From ALIENWARE back to DELL -- but look at what I get!

[NJRonbo]

I'm the guy that many of you have been helping
out over the past week.

I'm the guy that was looking into buying a very
powerful computer to meet my business needs.

Click Here for original post

I originally stated I owned a DELL and wanted to
move away from it towards an ALIENWARE. I ended
up configuring and pricing out a very expensive
ALIENWARE system that many of you politely scolded
me for considering since I was not a gamer.

Many of you suggested if I wanted a powerful
non-gaming computer I should look into something
geared towards a business that possibly included
SCSI hard drive setup.

I am back to DELL. Why? Because I took a look at their
workstations and discovered that they offered a system
that would meet my demands.

I just priced a Dell Workstation with Dual
Xeon Processors and a SCSI hard drive. This
will give me the powerhouse performance I want.

Here is what I priced at about $4200 :



Dell Precision Workstation 670:
Intel® Xeon™ Processor 3.20GHz, 2MB L2 Cache

2nd Processor (Must match speed selection above):
Intel® Xeon™ Processor 3.20GHz, 2MB L2 cache

Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional,
SP2 with Media

File System: NTFS File System
Intel Hyper-Threading: "ON."

Memory: 2GB, DDR2 SDRAM Memory, 400MHz, ECC (4 DIMMS)
No Keyboard Option
No Mouse Option Hard Drive Configuration

All SCSI drives, Non-RAID, for 1 or 2 drive total configuration

First Hard Drive: 300GB Ultra 320 SCSI, 1 inch (10,000 rpm)

Hard Drive Internal Controller Options:
U320 SCSI Integrated Controller - For Connecting Internal Hard Drives


CD-ROM, DVD, and Read-Write Devices:
48XCDRW AND 16XDVD+/-RW w/Sonic RecordNow! Deluxe,Sonic DVDit! SE,PowerDVD

No Floppy Drive NFD

Graphic Cards:
128MB PCIe x16 nVidia Quadro FX 1400, Dual DVI
or Dual VGA or DVI + VGA

No Monitor Option
No Speaker option
No SOund Card Option



Once again, this is a business write-off. This is the kind
of computer that I can run a dozen or more startup programs,
multi-task like mad, and burn a DVD all at the same time
without seeing a hint of slowdown.

My decision has not been made yet, but since all of you
have been so helpful to me, I thought I would parade this
before you.

Thanks!

 

[TonCrafter]

In the end it's all bout what 'you' want. I'm glad you found something.

 

[dhw200]

well, thats a pretty fast computer that should do everything that u want it to do - and more! However, I would move away from Dell if I were u and stick to smaller, lower profile companies. they wont charge $500 for the name.

 

[aspire]

wow for that much you could get a very very good computer


like

amd fx-55 $900
abit fatality mobo $200
2gig ocz corsair ram $250
dual 300gig sata $600
lian li server case $200
ryanpower connect power supply 600w $150
dual 6800ultra's $1000
a 19inch lcd screen $500
wireless desktop keyboard mouse set $100
and whatever else you want $450 i.e cd/dvd drives, cables fans and other stuff maybe a sound card and speakers

totals out to about the same cost. btw nothing gets better than this this is top of the line everything

 

[NJRonbo]

If I could build it, I'd probably be at the top of
the world with that configuration.

 

[DJ-CHRIS]

wow for that much you could get a very very good computer


like

amd fx-55 $900
abit fatality mobo $200
2gig ocz corsair ram $250
dual 300gig sata $600
lian li server case $200
ryanpower connect power supply 600w $150
dual 6800ultra's $1000
a 19inch lcd screen $500
wireless desktop keyboard mouse set $100
and whatever else you want $450 i.e cd/dvd drives, cables fans and other stuff maybe a sound card and speakers

totals out to about the same cost. btw nothing gets better than this this is top of the line everything

Workstation not gaming PC

 

[dale5605]

A 300gb 10,000rpm drive? Wouldn't this thing be loud as hell? I think a RAID setup would be much better and quieter for pete's sake.

 

[ApM]

Isn't that a bit pricey for that setup? I'm not good with US dollars.

 

[Mr. Peabody]

NJRonbo,

In case you didn't see my last post in your original thread, I went into more detail about Puget Custom Computers and Tantus Computers. That post is on p. 7 of that thread.

In the beginning, you said you wanted to get away from Dell. May I ask why? Were you dissatisfied? If so, I recommend trusting yourself and consider other vendors. I think Dell has something like a 4.5 lifetime rating over at Reseller Ratings. Pretty abysmal. I realize those ratings don't tell the whole story, but still, I think they're valuable.

Anyway, here's what I configured over at Puget Custom Computers based on what you said you want and using your Dell configuration as a model. You can find Puget at http://www.pugetsystems.com

Motherboard: Asus NCT-D Dual Xeon 800 DDR2-400
CPUs: Dual Intel Pentium4 Xeon 3.2GHz 800FSB w/ EM64T
CPU Cooling: 2 x SwiftTek Quiet Fan (for Xeon)
RAM: 2GB OCZ DDR2-400 REG ECC (2 Sticks, 2x1GB)
Case: SilverStone TJ05 (Black, no window) (Has 120mm fans front and rear; option to use 2 side 80mm fans for extra cooling)
Power Supply: Sparkle 460W Dual Xeon 24-pin Power Supply
Hard Drive 1: Western Digital Raptor SATA 74GB 10,000rpm
Hard Drive 2: Western Digital SATA 250GB 7,2000rpm
Video Card: EVGA GeForceFX 6600GT 128MB PCI-E
Optical Drive 1: Lite On 16X Dual Layer DVD+RW/-RW
Optical Drive 2: Lite On 52x/32x/52x CDRW
Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP2
Extended 3 Year Warranty
Case Mods: Round IDE Cable (for optical drives)
Additional Cooling: Arctic Silver V Thermal Compound

System Price: $3,776.14

In contrast to the Dell system you configured, at Puget, you know the brand of motherboard (ASUS) and the exact specs; the brand of RAM (OCZ) and exact specs; and so on down the line. I tacked on a 3-year warranty, but I didn't know if you'd want that. And you could always choose a different case, different power supply, etc. You just tell Puget what you want, and they'll get it for you. You have far fewer customization options at Dell, IMO. Also, Puget doesn't outsource their warranty. So, if you ever need tech support, you talk to the people you dealt with in the first place. If you want to talk with the owner of Puget, Jon Bach, he'll be happy to assist you. I doubt if you'll be able to chat with Michael Dell. At Puget (or one of the other top-ranked custom PC vendors), you get high-quality components and excellent customer service at a reasonable price -- at least in my opinion. In terms of value, I think you need to factor in customer service. Since this will be a mission critical rig for you, I think you'd be better served by a company like Puget.

Just my two cents.

 

[dhw200]

Not just puget, any company (well, not any, but many). Dell just robs ppl with little knowledge of comps. They market aggressivly, so everybody knows who they are. n00bs to the system will go like "ah-ha, DELL!!"