My first ALIENWARE. Overkill? Maybe. Advice?

[Ace No-Money]

If you're not a heavy gamer, intel will do fine anytime!
The video card is overkill and 2gb will actually be slower than 1gb of memory.
Get a 3.2GHZ+ with lots of cache and 1gb memory and you will be flyin'!
A 10k, Raid 0 hard drive setup is preferred

you should probably settle with x600 or x700 video card and save some money for software, audio system, etc.

OR THE ULTIMATE!!!

DUAL 3.8GHz XEONs!!!!

 

[dhw200]

I got a near identical system (c my sig) for $1500 from www.cyberpower.com I am running Half life 2 at highest settings and high rez no problem. alienware will charge a HUGE amount, more than dell, more than HP, more than gateway for their name.

 

[alecjahn]

Thats not near identical, other than the video card. In fact, its almost completely different. He's looking for a system to do a specific job.

I sound mean.

 

[NJRonbo]

2gb will actually be slower than 1gb of memory.

Why is that?

 

[NJRonbo]

In addition to the above....

I just came upon a new dilemna....

Click Here

Do I buy now or wait another 6 months?

 

[NJRonbo]

One more thing...

Just for shits and giggles I priced a DELL WORKSTATION.
It will cost $4200 (again, a tax write-off) and I am wondering
if I'll do better with this or better off waiting for the release
of the dual-core processors as described in the link above.

Here is what I configured -- and be aware that I never
configured these sort of systems before. I did not add
a sound card as I already have an external EXTIGY card.

I also *guessed* that since this is a dual-processor
system I need to configure two XEON processors. Yes?


Here I go...and be kind.....





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

 

[Mr. Peabody]

NJRonbo,
Since it sounds like you live in New Jersey, why not check out Tantus Computers? http://www.tantuscomputers.com They don't have a lot of reviews at Reseller Ratings, but you can contact them, and they're happy to put you in touch with some of their other clients if that will make you feel better about purchasing from them. Have a look at their website -- they specifically cater to people who need high-end workstations for specific purposes. They sound perfect for your needs. They also offer on-site support and a 3-year warranty comes standard with each system. If you don't need on-site support, I can recommend Puget Custom Computers, located near Seattle. Just offering you some alternatives to Alienware.

Good luck!

 

[Mr. Peabody]

P.S. Regarding Tantus, don't be put off by their rather limited configurator. Just talk to them. They're extremely responsive and helpful.

As for Puget, they're also one of the best, and they have one of the best configurators out there. I go there often just to configure systems for the fun of it and for price comparisons.

 

[NJRonbo]

Mr. Peabody,

Thanks for this.

Going to contact both companies now.
Does Puget have a website?

You may also wish to Click Here to see what I
am considering from Dell.

Suddenly I am beginning to realize that
I can do better than ALIENWARE and I
appreciate your help.

 

[dale5605]

i think Alienware offers workstation type computers with dual xeons as well. Have you tried pricing any of those?

There's a such thing as a 300gb 10,000rpm hard drive?!?!