I'm helping my friend pick out a computer and see is thinking about buying an HP and replacing the graphic card with something better to play games. What would be a good combo for this? Spending no more than $600

something with....

-hdtv out - (no moniter needed) they want to hook it up to their hdtv) is that a good idea?
-card reader
-dvd rw drive


we were thinking this so far
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-854-_-Product
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...210f+&sLevel=0

we wouldn't have to upgrade the power supply would we?

assuming that your not interested in building your own machine, that will work if you put a graphics card in it. the X4 620 has decent performance gaming, it lags a bit due to the lack of L3 cache, but for most it will do well when paired with a decent graphics card....which leads me to my next point. The gt9500 GT is an entry level card, it will do okay with games like WOW, but if you are wanting to play games like Far cry 2,crysis,stalker etc at any kind of resolution or detail, the 9500 GT will fall way short. also if you do find the 9500 GT to be the card you want, see if you can save a few dollars and get the 512 version. 1 gb of ram on a low end card is absolutely worthless, and in some cases can actually slow performance a bit.

Here's the thing I know about parts but not enough to build a computer. I'm helping a friend so i wouldn't want to try and mess up.

They are looking to spend about $600. So any computer they could buy and put a better card in is what they are looking for. So if you have a better recommendation let me know.

In that case I think you have found a good deal. The recommendation I would make is that you replace the 9500 GT selection with an ATI HD 4670. It has far superior performance at the same price...here is a benchmark/review http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3405&p=7 it requires no additional power to the 75W the PCIE slot delivers (like the 9500 GT) here is a link to a Sapphire 4670 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-854-_-Product
at some point you might want to upgrade the PSU, there is a reason that they dont tell you what it is in the product description, and that's because OEM machines almost always come with weak,inferior quality power supplies. my bet is that when you remove the side panel you will be looking at a 350-400W Bestech PSU. not good

Alright i'lll go with that card. Is there a way to tell what power supply it has? Says i'll need at least 400 wats.

Would it be better to get a different brand of computer instead of HP to get a different power supply.

I am thinking about buying a replacement power supply but that seems like one of the harder things to replace. Another thought is monitor it and replace it when i need to. Is there a good way to monitor it?

the only way is to call the manufacturer, or Google it and see if you can find a listing. as for your second question, no, all OEM computers come with weak PSU's...its where they cut corners to offer that fabulous price. replacing a psu is actually one of the easiest things to replace....its four screws and just replacing the power connectors

Thanks for all the info. I tried to look at the custom options on the HP site. I added a similar card like the one you mentioned.It came out as $610 but has less ram.

Operating system Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Processor Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual-Core processor E5400 [2.7GHz, 2MB L2, 800MHz FSB]
Memory 4GB DDR2-800MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMs]
Hard drive FREE UPGRADE! 640GB 7200 rpm SATA 3Gb/s hard drive from 500GB
Graphics card 1GB ATI Radeon HD 4650 [DVI, HDMI, VGA]
Primary optical drive LightScribe 16X max. DVD+/-R/RW SuperMulti drive edit
Networking Wireless-G LAN card
Front Productivity Ports 15-in-1 memory card reader, 2 USB, audio
TV & entertainment experience No TV Tuner w/remote control
Sound Card Integrated 5.1 channel sound with front audio ports
Speakers No speakers
Keyboard and Mouse HP multimedia keyboard and HP optical mouse
Productivity software Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
Security software No additional security software

Would a better option be another site the custom builds computers and you select options? If you know of one let me know.