which to get?

[xNIKx]

Area-51® 7500
$2,485.18
Processor: Intel® Pentium® D Processor 930 w/ Dual Core Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Chassis: Alienware® Full-Tower Case - Saucer Silver
Chassis Upgrades: Alienware® Liquid Cooling with AlienIce? 2.0 Video Cooling
Power Supply: Alienware® 650 Watt ATX 2.0 Power Supply with Active PFC
Motherboard: Alienware® NVidia nForce?4 SLI? X16 Motherboard
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
System Drive: High Performance - 160GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive
Graphics Processor: 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce? 7900 GT - DVI Dual Link Supported
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 740BF 17" 2ms LCD - Black
Sound Card: Alienware® Edition Sound Blaster® X-Fi® High Definition 7.1 Audio with XRAM Technology
Speakers: Logitech® X-530 5.1 70-Watt Speakers
Network Connection: Integrated Dual High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Keyboard: Alienware® USB Full-Size Keyboard
Mouse: Microsoft® IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Standard Silver
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Alienware Exclusive Offers: GameFly - Unlimited Game Rentals for 15 days - FREE TRIAL
Alienware Extras: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Alienware Extras: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Alienware Extras: AlienWiring - Exclusive Internal Wire Management - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad

Area-51® 5500
$2,656.18
Processor: Intel® Pentium® D Processor 930 w/ Dual Core Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Chassis: Alienware® Full-Tower Case - Saucer Silver
Chassis Upgrades: Alienware® Liquid Cooling with AlienIce? 2.0 Video Cooling
Power Supply: Alienware® 650 Watt ATX 2.0 Power Supply with Active PFC
Motherboard: Alienware® nForce?4 SLI? Intel Edition Chipset Motherboard PCI Express SLI
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB
System Drive: High Performance
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive
Graphics Processor: Dual 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce? 7900 GT - SLI Enabled - DVI Dual Link Supported
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 740BF 17" 2ms LCD - Black
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround Audio
Speakers: Logitech® X-530 5.1 70-Watt Speakers
Network Connection: Integrated Dual High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Keyboard: Alienware® USB Full-Size Keyboard
Mouse: Microsoft® IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Standard Silver
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Alienware Exclusive Offers: GameFly - Unlimited Game Rentals for 15 days - FREE TRIAL
Alienware Extras: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Alienware Extras: AlienWiring - Exclusive Internal Wire Management - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Alienware Extras: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Alienware Mouse Pad: Alienware® Mousepad

the difference is the mother board and the graphics card.
which should i get?
also i have a few questions.
1) what is SLI for the graphics card?
2) what is the difference of having dual 256mb 7900GTs, is it like have a 512mb 7900GT
3) is liquid cooling worth getting?

 

[buck]

Uhhmmmm, build your own and have a better computer for less?

 

[morgash]

ok here are some pointers for ya

1. You can build a much better system than both of those for over $1000 less if ya just build it urself.
2. Both of them use Intel Pentium D processors which are absolute crap for gaming (and if ur getting an alienware for anything but gaming then i question ur logic processing abilities).
3. They both have only 1gig of RAM, while thats ok for running around windows more and more games are showing considerable performance gains from 2gigs of RAM.
3. SLI is the top of the gaming heap right now. Basically what it does is it combines the processing abilities of two video cards to give u near double performance in games, especially when using copious amounts of AA and AF at high resolutions.
4. In the end everyone here is gonna flame ya for even THINKING about buying from Alienware(especially now that they are Dellianware). If you MUST get one then get the Aurora series which uses the Athlon 64 processor instead of the old PD's.

Morgash

 

[xNIKx]

how about customizing one of these
amd
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/cfga64x2.asp?v=d
intel
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/CFGPD.asp?v=d
i dont want to get past $2500
can any1 tell me which of these i should get
-cpu
-motherboard
-should i get dual 512mb 7900GTX ( or GT, see question below) or a 1gb 7950 GTX
-which sound card should i get, dont want to spend too much but want a good one
-should i throw in the extra $200 for GTX or stick with gt

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: buck
Uhhmmmm, build your own and have a better computer for less?

Uhhmmmm. quit trolling. Im sure if he wanted to build his own he wouldnt have posed this question.


back on point:

If your going to spend that much money you are much better off with SLI, as there is a noticeible performance increase. However remember, you cannot run 2 monitors with SLI enabled, so if you plan to go the dual monitor route dont get SLI.

 

[krotchy]

Originally posted by: xNIKx
what if i customized from cyberpowerpc.com , i just want to know if everything is sure to work

Considering they install the OS for you and everything, they wont sell it to you if it didnt work. If you havent decided on a computer maker, might I suggest Falcon Northwest? I never buy OEM computers, but if I was forced to I would definitely go Falcon-NW because they know their stuff and use quality products.

 

[Sonikku]

Originally posted by: xNIKx
Area-51® 7500
$2,485.18
Processor: Intel® Pentium® D Processor 930 w/ Dual Core Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Chassis: Alienware® Full-Tower Case - Saucer Silver
Chassis Upgrades: Alienware® Liquid Cooling with AlienIce? 2.0 Video Cooling
Power Supply: Alienware® 650 Watt ATX 2.0 Power Supply with Active PFC
Motherboard: Alienware® NVidia nForce?4 SLI? X16 Motherboard
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
System Drive: High Performance - 160GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive
Graphics Processor: 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce? 7900 GT - DVI Dual Link Supported
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 740BF 17" 2ms LCD - Black
Sound Card: Alienware® Edition Sound Blaster® X-Fi® High Definition 7.1 Audio with XRAM Technology
Speakers: Logitech® X-530 5.1 70-Watt Speakers
Network Connection: Integrated Dual High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Keyboard: Alienware® USB Full-Size Keyboard
Mouse: Microsoft® IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Standard Silver
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Alienware Exclusive Offers: GameFly - Unlimited Game Rentals for 15 days - FREE TRIAL
Alienware Extras: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Alienware Extras: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Alienware Extras: AlienWiring - Exclusive Internal Wire Management - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad

Area-51® 5500
$2,656.18
Processor: Intel® Pentium® D Processor 930 w/ Dual Core Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB
Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Chassis: Alienware® Full-Tower Case - Saucer Silver
Chassis Upgrades: Alienware® Liquid Cooling with AlienIce? 2.0 Video Cooling
Power Supply: Alienware® 650 Watt ATX 2.0 Power Supply with Active PFC
Motherboard: Alienware® nForce?4 SLI? Intel Edition Chipset Motherboard PCI Express SLI
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB
System Drive: High Performance
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive
Graphics Processor: Dual 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce? 7900 GT - SLI Enabled - DVI Dual Link Supported
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 740BF 17" 2ms LCD - Black
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy® 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround Audio
Speakers: Logitech® X-530 5.1 70-Watt Speakers
Network Connection: Integrated Dual High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Keyboard: Alienware® USB Full-Size Keyboard
Mouse: Microsoft® IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Standard Silver
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
Alienware Exclusive Offers: GameFly - Unlimited Game Rentals for 15 days - FREE TRIAL
Alienware Extras: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Alienware Extras: AlienWiring - Exclusive Internal Wire Management - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Alienware Extras: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Alienware Mouse Pad: Alienware® Mousepad

the difference is the mother board and the graphics card.
which should i get?
also i have a few questions.
1) what is SLI for the graphics card?
2) what is the difference of having dual 256mb 7900GTs, is it like have a 512mb 7900GT
3) is liquid cooling worth getting?

LOL. Nothing says quality several thousand-dollar gaming machine like an Intel chip in the pre-conroe era.

 

[Captante]

That first Cyberpowerpc rig looks decent once you beef it up... go with 2gb's Corsair value, Antec 550 watt psu, Asus A8N-E, X1900XT (or 7900GTX), Audugy 4 sound, SATA 160gb, dual-core 3800+, 16x Lite-On burner w/lightscribe ... spring for round cables & professional wiring plus have them install XP Pro .. total approx $1650 not including moniter/keyboard/speakers etc.

One heck of a lot better deal then the Alienware choices listed above!

 

[hardwareking]

build ur own pc.It'll be much cheaper and ucan customize a lot urself.Sure the only thing u'll miss is the hole in ur pocket and one of those cool cases.
But u can get cases that look like theirs from raidmax and viper.
And if u are buying alienware,get 2gigs of ram.

 

[xNIKx]

alienware is just alot easier to customize, i really dont know all that much about comps

 

[Nightmare225]

It's really easy to learn how to build, trust us. There are even step by step guides on the internet.
If you change your mind and decide to build, post your maximum budget and we'll pick parts for you on a good parts seller, like newegg.com.

 

[xNIKx]

doesnt cyberpower build it for me?

here the specs i came up with
Athlon 64 X2 PCI-E Custom Build Configurator

*BASE_PRICE: [+639]
CAS: Raidmax Sagitta Mid-Tower 420W Gaming Case w/ Side Panel Window [+4] (BLACK COLOR)
CASUPGRADE: 12" COLD CATHODE NEON LIGHT [+10] (BLUE COLOR)
CPU: (939-pin) AMD Athlon?64 3800+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology [-140]
CD: (Special Price) LG GWA-4161 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER (BLUE COLOR [+9])
CD2: NONE
CABLE: Round Cable Upgrade for Hard Drive, Optical Drive & Floppy Drive [+19]
FLOPPY: NONE
FLASHMEDIA: INTERNAL 12in1 Flash Media Reader/Writer (BLUE COLOR [+5])
FAN: CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit + 2 EXTRA CASE FANS [+54]
HDD: SPECIAL!!! 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
HDD2: NONE
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: Logitech Deluxe 104 PS/2 Keyboard (Black Office Pro Keyboard)
MOUSE: Microsoft® IntelliMouse® Optical Explorer 4.0A USB & PS/2 Compactible [+14] (SILVER COLOR)
MONITOR: Gaming LCD ViewSonic VX922 19" (2ms White-Black-White Typ) SXGA LCD Display Monitor [+315]
MONITOR2: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: (Sckt939)EVGA nForce4 SLI Chipset SATA RAID Dual PCI-E Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
MEMORY: 2048 MB (512MBx4) PC3200 400MHz Dual Channel DDR MEMORY [+180] (Corsair Value Select)
MODEM: NONE
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2 [+135]
PPU: NONE
PRO_WIRING: Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU [+19]
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
POWERSUPPLY: Aspire 600W DARK SIDE POWER ATX Power Supply [+79] (BLUE Color ATX-AS600W-BL)
RAID: NONE
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS 24/7 LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: Creative Labs SB AUDIGY 4 SE [+42]
SPEAKERS: (BLACK) Logitech X530 70Watts 5.1 Configuration Speaker System [+39]
TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
TVRC: None
UPS: None
USB: Build-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBHD: NONE
VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
VIDEO: NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GTX 512MB 16X PCI Express Video Card [+465]
VIDEO2: NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GTX 512MB 16X PCI Express Video Card [+505]
WNC: NONE
WAP: NONE
ZIP: NONE
_PRICE: (+2393)
_view_: detail

if you guys can build me one from this website that will run games great for a number of years please do!

 

[Nightmare225]

Now, that's a good system. But doesn't cyberpower have am2-compatible motherboards and computers?

 

[xNIKx]

I dont know anything about AMD so im wondering is (939-pin) AMD Athlon?64 3800+ CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology good? How long will it be good for? What is it like compared to a intel 3.0
and i dont know what am2-compatible is
also im getting the Raidmax Sagitta Mid-Tower 420W Gaming Case w/ Side Panel Window
do the lights come with it or do i need to buy the 12" COLD CATHODE NEON LIGHT (BLUE COLOR)?

 

[hardwareking]

there are guides on pcstats and extremetech.Or u can come to us.
It's not all that difficult.
And as nightmare said we'll be there to help.We'll suggest good components at relatively cheap prices.
Assuming u got a $2500 budget(which is a lot to play with,u'll get an awesome rig).
Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS case-$150-One of the best darn cases out there.Lot of space and fans to play with.
Intel Pentium D 930-$180-Cheap dual core goodness and good overclocking capability.
ASUS P5WD2-E Premium motherboard-$220-Good 975x chipset moterboard.Great for ocing ur pentium to above 3.7ghz
CORSAIR Nautilus 500 Water Cooling Sytem-$130-With ur budget,it would be a waste not to throw in a cheap but awesome water cooling system.And it'll help u oc over 4ghz.And ur case fans will keep the rest of the components cool.
HIS Hightech H190XTQ512DVN Radeon X1900XT ICEQ 3-$430-One of the best cards cards out there.Outperforms the 7900 gt by quiet some margin.And the iceq cooler ensures cooler and quiter operation(compared to stock cooler)
SILVERSTONE SST-ST56F ATX12V/ EPS12V 560W Power Supply-$130-Just what u need to power ur system.
Arctic Silver 5-$5-The best thermal paste out there to keep ur cpu cool.
CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) TWIN2X2048-6400-$230-Best memory to go with ur system.
Logitech MX518 gaming mouse-$40-For all ur gaming needs(from sniping to firng like a maniac)
Creative SOUND BLASTER X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS 7.1 Channels Sound Card-$270-Great sound quality and clarity.
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS 250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drivex2-$170-2 of them for raid.Using intels matrix raid,u can split them up and run them in raid 0 and 1 simultaneously.So no data loss and great performance.And lots of storage.
Logitech g15 gaming keyboard-$70-Store fuctions to g keys.
BenQ FP202W Black 20.1" DVI 8ms Widescreen LCD Monitor-$300-Widescreen gaming is far better than regular 4:3 gaming.Lets u see more.And this one is particularly cheap for what it offers.
LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner W/LightScribe Model SHM-165H6S-$45
Total-$2255(give or take a few)
So u get a better build for roughly the same price.(in this case less)U get a far bigger WIDESCREEN monitor and more than twice the storage space and twice the ram.And u get goodies such as a gaming mouse and keyboard from logitech.
So i hope this'll convince u to assemble ur own rig.U'll more and better for less.

 

[xNIKx]

how about these specs?
Intel Pentium D Dual-Core Custom Build Configurator (NO MONITOR)

*BASE_PRICE: [+529]
CAS: Raidmax Sagitta Mid-Tower 420W Gaming Case w/ Side Panel Window (BLACK COLOR)
CASUPGRADE: NONE
CPU: (Sckt775)Intel® Pentium® D 930 Dual-Core CPU @ 3.0GHz 800FSB 2x1MB L2 Cache EM64T
CD: (Special Price) LG GWA-4161 16X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER [+9] (BLUE COLOR [+9])
CD2: NONE
CABLE: Round Cable Upgrade for Hard Drive, Optical Drive & Floppy Drive [+19]
FLOPPY: NONE [-5]
FLASHMEDIA: None [-3]
FREEGAME: NEW !!! Free "World of Warcraft" for Any Intel PC/Notebook System
FAN: CoolerMaster Liquid CPU Cooling Fan System Kit + 2 EXTRA CASE FANS [+54]
HDD: SPECIAL!!! 160GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8M Cache 7200RPM Hard Drive
HDD2: NONE
IEEE_CARD: NONE
KEYBOARD: Logitech Deluxe 104 PS/2 Keyboard (Black Office Pro Keyboard)
MOUSE: Microsoft® IntelliMouse® Optical Explorer 4.0A USB & PS/2 Compactible [+14] (SILVER COLOR)
MONITOR: NONE
MONITOR2: NONE
MOTHERBOARD: GigaByte GA-8N-SLI nForce4 SLI Chipset LGA775 1066FSB DDR2/667 SATA Dual PCI-E Mainboard w/GbLAN,USB2.0,&7.1Audio
MEMORY: 2GB (4x512MB) PC4200 DDR2 Dual Channel Memory [+126] (Corsair Value Select)
MODEM: NONE
NETWORK: ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK CARD
OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional w/ Service Pack 2 [+135]
PPU: NONE
PRO_WIRING: Professional Wiring for All WIRINGs Inside The System Chasis with High Performance Thermal Compound on CPU [+19]
PRINTER: None
PRINTER_CABLE: None
POWERSUPPLY: Aspire 600W DARK SIDE POWER ATX Power Supply [+79] (BLUE Color ATX-AS600W-BL)
RAID: NONE
RUSH: NO; READY TO SHIP IN 5~10 BUSINESS DAYS
SERVICE: STANDARD WARRANTY: 3-YEAR LIMITED WARRANTY PLUS 24/7 LIFE-TIME TECHNICAL SUPPORT
SOUND: Creative Labs SB AUDIGY 4 SE [+42]
SPEAKERS: (BLACK) Logitech X530 70Watts 5.1 Configuration Speaker System [+39]
TEMP: NONE (AS SHOWN)
TVRC: None
UPS: None
USB: Build-in USB 2.0 Ports
USBHD: NONE
VIDEOCAMERA: NONE
VIDEO: SPECIAL!!! NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express Video Card [+350]
VIDEO2: SPECIAL!!! NVIDIA Geforce 7900 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express Video Card [+390]
WNC: NONE
WAP: NONE
ZIP: NONE
_PRICE: (+1806)
_view_: detail
monitor below
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824001226

 

[hardwareking]

@xNIKx-4 memory sticks stress out the memroy controller,and often yields less performance and overclockability when compared to 2x1 gb sticks.And why get value ram for a gaming comp.If he has $2500 to spend,i think he should spend it on quality stuff.
And the 4 pci-e slots on the GA-8N-SLI are pretty useless.As only 2 cards in sli will work.
No offense,ur choices make it cheaper.But mine has more bang for buck.
But in the end it's u who decides.
All i'd change is the motherboard.Get the mobo is listed.
And don't cheap out on the ram.If u want to overclock get the xms ram.
And get 2x1gb kits as they are generally cheaper and on top of that it offers better performance as it stresses the memory controller less.
And don't get pc4200 or lower.The minimum u should be getting is ddr2667/675 thats is pc5400/pc5300.
And why do the 2 7900 gt cards have different prices although they have the same specs?

 

[xNIKx]

with intel u can only get 4x512mb
if you want you can customize me one, try not to spend too much
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/
just copy the link of the one you customized and post it here along with the specs, go to mycart and click on your comp to get the specs.
also one other questions i want to be able to burn cds/dvds do i need two of the same optical drives? if not do i need a 2nd optical drive?

 

[hardwareking]

well what we meat by assembling was that u assemble the computer with ur bare hands(maybe a anti-static wrist band) and a screw driver.
Thats why my specs come up to that much.To be honest i don't really like the components they got in there.But here it is anyway.
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/cfgpd.asp?v=d

 

[Nightmare225]

You'll save a bundle of money if you build.

 

[xNIKx]

is liquid cooling worth the money, just wondering how much better it is?