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Josh49 · 08-07-2007, 09:16 AM

weekend. I ended up buying a desktop to get more performance for my money, potential upgrades, etc. I already had wirless keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc. Bought the HP Pavilion Desktop PC (A-6130-N).

Very capable desktop I thought. 3GB of DDR2 memory, 400 GB Hard Drive. AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (dual 2.6)

Now background. Mostly I use this computer for internet, word processing, etc. I have a beast at work to handle the rest of the stuff I do.

When I was in circuit city, I decided between getting this system and a lower one. I have a copy of Halo I bought a long time ago, and I've never really been able to run it too well on the computers I have. So I bought this desktop in the hopes that it would run Halo very very well. Well, it's not running well, or even close to well..

I spent yesterday getting the computer optimized. Turning off all the crap. Deleting the software I don't need, defragging, deleting temp files, etc. The one thing I put on there that naturally slows it down a lot is Norton Internet Security, but I want that on there.

Vista is a huge PITA btw, for anyone wondering. I'd take XP any day over this garbage.. Anyhow, Long story short, this computer is incredible for everything, blindingly fast opening documents, folders, webpages, etc.

But Halo (1) is really really choppy. Even on the lowest res. It comes with an NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6150 SE graphics with up to 632MB of video memory—128MB dedicated. I was under the assumption that this was a capable video card however after reading reviews it looks like it's just good for everyday stuff (pictures, videos, etc) and not really gaming.

So
a) should I just pick up a new video card? It seems the rest of the computer is solid enough, maybe I keep this computer and add a much more solid graphics card??
b) any recommendations on video cards?
c) One guy on a forum said to make sure the PSU was strong enough to handle whatever video card you might upgrade to. What's the easiest way to confirm how strong the PSU is, and whether or not there's enough juice to run a new card I might buy..

Overall very happy with the computer. It's awesome, especially for what I need. But if I could run Halo, or pick up the new Halo 2, and run them really seemlessly and smooth, I think I'd be even more psyched about this system.

Thanks in advance..

Josh49

08-07-2007, 09:16 AM	#8
Josh49 Major General 252 Rep 6,664 Posts Drives: E90 325xi Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Boston, MA iTrader: (33)	weekend. I ended up buying a desktop to get more performance for my money, potential upgrades, etc. I already had wirless keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc. Bought the HP Pavilion Desktop PC (A-6130-N). Very capable desktop I thought. 3GB of DDR2 memory, 400 GB Hard Drive. AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ (dual 2.6) Now background. Mostly I use this computer for internet, word processing, etc. I have a beast at work to handle the rest of the stuff I do. When I was in circuit city, I decided between getting this system and a lower one. I have a copy of Halo I bought a long time ago, and I've never really been able to run it too well on the computers I have. So I bought this desktop in the hopes that it would run Halo very very well. Well, it's not running well, or even close to well.. I spent yesterday getting the computer optimized. Turning off all the crap. Deleting the software I don't need, defragging, deleting temp files, etc. The one thing I put on there that naturally slows it down a lot is Norton Internet Security, but I want that on there. Vista is a huge PITA btw, for anyone wondering. I'd take XP any day over this garbage.. Anyhow, Long story short, this computer is incredible for everything, blindingly fast opening documents, folders, webpages, etc. But Halo (1) is really really choppy. Even on the lowest res. It comes with an NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6150 SE graphics with up to 632MB of video memory—128MB dedicated. I was under the assumption that this was a capable video card however after reading reviews it looks like it's just good for everyday stuff (pictures, videos, etc) and not really gaming. So a) should I just pick up a new video card? It seems the rest of the computer is solid enough, maybe I keep this computer and add a much more solid graphics card?? b) any recommendations on video cards? c) One guy on a forum said to make sure the PSU was strong enough to handle whatever video card you might upgrade to. What's the easiest way to confirm how strong the PSU is, and whether or not there's enough juice to run a new card I might buy.. Overall very happy with the computer. It's awesome, especially for what I need. But if I could run Halo, or pick up the new Halo 2, and run them really seemlessly and smooth, I think I'd be even more psyched about this system. Thanks in advance.. Josh49 __________________ E90 325XI, MYSTIC BLUE ON BLACK/ALUM, STEP, NAV, PDC, CWP, XENON, SIRIUS, ALARM, MUD GUARDS, CLEARBRA, CHROME GRILLS AND TIPS, VALENTINE 1 (HARDWIRED), HO CERAMIC 40%, 161'S, REAR FOG MOD, LUX 4.0, BLACKLINES, OEM PEDALS, MTEC FOGS, GRUPPE-M REP INTAKE. 156'S AND RUBBER MATS FOR THE WINTER.
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