Alienware / Dell

Question

Guys, I was all set to purchase a custom built PCIe system, but the individual didn't exactly deliver what I asked for ... I've been dancing around my DIM 2400 and gaming problem now for over two months with nothing to show ... thanks to you guys, at least I have a good idea of what I need ... I was all ready to purchase an Alienware Area-51 PCIe system, but noticed the dimensions were to big to fit on my desk(...bummed out) ... I'm down to two options: Alienware "Bot" system with a x600 128mb card which is not upgradeable as far as I can tell or the DIM 8400 with X800se ... I've read where any AGP card with se is bad; that it castrates the memory speed in order to keep the card cost down ... so I'm leary to purchase a PCIe card with se .... then I've read the horror stories here with the X800se ... I'm not tech savvy and physically disabled, so I can't try all those fixes I've been reading about ... my brother does all the manual labor, but he won't be visiting till end of December ... If those X800se horror stories are true and I only have 30 days to return and receive a replacement should another card be junk, then I'm in a fix as I have to order the system in advance to insure delivery before he arrives = my warranty would run out before I even test the card/system ... it seems Dell is rushing out low cost product or untested product and I don't want more headaches ... so I'm looking for some guidance on what course you think I should take: 1) Alienware Bot System 2) roll the dice on the Dell 8400 with X800se and upgrade the card later 3) some other Computer Company(...any suggestions)

Any help and suggestions would be appreciated ... my gaming needs aren't all that extravagant( .. Call of Duty / Medal of Honor / Ghost Recon etc), but reading past posts, it seems many have had major problems with DIM 8400/X800se and the games I mentioned ?

Has Dell corrected the x800se problem or is it still hit or miss ?

Quite frankly, I expected better from Dell ... luckily I read past posts or wouldn't have noticed the X800se problems

Doesn't seem to be many options if "one can't build their own system" .

tigerwolf7 · Answer

The x800se is more powerful than a x600 (which is just a PCIe version of a Radeon 9600 series card).  No idea how widespread problems with the x800 series have been.  ATi must have been having at least some manufacturing trouble with them.  Alienware's site's dead right now or I'd look, but is the 'Bot' system some small form factor system?  Personally I'd much rather get a Dell.  I like my 8400 (although I got an x300se video card that I'm going to upgrade later, so I didn't have to worry about getting a defective x800 series card).

craig700 · Answer

I have the 8400 with the x800se......I haven't had any problems with it since ATI put out the 4.8 drivers. Runs MOHBT, UT4 & COD real good. I looked at alienware before I bought the 8400 and they seemed to be overpriced for what you get. They weren't even offering the 533mhz ddr2 at that time. (About a month ago)

dan_e6 · Answer

i personally wont buy a dell again, or any other computer made by someone else. next time i buy a computer in about a year im just going to make it myself, it costs so much LESS than buying it from a company and you can customize it and dont have to worry about stupid non-standard ATX stuff like dell.....

paulsbro · Answer

Thanks Guys ... Yes, the 'Bot' is a small factor system ... I 'hear' all of you: I wish I could build my own system / Dell is unreliable and has compatibility issues / Alienware is a bit high $, but has more video card choices and as far as I can telll, no issues with upgrading ... At this point, I'm just looking to get a good system with no headaches  ... My last two systems have been Dell, and I haven't been satisfied with their overall product/upgrade compatibility/customer service reliability ... Oh well, guess I just keep looking = no more throwing good money after bad !!!

se7en5ive2 · Answer

It all boils down to 'You get what you pay for' Dell has limited bios and poor upgrade abilities, Alienware has excellent bios and OC abilities plus upgrade ease. Both have a minimum of 1 year warranty and more if you want to pay for it. Building your own custom rig allows you to cut cost by at least a half and most parts used carry at least a year and up to lifetime replacement warranties. SFF systems like the BOT are great for space limited areas and built properly, can handle he newest videocards, Antec (for example) offers a box with a 350 Watt power supply for around $300, sans videocard , HDD's, CD-DVD, and processor.                                                                                                                                    7

1Bowtie · Answer

I wish you would explain to me how you can build your own system for half what a Dell system would cost. Where are the savings you talk about, have you actually priced one out? I did and there's no way peroid. And with all the trouble people have on these forums, who you gonna call when something doesn't work. So whether you have Alienware or Dell, in computing hardware can and will fail, software can and will mess something up at some point so the novice better have someone to call.

paulsbro · Answer

It seems Dell specs it's power supply/cooling to the lowest common denominator/video card; so, upgrading is very difficult ... Alienware specs it's power supply/cooluing to the best video card ... all the Alienware's I checked had 480 watts/ thermally designed chasis and a cooling system upgrade available / even there lowest priced AGP systems had 480 watts and a front end vent (.. no side vents like the Area-51 / Aurora models) and the cooling system available / even the low priced Alienware AGP models had about 8 card options - all the way up to the X800 XT(...if I remember correctly) ... seems Alienware is concerned with the 'upgrade cycle', whereas Dell is concerned with the 'replacement cycle' ? ... Since I'm too dumb to build my own system, it looks like I as well need 'someone to talk to'  when problems arise ... I would have went with the high end Dell(...XPS Gen 3) , but the tower was just a bit to tall  ... looks like if I choose Dell, it will be a one decision/no upgrading purchase ... since I have no confidence that the 8400 can be upgraded to th PCIe X800 XT 256mb card due to the lower power supply and lack of cooling(...compared vs the Dell XPS Gen 3), it looks like I can't afford to take a chance on the 8400 ... 8400: 350 watts / front end vent / no mention of fans, cooling etc  ...  XPS Gen 3: 460 watts / 3 chasis fans and 2 more devoted to the power supply / thermally designed chasis(...as best as I can remember from the sys tech specs) = makes me wonder if the 8400 can handle the X800 XT 256mb card ? ... yes, it does look like you get what you pay for = just wish I didn't have such space constraints / may have to see about squeezing a bigger desk in my alloted area

se7en5ive2 · Answer

Asus Motherboard for either AMD or P4 approx. $150

Case of your choice $100 - $200

Processor AMD Athlon 3400 or Pentium 4 - 3.4 GHz $400

Soundcard $100 (sometimes included on mobo's)

HDD's $80 - $400 depending on size and eide or sata factor

CD - DVD under $100 and some around $20 after rebates

Radeon 9800 Pro $240

1 Gb og PC3200 Ram for $220

The satisfaction of a novice building a system for around a $1600 average that would eat most of these $4000 plus machines alive = Priceless

Now if you wish to build a cheaper AMD based system that is overclockable for between $600 - $1000 and an extemely capable gamer and all around PC, you just cut back on some of the big ticket items.

Have I actually priced one out, Yes and have built a few. A one year warranty is prevalent on any part you buy from manufacturers and places like NewEgg, TigerDirect an Mwave stand behind their product lines if you receive a faulty mobo, HDD, memory and such. They respond easily to both e-mails and telephone calls without being put on hold for hours.

Building anything on your own carries a certain amount of risk and seperates the novice from the enthusiast. And yes, I do own a couple of older Dell machines which are solid as a rock and help make this novice into an enthusiast.

7

A little pricing around at places mentioned and you find the price you paid for yours was too much considering its value now.

Message Edited by se7en5ive2 on 09-13-2004 02:12 PM

paulsbro · Answer

Guys, looks like I'm down to two systems: 1) Alienware "Bot" system with the PCIe X600 XT 128mb card ... 2) Dell "Dimension 4600" with the AGP 9800 Pro 128mb card

I'm not looking at future upgrading, this is a 3 or so year hold then replacement ... my video games of choice are Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Ghost Recon etc(...no Doom 3, Far Cry, Hal-Life 2 spec type games in my future)

Both systems cost roughly the same, so it comes down to which video card/computer company would you rather use for the next few years .

I'd go with the DIM 8400, but I don't like the X800 se card and I'm concerned about upgrading to the X800 XT 256mb card ... since it looks like I go with a 128mb card, these are the best choices I can find, given my space constraints

Anyone have an opinion on these two systems ?

Oh, I thought I read where the 9800 Pro needed 330 watts ? .. the DIM 4600 states: watts - 250 maximum continuous ... am I mistaken ?; afterall, this is the card that is being offered with the DIM 4600

Thanks Guys !

5fc5e52801914a6 · Answer

For member Paulsbro......Did you know that the Dell 350 watt p/s is not the peak power, but the average ? Peak power is higher and  your x800xt will work just fine in that system, when and if you get it....Other's will come onto this thread and confirm this. The 250 watt power supply I have is the average, and the peak power is around 345 watts, as stated by numerous members and Dell Moderator's.  You will be fine with the 8400 system.  Good hunting      Message Edited by Unhappy45 on 09-13-2004 04:01 PM

5fc5e52801914a6 · Answer

Dimension 8400 350w power supply, XPS Gen 3 460w power supply (PCIe video cards) =
GeForce FX 6800 Ultra Extreme Edition
GeForce 6800 Ultra
Radeon X800 XT Platinum Edition
GeForce 6800 GT
Radeon X 800 XT
Radeon X800 Pro
GeForce 6800
Radeon X800 SE

Paulsbro.....This was taken from the sticky site by the Dell Moderator...As you can see the 8400 system can handle the X800XT

Message Edited by Unhappy45 on 09-13-2004 04:01 PM

tigerwolf7 · Answer

Yeah, the 8400 is a great system, and it's power supply is just fine for anything out right now. The only slightly annoying thing with upgrading the video card is that if you buy one with an x300se, it dosen't come with a $13 extra fan that you're supposed to use if you put in a hotter video card (you have to buy the fan from Dell after the fact).

I've owned two Dells now (one back in '97, then I got a Falcon which had problems and then started building my own, and now my 8400), and I've liked both of them. Dell's systems have always seemed non gimicky comapred to what you can buy in a store.

Oh, and the Dimension 8400 is probably quieter than anything Alienware sells, which is a HUGE plus in my book.

Message Edited by tigerwolf7 on 09-13-2004 03:57 PM

1Bowtie · Answer

Hi se7en5ive2

You spec'd out a decent comp there still $1600, no os, no tech support, yes all the manufacturers have 1 year warranty, but first you to call get a RMA, send them the part, oops that didn't fix it now which part do i try, oops, all i'm saying is atleast with Dell you may have to wait on the phone but they'll send you parts till they get it fixed and for the novice thats a big plus, Someone like yourself who is tech savay could most likely diagnose and fix it yourself. So you have to add in a little peace of mind for the noob.

thegimp03 · Answer

Hey, Paulsbro, if you don't want to go for a Dell, and don't want to go with a high-priced Alienware system you could go take a look at www.abspc.com. They are a respected builder of pcs that are priced similarly to Dell systems.

thegimp03 · Answer

paulsbro - no problem, happy to help. :)

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Alienware / Dell

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