Desktops: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC
Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC
by clairvoyant christopher - 10/2/09 7:54 AMI'm considering on either purchasing the 875watt Alienware Aurora for $2,604 or building my own.
Specs:
CHASSIS COLOR Lunar Shadow, Alienware Aurora Chassis edit
PROCESSOR
Intel® Core™ i7 950 (3.06GHz, 8MB Cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium (64 bit) + Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Coupon - Engli edit
VIDEO CARD Single 1.8GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 edit
MEMORY 12GB Triple Channel 1067MHz DDR3 edit
HARD DRIVE 750GB - SATA-II, 3GB/S, 7200RPM, 16MB Cache edit
OPTICAL DRIVE Single Drive: 24X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability edit
SOUND CARD Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium edit
MONITOR No Monitor edit
KEYBOARD Alienware Multi-Media Keyboard edit
MOUSE Alienware Optical Mouse, MG100 edit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis edit
My Accessories
ALIENFX AlienFX Color, Quasar Blue edit
AVATAR Alien Cyborg edit
WALLPAPER Alienhead Chrome Red edit
AUTOMATIC UPDATES Automatic Updates: Enabled
I have to have a top of the line computer because I'm a internet psychic advisor at www.keen.com/clairvoyant+christopher I make money with my computer and I like to do gaming and play games like Crysis.
Here in Beverly Hills,CA so many people are having their computers built through Maingear, which cost over $8,700-way over my budget.
I want another desktop for my bedroom. Would I save that much money if I build my own? Is it hard to build my own if I have no experience?
All of you out there, please let me know your opinions.
Thanks.
It's all up to you! PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH
by nicolasprieur1995 - 10/2/09 10:37 PM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherplease make shure you read all it all chains up together:
I have a lot of experience with Desktops, and seriously man with the price of this alienware, you could get twice as more power, alienware rips you off man seriously you dont know how much, and if you are going to buy the alienware for the design, there are so mahy cool led light cases ou there that look as good.
And if you build your own computer you just have to buy the parts from newegg, thats what i did www.newegg.com, just look for the parts, and if you dont know what to choose and which parts you have to buy, go to the nearest vendor, he will tell you what parts you need to buy, and then ask him if he can build it for ya, and there are plenty of sites that will help you do it. But for god sakes dont buy an alienware, especially at 2600 dollars, its not worth it, remember. you can get a custom made one twice as powerful!
And the vendors will suggest you parts.
Look, heres the proof, i have built my custom desktop with these specs: and the final price was around 800 dollars, no joke.
Processor: Intel® Core™2 Quad Processor Q9550
Graphic Card Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 1gb ram
Hard Drive: 2 500GB hardrives
Monitor: dell 22 inch monitor HD
Keyboard: Flat key keyboard
Mouse: razer diamondback
RAM: 8gb
So that is already a gaming beast, but you want more, so it will probably cost you 1300 dollars, and keep in mind that the first time you buy it it will be very expensive, but then one year later, your little alienware that was once almighty, will be a piece of SH**t, trust me. but if you cutom make your own you will be able to upgrade it any time, like if the graphic card is no longer powerful enough, just buy a new card, you dont have to buy an alienware again! And that saves A LOT!!
my sources: EXPERIENCE
Wish you the best of luck
feel free to email me if you have any questions, its faster than forums: nicolas.prieur1995@gmail(dot)com replace (dot) by .
dont get my age wrong, i am 14! But i have built dozens upon dozens of computers for families and small companies near me.
Don't sell someon a product
by Porch-a-Geese - 10/2/09 10:51 PM In reply to: It's all up to you! PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH by nicolasprieur1995Give all information and all options. What you are doing is telling what is best for you.
I use Linux. I use FreeBSD. I use NetBSD. All of the information you suggested is worthless to me.
It is also worthless to her.
Why not suggest a model which would be way within her budget?
I make old computers work again and hack "secure" ones for fun.
I ahve experience with hand held, desktops, notebooks.
I have experience with i386, amd64, arm7, arm9, m68k.
A good way will be to read hadware comparaison on a budget
by FrenchyHey - 10/9/09 4:47 PM In reply to: It's all up to you! PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH by nicolasprieur1995Tom Hardware and CNET do that from time to time.
Do not be afraid it is so easy if you take your time.
If you are in games a lot you might want to go Windows if you are willing to learn further there is many way to make diffent OS coexist together from dual boot to virtual altough because you want to do games like crysis you will not be able to make it on a virtual environment.
From what we read from your post you are doing business with your PC why not keep your present PC for business only and concentrate on your next PC for maybe both game and business, altough if you do only business with your old you will end up to save money as no downtime until your ready to transfer all your data to the new PC.
My first built was from online review and comparaison betwen different setpup of PC.
No OS is perfect at everything unless all the required program that you need and comfortable with could run on it, time is money in your case I suppose.
So my best suggestion is to built the new PC during the old one keep earning money and give you the time to see it coming together in your mind prior to start that great project of building your "first rig"
And get a motherboard that is quality at first as if your motherboard suck your PC will have a weak fondation to buid on it and you will end up with a certain disapointment.
There are other choices...
by CandidCam - 11/1/09 5:33 PM In reply to: It's all up to you! PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY THROUGH by nicolasprieur1995I'd consider buying a good Velocity Micro instead of that Alienware. They are considered better built and better performance, have better support, and also more competitive priced. Alienware is kinda over...they are nothing but Dell XPS now, even built in the Dell factory in Tenn.
build your own
by Porch-a-Geese - 10/2/09 10:43 PM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherAnd use another processor architecture and another OS.
Think it out and decide
by Willy - 10/3/09 3:14 AM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherIf you know what Alienware model# your getting then compare that to the parts needed to build the equivalent. Then you get an idea of what's involved. Building the system isn't that hard or difficult. Its the problem you may have to resolve if not fired-up right. That's where the capable part of a build really comes in. As for cost of a $8k system, well I have to see what they're building as far too many under $2k would probably be function capable of the end task. You can continue to shop and compare online various vendor to include local builders and/or someone you can trust if not yourself.
Review the forum(s) here as the duties you may need to perform and/or require to build yourself. Alas, if you budget is OK, then at a $2k level or below you can build one heck of a system. Also, there are tutorials supplied by CNet that can highlight details or info you may want to know again check the links supplied here.
I offer no models or what you really need, you know should match your needs to the tasks you want done. Beware of any puffery or add-ons some may try to sell you, think seriously before buying that. Last, if you buy from a vendor, think warranty and what the "whole package" will include and of course get the writing to back it up from anyone.
tada -----Willy 
re: high end computer
by sunthedeep - 10/9/09 4:39 PM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherIf you are going for a gaming rig, building one for yourself is the way to go, Alienware is waay overpriced. Besides, you can save a lot of money by cutting back on power you don't need (assuming you don't do processor intensive things like photoshopping large images or running other highly multithreaded processes, the core i7 is overkill). Without the monitor, you can build one that can run Crysis well for around $1000. The only thing with building a computer is that you have to know how to pick the parts- dont just get cheap stuff, read reviews, and post possible builds either on CNet forums or other sites like Tom's Hardware or The Tech Report.
Example:
CPU: Phenom II 955 Black Edition- $200
Motherboard: Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H- $140
Video Card: Xfx Radeon HD 5850- $260
Case: Cooler Master CM690 - $70
Memory:Corsair XMS2 4GB PC6400 -$80
Power Supply: Ultra LSP750 750 Watt- $70
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB: $100
+ optical drives, monitor and operating system
For gaming, most of the investment should be in the video card. The power of the video card depends on the size and resolution of the monitor you are using, the 5850 is really only useful at resolutions of 1920x1200 and above, for anything less, you can settle for a Radeon 4890 or a GTX 260 (although Crysis is one of the few games to push even high end video cards on low resolutions). If you want to spend more, you can upgrade to a solid state hard drive for your primary drive or create a RAID array for storage.
See The Tech Report (www.techreport.com) or toms hardware (www.tomshardware.com) for system guides and people far more knowledgeable than I about building desktops.
It's a matter of what you want..
by KandyMan114 - 10/9/09 8:06 PM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherAs a builder, I've built a number of x86 "rigs" spread over of plethora of OEM parts.. One of the bigger problems I've run into is simply finding the right part for the type of performance that you will need and tech support. A "rig", granted that it's not going to come with all the "I Love You" software (many call this bloat-ware but getting started out-of-box, this can be very helpful for less computer-literate ppl) and getting it can be a pain. You're going to have to download all your drivers, bios/firmware updates if you need them, DVD authoring tools, office utilities, multimedia apps and not to forget, the OS- in other words, you're your own soft/tech-support. I've had to flash a HP (no wonder right?) DVD-writer because the firmware on it said it was DVD player..I've seen people "brick" their machines trying to flash the motherboard with an update they didn't need. If I could afford it, I'd buy the alienware and spare myself the headache.
Bought for Wife from Future Shop
by FrenchyHey - 11/17/09 9:17 PM In reply to: It's a matter of what you want.. by KandyMan114They trash the OS from English to French and full bloatware.
As PC Builder I am sure you could offer him better then Alien Ware w/o make him so affraid to make one.
Alien Ware common
Offer him your solution for same price and your resonable profit but don't make him affraid.
Asus Motherboard are almost worry free and so stable there is other very good motherboard also that you know.
And please he already own a PC and run a business that not it is like he start from scratch to justifly the bloat ware i.e Aol offer for example to get the internet lol.
I have a hard time that you will offer him a Alien Ware when example of built a PC is already available from like Tom Hardware and CNET also.
?????????
Alienware Aurora PC 7500. Cost £2398.61
by GlynColin - 10/10/09 2:46 AM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherIf you want a pc for ypur bedroom forget Alien.
Bought the above machine and it sounds like a traction engine. Am not allowed to use it in my lounge due to the noise. Sent it back to Alien and they kept it for five weeks, and said it was ok.
I had to buy for less than half the price an Acer pc which compared to the Alien makes no noise at all.
My general advice...
by mwooge - 10/15/09 9:04 PM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherMy general advice is to buy the computer off-the-shelf then add or swap in what you need.
What are you going to do if you build from scratch and it doesn't work right? You can't take it back.
It all depends.
by MrPhire - 11/4/09 11:54 AM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherAt the moment buying and or making a rig for more than 1500 dollars is kind of out there. Unless your running multiple games and monitors at once. I've looked at the new Alienware Auroras, but their good doesn't outweigh the bad if you don't pick up the ALX series. You can either make a rig for about 1500 dollars with a tad bit more than Alienware (NORMALLY WITHOUT LIQUID COOLING). Building your rig isn't exactly "hard". It does take a lot of handicrafting of the rig, and especially suggest reading up on HOW-TOs. Even older how-tos all seem to be traditionally similar. Only thing about Build-It-Yourself in comparison to the Alienwares of the world is warranty. If your not a techy, I personally don't recommend it. You should know how to fix and resolve a lot of PC issues before you make your own. For your uses I do recommend either a decent HP Pavillion Elite, or a Alienware Aurora. They both use micro cases so they're really not "gaming" gaming rigs. Alienware/Dell are both being chastised for this for decent reasons. Personally I say go with a Dell Alienware Aurora with a standard I7 core (you can upgrade, I don't see why you neccesarily should just yet. I7 are far from perfect.), 6 (at minimum) DDR3 RAM, 500g-1tb hard drive (your doing work from your pc it may be helpful.), 1gb GDDR(wanna say the implement 3 and not higher) Nvidia GTX 260 GPU, the higher end power supply (that 80 dollars is worth it), and the rest is left up to you. This gives you the comfort of a "midline gaming" rig with a warranty. If you have the best experience GREAT! Not everyone does. I currently use the dreaded XPS630 from DELL. I have had excellent performance, besides the fact the Media Card Reader doesn't work after the required bios updates. That is my suggestions as said. If you decide to build-your-own I suggest going with a AMD quad core processor, DDR3 RAM, 850+ PSU, 1 (unless you use more than one monitor) ATI graphics card, and the rest pretty much up to you just make sure your mobo supports all the features.
Alienware Aurora i7 950
by aleleonware - 11/13/09 11:15 PM In reply to: Guys! Alienware $2,604 or Build My Own PC by clairvoyant christopherI have found this model with 12gb Ram, 1 TB hard drive and all the other components you have listed for a total cost of $1,695.00. Nearly 1K cheaper that you quote at AAFES, no tax and free shipping after 100 dollar promo discount. Of course you would need to be, or have been in the service to order from them, or receive it as a gift from someone who is or was in the military. I thought this was a good buy and jumped on it, hopefully it will be worth the price. I know it is several hundred cheaper than listed on SAMs Club with has less memory and hard drive advertised.
Good luck.
When you refer to sevice. I guess it is only Military US?
by FrenchyHey - 11/14/09 9:57 AM In reply to: Alienware Aurora i7 950 by aleleonwareHi,
Could you give us the link or point us were to go for that offer.
Thank you
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