HP Media Centre Intel Pentium D 830 3.0GHz Computer (7170N)

[Depot4U]

I recently purchased this computer from futureshop, CLICK HERE (http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?sku_id=0665000FS10062821&logon=&langid=EN) .
I am thinking of returning it because I am not satisfied. Should I return it?

Please tell me if I should return it and purchase this one or keep it.

CPU
Intel Pentium 4 630 3.0GHz Socket-775 2MB Cache with EM64T (Retail)
Motherboard
Asus P5GPL Intel i915PL PCI-Express w/Audio, Gigabit LAN, SATA, DDR400
Case
Tisonic Breeze 18" (Black) ATX Tower Case w/Front Audio, USB, FireWire *No Power Supply*
Power Supply
Antec TruePower 550W Dual Fan (Retail)
Memory
Samsung 512MB (PC-3200) DDR400 (OEM)
Additional Memory
Samsung 512MB (PC-3200) DDR400 (OEM)
Floppy Drive
Sony 1.44MB 3.5" (Black) Internal Floppy Drive (OEM)
Hard Drive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 200GB - 7200RPM, 8MB Cache, ATA100 (OEM)
Hard Drive (SATA)
None
CD / DVD drive
LG 16x DVD-ROM *No Software* (Black) (OEM)
CD / DVD Writer
LG GSA-4163B (Black) - 16x DVD +/- R / RW / RAM, Double-Layer *Software Included* (OEM)
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 (Retail)
Video Card
Asus V9999GT/TD GeForce 6800GT 128MB GDDR w/DVI, TV-Out (Retail)

Thanks for the help.

[Turok]

Welcome to XS forums :toast:

Everyone in XS forums builds their own PCs.
Buying a company PC is just a waste of money and you could do more for the same price. Its also more fun if you build it yourself with your own style and stuff.

My recommendation, and the recommendation of anyone here in XS forums would be to return it and build your own.

Here is a pic of my PC so you can get an idea of what's a Xtreme System :D

http://img19.echo.cx/img19/6007/10103uc.jpg

BTW, how much did your HP cost? (Total price afther S&H)
What do you intend to do with this PC?
We could help you set up a plan on what to buy and how to build your PC if you dont know how.

[Depot4U]

I thought that the media center would have been usefull but I didnt really need it. I payed 1710.00$, I have about 2 days to return so I need some help.

[Turok]

I thought that the media center would have been usefull but I didnt really need it. I payed 1710.00$, I have about 2 days to return so I need some help.

Wow, its 1500 and became 1710 afther taxes and shipping.
Its expensive for what it offers

RETURN IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
Use the same money for a custom built PC, dont buy company built PCs from Dell, HP, Alienware, etc.

I can help you build it, but first answer these questions:
1) What are you planning to do with this PC?
2) How much are you willing to spend on it?
3) Are you only going to buy a PC, or do you need a monitor and some periperials?

[Depot4U]

I am only going to spend 1710.00$ on my pc.

What I want my new pc to do is be a gaming pc and run fast.

[Depot4U]

I am in canada so I cant order off of newegg. The shops that are around me are NCIX (WWW.NCIX.COM) and Anitec (www.anitec.ca)

[Depot4U]

I just made my pc, tell me what you think of it.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/Modmodder/pc.jpg

[Turok]

I just made my pc, tell me what you think of it.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y27/Modmodder/pc.jpg

I cant read that image, its too small

If its for gaming, AMD is the better choice.
Pentium D sv%$. AMD x2 is a lot better even for multy-tasking.

I would wait until August 11th to see what nVidia releases. Probably the 7800 GT. If they release the 7800 GT, prices will lower and you will have more money for nicer stuff.

Dont rush the process of building a PC if you are a bit inexperienced.
You could end up waisting your money on something thats more expensive but doesnt peform as well as other products, you could buy something thats not worth the price, or you could end up buying something now that becomes really cheap latter on.

I will make like a spec sheet with all the parts you need to build your PC.
Ill try to fit in a nice SLI solution or a powerful single card solution, Ill add a AMD X2 CPU and some fast ram with CAS 2 timmings, and storage will be fast.

[IYP]

a 1700$ gaming PC isnt gunna be too fast

[[XC] leviathan18]

^^ you are so :banana::banana::banana::banana::banana: lol a 1700 gaming pc could be fast as hell

[Major_A]

a 1700$ gaming PC isnt gunna be too fast
What? I hope you are kidding. I could build a gaming computer with speakers, LCD monitor, and printer for $1700.

[ingentingmendeg]

i just built a gaming pc for my friend for 580!

[IYP]

err scratch that :D wasent thinking

[Turok]

err scratch that :D wasent thinking

You just have to cut off some thigns that arent that necessary.
Example: you dont really need a fancy case, nice cooling, super fast ram, or 500 gb of storage if you are going to game.

High storage would be for media use and large applications;
Super fast and super risky hardware is for OCers; and
Speed and quality is for gamers.

With $1700, the most important things would be audio and video. CPU could be average, ram could be more loose (some value ram), HDD should be fast but not more than you need, case could be cheap, it could be air cooled, and you could still have enough money for some nice speakers, or a acurate mouse & keyboard, or a new monitor, or even a water cooling solution :woot:

[k00lance]

for 1700 you could buy a dual core and 7800GTX with decent mobo
and ram. The guy is looking for a mediacenter HTPC.
Why bother buy things you don't need?

[Turok]

Here is what I recommend:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

DFI nF4 SLI-DR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136157

Mushkin Redline XP4000 1GB (2 x 512MB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146392

XFX 7800 GTX (490/1300) ***Update to a second one for SLI***
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150104

Audigy 2 ZS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102178

Western Digital Caviar 250GB 7200RPM 16MB SATAII
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

PC Power & Cooling 510W SLI Ready PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817703001



The total of all of this is a bit over $1710.
From here you can start taking off what you dont need or what wont give you a big difference in gaming peformance.
I would start with the ram and go

NOTE: IF YOU WAIT A WILE, NVIDIA COULD RELEASE THE 7800 ULTRA,
ATI COULD RELEASE THE R520, AND CREATIV COULD RELEASE THE X-FI SOUND CARDS.
THIS COULD CAUSE PRICES TO DROP SIGNIFICANTLY.

ALSO NOTE THAT SOCKET M2 MOTHERBOARDS WILL RELEASE SOON AND
WILL BE THE NEXT-GEN SOCKET FOR AMD DUAL CORE CPU, SUPPORTING DDR2

Also, if you wait until August 11th, nVidia has something up its sleve which probably is the 7800 GT. You could get the 7800 GT and you will save a lot of money with the downgrade and still have a kick a$$ video card and latter on you can buy a second one (when you have the money and when it gets cheaper) and you could get a 40% increase in video peformance depending on what you are running. The good thing about SLi is that its power hungry, so you start to see the real effect of SLi when you run games at really high settings with high AA and AF settings

[Major_A]

Case, operating system, keyboard, mouse, monitor, optical drive(s)? That is all fine and dandy if he already has those parts. Since he bought a HP system I highly doubt he does.

[Depot4U]

I came up with my pc, I came a little over budget. I will post specs later on.

[en4cer]

Here is what I recommend:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

DFI nF4 SLI-DR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136157

Mushkin Redline XP4000 1GB (2 x 512MB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146392

XFX 7800 GTX (490/1300) ***Update to a second one for SLI***
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150104

Audigy 2 ZS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102178

Western Digital Caviar 250GB 7200RPM 16MB SATAII
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

PC Power & Cooling 510W SLI Ready PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817703001



The total of all of this is a bit over $1710.
From here you can start taking off what you dont need or what wont give you a big difference in gaming peformance.
I would start with the ram and go

NOTE: IF YOU WAIT A WILE, NVIDIA COULD RELEASE THE 7800 ULTRA,
ATI COULD RELEASE THE R520, AND CREATIV COULD RELEASE THE X-FI SOUND CARDS.
THIS COULD CAUSE PRICES TO DROP SIGNIFICANTLY.

ALSO NOTE THAT SOCKET M2 MOTHERBOARDS WILL RELEASE SOON AND
WILL BE THE NEXT-GEN SOCKET FOR AMD DUAL CORE CPU, SUPPORTING DDR2

Also, if you wait until August 11th, nVidia has something up its sleve which probably is the 7800 GT. You could get the 7800 GT and you will save a lot of money with the downgrade and still have a kick a$$ video card and latter on you can buy a second one (when you have the money and when it gets cheaper) and you could get a 40% increase in video peformance depending on what you are running. The good thing about SLi is that its power hungry, so you start to see the real effect of SLi when you run games at really high settings with high AA and AF settings


Nice list Turok :fact:

[IYP]

Here is what I recommend:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103562

DFI nF4 SLI-DR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136157

Mushkin Redline XP4000 1GB (2 x 512MB)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146392

XFX 7800 GTX (490/1300) ***Update to a second one for SLI***
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150104

Audigy 2 ZS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16829102178

Western Digital Caviar 250GB 7200RPM 16MB SATAII
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144701

PC Power & Cooling 510W SLI Ready PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817703001



The total of all of this is a bit over $1710.
From here you can start taking off what you dont need or what wont give you a big difference in gaming peformance.
I would start with the ram and go

NOTE: IF YOU WAIT A WILE, NVIDIA COULD RELEASE THE 7800 ULTRA,
ATI COULD RELEASE THE R520, AND CREATIV COULD RELEASE THE X-FI SOUND CARDS.
THIS COULD CAUSE PRICES TO DROP SIGNIFICANTLY.

ALSO NOTE THAT SOCKET M2 MOTHERBOARDS WILL RELEASE SOON AND
WILL BE THE NEXT-GEN SOCKET FOR AMD DUAL CORE CPU, SUPPORTING DDR2

Also, if you wait until August 11th, nVidia has something up its sleve which probably is the 7800 GT. You could get the 7800 GT and you will save a lot of money with the downgrade and still have a kick a$$ video card and latter on you can buy a second one (when you have the money and when it gets cheaper) and you could get a 40% increase in video peformance depending on what you are running. The good thing about SLi is that its power hungry, so you start to see the real effect of SLi when you run games at really high settings with high AA and AF settings


yes very nice....im still broken up over weather i should wait for M2 or not

[k00lance]

M2 is stil too far away :X