friend wants answer

[Dollar]

I am asking this question on behalf of a friend who is coming close to buying a new desktop from prebuilt computer manufacturers. He is interested in a particular hp and acer model which has a dedicated graphic card for his gaming needs. He said the acer model consists of a x1650 512mb hypermemory and the hp model consists of a 8500gt 512mb (if I have remembered correctly). I have told him the benefits of a custom built for a better card at a much lower cost.

Well, and his question for me is whether there is a difference in eg. an acer prebuilt with x1650 and a custom with x1650 in terms of graphic card branding and if the parts used are similar.

I told him in terms of perfomance they are the same but I have no idea on whether prebuilt and custom used similar cards.
Now my question for everyone is, does prebuilt manuacturers used graphic cards such as evga, sapphire, xfx, asus or gigabyte etc. for the x1650 or the 8500gt? Or does hp and acer manufactures their own unique graphic card since they did not have it stated in the specs list on their website?

 

[vonfeldt7]

[Assuming I understood the question(s) correctly]

I can't speak for Hp, but I know Dell (and most likely all other major manufacturers) uses "privately labeled" hardware I guess you could say...basically, an Nvidia 8500gt 512mb that comes with a Dell (or other large manufacturer) isnt directly from Nvidia, like it would be if you ordered it off of newegg.

(That's the best explanation I can give...I'm not sure how to say it).
They are essentially the same thing. Are there performance differences? I'm not sure...I know they sometimes look different, so I'm assuming there probably are a some performance differences, however I'm not positive, and that may just be ignorance on my part. Someone else will have to clarify.

 

[elitehacker]

All computer components come from a handful of manufacturers, then vendors just rebadge them with their own brands. Custom build is ALWAYS better than a pre-built one as you are in the drivers seat regarding what goes in your computer.

Most of my reasons can be found here:

http://www.helium.com/tm/607842/strongly-believe-building-computer

 

[elitehacker]

Also regarding the graphics card, I advise you to steer clear of the X16xx series from ATi. They don't perform as well as its Nvidia counterparts. Go for the 8500 if its just a toss between the two. The X16xx is not even meant to rival the 8 series from Nvidia, its supposed to compete against the 7600GS.