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All cheap videocards the same?

S

sennagp

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Jan 9, 2010
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im looking to buy a brand name computer. my question is, at that budget level, is all the video cards pretty much the same, or is it worth going for one over the other? will there be any noticable real world difference ? i will NOT use the pc for gaming, i will use it for surfing, having several windows open, running 720p movies, searching the hd, unpacking rar files that kinda thing.

Here's a few examples of typical setups:

Acer comes with NVIDIA GeForce 6150S
HP comes with GeForce GT220
Packard Bell comes with ATI HD435
or GeForce 9200 depending on model.
Dell comes with Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500
 
Out of the things you listed as using the computer for, only the movie-watching part will use the video card at all (unless you use flash beta), and any computer can handle that. I would go with the cheapest/one with the best fan, as you're obviously looking for longevity and price over performance.
 
Complete specs of each computer you are seriously considering would help here.

Out of your list, I'd pick the HP or PB if we're just talking GPU power.
 
The onboard ATI hands down is the best GPU out of that lot as long as it's a 3000 or higher.

EDIT: Okay I lied I didn't catch the GT220 one and I don't know how it matches up. But in all honesty you need to look at the package deal and post all the specs.
 
packard bell 1: Intel Dual-Core E5300, ATI HD4350 512 MB, 2gb ram, 320gb hd
packard bell 2: AMD Athlon 64 LE-1660, GeForce 9200 256MB, 4gb ram, 750gb hd (both packard bell are about same price)

acer: AMD Athlon II X2 215, NVIDIA GeForce 9200, 4gb ram, 320gb hd (about $75 more than the above packard bells)

hp model that is $150 more than the packard bell models, and 75 more than the acer:
Intel Pentium Dual-Core, 5200, Intel G31 Express, NVIDIA GeForce GT220, 4gb ram, 500gb hd

im leaning towards one of the packard bells, unless i can justify the extra $75-150 for either acer or hp for my type of needs... which doesnt include gaming much.
 
sennagp said:
packard bell 1: Intel Dual-Core E5300, ATI HD4350 512 MB, 2gb ram, 320gb hd
packard bell 2: AMD Athlon 64 LE-1660, GeForce 9200 256MB, 4gb ram, 750gb hd (both packard bell are about same price)

acer: AMD Athlon II X2 215, NVIDIA GeForce 9200, 4gb ram, 320gb hd (about $75 more than the above packard bells)

hp model that is $150 more than the packard bell models, and 75 more than the acer:
Intel Pentium Dual-Core, 5200, Intel G31 Express, NVIDIA GeForce GT220, 4gb ram, 500gb hd

im leaning towards one of the packard bells, unless i can justify the extra $75-150 for either acer or hp for my type of needs... which doesnt include gaming much.
Click to expand...

Good grief your in a sea of....... budget solutions. :) Stay away from the PB #2 as it's single core. It's between the Acer and the HP with me leaning towards the HP as it has a better video card in it and a good amount of RAM in it too, which should offset the lower CPU performance. You should be able to at least game with it. I understand that you're not a big gamer, however the option is at least there with the HP you just need to weigh that extra cost with how much gaming you do. If you're not gaming at all and want to save money, then the Acer will give you better performance than the others
 
I'd go with the HP simply because I like the brand better having worked on tons of different brand name systems over the years. It's the brand I recommend to older relatives who only want it for the same purposes you listed.
 
The HP is hands down the best machine on the list. The "pentium dual core" 5200 is the now legendary e5200 which is built on the same platform as the C2D. I don't know much about AMDs lower end newer stuff but I seriously doubt that athlon II is any faster.
 
Dont forget to weigh in on custom case sizes. If any of those are a custom case smaller then usual then you'll end up paying more in the end when your motherboard or power supply dies and you can't just put a regular size one back in there. When you buy in the realm of absolute lowest price, it's easy to get burned down the road.
 
bigddybn said:
The HP is hands down the best machine on the list. The "pentium dual core" 5200 is the now legendary e5200 which is built on the same platform as the C2D. I don't know much about AMDs lower end newer stuff but I seriously doubt that athlon II is any faster.
Click to expand...

That HP has the E5300 though, which the entry level Athlon II 240 does beat alongside being a better platform than general. However this isn't the 240 but rather the slightly lower clocked OEM only 215, so they're probably about the same speed.
 
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