Buying an AlienWare Computer... Good price, good computer?

[psilontech]

Hi guys... I have decided to buy a new computer and with the $500 rebate on www.alienware.com,I have decided to buy one from them, whom I have heard make some of the best. Now, the computer I have decided on is the "Aurora™ 5500 System", with a cheap little 15" CRT monitor added onto it for a grand total of $1046 (after the $500 Starwars rebate). I think this is a good deal, and I am thinking it is a good computer... so, what do you think about it? Good deal or no?

 

[Dr. Yoshi]

With the $500 rebate the price of an Alienware actually starts to become decent. Alienware and others like it (Falcon Northwest, VoodooPC) are known for making great PCs at atrocious prices. What is its specs?

 

[psilontech]

I guess I would be too lazy to look it up myself too , so here you go:
OS: Win XP SP 2 Home
Ram: 512
CPU: AMD Ath. 64 3.5 GHz +
Power Supply: 460 Watt
Vid Card: ATI RADEON™ 9550SE 128MB
Sound: Does it really matter?
HD: 80 GB
Monitor: Dinky 15" CRT

Now to that part I don't quite get...

3.5 Bays: 6
5.25 Bays: 4
AGP slots: 1
Memory Slots: 4
PCI: 5
Audio:3
Graphics: 4
Network: 1
IDE: 2
USB: 10 (Why would I need 10!?!?)
S-ATA: 2
FireWire: 2

 

[Dr. Yoshi]

Yeah, that's way too much for a system of that caliber. Try Dell or better yet build your own. Building your own is cheaper, plus you learn something in the process. Just don't do it if you need your computer right away, like if your old computer is fried or something.

 

[Zakharov]

The cpu and power supply are about right for a system at that price, but the rest of it is not up to scratch. You should be looking for:

- Motherboard: Alienware seem to be offering mobos with the VIA chipset. You should look for a nForce board instead. (nForce3 = AGP graphics, nForce4 = PCI-E).

- 1GB of RAM (2x 512MB, not 4x 256MB)

- GPU: GeForce 6x00 or Radeon Xx00, there is no reason to buy a last generation graphics card.

- Sound: you just need to make sure the mobo has an onboard sound chipset.

- HDD: At least 200GB with 8MB cache. Hard drives are very cheap at the moment so there is no need to save on space. 200GB seems a lot but you will wish you had it if you settle for 80GB.

- Monitor: This is up to you really. If you have the space then I would recommend a CRT monitor. Not only are they cheaper than LCD screens but I think the image quality is better too.

It would also be helpful to know what you intend to use this machine for, as even these recommendations may be too much if all you do is web browsing. For example, do you plan to play the latest games?

 

[stormbind]

I would not buy an Alienware PC. It's a shame they don't sell the cases seperate

However, I am trying to get an Alienware laptop because I don't know of any other vendor who sticks decent 3D cards in them. Are there cheaper solutions?

 

[stormbind]

I would strongly recommend an LCD monitor. The image might not be as sharp, but you cannot put a price on your eyes: CRT refresh causes eyestrain, and the electrons will eventually burn your retina off

When I was short of cash, I replaced my damaged CRT with a dirt cheap LCD (£100 from Argos). By any objective review, such a monitor is at the bottom of the quality scale. However, my eyes felt immediately relieved and "fresh" even after hours of use. I have not looked back and now use LCD all the time.

 

[Zelig]

- Monitor: This is up to you really. If you have the space then I would recommend a CRT monitor. Not only are they cheaper than LCD screens but I think the image quality is better too.

Nope, LCD image quality is now comparable or better, but for monitors of that calibre, they're much more expensive than their crt equivalents in price.

I would not buy an Alienware PC. It's a shame they don't sell the cases seperate

However, I am trying to get an Alienware laptop because I don't know of any other vendor who sticks decent 3D cards in them. Are there cheaper solutions?

Alienware cases aren't anything special, just modified Antec ones IIRC. On the other hand, VoodooPC makes some wicked cases, which also aren't available on their own.

I'm know there are cheaper solutions, however, I haven't been keeping up to date with anything for laptops, so I can't really recommend anything.

I would strongly recommend an LCD monitor. The image might not be as sharp, but you cannot put a price on your eyes: CRT refresh causes eyestrain, and the electrons will eventually burn your retina off

When I was short of cash, I replaced my damaged CRT with a dirt cheap LCD (£100 from Argos). By any objective review, such a monitor is at the bottom of the quality scale. However, my eyes felt immediately relieved and "fresh" even after hours of use. I have not looked back and now use LCD all the time.

I beg to differ... my crt monitor does 109 Hz at 1600x1200, more than is necessary to eliminate any eyestrain. You just get different disadvantages in buying cheap crt or lcd monitors.

 

[Joeb WK]

Alien Ware are rip-off merchents build your own.

 

[Zakharov]

Nope, LCD image quality is now comparable or better, but for monitors of that calibre, they're much more expensive than their crt equivalents in price.

Maybe I just haven't used a top quality LCD screen, but from my personal experience I have yet to find one which gives me a clearer picture than my 19" CRT. In the case of gaming performance are there any LCD monitors with a 4ms response time? That is what is needed to be comparable to a good CRT.

I would strongly recommend an LCD monitor. The image might not be as sharp, but you cannot put a price on your eyes: CRT refresh causes eyestrain, and the electrons will eventually burn your retina off

Two points here:

a) My eyes feel much more comfortable looking at a CRT screen than a LCD screen.
b) CRT screens do not burn off your retinas. If they did then everyone who has watched a TV would be blind.

 

[psilontech]

Okay, from your feedback, this computer... isn't that great and I should build my own...
Few questions on that...
All I need is:
Case (Whatever that will hold all the crap)
MB (939, several PCI slots and atleast 1 agp, integrated sound)
CPU (I dunno, AMD Ath. 64 3600+?)
2x512 RAM
Vid Card: What that one guy said
Hard Drive (180 GB & 8mb Cache?)
Dvd/Cd Drive
and... anything else?

Also, aside from anything I left out... After I put everything in (I think I will buy the case and MB together so I don't have to screw it in), like the vid card and stuff... does the HD and stuff come with the wires to plug into the mb and everything? is it clear where all the wires go, or do they come with clear manuals on where the wires go?

I'm thinking on either getting the parts off of tigerdirect.com or newegg.com, but is there anywhere else that is better?

... Step by step instructions? what is the best of everything for gaming for the next several years w/o needing to upgrade?

 

[Mise]

Best thing to do is open up your current pc and look (don't poke around or anything) at what you have in it and where it is, what plugs look like etc.

Things you missed:
Power supply
Floppy drive

As for what cables you need, it's best to buy "retail/boxed" instead of "OEM" -- the retail boxed ones generally come with cables and sometimes some information as well, whereas OEM ones just come with the device and nothing else. The motherboard manual will tell you were to put all the plugs, and it normally comes with an installation guide.

One important thing is that you MUST get a suitable CPU fan, or else it'll melt and die. When I bought mine (retail boxed) it came with a suitable fan, so check it out and make sure you take this into account.

Oh, and I've probably forgotten something, so this isn't exaustive....

 

[Zelig]

Maybe I just haven't used a top quality LCD screen, but from my personal experience I have yet to find one which gives me a clearer picture than my 19" CRT. In the case of gaming performance are there any LCD monitors with a 4ms response time? That is what is needed to be comparable to a good CRT.

Top of the line lcd screens image wise still generally don't have extremely low response times, but for grapics design, they rock. I've got a friend who does graphic design who's been using a pair of IBM L200P monitors for a while... they're impressive.

Viewsonic has this model with a 4 ms response time. I haven't seen it though, so I don't know how it is as a monitor otherwise...

Where are you getting the 4ms figure btw? For a crt to have a response time equivalent to 4ms, it would have to be running at 250 Hz. My crt runs at 109 Hz at 1600x1200, which is hardly typical, and would give a response time of about 9 ms, unless I'm calculating something wrong.

 

[stormbind]

CRT are still much crisper than LCD. This is undesputed.

But I stand by my previous statement and will not go back to using using a CRT. I thought every who watched TV was practically blind - that is why they wear glasses

 

[Mise]

As an aside, which is better for my eyes: putting the screen far from my eyes or close to my eyes?

 

[Zelig]

CRT are still much crisper than LCD. This is undesputed.

But I stand by my previous statement and will not go back to using using a CRT. I thought every who watched TV was practically blind - that is why they wear glasses

Heh, can't stop me from disputing.
The funny thing is that while you're saying crt's are crisper, you use an lcd, and though I say lcd's can easily rival crt's in still image quality, my main monitor is a crt.

As an aside, which is better for my eyes: putting the screen far from my eyes or close to my eyes?

Further, in general. Old and/or busted crt's can radiate stuff, which isn't good for people in general, but barring that, it's a simple matter of the way that your eyes focus, and has nothing to do with monitors in particular. People who spend similar amounts of time reading books close to their faces have similar problems related to their eyesite later in life.

 

[CruddyLeper]

As an aside, which is better for my eyes: putting the screen far from my eyes or close to my eyes?

Take micro-breaks and CHANGE THE DISTANCE of what you are looking at. Staying locked onto the same image continously is what relaxes the eye muscles and makes them flabby.

Just a couple of seconds every minute focussed out the window helps 'em stay in shape.

 

[CruddyLeper]

Yeah, that's way too much for a system of that caliber. Try Dell or better yet build your own. Building your own is cheaper, plus you learn something in the process. Just don't do it if you need your computer right away, like if your old computer is fried or something.

I disagree. Star Wars edition cases are very collectible and will still be worth money long after the mobo, graphics card etc are considered junk. Assuming you keep in in good condition, of course.

Also, the spec is pretty good for the money considering it comes with Windows XP Pro. Sure, you can build a cheaper system yourself, but add in the cost of Windows and the balance often tips.

And before somebody says "I've already got Windows, I don't need to buy it" go and read your single user EULA agreement first.

EDIT: It isn't as good as a Clawhammer FX-55 SLI for games, but then again it's not as expensive either.

 

[Volstag]

AlienWare makes great machines if you're willing to spend the $$$ to obtain 'em. Personally, and I recommend this to everyone: build your own machine. You can build kick-ass rigs at very affordable prices.

Head to http://www.sharkeyextreme.com and read their "Value Gaming Guide", wherein they try to build the best bang-for-buck gaming computer using a $1000 cap (and only using name-brand/quality components). They put out a new "issue" once every month, or so. If you have more cash to spend, check out their "High End" ($2500) and "Extreme" ($4000) guides. I do most of my ordering through http://www.newegg.com.

It's very easy to build these machines. In fact it'll surprise you how easy it is.

 

[psilontech]

Thank you, Volstag, that was a helpful link. ^_^