HP Desktop Computers For Gaming

Whilst HP are best known for their printers, they also produce and sell a great range of desktop computers. Their range starts at $299, and their desktops built with gaming in mind start from around $599.

This article will look at the various HP desktop computers - especially those which are designed for gaming - and suggest the best configuration at various price points.

We start at just a $300 budget - which naturally won't buy you an awesome gaming computer - but it will play some basic (and older) games.

Then this article goes up to the $900 range; where you can buy a computer which will play the vast majority of games on the high graphical settings.

Budget - At $300

This is the price that HP desktop computers start at. The only choice at $300 is the HP Pavilion p6500z series. It comes with the following components:

  • AMD Sempron 140 processor (2.7GHz)
  • 2GB 1,066 Mhz RAM
  • 320GB hard-drive
  • Integrated graphics

The integrated graphics means that this system can't be used to play any resource intensive games. This is, however, to be expected from such a budget range. If you only want to play very basic games, this system should be fine for you though.

Budget - At $400

At $400, you can get the Pavilion p6510t computer. This starts at $349, hence if you add the ATI Radeon HD 5450 (for $50 extra) you can get the following system for under $400:

  • Intel Celeron process 450 (2.2 Ghz)
  • 3GB 800 Mhz RAM
  • 320GB hard-drive
  • 512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450

The upgrade to an actual graphics card (not an integrated graphics card) means that this system will be able to play the majority of games (albeit possibly on their lower graphical settings). The processor isn't the quickest, although at $400 this is a fairly competitive deal.

Budget - At $500

For $500, we recommend the p6550z computer with the ATI Radeon HD 5450 upgrade. This is where the HP systems start to become good desktop gaming computers. This gives:

  • AMD Athlon II 245 dual-core processor (2.9GHz)
  • 4GB 1,333 Mhz RAM
  • 500GB hard-drive
  • 512MB ATI Radeon HD 5450

The better processor, RAM and hard-drive compared to the $400 system is a nice upgrade for just $100. Again, it will be able to play the majority of games (not on their highest settings, however) and should perform well overall.

Budget - At $700 - HP Gaming Computers Best Deal

At $700 you will start to get computers with fairly recently technology. You can get the HP p6570t with an upgrade to the NVIDIA GeForce GT 230. The base cost is $549, and the upgrade is $150 although it is worth it. This gives:

  • Intel Core i3 540 (3.06 Ghz)
  • 4GB 1,333 Mhz RAM
  • 640GB hard-drive
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 230

This system would cost you approximately $700 if you were to build it yourself, hence this is a very good deal indeed. The processor is fairly good, and the graphics card should ensure that you can play probably all games on the market (some at full graphical settings, some at slightly lower settings).

Budget - At $900

For under $900 you can get the p6580t with a few upgraded components along with a slightly better warranty:

  • Intel Core i5 750 (2.66Ghz)
  • 6GB 1,333 Mhz RAM
  • 640GB hard-drive
  • NVIDIA GeForce GT 230
  • 2 year house call warranty

This system comes to $885.98 and should be capable of playing all games on the market at good graphical settings, and it should perform well overall too.


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