Re: Buying a new PC and need some opinions
Warning I am an IT Network admin meaning I might get a little techy and my grammar is poor cause I am typing quickly I will try to keep things simple but be warned reading this may result in mass confusion among roller coaster nerds who aren't computer nerds 
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It sounds like he is trying to save money by so paying 2 to 3times as much for the same hardware because it is a Mac is probably not an option. Also while AMD chips tend to be slower clock cycle for clock cycle (Number of GHz) at least from the manufacture price if you are buying chips for a custom build performance to dollar almost always favor AMD. I don't know that translate to HPs lower pricing and if it still aplies once a computer manufacture sets there price but it is a fact plus ne ATI cards combine processing power with ne w Phenom chip making then faster than intel in graphics intese operations like video editing. I am not against intel if you want the fastest most insane system you can get go Intel and Nvidia if you want the most for your money go AMD and ATI. as far as longevity they are about the same expect the chip to last at least 5 years either will be out dated before it is broke. use toms hardware charts to compare performance between products the look on new egg to compare prices you will find more money doesn't always mean faster.
The chip you are looking at is fast enogh but the athlon x2 is an old chip so it should be considerably cheaper than a comparable pc with an intel core2 which is much new and also faster intel core 2 chips have performance comparable to the amd phenom chips which are newer and closer in price to the intel chips.
I will stop now.