

They're good aren't they? Newegg normaly has them on their front page, probably as a way to convince people it isnt that hard and they should buy parts. Either way, it works.

[zookeeper]

Yeah, building a computer from parts isn't difficult. Seating the motherboard and the rear I/O panel cover onto the case has for some reason proved a bit of a hassle for me sometimes, and installing the CPU cooler is one thing you'll want to make sure you do right. Just read the installation instructions for everything and you should have no particular trouble with it.