phacopida wrote:LightScribe technology? Sounds cool - but is it? Anyone have this? You have to purchase the LightScribe media separately and I'm wondering if it is worth it.

I have a Lightscribe drive and use it infrequently. When I DO use the technology, it impresses the recipient... but I'm a designer with clients. For around the house, it will take more time than you think to label your discs this way. Then again, it's permanent and doesn't leave the potential to get stuck in your drive like stick-on labels.

mbrickell wrote:Sadly, although I can fix just about anything on my car, I've never even remotely tackled anything like building my own computer. Would barely know where to start...

cars, that's where I started. If you've done car electrical, you can do computers.Google is your friend. My new 3.2Ghz X2 8GB 2TB was about 200AR and runs Ubuntu 64 DTE.

joementhol wrote:I'm going to go ahead and give myself a Quality Post for this, since I was first with this info AND more handsome.

+1 me, good work!

I concure woot he beat me, feel free to fix it :D

**EDIT: Yikes, I didnt see the more handsome claim. We'll have to call it a tie since you brought that in.

I bought a similar model for my mom & dad's house; a general-use PC basically. It has been working quite well for about 6 months now. The one I bought had 8gb of ram, 1TB hdd, & slightly better Radeon vidcard. Cost about $150 bucks more, but was worth it for their needs. So if you just need a basic net use, computer use, or even media use system ... these are not bad really. Not really geared for gaming, but as others have said ... upgrading the PSU will help for memory, vidcard, sound card, etc. type upgrades then. Would buy again easily.

andifallapart wrote:Good customer support??! Are you kidding me? It's just like outsourced LOL I called and got a very annoying, hard to understand guy in India.. He kept repeating himself and not answering my questions..

Its the HP way! Trust me, myself and a ton of my co-workers were just laid off so they could move even more operations out of the country and save a dime!

chaley0803 wrote:Yes, lightscribe came with the computer 1 bought about 3 years ago. Bought some lightscribe discs, and used it once and have not used it since! The discs are collecting dust somewhere. Novelty feature at best.

Yes, totally agree. The Lightscribe images don't come out all that dark or sharp. Better to get a color inkjet that prints CDs/DVDs and buy printable CDs/DVDs (don't buy the adhesive labels & stick them on yourself; they'll just ruin your discs after a while). I have an Epson Stylus Photo R280 that I just love for doing that.

Cyd wrote:250w PSU? is that supposed to be 520w?

When you break it down, there's actually very little inside a computer to consume power. If it weren't for the few cutting-edge ultra-high-power CPUs and GPUs in the world, there wouldn't be any need for power supplies of greater than 250W in desktop computers.

Hard drives are more power-hungry than SSDs, but they still consume relatively little power and most computers only have one. Beyond that, all you've really got are the CPU, GPU and fan(s).

One of the best ways to cheapen up a computer is to use an onboard video processor, the technology for which is old enough that they consume very little power. And, if you only have one CPU, which is, again, made with slightly older technology, it's easy to squeeze a lot of computing power out of very few electrons (which subsequently take little effort to cool).

If you plan to upgrade this computer with more and faster hard drives, a kick-ass 3D video card for serious gaming and a new CPU, then you'll absolutely need a new high-power PSU. If you're going to use this for what 95% of computing consumers do and never think about upgrading its components, you'll be perfectly happy with the 250W PSU.

nightwolf667 wrote:If you want a 'dirt cheap' power supply running your system, that's your preference... I only trust Antec and Corsair (in general.. there are some exceptions, but I have not had experience with them).

This machine is more than enough for general desktop users, however if you're going to do mid-range to higher-end gaming, you should build your own.. it'd cost slightly more, as said before about $600, and you can get a good price-performance machine.
This quad-core will blaze through any daily user's needs, and probably most gamer's needs. However, the quality of the mobo, psu, and everything else is up for question. It IS, after all, refurbished (no offense HP).
If you upgrade this thing at all, it will probably reduce the life of the power supply by a nice little chunk.

I built mine for about $800 awhile ago and the only thing that gets less than 80+ fps is Crysis and Metro 2033 maxed out with AA @ 1920x1080. <3

I think you took my statement a little literally. What I meant is that the PSU only costs a fraction of a video card. For example, you can get a 500w Corsair PSU for $60 ($50 after rebate) with free shipping Corsair 500w

btflorey wrote:I think you took my statement a little literally. What I meant is that the PSU only costs a fraction of a video card. For example, you can get a 500w Corsair PSU for $60 ($50 after rebate) with free shipping Corsair 500w

Well, dirt cheap to me means $20 bucks for 500 watts, which is what I put in my first PC a long time ago before I knew better. And it worked without issue but I got lucky. Honestly I was halfway with you until you linked to amazon for computer parts... Newegg has the same part, plus a ton of others. With better customer support and reviews. I can't imagine anyone buying computer parts off amazon.... thats just.... silly

Am I the only one who noticed the RAM speed?
"PC3-10600 MB/sec". PC3-10600 is 1333MHz. As far as I know RAM is measured in MHz not Megabytes. Am I missing something here?

I actually bought one of these last year new at $478. It was a great deal at the time. And yea, it had a bunch of crap-ware on it, that took me about three hours to clean it off. But I made a backup right after I cleaned it, and it's been a great computer! I even did video editing and a bunch of Photoshop stuff on it. Now at $100 less... it's a steal.
---Kelvington

kmith wrote:cars, that's where I started. If you've done car electrical, you can do computers.Google is your friend. My new 3.2Ghz X2 8GB 2TB was about 200AR and runs Ubuntu 64 DTE.

Computers are really simple to put together. Everything is keyed, it goes where its supposed to. And google really is your friend. I did my first build completely on my own and it lasted 7 years till my parents were using it and lighting got it.

That being said, if you know someone who's a techy get their input. There are a lot of good sites for reviews. In general newegg for parts reviews, and tomshardware for articles and charts for comparison. But there are some things that people who have been doing this for a while just "know" at least if they are a real tech and not some company fanboy. If your really into it "upgrading and repairing your PC" and "inside the PC" were great books when i was in highschool. Heavy reading but it was worth it. My library had several editions of both, but i am not sure if they have kept up in recent years. You can also find plently online.

unksol wrote:Well, dirt cheap to me means $20 bucks for 500 watts, which is what I put in my first PC a long time ago before I knew better. And it worked without issue but I got lucky. Honestly I was halfway with you until you linked to amazon for computer parts... Newegg has the same part, plus a ton of others. With better customer support and reviews. I can't imagine anyone buying computer parts off amazon.... thats just.... silly

$20 for a 500 watt ps is far too little. You should expect to pay atleast $50 - $60 for a good power supply. Also, it's not about where you buy thing it's about the brand, quality, and price.

achristophers wrote:$20 for a 500 watt ps is far too little. You should expect to pay atleast $50 - $60 for a good power supply. Also, it's not about where you buy thing it's about the brand, quality, and price.

I agree completly. This was in 2003 though and as i said i didn't really know what i was doing on my first build, way back when :-). But where you buy does matter. You can choose a reputable company that specializes in this area, and a user comunitiy that does too. Or a bunch of random suppliers and people who don't know what they are talking about on amazon.

achristophers wrote:Am I the only one who noticed the RAM speed?
"PC3-10600 MB/sec". PC3-10600 is 1333MHz. As far as I know RAM is measured in MHz not Megabytes. Am I missing something here?

Yea, i think thats a typo. DDR puts the 1333MHz at 10600 effectivley, but MB/sec will vary widley with the program and conditions used to test it

In case anyone is wondering if they could turn this into somewhat of a gaming rig; I just consulted some fellow forum members and they suggested that I get this graphics card to go with it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883&cm_re=radeon-_-14-102-883-_-Product

But I like this one, it's got a bit more memory on it and it doesn't need the goofy cables to connect it to a monitor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914


And this PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026.

I'm thinking about it...

Also, If you were looking to upgrade the processor, this would fit:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894&cm_re=AMD_Phenom_II_X4-_-19-103-894-_-Product

doctorclark wrote:How loud is this computer? Also, will a 250W computer send my electric bill through the roof if I leave it on 24-7 (p2p, server, etc.)?

Try turning it off when you're not using it!

theloudestfire wrote:In case anyone is wondering if they could turn this into somewhat of a gaming rig; I just consulted some fellow forum members and they suggested that I get this graphics card to go with it:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102883&cm_re=radeon-_-14-102-883-_-Product

But I like this one, it's got a bit more memory on it and it doesn't need the goofy cables to connect it to a monitor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914


And this PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026.

I'm thinking about it...

Your second link is def on the high end price wise. The first one is some what reasonable. But i am confused about the supposed "goofy cables"??? They both have dvi, display port, and HDMI... all standard for years, and their outputs are basically identical

unksol wrote:Your second link is def on the high end price wise. The first one is some what reasonable. But i am confused about the supposed "goofy cables"??? They both have dvi, display port, and HDMI... all standard for years, and their outputs are basically identical

You are right, I forgot to post this link and describe it (sorry long day at school).

This was the first 2gb version that I found it's 10 bucks cheaper but requires adapters for HDMI and DVI output. The adapters are the "goofy cables" I was talking about.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102888

I've had this computer - bought new for just a little more - for about 4-5 months. I had planned to get a power supply and GPU right away, but still haven't. For surfing, watching Netflix in HD and other general use, it's been perfect. It's left on 24/7, used 8-10 hours a day, makes no noise and runs cool (76F right now). The keyboard and mouse work well and I'm using them instead of my wireless. Getting rid of the bloatware is easy. I dual boot the Win7 that came with it and Ubuntu 10.10. Ubuntu picked up everything right off the bat, including wireless. I picked up an AOC 24" monitor for it as well and plugged in my Dell surround sound speakers I got from woot years ago. I only wish it didn't have a door on the DVD and the slide down panel, but they haven't given me any problems.

If you need a day to day, non-gaming PC, this one works very well. It will play COD4 and run Photoshop just fine, but I haven't tried anything heavier.

unksol wrote:I agree completly. This was in 2003 though and as i said i didn't really know what i was doing on my first build, way back when :-). But where you buy does matter. You can choose a reputable company that specializes in this area, and a user comunitiy that does too. Or a bunch of random suppliers and people who don't know what they are talking about on amazon.

If this "community of people" are anything like you, I'll stick with Amazon or wherever I want to buy from. By the way, I just linked to the first result I got in Google, which just happened to be Amazon. I guess I am just not a cool enough gamer to know you shouldn't dare link to a computer part on a site other than Newegg.

phacopida wrote:LightScribe technology? Sounds cool - but is it? Anyone have this? You have to purchase the LightScribe media separately and I'm wondering if it is worth it.

It's silly. Used it once. Took longer to burn a mediocre label than to burn the CD. Use a Sharpie.

BeerLuver wrote:I bought a similar model for my mom & dad's house; a general-use PC basically. It has been working quite well for about 6 months now. The one I bought had 8gb of ram, 1TB hdd, & slightly better Radeon vidcard. Cost about $150 bucks more, but was worth it for their needs. So if you just need a basic net use, computer use, or even media use system ... these are not bad really. Not really geared for gaming, but as others have said ... upgrading the PSU will help for memory, vidcard, sound card, etc. type upgrades then. Would buy again easily.

$150 more was worth it for their needs? What are they doing? My parents are doing fine with a 6 year old Celeron running XP. It surfs the web and holds tens of thousands of photos just fine.

theloudestfire wrote:You are right, I forgot to post this link and describe it (sorry long day at school).

This was the first 2gb version that I found it's 10 bucks cheaper but requires adapters for HDMI and DVI output. The adapters are the "goofy cables" I was talking about.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102888

Yea, they do look kinda goofy lol. Wouldn't be in my price range but ill have too look into that later, more information is always better, thank you

btflorey wrote:If this "community of people" are anything like you, I'll stick with Amazon or wherever I want to buy from. By the way, I just linked to the first result I got in Google, which just happened to be Amazon. I guess I am just not a cool enough gamer to know you shouldn't dare link to a computer part on a site other than Newegg.

It has nothing to do with it being just newegg, but amazon is pretty weak for anything techy. Most of their low end reviews stem from people who don't understand the product. And if your using the first link in google to find parts.... well, enough said

A few things...

I own a Dell Inspiron 570 with the Athlon II X4 630 processor, 6GB of 1333MHz DDR3 memory, and Windows 7. It is the Dell equivalent of this HP model, specs-wise. It is a VERY powerful computer. I don't have to wait for it. Ever. It just goes and keeps me focused and productive all day.

A decent video card can be had for $100. If you want the most bang for your Benjamin, and you're willing to wait it out for a rebate, grab one of the many HD5770 cards out there for $120-$130 with $20-$30 rebates like the HIS model I picked up last night.

Normally I would have purchased a Corsair or Antec power supply, 600-700w for around $100. But I had a leftover from upgrading my wife's computer, a Raidmax Aurora2 700w unit. It's doing just fine.

To save power, use the Hibernate feature of Windows 7. This allows you to shut the computer off completely, yet pick up where you left off when you turn it back on. This will save you money rather than leave it on 24/7.

As far as the integrated graphics goes, the HD4200 chipset is very decent as far as integrated graphics go. I can play GTA IV in absolute minimum specs at about 17fps off this on-board video. Naturally, this is not really playable but it's a good baseline versus a discrete video card.

Thanks be to NightGhost for the MB specs and other links, and I hope this answers a few questions for the rest of you to how powerful a $400 computer can be!

joementhol wrote:Let's guess you pay 15 cents per kilowatt hour. 250 watts is 1 kWh every 4 hours, 6kWh per day. 6kWh per day times 30, times .15 cents...

About 27 bucks a month if you left it on 24/7 at full draw...

BUT! It's likely going to be drawing much less juice most of the time when it's sitting around idle or barely taxed.

I'd budget maybe an extra 10 to 15 bucks a month.

http://extreme.outervision.com/index.jsp

This is what I use in order to get a pretty good estimate on power useage and cost. Also has some decent suggestions on PSU, but I prefer single rail PSUs. The vid cards I use require 20 AMPS on the 12v (for each card), which alot of the split rails just cannot produce unless you get up in the 1k watt range.

unksol wrote:It has nothing to do with it being just newegg, but amazon is pretty weak for anything techy. Most of their low end reviews stem from people who don't understand the product. And if your using the first link in google to find parts.... well, enough said

Actually Amazon sometimes has better prices than Newegg. I picked up a pair of ATI 4870s on there like 30 bucks cheaper than Newegg, Tigerdirect, ect; plus did not cost me shipping. Don't knock around amazon just because they do not offer tech advice. They just sell things, price comparison is a good thing.

Do you have to connect that antenna to get wireless? WEAK

roadhunter wrote:It's silly. Used it once. Took longer to burn a mediocre label than to burn the CD. Use a Sharpie.

When you actually want the DVD to look nice, the LightScribe are awesome. Who cares if it takes longer, start it and go have a Sandwich.
You cannot put a Label on DVDs so its either handwritten or lightscribe or one of the special white-faced DVDs that you can use a DVD printer on.

I need a replacement machine for my MAME cabinet - methinks this is sufficient?

I have a similar computer (no built in WiFi, no optical out, but otherwise appears to be the same) that I Wooted a few months ago. So far, so good. I use it for media conversions and haul it around for on location Multi track recording. I have recorded up to 15 tracks at one time without a glitch (I'm recording again this evening). Some songs can be found here (the two songs from the '70's were recorded before I had this comuter ): http://soundcloud.com/richard-king All of the mixing was done inside the box, no mixing console was used.

doctorclark wrote:How loud is this computer? Also, will a 250W computer send my electric bill through the roof if I leave it on 24-7 (p2p, server, etc.)?

The tower probably averages using about 160 watts of power. So if you left it turned on 24 hours a day 365 days a year. At the end of the year the tower would use about t $145 worth of electricity.

I am writing this email on this exact machine that I purchased the last time that Woot had it, back in December. Great computer! I have done a little upgrading, but none was necessary for this computer to work well out of the box. I have two 24" monitors and it supported them well with the on-board graphics. However, I am not a gamer. The Windows Experience rating for the CPU is 7.3, for the RAM is 7.3, for the HD is 5.9. The weakest rating was 3.9 for Aero for Windows and 4.6 for gaming/graphics. I found that having multiple applications open and watching streaming video was using 60%+ of the RAM, so I installed a 4th stick of Kingston DDR3 PC10600 and a Radeon HD 4650 video card w/1GB of RAM and now I barely use 25% of RAM even under heavy load. The quad CPUs really rock. This is a great deal. It is quiet, and you won't have to upgrade the power supply unless you install some kind of sick video card. I would buy another one, but I can't think of where to put it! That bathroom, maybe?

mbrickell wrote:I'm in the same boat. Need a new desktop. $7-800 budget. Interested in what anyone who knows computers thinks the best deal is in this range currently.

In order to give an intelligent answer, you can help by telling a bit about what you hope to do with the computer.

For example, if you are doing word processing, email and light browsing, almost anything will do. If you are going to watch online video, edit video or still images, then you need a bit more power (and this unit may be good for some, but perhaps not the video editing). If you are an extreme gamer, then you need a pretty hopped-up unit.

Anyone who simply tells you what to buy without asking these basic questions is not being helpful. Good luck!

I have an HP m7277 that ran trouble free for 5 years plus till the dust bunnies shorted out the motherboard. 3 questions:

1) Can I install the old TV tuner card into this machine? The old PC worked as a great DVR.

2)Can the old DIMM, 1GB, be added? Will it help?

3)What cabling would I need to retrieve files from old hard drive (removed from old tower) and could it be installed in this pc for an extra 300GB of storage?

I have an earlier version of this machine - it works very well. Easy to upgrade, but if you do, you will also have to replace the power supply. 250 watts is not enough to handle an added new video card and a second hard drive.

My only gripe with it is the Jatravartid location of the power button. This could be a very serious problem. The fact that the button takes a very light touch compounds the problem. A customer placed an object on top of the computer once and turned it off. Thankfully I wasn't in the middle of anything. I wonder if I could move that button. I use a couple of external firewire audio interfaces with it for multi channel work. I have mixed up to 70 channels at one time (recorded with overdubs) and the machine never had a problem.

Mossard wrote:I have an HP m7277 that ran trouble free for 5 years plus till the dust bunnies shorted out the motherboard. 3 questions:

1) Can I install the old TV tuner card into this machine? The old PC worked as a great DVR.

2)Can the old DIMM, 1GB, be added? Will it help?

3)What cabling would I need to retrieve files from old hard drive (removed from old tower) and could it be installed in this pc for an extra 300GB of storage?

1. Probably. I installed a TV tuner card in mine.
2. Don't know
3. Get an external enclosure for the drive and plug it in using USB. I have SEVERAL external drives used this way. Or put it in one of the empty slots.