Going to be buying alienware pc,

[Regs]

Im 21, and I feel like an old fart in this thread.

 

[hippotautamus]

I feel the same way at 16...

Hey man, PC building is not a big deal. You'd be best off buying the parts individually and getting a friend to build it, or having a local computer shop do it.

That said, damn I wish you could buy Alienware cases separately. Anyone who says alienware cases suck is MAD...

 

[Umberger]

Originally posted by: Regs
Im 21, and I feel like an old fart in this thread.

Yeah, jeez grandpa.....

Crescent:
That Monarch system you listed is MUCH better than you would do w/ Alienware. I understand your dad's reluctance to let you build something that costs a few thousand dollars. If you were to keep working on him (assuming you really want to build one, which you may not, also understandable, it can be intimidating the first time) and get him to let you build one, there is really relatively little you can mess up. If you come here with your final specs before you buy, you will get 14 kajillion comments on it within an hour, so there is virtually no chance of you ending up with incompatible parts. Then once you have everything and you are ready to assemble, there is relatively little that you can mess up. 99% of components will only go in one place, one way. There is a very nice computer building guide here and of course everyone on the forum can answer any specific questions you have. Maybe even get your dad involved and make it a father/son project (he might enjoy it even if he doesn't know much about computers - my dad can barely send e-mail, and he really was facinated by my building a computer)

I'm sure none of us want to push you (or your dad ) into something you don't want to do, but I think you'd really enjoy it and it would be a neat learning experience.

EDIT: stupid typos

 

[aatf510]

Alienware are not that bad, all they do is overpricing their computers badly.
They still exist because there are people who buy Alienware computers but it's just that they are not Anandtech forum member.
I mean there are many companies that overprice their product because people still buy a lot of them.

 

[Baked]

Claw-Hammer @ San Diego price.

 

[everman]

If price is no object, then Alienware will do fine. However if saving around $1000 (or spend that on better parts, more for your money) sounds good, then build it yourself. If you do have a store assemble it, make sure what kind of liability they assume (in case they break something).

If you do it yourself, you'll never go back.

 

[Sonic587]

Going to make a few suggestion on your system config...

Originally posted by: Crescent13
How about if I use monarch's system builder, what about theese specs?

Case: 100080 - NO PS - Lian-Li PC-V1000 Aluminum Quiet T
$189.00

This case is nice, but it's kind of expensive. I'd go with the Antec Sonata, but if you like the look of the PC-V1000, go for it.


Power Supply: 100300 - PS 510W - PC Power & Cooling TC510 Expres
$225.00

Mega overkill for your system. Go with the OCZ modstream.

Processor: 120207 - AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 1MB 90nm Rev. E (ADA3
$334.00

I'd drop this down to a 90nm 3500+ just to save some cash, but it's up to you

Memory: 140546 - DDR (400) 3200 - 1 GB (2 pcs 512) Corsair
$199.00

I'd go with the the OCZ Value VX. People are getting great timings and OCs with them.
Check out this review.


2nd Memory: None
Hard Drive: 150239 - SATA - Western Digital (WD740GD) 74 GB/10 $189.00 $189.00
2nd Hard Drive: 150239 - SATA - Western Digital (WD740GD) 74 GB/10 $189.00 $189.00
RAID Setup: 80011 - RAID 0 (Zero) $25.00 $25.00

Two Raptors in a RAID? Not worth the money VS performance, IMO.

I'd grab two Seagates 160GB drives. Put them in RAID if you wish.


CD-ROM/DVD-ROM/CD-RW: 160485 - Combo - Samsung H492A 16x52X32X52 DVD/CD-
$69.00

Why the heck are you getting a CD-burner+DVD reader when you can get a DVD AND CD burner for cheaper?

Grab the NEC ND-3520A. That's a no brainer

Video Card: 190482 - BFG GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3/PCI-E/
$425.00

I'd suggest getting a Radeon X800XL as as it performs very closely to a 6800GT for $100 cheaper.


Wireless Network Card: 280787 - D-Link DWL-AG530 AirPremier AG Tri-Mode D $72.00 $72.00

The sleepiness might be getting to me, but aren't these for laptops?


Operating System: 210222 - Microsoft Windows XP Media Center 2005 (O
$121.00

Are you sure you want Media Center? Shouldn't you be picking up XP home or Pro?

Half Life 2 Promotion: None

Get HL-2. That game is worth $50, and you're getting it for free! Grab it!

BTW: Thanks guys for not letting me buy alienware!

 

[Zebo]

AW not all that bad..