Please Help-Dell XPS versus Alienware/Hypersonic/Falcon

[RamPanther]

Hello everyone,

I have a quick question I'm hoping those of you with more hardware experience can answer.

I currently own a 3 year old Hypersonic gaming PC which has been a fabulous system. However, I've decided its time to buy a new system and move the Hypersonic to backup status. I do not have the time, experience or patience to build one myself, and I prefer to stay with companies that I or my friends have used in the past.

So my question is this: Does a Dell system with similiar parts (processor, vid card, hard drive) have the same speed and stability as systems from the "gaming specialty" companies? Is there a certain way that these gaming companies tweak or build the system that really makes it stand apart? Or, would similar systems be so close in speed that only benchmarks would send them apart?

In other words, is a computer more than the sum of its parts, or at the end of the day are they all built in just about the same manner?

The reason I'm asking is that the Hypersonic is about $165 more for a system with practically identical parts as Dell. (XPS version) Alienware is about $225 more. I'm wondering if I should pocket the money, or if spending the extra will pay off in stability and performance from a company focused on gamers.


Thank you for any input.

 

[mwmorph]

1 word yes. the smaller companies custom build each and do a vareity of tweaks to make it faster than stock dell.

I recommemnd Ibuypower or ABS pc. all those companies are about 2X the price of retail. to further save money, getan amd system since the fastest intel(680, 3.8ghz) will not even brat a $270 amd64 3700+ in games.

 

[AmberClad]

I think with the XPS configuration options that Dell currently has, you won't be able to build one that has the same performance as an Alienware or FalconNW (Dell doesn't offer SLi currently). But keep in mind that you don't need the any of those systems to be able to play the most current games, even on highest settings.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Before picking intel, be sure to go to the main AnandTech website and look under the CPU tab to see how much faster an AMD A64 si for games.

AMD is now just as reliable as intel, but offers a huge jump in gaming performance. Dell gets special discounts from intel to "pay them off" not to offer AMD processors so you can't buy Dell and get the best gaming price/performance.

For the best gaming performance at a relatively sane price, you should be looking for something like:

AMD A64 3700+ - 4000+
2 GB RAM
nVidia geforce 7800 GTX video card (single not SLI)

If price is no object you can go SLI and/or dual-core but that's a massive price jump for a modest performance boost.

 

[RamPanther]

I think with the XPS configuration options that Dell currently has, you won't be able to build one that has the same performance as an Alienware or FalconNW (Dell doesn't offer SLi currently). But keep in mind that you don't need the any of those system to be able to play the most current games, even on highest settings.

My budget is $1600 so I'm definitely not buying the best Hypersonic or Alienware has to offer. However, the do have options that match what is available at Dell, but they charge about $200 more for roughly the same equipment.

I know alot of people here could build or buy a system that is faster and for less money, but these are the companies I trust from past experience. So basically, in three weeks I'll either own a Dell XPS, a Hypersonic small form factor Phantom, or an Alienware.

 

[Some1ne]

So my question is this: Does a Dell system with similiar parts (processor, vid card, hard drive) have the same speed and stability as systems from the "gaming specialty" companies?

The performance will be about the same with similar parts. Basically the extra that you get (and pay for) when going with a specialty company comes in no cut corners on the more discrete components (i.e. Dell will probably use the cheapest, crappiest PSU, mainboard, and RAM modules it can get away with, while the specialty company will use name-brand components, and even let you specify higher-end options if you want them), and no proprietary hardware (for example, I had an old HP that had a mainboard that started out as an MSI OEM board but was proprietary to HP, and the only place to find drivers, BIOS, or support for it was the HP website, which was seldom updated, and it also had all the overclocking and configuration features stripped out of it). When going with a specialty retailer, you also genreally get better cable management inside the case, better cooling solutions, and a copy of Win XP that's not tainted with proprietary vendor crap.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: RamPanther

I think with the XPS configuration options that Dell currently has, you won't be able to build one that has the same performance as an Alienware or FalconNW (Dell doesn't offer SLi currently). But keep in mind that you don't need the any of those system to be able to play the most current games, even on highest settings.

My budget is $1600 so I'm definitely not buying the best Hypersonic or Alienware has to offer. However, the do have options that match what is available at Dell, but they charge about $200 more for roughly the same equipment.

I know alot of people here could build or buy a system that is faster and for less money, but these are the companies I trust from past experience. So basically, in three weeks I'll either own a Dell XPS, a Hypersonic small form factor Phantom, or an Alienware.

a limited budget is even morereason not to buy hypersonic,falcon or dell. go abs or ibuypower. you wont be dissapointed. paly a round a little bit ant you'll be plesantly suprised.

 

[AmberClad]

Well since you put it that way. I don't really care for SFF builds, and the XPS is overpriced when you compare the similarities between it and the next best Dell...so that leaves the Alienware. Did you look at VoodooPC yet? They have more options than many niche gaming system builders, in a pretty wide range of prices. Still a bit overpriced, but good selection anyways.

 

[RamPanther]

Thank you for the opinions. I know many of you are gritting your teeth over my decision to stay with these companies. 🙂 More info on the choices:

DELL

256MB PCI Express x16 nVidia GeForce 6800 (plain, not ultra or GT)
Pentium 4 Processor 640 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2 DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ Native Command Queuing
Intel® 955X Express chipset
WinXP

Final Price $1400 ($1600 is I choose an ATI Radeon? X850 XT PE)


Next there is Hypersonic PC.

3.20GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 640 (with EM64T)
1GB DDR2-533 (PC4200) Clock Speeds 4ns DDR2 FBGA Memory Chips
Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT PCI-Express 256MB
160GB Seagate 7200rpm Serial ATA-150 w/ 8MB Cache
Asus P5LD2-VM 945X PCI-Express Motherboard

Final Price: about $1600

(a Hypersonic AMD 3500+ w/ a MSI RS480M2-IL express motherboard comes to $1665)

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: RamPanther
More info on the choices:

DELL

256MB PCI Express x16 nVidia GeForce 6800 (plain, not ultra or GT)
Pentium 4 Processor 640 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2 DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ Native Command Queuing
Intel® 955X Express chipset
WinXP

Final Price $1400 ($1600 is I choose an ATI Radeon? X850 XT PE)

He's nuts to pay that much for that setup. I have an almost identical hardware setup and it was half the price. And for that price, I would at least expect an AMD dual core 😛.

 

[RamPanther]

He's nuts to pay that much for that setup. I have an almost identical hardware setup and it was half the price. And for that price, I would have at least liked an AMD dual core

🙂 I know, I know. But just like cars, I prefer the names I trust and have experience using.

 

[AmberClad]

Well, it is your money, but I can find you shops that will sell you a much nicer gaming rig than either of those for $1600 or less, and I bet half the people on this forum could too, if you could be a little more open minded 😛.

 

[mwmorph]

here'sa sample i configured at Ibuypower
Trinity ATX Mid-Tower Case w/420W Power Supply(this case is sexy)
amd64 3500+(beats a p4 3.8ghz in gaming!)
1gig ram
2x WD 160gig hdd(2x storage!)
NEC 3520A(best burner out there)
7800FTX(20% faster than a X850xtpe)
2.1 speaker system(pmpo 600w 3pc set)
Black Floppy(mitisumi[panasonic i think])
Microsoft Internet Keyboard
Microsoft Optical Intelli-Mouse Explorer
6-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer
Thermal Temperature LCD Display
MS Windows XP Home Edition w/Service Pack-2
Rounded Cables for Floppy/HDD/CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW Drives
Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower
Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty (the tohers offer 1 year)
Price: $1616

much faster than those systems you plan to buy.

i mean the dell came at a much better price than i thought, must be a good coupion, but you can easily get better for same price.

 

[RamPanther]

i mean the dell came at a much better price than i thought, must be a good coupion, but you can easily get better for same price.

Yeah, they are running a $700 off coupon at the moment. That system you built is definitely sweet, but I just couldn't do it. Before I bought my Hypersonic I got burned REALLY badly on a system. Bad PSU, then a bad RAM module, and a year later the hard drive went. I swore that I would only go with a "boutique" gaming system, or a company like Dell that has a very high reliability factor.

Once bitten, twice shy I guess. That computer logged more downtime that you could possibly imagine.



So, Hypersonic or Dell? 😉

 

[tw33ter]

Originally posted by: RamPanther
Thank you for the opinions. I know many of you are gritting your teeth over my decision to stay with these companies. 🙂 More info on the choices:

DELL

256MB PCI Express x16 nVidia GeForce 6800 (plain, not ultra or GT)
Pentium 4 Processor 640 with HT Technology (3.20GHz, 800 FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2 DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ Native Command Queuing
Intel® 955X Express chipset
WinXP

Final Price $1400 ($1600 is I choose an ATI Radeon? X850 XT PE)


Next there is Hypersonic PC.

3.20GHz Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 640 (with EM64T)
1GB DDR2-533 (PC4200) Clock Speeds 4ns DDR2 FBGA Memory Chips
Nvidia GeForce 6800 GT PCI-Express 256MB
160GB Seagate 7200rpm Serial ATA-150 w/ 8MB Cache
Asus P5LD2-VM 945X PCI-Express Motherboard

Final Price: about $1600

(a Hypersonic AMD 3500+ w/ a MSI RS480M2-IL express motherboard comes to $1665)

Both of those use ddr2, I'd stick with ddr.

 

[AmberClad]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
here'sa sample i configured at Ibuypower
Trinity ATX Mid-Tower Case w/420W Power Supply(this case is sexy)
amd64 3500+(beats a p4 3.8ghz in gaming!)
1gig ram
2x WD 160gig hdd(2x storage!)
NEC 3520A(best burner out there)
7800FTX(20% faster than a X850xtpe)
2.1 speaker system(pmpo 600w 3pc set)
Black Floppy(mitisumi[panasonic i think])
Microsoft Internet Keyboard
Microsoft Optical Intelli-Mouse Explorer
6-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer
Thermal Temperature LCD Display
MS Windows XP Home Edition w/Service Pack-2
Rounded Cables for Floppy/HDD/CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW Drives
Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower
Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty (the tohers offer 1 year)
Price: $1616

much faster than those systems you plan to buy.

i mean the dell came at a much better price than i thought, must be a good coupion, but you can easily get better for same price.

:thumbsup:

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
here'sa sample i configured at Ibuypower
Trinity ATX Mid-Tower Case w/420W Power Supply(this case is sexy)
amd64 3500+(beats a p4 3.8ghz in gaming!)
1gig ram
2x WD 160gig hdd(2x storage!)
NEC 3520A(best burner out there)
7800FTX(20% faster than a X850xtpe)
2.1 speaker system(pmpo 600w 3pc set)
Black Floppy(mitisumi[panasonic i think])
Microsoft Internet Keyboard
Microsoft Optical Intelli-Mouse Explorer
6-In-1 Internal Flash Media Card Reader/Writer
Thermal Temperature LCD Display
MS Windows XP Home Edition w/Service Pack-2
Rounded Cables for Floppy/HDD/CD/DVD/CD-RW/DVD-RW Drives
Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower
Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty (the tohers offer 1 year)
Price: $1616

much faster than those systems you plan to buy.

i mean the dell came at a much better price than i thought, must be a good coupion, but you can easily get better for same price.

:thumbsup:

Though the NEC 3520A isn't the best burner out there...
Change it to a BenQ DW1640 & all will be well 😉

 

[RamPanther]

The worst part is that the system is even less expensive than he listed.

I don't need the speakers (I have an extra Klipsch set)
Don't need the mouse either (Have an extra Logitech MX700)
Don't need the keyboard (Have an extra MS board)

 

[mwmorph]

if you realyl dont want it, go for the dell, no matter how much tweaking, the x850xtpe is still faster than the 6800gt even heavily oced.
now if you are willing to go amd, go hypersonic all the way. AMD is vastly faster than intel in gaming. A 3500+ should beat any intel cpu(or at least tie it) in gaming.

 

[boringwall]

<3 my 3700+ San Diego... and 7800 GTX combo

 

[Elusiv1]

I'd go with the AMD.......end of story🙂)

 

[BOLt]

Building a computer is not hard. It is not time consuming. It is not tedious. Google for a guide on how to build a computer, have someone on this forum spec out a computer for you. Save money and learn stuff when you build a computer yourself. Do it!