Dell, Compaq, or Alienware?

[idNut]

I have a kind of old Compaq that I will probably only use for programming now since it seems geForce 3's or at least AGP cards are dominating the market and this computer is stuck with PCI slots and 700Mhz. I've seen a few commercials for a pretty decent Compaq (www.compaq.com/tv) kinda cheap since I am on a budget but then I saw a whole lot of Dell appraisals saying it was actually better than the Alienware it was running against. This computer I want to buy will be used strictly for gaming (FPS's ) and I'd like it to be 2.0 Ghz with DDR RAM, 40 Gigs and definitely an AGP slot. If you guys could help me out that'd be really appreciated.

 

[MistaTastyCakes]

Well, I'm not sure ya came to the right place to ask which PC to buy premade, but if you insist on doing so, I guess Dell's gonna be your best bet. Just know that in a couple years you're gonna be in the same dead end situation you are with your current Compaq, most likely.

You could give building your own a try. You can get an MSI i845E board for $90, a P4 1.6A for about $140, and good DDR for maybe $80 per 256mb. Then just add components from there. You'll be better off in the long run upgrade wise, and you'll get to know exactly what goes in the PC. The only company you listed that reallt lets ya do much customizing and selecting of top tier parts is Alienware, and, while they probably make the best PC's out of all three listed, they'll give ya some ridiculous prices.

But, as I said, if you insist on buying, get a Dell.. decent price/performance, and before anything else, format the thing and install a fresh OS without all the bloatware companies provide.

 

[ElFenix]

since you said affordable you have to rule out alienware.

 

[Negatus]

If I was the average forum member here, I would simply say "build it yourself" or something to that effect... but since I'm not here's some lousy, non techie advice.

Of the three you mentioned, Dell gets the best reviews from mainstream users and magazines. They are rated highest for customer service, are very quiet, and generally well built. The biggest complaints I've read about a Dell would be component selection and upgrade options.

I haven't read too much about Compaq, but they tend to get mediocre reviews when it comes to construction & customer service. Some of their PC's are pretty cheap, though.

Alienware rigs tend to get strong reactions. I've read scores of glowing reviews; I've also read just about as many damning ones. Most complaints deal with limited customer service, instability (they like to overclock a bit) and/or bad parts. Alienware lets you pick from a good selection of components, but they are by far the most expensive of the three you listed. They are also notoriously loud due to the many fans they use.

Just under two weeks ago, I ordered a computer from Oxford PC. They are a much smaller operation than the three mentioned above but have a good selection of components, and better prices than Alienware. After checking Reseller Ratings, Anandtech Ratings, and the BBB Online I made my order. If things go well, the computer should ship early to mid week; I'll post a quick review here after I get it.

If money is your main concern, then maybe a Compaq, or better yet a Dell. If you want to get something that more closely meets your specifications, then maybe Alienware or perhaps Oxford PC...

 

[Sunner]

If you go the Compaq route, make sure you get an Evo(newer DeskPro's).

Very high quality machines, though mostly aimed at the business market, so Im not sure if there are alot of models that would be suitable for gaming.

 

[fr]

"Dude, you're getting a Dell!"



I just wanted to say it.

 

[glugglug]

I would definately avoid Compaq. Seems to me as if they are trying to make their desktop machines the same as their laptops. Laptops are pretty unexpandable, but this is expected due to constrained spac.e. Mimicking this on desktop machines is BAD. The largest # of PCI slots you can get in an Evo is 3. The "sexier" form factors have 0. (lets face it they are marketing to those interested in how their computer looks/matches the furniture, not to those interested in functionality). They also have a completely shitty video card selection, with a lot of models/form factors not even having a video card option at all -- you are forced to get the piece of crap on-board video which shares a memory bus with the CPU, causing the entire system to slow down dramatically if you use a decent video mode (not even talking about actually using any graphical applications, just raw CPU performance will suffer badly in high resolution/color/refresh due to lack of memroy bandwidth.

Overall I would say Dell is your best bet EXCEPT that they are one of (the?) last OEMs to make non-Intel systems. Not sure if they even make Athlons yet today. If you are looking for an Athlon, not a P4, and don't want to build your own, I'd say go with Micron.

 

[NakaNaka]

I think you should go with a Dell. I can't stand Compaq and while Alienware's are very nice, they are way too expensive for my taste.

 

[idNut]

Glugglug put it best, they're trying to make it like furniture and are screwing up the functionality. I think I'll go with MistaTastyCakes and build my own. I know the basics of hardware but as far as Power Supply and MOBO's go, I'm clueless. If you could give me a list of parts that you think I should pick up to make a computer that will be good enough for about 3 or 4 years, that'd be great. I'll have more questions on installation and vendors if you guys reply back. Thanks...

 

[Darien]

you going the intel or amd route?

also...

up to make a computer that will be good enough for about 3 or 4 years

dual processor systems can be built for pretty cheap now......if you go the amd route.

 

[idNut]

I hear a lot of positives about AMD's whereas Intel's are based just around higher Mhz. I'd like to go with an AMD but I don't know if it could go with the 845 PRO2 LE motherboard I was looking at. I'm not too sure about MOBO's and processors so you'll have to clue me in on those, but here's a link to that 845 (http://direct.mwave.com/mwave/doc2/a14572.html).

 

[HokieESM]

My vote would be Dell if you just want a no-hassle "it works" system. All that I've dealt with are nice and stable, reasonably good components, and they have good customer support.

Now that i have that out of the way... In response to the "building your own", I must admit, I just finished building my first system from scratch. Its truly NOT that hard (although I think I had done everything before, just not at the same time). But I will caution you: if you don't have a good library of software (or a good place to get it), your "savings" can be reduced to a very small amount (a.k.a. Windows is expensive, so is MS Office, etc). Linux can fix these problems.... but, if you're thinking about buying a computer, that probably isn't a choice.

All I can say is good luck.... buy the fastest machine with the most RAM you can afford (anything else is relatively simple to add/upgrade) and enjoy your new machine!

 

[idNut]

Yeah my friend has a rather nice Dell that runs most games pretty good for it being all factory parts but he doesn't know how to uninstall all that "bloatware" that he doesn't need. So I'd like to go with a Dell but still I don't have $1100 on me so I guess I'll keep thinking about it. Parts for a computer that you think I should buy, please list and leave links, that'd be appreciated.

 

[murphy55d]

I would not buy any of them, I'd go with MicronPC.

Of course, I would build my own before I bought from ANY OEM. (and I have. )

 

[wfbberzerker]

build it.

 

[Acanthus]

Alienwares will definitly be the best construction, Dell will be the best price performance, and i just hate compaq all around. My first computer was a presario with an AMD K6-2 450mhz. The salesman didnt mention the Pentium 3 450 models coming out the FOLLOWING DAY. We also had to send the computer back due to a bad HDD and had to wait 9 days to get the 2nd computer. Which still works to this day, upgrading that machine is near impossible. And every time my mom calls the tech support shes on hold for hours, so all i can say is DONT GET COMPAQ!!!

LOL honestly if you got the cash id get alienware, if not, Dell is a great company all around.