Build or buy a Alienware?

ok, so i have NEVER built a computer in my life, so it came down to a debate between my 2 friends. One told me to build, while the other said just get a alienware.

He gave me these specs-

Cosmic Black ALX - 875 Watt Power Suppl
Overclocked Intel Core i7 975 Extreme (3.6GHz, 8MB Cache)
Eyefinity - Dual ATI HD 5870 in Crossfire, 3 Dell 2408WFP Flat Panels
24GB Triple Channel 1333MHz DDR3
1.5TB (2x 750GB) RAID 0, SATA, 7.2KRPM, 16MB
1.5TB High Performance with Data Security RAID 1 (2x 1.5TB SATA II 7,200 RPM HDDs)
Dual Drives: Blu-ray Disc (BD) Burner
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Alienware TactX Keyboard
mouse

sll in all the total came to $9164, is there a better deal builing if so how much would it cost, im not quite sure what all the above means? Please help! Is building hard? Or with my friends help could i do it quickly?

Also does anyone know what case the new alienware uses?

Holy Hell! That is a ridiculous build. If you buy from and computer manufacturer you are going to pay a substantial markup. The benifit of of buying from a company like Alienware is the warranty. Alienware's warranty is one of the if not the best in the market. Saying all of this you could save a lot of money by building the computer yourself. But, than again, that's a lot of money in a rig without a warranty. If you can afford 10k I think you can afford to get it from Alienware.C2C_Moltar

That build is just ridiculous, are you really thinking of spending 10k on a computer. I could probaly put together a $2k rig that can perform on par if not better than what you plan on buying. That is just a waste of money and overkill to the max.

http://www.smoothcreations.com/

Same parts, custom painted case annnnnddd cheaper...then you can spend a couple K on 3x 30" monitors

That build is just ridiculous, are you really thinking of spending 10k on a computer. I could probaly put together a $2k rig that can perform on par if not better than what you plan on buying. That is just a waste of money and overkill to the max.

spektor_21000

OH MY GOD O_O build your own.i swear i still cant believe all of these numbers when people want to buy a PCGazaAli

Just built a setup that rivals yours on Falcon Northwest for $5800 with paint color of choice and a few extra accessoriesIIIRUSHIII

24 GB's?

Overkill!!!Biuld your own Pc great feeling and you feel a lot smarter then you actually are! No offense.

[QUOTE="spektor_21000"]

That build is just ridiculous, are you really thinking of spending 10k on a computer. I could probaly put together a $2k rig that can perform on par if not better than what you plan on buying. That is just a waste of money and overkill to the max.

xfactor19990

As for warranty, every manufacturer has warranty when you build a computer yourself you have sometime to replace parts, but less likely nothing cheap is going into this machine, but that doesnt mean its perfect and wont have failure, but if you take your time and build it should work fine, as long as nothing is defective.

I dont know where some people got alienware have the best customer service, i heard horror stories from their end but its up to you really i mean we normally dont reccoment alienware because everyone is on a budget, but if you want the best, with no budget, prob best to go with alienware if you save 3k building it then you could buy more games with the money you didnt spend but if that doesnt matter then hey its really up to you. when it comes to this ammount of money, me as an experienced builder, if i spending 10k on a pc i would build it, becasue i know what im doing, but maybe down the road you could build a lower end pc for a family member to get some experience,

ok, so i have NEVER built a computer in my life, so it came down to a debate between my 2 friends. One told me to build, while the other said just get a alienware.

He gave me these specs-

Cosmic Black ALX - 875 Watt Power Suppl
Overclocked Intel Core i7 975 Extreme (3.6GHz, 8MB Cache)
Eyefinity - Dual ATI HD 5870 in Crossfire, 3 Dell 2408WFP Flat Panels
24GB Triple Channel 1333MHz DDR3
1.5TB (2x 750GB) RAID 0, SATA, 7.2KRPM, 16MB
1.5TB High Performance with Data Security RAID 1 (2x 1.5TB SATA II 7,200 RPM HDDs)
Dual Drives: Blu-ray Disc (BD) Burner
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Alienware TactX Keyboard
mouse

sll in all the total came to $9164, is there a better deal builing if so how much would it cost, im not quite sure what all the above means? Please help! Is building hard? Or with my friends help could i do it quickly?

Also does anyone know what case the new alienware uses?

xfactor19990

You could get that for half the price! Go to newegg and buy the parts, then take them to your local PC shop.

Oh; and there are no 4GB DDR3 DIMMs so 24GB isn't possible except on servers.

over 1.5k is overkill

seriously what are you going to do with 24gb of ram

you can build a decent pc for about £400 wich is around $800 USD

you can build a decent pc for about £400 wich is around $800 USD

NSR34GTR

ok, so i have NEVER built a computer in my life, so it came down to a debate between my 2 friends. One told me to build, while the other said just get a alienware.

He gave me these specs-

Cosmic Black ALX - 875 Watt Power Suppl marketing...the ALX is a sexy machine, not gonna lie, but your paying 6000 extra dollars for a pretty case
Overclocked Intel Core i7 975 Extreme (3.6GHz, 8MB Cache)
Eyefinity - Dual ATI HD 5870 in Crossfire, 3 Dell 2408WFP Flat Panels
24GB Triple Channel 1333MHz DDR3 Why do you need 24GB of memory!?!?! 4GB is perfect, but 6GB is overkill and bragging rights
1.5TB (2x 750GB) RAID 0, SATA, 7.2KRPM, 16MB
1.5TB High Performance with Data Security RAID 1 (2x 1.5TB SATA II 7,200 RPM HDDs)
Dual Drives: Blu-ray Disc (BD) Burner
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio
Alienware TactX Keyboard
mouse

sll in all the total came to $9164, is there a better deal builing if so how much would it cost, im not quite sure what all the above means? Please help! Is building hard? Or with my friends help could i do it quickly?

Also does anyone know what case the new alienware uses? its a custom case, look at the website...if youre getting the ALX its got these crazy vents on the top

xfactor19990

OK man, 9000 bucks is a crapload for a PC...thats about 7000 dollars too expensive. I think you need to read up on some stuff, as well.

For example, tell me why exactly you need 24GB of memory? Especially considering Windows can only use like 4GB at the moment?

As for cost, lemme give you a quick rundown on what I would build if I had unlimited funds:

eVGA i7 Mobo, 300 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813188039

i7 processor, 290 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115214

8 GB DDR3 memory (way overkill, but bragging rights), 220 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145265x2

Case, full power or mid tower your choise, 80-200 bucks

eVGA GTX 275 in SLI, 500 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130475x2

850W, SLI-ready Power supply, 140 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139009

Bluray burners x 2, 360 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136164

Hard drive, 2TB drives x 2, 360 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148413x2

Solid State Drive (for games) 80GB, 300 bucks
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167023

After all this, you might want to set 300 additional dollars for various things. The total cost, including the money set aside for extras (300 bucks), totals about 2700 dollars.

Keep in mind this is, in my tastes, a spare no expense build. You could easily trim 1000 dollars off this build if needed. But even then, you are getting a PC as capable as the Alienware, but built by your own hands and to your tastes.

hmmm well if i can build for 5k that would be amazing, ill look on newegg i supposexfactor19990

you can build it for under 3k, look above

[QUOTE="NSR34GTR"]

you can build a decent pc for about £400 wich is around $800 USD

xfactor19990

but what about eyefinity, and my tri screen set up? Dont i need ati for that?

hmm, spend 3000 dollars or more on an Alienware (aka Dell), or build my own. Ill take the build my own route. Espcailly when the Alienware comes in a custom case, that looks very diffcult to upgrade.

but what about eyefinity, and my tri screen set up? Dont i need ati for that?

xfactor19990

Yeah, you do.

I built the following system to incorporate ATI's Eyefinity. An i7 EE was not included, as an i7 920 can easily reach those clocks with an average air cooler.

Also, I included a watercooling "kit" with the build. If you feel uncomfortable with the idea of watercooling, an air cooler will suffice.

COMBO: ASUS P6T deluxe V2

Intel Core i7 920

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.253087

COMBO: HIS 5870

Antec TRUEPOWER 750watt PSU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.263057

COMBO: HIS 5870

Windows Vista Home Premium w/ tech guarantee (free Win7 upgrade)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.259592.14-161-301

CASE: Cooler Master HAF 932

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119160

MEMORY: 6GB OCZ Gold DDR3 1600 (CAS 8 )

I assume this will be a purely gaming orientated system, and therefor you will not have any use of more than 6GB.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227365

STORAGE: 2x Intel x25-M SSD's in RAID 0 (for programs and applications)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167016&cm_re=x25-_-20-167-016-_-Product

2x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB drives in RAID 1 (for storage)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284

COOLING: This is a controversial decision; I opted for a Swiftech watercooling kit. Again, if your uncomfortable with the idea of watercooling, go for the air cooler listed below.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835108109(kit)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207004(air cooler)

Remember that the air cooler requires a retention bracket placed on the back of the motherboard.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835207005&Tpk=sunbema%20retention

Total comes to 2742.85 before shipping or MIR's, a couple hundred less if you opt for the air cooler.

--Note: I picked the i7 920 mainly to allow you to overclock it yourself.

I did NOT include any monitor as I don't know your preference of brand or screen size.

The SSD listed it roughly half the price and size of the 160GB version, which influenced my SSD choice as it allowed for faster speeds in RAID with the same amount of storage. If you don't wish to have a RAID array, you can opt for the 160GB version.

but what about eyefinity, and my tri screen set up? Dont i need ati for that?

xfactor19990

never take pre-build alway make own so how mcuh your really want to spend Xfactor ?

Eyefinity is a Edition of Card that come with 6 Display DVI : instead of 3 DVI : without have more GB such as the 5870 2GB incoming soon & 5870x2 in november If you where to get the ultimate build i suggest you wait : November : and get TWO 5870x2 : now ul be EXTREMELY OVERKILL

as for 3 monitor ? Well find them if you want that bad 3 monitor : you can get Triple2head which is popular or 3 monitor like there

EyeFinity is really for business it will cost much more i heard and have +3 DVI port but again do you have 6 MONITOR ? Or 3x 2560x1600 monitor ? since Each : 2560x1600 TAKE 2(TWO) DVI PORT : and each 1920x1200 take 1(one) DVI PORT

http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=783&type=expert&pid=6

You could also let me build it for you my good friend. ;)

[QUOTE="spektor_21000"]

That build is just ridiculous, are you really thinking of spending 10k on a computer. I could probaly put together a $2k rig that can perform on par if not better than what you plan on buying. That is just a waste of money and overkill to the max.

xfactor19990

of course you can always spend more to get a really nice full tower and raid hardrive setup and all and even get 3 24" monitors for under $3000

[QUOTE="Too_tight_shoes"]I dont know why everyone is saying build, build BUILD! Thats way too much of a risk for someone who doesn't know what they are doing, also I would say overkill but I would but keep in my that most people that say that aren't wealthy therefore have no right to say such things because im sure 9/10 of of them would get that if they were rich. Out of curiosity what car do you have? :PRedxSniper

Well I could just build the rig for him cause I'm experienced.

sll in all the total came to $9164, is there a better deal builing if so how much would it cost, im not quite sure what all the above means? Please help! Is building hard? Or with my friends help could i do it quickly?

Also does anyone know what case the new alienware uses?

xfactor19990

Here's what you do....

Slide me a check for about 7grand and I can finish paying off my car. Now take the remaining $2200 or so and build a kick ass computer on your own.

Now we're both happy. My car is finished being paid off and you have a computer that'll kill any game out there over the next 3-5 years.

hehe if you can afford a 9k pc, you really shouldnt be worried about building yourself. But dang, you could build like 3 of those yourself for the same cost.

and even hook me up with a 500$ one

hehe if you can afford a 9k pc, you really shouldnt be worried about building yourself. But dang, you could build like 3 of those yourself for the same cost.

and even hook me up with a 500$ one

simpsons1fan