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Alienware?

Mr. Mercer

Mr. Mercer

Sailor
I am considering buying an Aurora High-Performance computer from Alienware
<a href="http://www.alienware.com/customize/aurora-desktop.aspx?SysCode=PC-AURORA-R5&SubCode=SKU-ENT" target="_blank">http://www.alienware.com/customize/aurora-...SubCode=SKU-ENT</a>

Which is better? A custom-built, or an alienware? I personally believe alienware, but feedback is appreciated!!
 
I know AlienWare looks great, and has all the specs. Also, you pay around double the price for the brand alone.
Custom build gives you the satisfaction of complete freedom in your choice of hardware, without having to know everything. And it will let you upgrade later. Let the store build it for you.

AMD is not a bad choice right now, most bang for the bucks and the fastest processors. In addition, you get to choose my favourite brand, ATI, for a double videocard solution(Crossfire). It will give you around 50-80% more juice for today's demanding videogames.

But if your budget is "only" 1100$, I would recommend this custom built rig:

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE CPU

Gigabyte GA-MA790XT-UD4P Motherboard

OCZ Platinum 4 GB DDR3 PC12800 RAM

Club 3d Radeon HD 4780 1 GB Single Graphics Card

Samsung SpinPoint F1 750 GB Harddrive

Corsair TX550W PSU

Sony NEC Optiarc AD-7203A DVD

Coolermaster CM690 enclosure

Compare this to any AlienWare rig, custom built will give you more bang for the bucks. If your budget is smaller, please return.
 
With 1575$, there is room for one more graphics card (Crossfire) and the best air-cooled solution on the market right now, the ThermalRight 120 UltraExtreme (TRUE). And I know, the PSU is not 750w, but that much is not needed if it has single-railed +12v output quality, like Corsair or Chill Innovation and a lot of other good brands use.
 
It does look great. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":yes" border="0" alt="yes.gif" />

<img src="http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x172/oldsalt_bucket/cfg_p2_silver_desktop.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

Although I agree with Peter.
 
You could always ask Alienware if they'd sell you an empty case - they sold one to a buddy of mine, and he ended up getting a far better system by building it himself. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":yes" border="0" alt="yes.gif" />
 
That is cool, though if you leave the computer on it may scare the hell out of you when you wake up in the middle of the night after a particularly frightening alien invasion nightmare. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/yes.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":yes" border="0" alt="yes.gif" />
 
Hadn't thought of that. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
I agree with Peter Mr Mercer, building it yourself is always a better option. I looked at an Alienware PC before I built my new computer. They do have good specs when you compare them to other factory built machines like Dell and HP. But what your really paying for is the brand name and a spiffy looking case. I built my AMD Quad core for under $1000 (not including the monitor), a comparable Anlienware PC would have cost me over $2000. I also didn't Crossfire mine, just because I don't really need it. I saved a little money buy buying an older case as well. I was able to find an older Lian Li mid-tower case on NewEgg for under $100. If you have never used a Lian Li, they are like the Rolls Royce of computer cases. Easy as hell to work with, plenty of space, and absolutely no sharp edges to cut yourself on. They are also designed to be put together without any tools what so ever. The only thing that I would disagree with Peter about is the power supply. While 550W would be enough for the system, if you do plan on Crossfiring your video cards, I would recommend at least a 750w supply. That leaves you plenty of power if you plan on adding things in the future like more hard drives or dual DVD or Blue Ray drives.
 
<!--quoteo(post=322090:date=May 23 2009, 12:48 PM:name=Thagarr)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thagarr @ May 23 2009, 12:48 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=322090"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->if you do plan on Crossfiring your video cards<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
get a PSU that is <u>expressly</u> rated for your crossfire/SLI needs

Hinty -> <!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->ain't easy to find<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
and <b>A+B does not equal C</b>
so make certain that your single line 12v is sufficient for your needs

BTW a beefy single card is <!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->always<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> better than 2 medium cards linked. Heck 98% of the time a single beefy is better than 2 beefies linked


P.S. If you can't beat Alienwhere's price by at least 1/2 and get a better system too boot . . .
they're having a sale on the Brooklyn Bridge -- this week its extra cheep.
 
Custom built is the only way to go. I had my first one built by a store, but since then I have built my own. I further agree with Rupertlittlebear that a single beefy card is better than two linked cards.
 
<!--quoteo(post=322098:date=May 23 2009, 02:04 PM:name=rupertlittlebear)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (rupertlittlebear @ May 23 2009, 02:04 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=322098"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><!--quoteo(post=322090:date=May 23 2009, 12:48 PM:name=Thagarr)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thagarr @ May 23 2009, 12:48 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=322090"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->if you do plan on Crossfiring your video cards<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
get a PSU that is <u>expressly</u> rated for your crossfire/SLI needs

Hinty -> <!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->ain't easy to find<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
and <b>A+B does not equal C</b>
so make certain that your single line 12v is sufficient for your needs

BTW a beefy single card is <!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro-->always<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc--> better than 2 medium cards linked. Heck 98% of the time a single beefy is better than 2 beefies linked


P.S. If you can't beat Alienwhere's price by at least 1/2 and get a better system too boot . . .
they're having a sale on the Brooklyn Bridge -- this week its extra cheep.
<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


I agree rupert, thanks for pointing out the 12v rails, I forgot about them. Some times it can be pretty tricky depending on the brand of supply. Some of them are pretty flaky. be sure and check the specs on the video card('s) your going to use. Some Mfgr's have compatible PSU's listed on their web page.
 
I always prefer function over form, and gaming cases that look cool normally are not <i>cool</i> and need help like liquid, which requires maintenance.

Here's the case I used when I built my Gaming Rig:

<a href="http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MjM=" target="_blank">http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MjM=</a>

Lots of nice quiet fans, and venting is maxed out.

Looks pretty <i>cool</i> too:

<img src="http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a144/b4lazarus/Antec900.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
 
well it depends on actually how big your pocket are <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> or how knowledgeable you are in building customized computers... and i will say this know for a gamer comp i would go for alkienware bigtime <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
 
<!--quoteo(post=322280:date=May 24 2009, 07:30 AM:name=Zier ▲)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zier ▲ @ May 24 2009, 07:30 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=322280"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->and i will say this know for a gamer comp i would go for alkienware bigtime <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
google up a definition on

debentures
 
<!--quoteo(post=322280:date=May 24 2009, 08:30 AM:name=Zier ▲)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Zier ▲ @ May 24 2009, 08:30 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=322280"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->well it depends on actually how big your pocket are <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin.gif" /> or how knowledgeable you are in building customized computers... and i will say this know for a gamer comp i would go for alkienware bigtime <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

You don't have to spend big money on a powerhouse computer, Peter is right, all your really paying for is a name and a fancy case. My Quad core is a year old and it can still handle any game on the market at the moment and probably for several years to come. Most of the components used in Alienware PC can be bought off NewEgg or other PC vendors at a lower cost. Building a PC is one hell of a lot easier than it used to be, most components now really are plug and play (except of course for Vista, but that's another rant! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" /> ). Most cases don't even require a screw driver anymore ...let alone all the other old torture devices like IC pullers and dip switches. Almost everything is set from the BIOS. The toughest part is installing the motherboard and mounting the CPU and heatsink. But if your careful and READ up on how to do it, it is really fairly simple. Things really only start to get complicated when you get into liquid cooling, in my opinion though, the performance gain is not really worth all that money and effort. There are plenty of forums and news groups out there that are more than willing to help a first time PC builder out with all their questions.

Here is a good place to start :
<a href="http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1443" target="_blank">http://www.ocmodshop.com/ocmodshop.aspx?a=1443</a>
 
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