Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: DmdBT on September 30, 2004, 10:50:23 AM
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The PC is on its last leg, bought it six years ago, swapped out the MB, CPU, video card, power supply, and memory about 3 years ago, and now the cd went up and the fans are noisy as can be. I'm torn between ordering a new system complete from Alienware or trying to build a system myself. Personally I'd rather buy it finished as the hassle-factor is greatly reduced.
Has anyone out there tried Alienware and what do you think of their systems? What I'm looking into will run about $2300 and I will need it to last me at least 3 years.
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All the alienwares I have seen have been setup great. The interior of the case is exceptionally clutter free but its nothing that can't be done on your own or even in a local PC shop for a significantly less amount of funds than what they charge.
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I can sympathise. I would love to build my own, but when!!!:rolleyes:
I tend to also end up going for the ready-to-roll more expensive option.
A good half way house is a barebones system. I would certainly recommend installing the software yourself. Don't take all those "free" bundles of crap they give away with new machines.
I have hear nothing but good things about Alienware, though personally i hate the look of their cases. Their support is second to none apparently, but they are VERY expensive.
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There is NOTHING special about Alienware.
There are many well-documented horror stories with Alienware out there; just Google for them.
In fact, I'll save you the trouble (keep reading all the way through), because here's one:
http://str8dog.com/articles/182.aspx
Honestly, there is no Gold or Silver in an Alienware box, and if you are knowledable enough a user to WANT an Alienware box, then you are knowlegable to either build one yourself, or have a local clone-shop build one for you.
Seriously, print out the specs of an Alienware box (sans Price) and bring it to a clone shop (these days, I have been using PCClub (http://www.pcclub.com/) for clients) and ask them to build something just like it and see how much less it will cost. And I guaranty you'll get better service from a reputable local clone shop too.
Sure, it won't glow in the dark or have an Alienware sticker, but with the extra $1000 you save, go on a vacation to Vegas or something. Or go to the Con next year.
Again, there is NOTHING special about Alienware.
-Llama
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Try http://www.abspc.com. More bang for the buck than Alienware and its top quality stuff. Very,very, happy with my rig. Just over 2 years old and no major issues.
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I got an alienware system about 2.5 years ago. Yes, it cost bit more. It has ran flawlessly the entire time. I have not had one crash. Only thing I have done is update drivers & directx. For me, it was well worth the money spent. I have no desire to build a machine, and $$ not that big an issue. Funny thing is, my wife is actually the one that got it for me, but that is a whole nother story.
AH II runs up around 70s most of time, does dip down to around 40ish fps when real heavy traffic. That is with sliders about 7/8ths turned up.
I went with higher priced thing based on reputation & I wanted something that would be hasslefree. That is exactly what I got. If the extra $$ aren't a big deal for you, I wouldn't hesitate for a minute buying from alienware. When I go to get a new system, I will more than likely be a repeat customer. This is only my own personnel experience.
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Originally posted by FOGOLD
I have hear nothing but good things about Alienware, though personally i hate the look of their cases. Their support is second to none apparently, but they are VERY expensive.
Alienware is the reason I started building my own. Three years ago I bought the latest greatest from them with a 3 year ON-SITE warranty. The motherboard failed at 5 months. They Fedexed a motherboard, PSU, and had a local shop came to my house to install them. BOY was I impressed with their service! BUT, 5 months later it failed again. After long discussions with tech support folks whom barely spoke English and knew less than I bout puters, I convinced them that this model motherboard was a POS and had failed again. They told me they no longer did major repairs ON-SITE and wanted me to ship it to Florida from Hawaii. After many heated arguements with supervisors, I convinced them that honoring my ON-SITE warranty would be much cheaper than an ON-SITE lawsuit. I did manage to get them to replace it with their current Nforce mobo and it has been fine since then and I later upgraded the CPU, RAM and vid card. I shipped that box to Guam and built my first Hawaii machine. I will never buy another pre-built.
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If you're looking for a nice rig and won't build it yourself, then check out Falcon NW:
http://www.falcon-nw.com/ (http://www.falcon-nw.com/)
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MOSQ,
I just attended my West Linn High School reunion last Saturday but I am happily back in Hawaii again.
DJ229