Nerding Out - Been a While
So my old PC is kinda running down.. I think I will be getting a new PC very soon. The kids and the wife can fight over the old one.. BWAHAHAHA! I may have to get them one too..
So here are some options I have looked at.
Alienware.
These guys seems to make a kickass system. They are more expensive than the cheapo Dell systems but they seem alot better. More features. Bigger Hard Drive.. on and on.. I was thinking about the Area-51® 5500.
Base System is as follows:
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6300 1.86GHz 2MB Cache 1066MHz FSB
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
Alienware® P2 Chassis New Tool-Less Chassis! (Sweet Looking!)
Intel® 975X Motherboard (1GB Either Net, USB 2.0 Ports 8 (4 back / 4 front), FireWire 1394a Ports 1 (Back))
1GB DDR2 Performance SDRAM at 667MHz
160GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
16x Dual Layer DVD+R/W Drive
256MB Radeon® X1650XT
Alienware® 700 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
Alienware Approved 17" 12ms Flat Panel - Black
High Definition 7.1 Audio - Standard (No Speakers)
Keyboard/Mouse
Total Price: $1,549.00
The other option which I am somewhat comfortable with being a Software geek not a hardware geek is building it myself. I checked out some systems on NewEgg.com.
AMD X2 4600+ 2.4GHz 940-Pin
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe
2 x 1GB Corsair DDR2-667 RAM
Seagate 320GB SATAII HD
Antec Sonata II w/ 450W Smartpower PSU Case w/ Power Supply
256MB ASUS 7900GS Video
Pioneer 111D Black/Silver DVD
Windows XP
Mouse/Keyboard
SAMSUNG 740N-BK Black 17" 8ms LCD Monitor 300
Total Price: $1374.98
So I can come in under the Alienware price.. have an extra GB of memory, 160GB more of Porn Storage space, and pick my own Video and DVD drives. The board has most of the same features although I think the Alienware one is slightly better.
Of course I have to not destroy anything while putting this thing together.. and I get warentees on a part by part basis..
I am not sure if I like Dell. Possibly. I think the video and motherboard options are alot cheaper than the custom built systems but Dell is cheap.
Dell E530
Pentium® D Processor 805 with Dual Core Technology (2.66GHz, 533FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Professional
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
48X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive
17 inch E177FP Analog Flat Panel
256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio (No Speakers)
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell 2-button Scroll Mouse
Total Price: $833
By far the lowest price. Probably the cheapest parts but I am not sure if I need a super kick ass system. Just something to replace what I have now.. and I can practically buy two of these for the price of one custom model.
Not sure which way I am going to go yet.. I think I have the ability to put this sucker together and it would be fun..
posted by SirFWALGMan at
1:07 PM
16 Comments:
Please, for the love of all that is good an holy...
If you assemble your own computer you must video tape the entire thing.
1:48 PM
As an Alienware owner I can say they're sadly overrated, or at least not worth a premium - if you're going to splurge go with VooDoo or Talon or Widow. They may end up costing even slightly more but the quality is a long way ahead.
And skip the Alienware flat panel - get one of the Dell LCDs instead, they hold up well and a 20" or 24" widescreen is a thing of beauty.
I'd also throw more money into RAM if you can afford it. 2GB is a must for decent performance these days.
2:44 PM
I just bought a Dell laptop, have used wifey Kim's Dell laptop for years, and have owned about 3 Dell desktops in my life (currently still have one). They are good computers, with really easy customization online. Just go with the Dell, and don't forget to search for "Dell Coupons" on yahoo or google for some discount codes. I think i saved a couple of hundred this way.
3:02 PM
i got a Dell XPS 410 with 24" LCD about 6 months ago. it cost me about $1800 at the time. the same config is probably a couple hundy less now. it's more than adequate for tournament and cash game donkery.
i'm happy with it.
4:21 PM
Who gves a shiiit about the computer. Just get two 24" LCD monitors. That is all that matters.
10:05 PM
how strange...i was planning on asking everyone what I should get since I want a new computah...
good job.
oh yeah...i'll be back in town tomorrow...will IM you then.
10:25 PM
you want 2 gig of memory. you might not need it right this second, but give it a couple months. you'll be buying it anyway, so might as well get it now. and personally, i'd go with the intel core 2 duo CPU or the AMD X2. DO NOT do the pentium D, unless you just want to do word processing on this machine. that double sized front side bus will do wonders with multitasking and CPU intensive things like gaming and photoshop and video editing and dvd playback and whatnot.
buy for what you think you'll need a year from now, and you'll get a solid 3 years of useful life out of the thing. buy for what's absolutely cheapest now, and you'll have a great year and then 2 years of "damn i wish my computer wasn't so laggy" or "boo hooo i can't play that game at the highest resolution cuz my computer is too slow"
i hope this post meant you were seeking advice! lol
10:39 PM
I've had the displeasure of having to work on a couple of Dell models. Both were utter crap. But when I ask other people about their experience with the brand, they're all happy...perhaps I was just unfortunate.
I'd go with the AMD model anytime. Rolling your own is so much more fun!
/j. (writing you from a HP pavilion mofo of a laptop)
4:15 AM
Assembling your own computer isn't as difficult as one might think, but I do agree that you need to record it from start to finish.
If you decide to go with the Dell, I got a great deal on my system and an even better deal on a second monitor with a code from techbargains.com. I get 15% off Dell products through work, but the codes I got were 25-30% off.
6:11 AM
Alienware is giving 50 computers away in 50 days. You might not have to pay for one: 50aliens.com
7:33 AM
Thought I'd give you my advice - better late than never...
First off, Dell owns Alienware: the Dell XPS is an Alienware system.
Secondly, don't get tricked into getting more than you need. Unless you play video games, all you need is:
1. Intel Core Duo 1.6 GHz
2. 1 GB RAM running @ 533 Mhz or more (more than 1 GB of RAM is wasted unless you're doing graphics-intensive work such as video editing)
3.100 - 160 GB hard drive
4. 128MB - 256MB video card
5. DVD burner (avoid the CD-RW/DVD combo)
If you need a monitor, don't buy a package that includes one: you'll pay extra for a monitor that you don't want.
The entire system above shouldn't cost any more than $700 USD. Throw in an extra $500 for a good monitor and you're set.
And although Dell's ok, BestBuy sells some good cheap computers online. Look for the refurbished computers for some good deals.
As for monitors, I recommend Samsung myself: the 204B looks great and has a native resolution of 1600x1200.
Hope this helps.
7:41 AM
Alienware got bought out by Dell earlier this year.
10:08 AM
It's always more fun to build and overclock it yourself. If you go with a system, Alienware is not what it once was, I'd check out Falcon Northwest (falcon-nw.com).
2:28 PM
I was a loyal Dell customer until their ungodly customer service put me through a living hell earier this year. The computers are fine until something goes wrong, then your totally fyocked. You can refer to a long series of rants from February and March (maybe?) in my blog, if you want details.
12:42 PM
Please see Chilly's comment.
8:33 PM
Couponalbum also offers *handpicked deals* in addition to the thousands of coupons that are updated frequently…Try and share experience........
1:59 AM
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