Im Going!

[XtrmeJ]

To AH2. Ordered an alienware today.
Sure as hell hope its worth it. Anyone else have alienwares out there? Heard great things about them, and got mine armed to the teeth. I decided to go with em because their techs support is unsurpassed. Ill cya in AH2

[BlckMgk]

Well I live right next to the shop, how about I pick it up, tell you how it works then send it to you.. haha

Which did you get? Hopefully you opted for the ATI X800 you won't be disappointed, only when you can't find any game that will bog your system, at insane resoultions and 8x AA.

Not only is their tech support pretty decent, but they build great machines that are reliable. Do your regular maintenance, with SP updates, don't download to many demos, or visit to many p0rn sites, and keep the machine clean, otherwise it should be a very fast and stable machine.

I've been a proud owner for 3+ years, might be getting my 2nd alienware "The ALX" (liquid cooled) version of Alienware, but I want to wait and see whats going to develop with DDR2, and PCI express, and a few motherboard companys. I'll probably be purchasing around october, by then there should be a 512 vcard for Half Life 2.

This comp should last you a good 2 years, till you feel you've become "par"

Good luck XJ,

-BM

[XtrmeJ]

TY but! Yeah I saw the ALX Liquid Cool System but it is not offered yet. So I went without it. Yah I have all goodies, X800, 1 GB ram other stuff that I'm to lazy to mention. Glad to see this comp will last me a good while.

[IK0N]

Xj you will be on hold just like with everyone else waiting for support, but the hardware is quality. Your a sharp guy you could build as good a system for half the beans..

IKON

[BlckMgk]

Originally posted by IK0N
Xj you will be on hold just like with everyone else waiting for support, but the hardware is quality. Your a sharp guy you could build as good a system for half the beans..

IKON

Bah nowadays its such a headache to keep up with everything, he has to check for compatability between his ram, and his mother board, and his and the right socket type for future upgradability etc..

I don't mind paying an extra $400 to save me the time and headache, and that it gets done right.

Assuming he went with the top of the line Aurora AMD based system: $$3,589.00

A break down of the system from prices I've found for a "do it yourselfer"

$170- 650Watt Power Supply
$740- AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-53
$250- ASUS SK8V - VIA K8T800 Motherboard
$460- ATI RADEON™ X800 XT Platinum
$380- Since he went with the FX-53 and not the FX-53 Socket 939 he needs to get registered ram(which is more expensive) 2 sticks of 512 DDR, corsair type they have at alienware $190 a piece
$200- ATX case with 6 Cooling fans (2 front, 2 Rear, 1 Side, 1 Top)
$340- 74GB Western Digital Raptor™ 10,000 RPM
$20- Lite-On 16x DVD-ROM Drive with Software DVD Decoder
$40- Lite-On 52x32x52x CD-RW Drive
$180- Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround
$140- Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
_____ So Far

$2920.00 (not including tax on EVERY PART YOU ORDER and SHIPPING but somtimes shipping is free)

We still have no monitor, and or speaker system (but I prefer headphones)

thats a $600 difference...... without their Alienware "service" and in the future you can upgrade with free labor, just gotta buy the parts.

I do remember when they first started building these machines, and I'd agree with you some of the prices they were charging for the machines they built were outrageous, but demand is good, supply is good, and competition is tough for them, so their margins have lowered somewhat.

Its not as much of a rob as most people think, and trust me... knowing it works, works well, and is working at its full potential, is a great feeling.

-BM

[XtrmeJ]

I was going to build my own with alota help from Morpheus. Decided to go with alienware because the price was only about 200 dollar difference without shipping. Shipping is what put me over board.. 119 bucks to ship it to hawaii hehe.

I was caste into the deepest shadows of puter hell. Thought I'd light things up with a real treat for my first gaming computer. Since this system is fully upgradable it should be fine. I would really love to build a system the next time round I decide to get a new puter. Have gained alot of knowledge just searching for components and such, and it really isnt hard. I just really wanted to go all out with this one:D

[XtrmeJ]

Originally posted by IK0N
Your a sharp guy you could build as good a system for half the beans..

IKON

I always knew there was something about you I liked:D Hehe thnx for the compliment, I'm still pretty computer illiterate. I know hardware and software stuff but thats about it. BIOS and other things I dont know well, but plan to learn. Easy stuff I know, but have never used any of it.

[BlckMgk]

Originally posted by XtrmeJ
TY but! Yeah I saw the ALX Liquid Cool System but it is not offered yet. So I went without it. Yah I have all goodies, X800, 1 GB ram other stuff that I'm to lazy to mention. Glad to see this comp will last me a good while.

The ALX is available..
http://www.alienware.com/alx_pages/main_alx.aspx
$Price: $4,959.00


A bit pricey for my taste right now (about $1,000 over). Not to many folks offer liquid cooling, so its "rare" and they can charge what they want, but you can convert your system right now for no more than $250, to cool CPU very easy.. then again there will be changes in this area soon.. or about $500 to cool cpu and Vcard dangerous cause ya need to use their putty, which means once its on..... its on, and means if you want to upgrade your vcard you need another heat disperse unit for vcard, which means you need to drain the liquid -- which you need to do every year or so-- and re putty the bastard..

New form mother board layouts, Cases with liquid cooling mods/thermometers etc.. Lots of the extreme gamers are moving to liquid cooling, it offers good performance for overclocking, and the noise from the fans that ARENT there is a sweet sound of silence, just a nice quite hum (powersupply still has a fan)

Manuf. make their cards work exceptionaly well with only air cooling, getting good circulation is key, and like I said earlier there are new motherboard  designs which maximize airflow over hotspots etc... with specially designed cases etc.

edit: just noticed the system also does some nice stuff with their HDrives-148GB (74GB x 2) Western Digital Raptor™ 10,000 RPM Extreme Performance - Serial ATA RAID 0

which is quite expensive, and a big headache to do.. soooo maybe it is priced pretty well.

-BM

[XtrmeJ]

I just ordered my puter, and got the liquid cool system for vid card. Gonna see if they will pop on an ALX for me hehe.

[XtrmeJ]

Oops! Thought it was an add on to any alienware system, what a bummer. Seems you have to buy that setup there to get it. In the near future they will probably make it an accessory. It does a good deal of cooling, but for looks and brand behind it, is why it is so over priced. Tis a shame really.

[Reschke]

I have a buddy I used to work in a computer shop with that opened his own custom built shop and he does things exactly like Alienware just a hell of a lot cheaper.

Alienware has enough pull now that they can get their cases molded for them. Where I remember that when they started out they bought the full tower Antec/Cheiftec cases and popped in bigger power supply's. But thats still a huge chunk of money for something that only a few people will ever see.

[storch]

Originally posted by Reschke
I have a buddy I used to work in a computer shop with that opened his own custom built shop and he does things exactly like Alienware just a hell of a lot cheaper.

Alienware has enough pull now that they can get their cases molded for them. Where I remember that when they started out they bought the full tower Antec/Cheiftec cases and popped in bigger power supply's. But thats still a huge chunk of money for something that only a few people will ever see.

My reason for purchasing Alienware would be for the tech support and their warranty.  I would consider it an insurance policy and the additional cost the premium.

[deSelys]

Originally posted by BlckMgk
...New form mother board layouts, Cases with liquid cooling mods/thermometers etc.. Lots of the extreme gamers are moving to liquid cooling, it offers good performance for overclocking, and the noise from the fans that ARENT there is a sweet sound of silence, just a nice quite hum (powersupply still has a fan)
...

Wow I think I prefer to hear a low fan noise than bubbles and water gurgling....I would have to take a leak every 15' hehe

[BlckMgk]

Originally posted by deSelys
Wow I think I prefer to hear a low fan noise than bubbles and water gurgling....I would have to take a leak every 15' hehe

hehe not quite

[YUCCA]

I'm gonna start building my first machine here in a couple weeks, it's sounds like fun, and much cheaper, i just can't stomach having to pay 3 grand for a computer that's obsolete in one or two years  I have all the input devices,speakers, and monitor i can use just need to build a tower.  Shooting for under a grand.... wish me luck!