Best option for …. any buck?

[Vnakkar]

What is the performance increase for dual video cards? Does having two 8800 GTXs SLIs significantly out perform a single card?

Does a Quad Core CPU make any huge leaps over the dual right now? I’ve read conflicting arguments on both the Video Card and the CPU question.

If money is (mostly) no object, is this the best way to go?
http://www.alienware.com/product_de...SysCode=PC-AREA51-ALX-R6&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT

Thanks!!

 

[tirefire]

Alienware is never the best way to go - building your own is always cheaper. If you want, I'll build you a system and mail it to you for $50 + component costs and shipping / handling.

But to answer your question, SLI increases performance, but it's only really noticeable at very high resolutions (maybe 1920x1200 on up). Quad core CPUs are great for photoshop, CAD, 3dsmax, etc. Gaming, not so much.

 

[sailer]

What is the performance increase for dual video cards? Does having two 8800 GTXs SLIs significantly out perform a single card?

Does a Quad Core CPU make any huge leaps over the dual right now? I’ve read conflicting arguments on both the Video Card and the CPU question.

If money is (mostly) no object, is this the best way to go?
http://www.alienware.com/product_de...SysCode=PC-AREA51-ALX-R6&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT

Thanks!!

If money is no object, Alienware is as fine a way to go as any boutique type PC, whether that includes FNW, Voodoo, or any other.

As to quadcore, from what I've read, System Commander seems to use it and other games in the future may use it as well. At the moment, its mainly just a selling point. As far as getting a 8800 GTX Sli setup goes, if you have a large screen, it will noticeably help. Otherwise, you just make Nvidia and the computer company a bit richer, while you won't see the difference. Then again, if money is no object, why not?

 

[Tm4_Reaper]

Everyone I know that has purchased an Alienware has had technical troubles sooner or later, along with crappy customer service. Your better off building your own.

 

[eric54]

I have to say that boutique over homebuilt does have some advantages. For one if anything fails you just call the company up and they replace it for you. If you built your own, you call said company and wait 3-4 weeks to get a new part. When you build your own there is always something that just doenst work right and the time to get everything running smoothly takes weeks. From a boutique you get a functioning computer backed by a warrenty if anything fails or doesnt work properly. The man hours involved in putting your own computer together is around 4-8 hours if you decide to cut holes for cm and to get the os and all other software installed. Take into consideration what your job pays you per hour, if the premium is 200-600 more its probably worth going boutique.

Just some food for thought, and btw voodoopc's top alienware by quite a bit, and dont forget maingear as they are highly regarded by hardocp.

Money spent on my build:
~3300
Same build from boutiqueL
~3700

Time spent constructing:
12 hours (had to resolve issues, cut holes and manually create CM, 3 hours construction, 9 hours troubleshooting, 12 hours total before fully operational)

Average hourly wage=12 hours x **** = Boutique is better buy

Just adding another perspective on this debate.

 

[sailer]

Good points there. If a person includes all the hours spent building, the headaches, and the convenience of a warrenty, a boutique may be better. However, by building it yourself, you get to choose each and every part and when you everntually have problems or want to upgrade, you have learned how to do it yourself.

I do realize that FNW and VooDoo top Alienware in quality and such, but they also cost a lot more. The old adage that you pay for what you get does apply here. Then again, the phrase "If money is not an object" does mean that the extra cost of FNW or VooDoo wouldn't be a factor.

@TM4_Reaper I have bought an Alienware in the past and I found the level of service and no questions asked warrenty was the best I ever got from any company. Yes, this was a few years ago before Dell took over, so I don't know what its like now.

 

[turboflame]

What is the performance increase for dual video cards? Does having two 8800 GTXs SLIs significantly out perform a single card?

Does a Quad Core CPU make any huge leaps over the dual right now? I’ve read conflicting arguments on both the Video Card and the CPU question.

If money is (mostly) no object, is this the best way to go?
http://www.alienware.com/product_de...SysCode=PC-AREA51-ALX-R6&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT

Thanks!!

if money is no object and you don't want to build you're own, Falcon Northwest or Voodoo PC is the best way to go

 

[Vnakkar]

Great feedback, thanks everyone.

If all the parts are specific and off-the-shelf than what makes a Voodoo PC better? We're talking about all the same bits right?