20-09-2004 14:27									#91
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quote: Originally posted by Nuclear Master If I were to buy a computer, would someone "give" () me Microsoft Office, Virus protectors, etc.?

You can find many opensource or freeware programs that do what you want.

	20-09-2004 19:55									#92
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quote: Originally posted by Urban Ranger You need to have EnerMax or Antec power supplies.

And what do they do?

	20-09-2004 20:05									#93
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They're very reliable power supplies -- the things that regulate power flow in your computer.

	20-09-2004 20:31									#94
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Another question, how important is the Watt Power Supply? Should I get a 650 instead of a 480?

	20-09-2004 20:33									#95
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Posting mostly so that I see when this thread has been posted in.

But on to the topic. Everyone says Alienware rips you off horribly as far as prices go and that because of that, their computers aren't worth it.

Now I'm looking for a sub notebook with some power to it, and my search led me to Alienware's Sentia. It looked expensive at first, but when I tried to find anything else that was even close to the Sentia in power and size, the Sentia proved to be cheaper.

So what's the catch?

	20-09-2004 20:36									#96
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quote: Originally posted by Nuclear Master Another question, how important is the Watt Power Supply? Should I get a 650 instead of a 480?

650 is overkill.

	20-09-2004 20:44									#97
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what is a good motherboard right now

that has both PCIe and Raid 0

(I want a PCIe graphics card, and RAID 0 Raptors)

Jon Miller

	20-09-2004 20:49									#98
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how do pcx5750 and pcx5900 compare to the x600 and x800?

would you want to go with 128 or 256? (RAM)

how does the Quadro FX1300 compare?

Jon Miller

	20-09-2004 21:54									#99
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jon miller: there are no good pci-e motherboards right now because all of them are for intel iirc. raid 0 is over rated and near useless in a desktop pc as far as i can tell. regarding video cards more ram is always better. i'd go for 256 for sure if it's not much more expensive because you might need it in the future. the pcx nvidia cards are based on one generation old tech i'm pretty sure so they will be slower than the x600/x800(don't you look at benchmarks?). pci-e doesn't seem to add much speed but i'm not 100% sure as i'm too lazy to double check. quadro fx1300 i'm too lazy to google but quadro are for workstations so i'm sure it's more expensive than a normal card at minimal preformances gains.

	20-09-2004 22:44									#100
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I agree that AMD is more cost effiecient

but I would be willing to pay a bit more, for a little better machine

the Raid0 and Raptor might be overkill, but my freind has a Raptor and could still stand to have faster harddrive access (I would do a 250 GB storage drive, and than two 36 GB Raptor Raid-0 operating system and the like drive)

I was thinking that a 3 GHz would be good, but maybe I should go faster (But they cost a lot more...)

Jon Miller

	21-09-2004 03:09									#101
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Area 51

1 GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB

ATI RADEON™ X800 XT PCI Express 256MB DDR3 w/ Digital and TV Out

160GB Seagate® Barracuda 7,200 RPM w/8MB Cache

Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560 w/ HT Technology 3.6GHz 1MB Cache

Microsoft Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS High Definition 7.1 Surround

NEC 17" LCD 1760NX MultiSync

Logitech® Z-680 5.1 500-Watt THX® Speakers

Lexmark™ X5150 All-In-One with 6' USB Cab

Logitech® QuickCam Orbit

Sennheiser RS85 Stereo Wireless Headphones with HiDyn Plus

$3900

Is this better than the Dell system?

	21-09-2004 03:12									#102
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Also, is the PCI Express Motherboard with Intel® 925 Chipset a good motherboard?

	21-09-2004 04:05									#103
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Would this be a power supply? Belkinlkin® Universal UPS 800VA (450W Capacity)

	21-09-2004 04:07									#104
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PCI Express is so new that it is overpriced and likely to have problems. I would wait a while before getting it.

	21-09-2004 04:11									#105
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You're confusing power supplies; the Antac power supplies are internal, and convert household power to the DC flavors PC compnents need.

That Belkin takes household power and "cleans" it, while offering a battery backup in the event of a power outage. A good idea, but not the same thing.

	21-09-2004 04:30									#106
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quote: Originally posted by The Mad Monk You're confusing power supplies; the Antac power supplies are internal, and convert household power to the DC flavors PC compnents need. That Belkin takes household power and "cleans" it, while offering a battery backup in the event of a power outage. A good idea, but not the same thing.

I don't even think you can select one in Alienware, or Dell for that matter.

	21-09-2004 04:31									#107
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quote: Originally posted by Nuclear Master Would this be a power supply? Belkinlkin® Universal UPS 800VA (450W Capacity)

That's a battery.

PowerSupplies are little boxes inside the tower.

Alienware likely uses a good one, don't worry.

	21-09-2004 04:37									#108
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i got my system from here:

http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/

very, very satisfied. got a great computer custom built for a reasonable cost and without all the extra software and customer service and crap that i dont need. tho if you want that crap, they have options available.

actually, about 5 months ago, i came to the OTF when i was searching for a new computer and someone here recommended this place to me... cool

	21-09-2004 04:39									#109
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With the Area 51 and the XPS that I posted, which one is the better system, for the money, accessories, and power.

	21-09-2004 11:33									#110
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i'm too lazy to compare everything but the differences seem minimal. the area 51 is better(faster cpu and higher quality parts i imagine) but it does cost more(the main price difference might just be the cpu). i would check those 17" flat screens. some flat screens have lag which makes gaming really bad. in general crt are still much better than flat screens in everything except how much desk space they take up and of course they are much cheaper.

i'm really surprised you are only getting a 17" screen with your budget. going from a 17" to 19" is a fairly big difference. imo it's better to downgrade a few parts of you system so you can spend more on a screen. screens also last a long time. while many other parts of your system you will likely not ever use again once you upgrade in the future you could possibly keep using your screen. i still use my 8 year old 17" from dell to play dos games on since it is so much brighter in 256 color mode for example. i use a 19" for everything else. 21"/22" screens seem to last a really long time if you get a good one. if i had gotten one of those with my dell i'd probably still be using it today.

	21-09-2004 14:32									#111
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you should get better than 17" screen for your money

Jon Miller

	21-09-2004 14:34									#112
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I thought the new (as in not out yet, but announced) PCIe video cards were good...

Jon Miller
(checked out Tom's Hardware)

	21-09-2004 14:40									#113
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I like the as-yet-unannounced hyper-x vidcards being released in 2020, myself...

	21-09-2004 18:23									#114
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that might be the case

I sort of figure that announced cards (ones that places like Tom's have physical copies of and have tested) will arrive a lot sooner (as in end of the month)

Jon Miller

	21-09-2004 18:32									#115
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the problem with announced and benchmarked cards lately is it seems like it can take a few months before they start showing up. paper releases suck.

	21-09-2004 19:44									#116
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I was actually thinking about upgrading to a 19" LCD. Is NEC a good company for them?

	21-09-2004 19:47									#117
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Yes,

	21-09-2004 20:13									#118
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I was looking at the 20", and it was $500 Canadian more than the 19". What's the deal with that?

	21-09-2004 20:21									#119
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Much more supply of 19", and they're easier to produce. With time the 20" will come down, and 21" will cost $500 more.

	21-09-2004 21:01									#120
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quote: Originally posted by Nuclear Master But is that worth buying it? I'm buying a new PC soon, and I want as much information as possible.

The only commercial advantage I can think of for Alienware is, like the Viper and Corvette, they keep their value better than their competitors.

However, this is a COMPUTER, they are notorious for becoming obsolete very quickly - so not really much difference in the real world.

It's an "aspirational" thing - a salesman trying to convince you that this really is a different product. If it was truly a different product it wouldn't run Windows - so don't believe the hype.