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Archangel913   12-23-2007 at 02:48:25 PM

Hi there,
Ok so im looking to buy a high end PC. Ive been checking out a hella load of compaines and customizing various systems and these two are (in my opinion) the best Ive come up with:

Aurora™ 7500

Total: $1,544.00

Alienware P2 Chassis: Alienware® P2 Chassis with AlienIce™ 3.0 Video Cooling - Space Black
System Lighting: Alienware® Standard System Lighting - Astral Blue
High-Performance Liquid Cooling: Alienware® Standard System Cooling
Power Supply: Alienware® 750 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
Graphics Processor: Single Graphics Processor - 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GT
Video Optimizer: AlienAdrenaline v1.0: Video Performance Optimizer Processor: AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5200+ Processor w/ HyperTransport and Dual Core Technology
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Motherboard: Alienware® Approved NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI Motherboard
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 – DirectX 9 Only!
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 250GB SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 16MB Cache
Optical Drives : Single Drive Configuration - 20X Dual-Layer DVD±RW
Keyboard: Alienware® USB Full-Size Keyboard
Mouse : Logitech® G5 Gaming Mouse
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service

Velocity Micro (excludes shipping): $1514

Base Price: 1099.00 Your Price: 1514 Weight: 60 lbs

Power Supply: 850 Watt Velocity Micro® Power Supply - Nvidia® SLI™ Certified
Motherboard: Abit AN-M2 nView AM2 NF630a mATX Motherboard
Processor: AMD® Processor AMD® Athlon™ 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz Processor with Dual Core Technology, Socket AM2
Cooling: CPU Cooling Arctic Cooling® Freezer 64 Pro Heatsink, Ultra Quiet Fan, Copper Heat Pipes, Arctic Silver™ 5 Thermal Compound
RAM: DDR2 Memory 3072MB Corsair™ XMS2 DDR2-800 Low Latency Extreme Memory with Heat Spreader (2x1024, 2x512)
Graphics Card: PCX Video 512MB eVGA GeForce 8800GT DDR3 PCI-E w/HDCP
Hard Drive: 320GB Hitachi 7200rpm SATA300, 16MB Cache
O/S: Operating System Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional SP2 on original CD
Warranty: 1 Yr Standard Parts & Labor Ltd Warranty, 1 Yr Regular Business Hours Support, and Depot Repair Service

If you could, pleae look those two over and comment. Some notes/rules:

*Im only going with XP. In the Alienware one, the XP home was an extra $100, so i passed it. Whats the real difference between Home and Media?
*$1500 is about the max im willing to spend as I have to consider shipping out of the US too (I dont live there)
*If you feel there are better computers/companies, please feel free to mention them.

Btw, whats the average weight of an Alienware 7500?

Cheers
Archangel913

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nzxtlexa   12-23-2007 at 08:21:46 PM
- 0 +

Hi Archangel913,

Technically speaking the Velocity Micro system is of a higher spec yet the same price as the Alienware. This is mainly because of the fact that you pay a bit for the name Alienware just like you do with any "designer" product. Despite this I'm a big Alienware fan and I think they are worth the extra cash. There PC's are a lot cooler looking, of great build quality and the customer service from Alienware is also apparently excellent.

Its a tricky one I know but if it was me in this situation I would probably end up choosing the Alienware.
Hope this doesn't make your decision any harder.

------------------------------ DD Water Box Plus, QX9650 @ 3.9ghz, eVGA 780i, 4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800(2x2gb), WD Raptor 150gb, 500gb Seagate Barracuda, BFG 8800GTX 620/2000 x 2 SLI, Tagan BZ 1300w PSU, Custom 120.2 Water Cooling
 Reply to nzxtlexa
chookman   12-24-2007 at 02:55:41 AM
- 0 +

Is there a reason you dont build yourself?

And is there a reason why you are getting an AMD for a gaming machine, currently intel is better performance/money in the higher end of things

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ "This thread made me strap on my lolerskates and head for my roflcopter."
 Reply to chookman
g-paw   12-24-2007 at 03:00:21 AM
- 0 +

chookman wrote :

Is there a reason you dont build yourself?

And is there a reason why you are getting an AMD for a gaming machine, currently intel is better performance/money in the higher end of things



Agree, especially with the price go with Intel. The last time I did some calculations, about 3 or 4 moths ago, at those prices you should be able to save 25% to 30% building yourself. If that's your budger, rather than saving you can get higher end parts but either way your ahead

Reply to g-paw
Archangel913   12-24-2007 at 05:07:31 AM
- 0 +

Nzxtlexa
-Thanks for the input. I too am tempted to go ahead with the Alienware. another benefit is that shipping is apparently free within the US. As I have relatives there, I can ship free to them, and then have them ship international to me...im not too sure about Velocity Micro though. Suppose ill find out if I actual go ahead to the payments.

Chookman & G-paw
-Cant remember at this time, but I think the only option when choosing those systems was AMD. As for why, im not building it my self...too much hassle lol. Getting each part separately, then waiting for them to all arrive and then finally having to make sure I put it right...yea, i honestly cant be bothered ^_^. Yes, yes I know its loads cheaper...

But that alternative aside, which system would you guys recommend?

Reply to Archangel913
g-paw   12-24-2007 at 03:09:48 PM
- 0 +

Of the two I would go with the micro velocity, better CPU and less expensive given both those system are overpriced in part because of things you don't need like liquid cooling. Suggest you look at JNCS, http://www.jncs.com/, the last machine I bought before starting to build I got from them. They use name brand parts, they not only send you all the manuals but even the boxes the parts come in, and you can customize it. If you call them with questions and tell them how you'll use the machine, they won't suggest higher end parts than what will meet your needs. You could put together an Intel E6750 with 2GB of RAM, 8800GT video card, 32oGB Seagate, 550w PSU for about $1425 starting with the High Performance, Premium System. You can play around with different builds. If you want AMD, it would be cheaper but if you're going over $700 - $800 you're better off with Intel


Message edited by g-paw on 12-24-2007 at 04:23:47 PM
Reply to g-paw
englandr753   12-24-2007 at 03:36:20 PM
- 0 +

Being bothered with waiting on parts is half the fun! Personally I like to build my own. To me its the same thing as taking my car in for someone else to do the brakes and spending 2-3 times to let them do it when I can do it myself.

Unless money is no object to you, I would build. Theres also great satisfaction to have a functionable system you use daily that you can fix and upgrade yourself without having to wait for tech support.

Reply to englandr753
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