So HP is good? How about Quad Core?

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bornon5

New Member
I want to buy a desktop, and was going to go Dell, but I discovered that HP is the nerd's brand of choice. (No, I'm not going to build one this time - I have my reasons, and they involve Newegg and defective parts.)

I saw this:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/HP-P...psm/oid/185479/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do#tabs

I do intensive 3D animation and video editing, etc. Will four cores help me more than two will, or does software have to be written specifically for it? I'd update the video card to a nice Nvidia 8800 or something pretty, but as the rest of it goes, is it worth the money? It seems like such a good deal...is there some big silly catch I'm missing, like a bad motherboard or weak power supply?

I appreciate any help. I want this four-month computer nightmare to end!

-Naftali
 
1. even though not stated, the ram probably arent running in dual channel and probably pc4200, slowest of ddr2 and it has integrated graphics. quad core dropped in price so it actually cost less to build that one instead of buying it.

2. 8800 might not fit in that case. might wanna check the dimensions.
 
go with a higher-end company. HP isn't nerd's choice, it's a bad choice. go with dell (which still isn't that great but is getting better) or alienware (still expensive)
 
nexolus said:
go with a higher-end company. HP isn't nerd's choice, it's a bad choice. go with dell (which still isn't that great but is getting better) or alienware (still expensive)
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No dell or alienware imo... I have too many relatives and friends who have issues with their dells. Mostly hard drive, and dell is pretty good about fixing them if they are under warranty. And I totally agree... alienware looks cool, but is WAY overpriced
 
HP is good, if you haven't even tried one of them don't open your mouth otherwise while you're saying bs a cockroach will get inside your mouth, that's fine but i do agree with kof about the 8800
 
chupacabra said:
HP is good, if you haven't even tried one of them don't open your mouth otherwise while you're saying bs a cockroach will get inside your mouth, that's fine but i do agree with kof about the 8800
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I have a compaq notebook (presario 2100)... I guess it is technically an HP though.

It's old and slow (because hardware is out of date... not malfunctioning), but pretty durable. Only problem is that I got it used, and with the wrong battery charger, so after charging it with the wrong charger, it holds a mere 20-30 seconds of charge. I have an DC to AC inverter for the car, so I'm fine.
 
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thats not only problem and it also might be supplied with a weak psu so it may be upgradable before the graphic card.
 
chupacabra said:
HP is good, if you haven't even tried one of them don't open your mouth otherwise while you're saying bs a cockroach will get inside your mouth, that's fine but i do agree with kof about the 8800
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i had a pavilion laptop, my dad has a hp desktop, and a guy i play music with has one that the backlight burnt out twice and the motherboard finally died about 2 weeks ago.

oh yeah and my sister has one and the backlight burnt out once and some of the keys are going bad but other than that it's been okay.
 
it is just bad luck i guess. i went through two retail hp desktop and a laptop they none of them die on me. i guess they need really good taken care of.
 
nexolus said:
i had a pavilion laptop, my dad has a hp desktop, and a guy i play music with has one that the backlight burnt out twice and the motherboard finally died about 2 weeks ago.

oh yeah and my sister has one and the backlight burnt out once and some of the keys are going bad but other than that it's been okay.
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Unlucky people, i've had 3 hp/compaq desktops and 4 laptops so far and none of them had any problem or happened what you mentioned, they were all bought directly from hp site, 2 of the desktops still works fine even thou they are over 4 years old, only con i can blame on hp, is that they used a motherboard without agp for them, but considering is 4 years old isn't a surprise.

I've had 2 dells one desktop and one laptop, both failed me 3 day after i bought them, the desktop was completely fried along with my electrical outlets on my living room, so saying that dell is a good brand is almost like lying, is a k brand but i wouldn't recommend it no matter what.
 
Okay, I want a reliable and fast computer. My price range is $750 to $900. Basically, I want to know whether to go with Dell or HP.

Also, does someone have an answer about the Quad Core processor? If I'm not running applications written specifically for QC, will I still get a big speed boost?

At a given time, I might have 3d studio max v8, Photoshop CS2, After Effects 7, Mozilla with a bunch of tabs, Skype, maybe Visual Studio C++ and an application testing window, and of course background admin programs. Would that HP I listed at the beginning be able to handle this easily? What about a Dell XPS?

I don't plan on doing hardcore gaming, but I am writing a video game, and my computer needs to be able to handle relatively recent developments like shadow mapping, multi-channel mapping, per-pixel rendering, HDRI, etc. I know much of this is the video card, but the rest of the computer is still very important. Thoughts?
 
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XPS are top-of-the-line but you won't get one for 750-900. Programs don't have to be "written" to utilize quad-core. If you'll have all of that going at once then you'll benefit from a quad-core, but i don't think you'll experience a "boost" in some applications. Notepad can only go so fast :)
 
Hp, much better quality than dell (hp bought compaq so they are the same company) if i remember right dell uses refurbished and new/used parts?

With your budget you may be better off getting a dual core for the price but if you find a quad in your price range go for it, but go with hp/compaq...

Yeah the one you listed should handle those apps no problem what so ever
 
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