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Possible New Rig

Dizzy

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Processor Core 2 Duo X6800 @ 3.4 gHz
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Software Windows XP
To replace my tired old laptop for gaming I'm planning to get a power-house desktop. I've been looking around, and come up with something; could you guys tell me what you think? I am with this on the very edge of my budget, so no more extravagant suggestions please :p.

Alienware Aurora 7500

Operating System: Genuine Windows® XP Professional UK with SP2 - English
Warranty: AlienCare 1-Year Free Phone 24/7 and Collect & Return
AlienRespawn: Alienware® Respawn Recovery Kit
Chassis: Alienware® P2 Chassis - Space Black
Chassis Upgrades: Alienware® AlienIce™ 3.0 Video Cooling + AlienFX™ System Lighting + Alienware® High-Performance Liquid Cooling
Power Supply: 700 Watt Alienware® Approved Multi-GPU Power Supply
Motherboard: Alienware® Approved NVIDIA nForce 590 SLI Motherboard
Processor: AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 5200+ Processor with HyperTransport and Dual Core Technology
Memory: 2GB DDR2 PC-6400 SDRAM at 800MHz - 2 x 1024MB
Video Card: 768MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8800 GTX
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s, 7,200 RPM with 16MB Cache & NCQ
Optical Drive One: 18x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive
Sound Card: High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio - Standard
Network Card: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (DSL-ready)
Removable Storage: Alienware® 28-in-1 Digital Media Reader / Writer
Floppy Drive: 1.44 MB Floppy Drive - Black
Monitor: 19" Dell UltraSharp 1907FP Black Flat Panel LCD Monitor - Quantity 1
Keyboard: Logitech® G15 Gaming Keyboard - UK
Mouse: Microsoft® Basic Optical Mouse Black
Speakers: Creative® 7.1 Inspire™ T7900 - UK power supply
Security Software: Kaspersky Anti-Virus Personal Professional - 12 month subscription Included!

Order Total: £2,478.79


One other question... do you think I could manage with 1 gb of ram? because then I'd have it for half-term! :-D
 
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Looks good...
If you want it to be cheaper you could always build it yourself
 

Dizzy

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Video Card(s) 8800 GTX
Storage 2 x 160gb Western Digital in Raid 0
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Software Windows XP
Looks good...
If you want it to be cheaper you could always build it yourself

I could... but I don't trust myself on my first build with parts that expensive ;)
 

Easy Rhino

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I could... but I don't trust myself on my first build with parts that expensive ;)

that's too bad cause you could save yourself a couple hundred atleast. regardless its a nice rig and will last for awhile.
 

Dizzy

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Video Card(s) 8800 GTX
Storage 2 x 160gb Western Digital in Raid 0
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Software Windows XP
that's too bad cause you could save yourself a couple hundred atleast

I know. But I really want to be able to trust this machine to work perfectly, and I won't if I built it myself! Plus liquid cooling would be a devil to install.

Upon the assumption that I'm going to buy not build, how is it? Could I manage with one gb of ram?
 

HookeyStreet

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Shame it doesnt have an Intel Core2Duo instead of the AMD cpu :cry:
 
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hubba bubba!!!! damn!!! I like that rig oho yes:D

dont go for 1gig of ram..2gigs is always better than 1..Plus with that kind of rig id go for 2 gigs.
Damn...happy days ahead for you my friend!!! I can sense it:rolleyes:
 

Dizzy

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Ok, having looked at different prices and found out how much Alienware were ripping me off... here's the new comp idea from Beast Computers:

Processor
Overclocked Intel® Core™ 2 Duo X6800 2.93GHz (1066MHz FSB, 2 x 2MB L2 Cache)

Chipset
Intel® 975X

Cooling
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
2 x -21dBa 120mm Zalman Case Fans

Power Supply
Hiper HPU-4M730 Type R Quad Sli 730W ATX2.2 PSU

Motherboard
EVGA nForce 680i (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard

Memory
2GB Mushkin XP2-8500 DDR2 Dual Kit (2x1GB) 5-5-4-12

Disk Drives
320gb (2 x 160gb) Western Digital SATA-II 16mb Cache NCQ Hard Drives in RAID 0 Configuration

Graphics
nVidia 8800 GTX 768mb GDDR3 DirectX10 Technology

DVD Drives
NEC AD7170S Serial ATA 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter
Asus E616A3T Serial ATA 16x DVD-ROM



... and with any luck I could be ordering within a couple of days! What do you think?
 
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That's actually pretty good... do they have an option for quad core though? I'm only asking because on newegg.com the difference between the x6800 and the quad core extreme is only $5 ($970 for the QX6700 and $965 for the x6800).
 

Dizzy

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Video Card(s) 8800 GTX
Storage 2 x 160gb Western Digital in Raid 0
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Software Windows XP
That's actually pretty good... do they have an option for quad core though? I'm only asking because on newegg.com the difference between the x6800 and the quad core extreme is only $5 ($970 for the QX6700 and $965 for the x6800).

They do. I'm not going for it though because:

a) To get it I have to either make a completely custom computer, which costs more, or get a better pre-built that has parts which I have no use for (such as an sli graphics card, which will make no difference on my monitor)

b) For gaming the QX6700 is actually worse than the x6800, due to most games not making full use of more than two of the cores

c) I'm getting it pre-overclocked (to keep it in warranty), and the x6800 can overclock much better than the QX6700
 
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Meh... I merely suggested the QX6700 (and possibly the SLI) in order to future-proof your computer (at least for a little bit) :D

Oh and about part b, why not just disable 2 of the cores for the game then? AFAIK games that are not multi-threaded still make use of all four cores...
 

Dizzy

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Storage 2 x 160gb Western Digital in Raid 0
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Meh... I merely suggested the QX6700 (and possibly the SLI) in order to future-proof your computer (at least for a little bit) :D

Oh and about part b, why not just disable 2 of the cores for the game then? AFAIK games that are not multi-threaded still make use of all four cores...

The cores of the quad are quite a lot worse than those of the x6800, and as I primarily use my computer for gaming I'd be spending a lot for worse performance when I needed it worse.

You are right about future-proofing though... still I can always upgrade later when it is cheaper! ;)
 
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lol then by all means, go for the x6800! Have fun with your awesome computer while I'm stuck with my crappy one :(
 

KennyT772

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hey dizzy i would go lots of research on these forums before just buying a system. with a boxed computer you are mainly paying for tech support. this forums is a hellava lot better in tech support than any computer shop.

you could easily build a e6600 rig with better ram and whatever parts you wish for less, then overclock it way past x6800 speeds and have it perform better. not to mention increasing your computer knowledge in the process.
 

Dizzy

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Storage 2 x 160gb Western Digital in Raid 0
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Software Windows XP
hey dizzy i would go lots of research on these forums before just buying a system. with a boxed computer you are mainly paying for tech support. this forums is a hellava lot better in tech support than any computer shop.

you could easily build a e6600 rig with better ram and whatever parts you wish for less, then overclock it way past x6800 speeds and have it perform better. not to mention increasing your computer knowledge in the process.

It's true... but to be honest I just want this computer to work out of the box. I'm putting too much money into this PC for me to muck it up and destroy it somehow...

What I am getting with this is a VERY nice PC that I can be sure will work perfectly out the box; or at least if it doesn't I can for free get someone to fix it for me. I get three years of knowing that if anything goes wrong they will fix it for me too. I don't have to hope I got all the configuration of the various parts correct, they are right as standard. Plus I am not costing myself 12 hours of construction time!

Perhaps after I get this I might get together some cheap parts and build another pc for lan gaming... but for my main one I want the assurance that it will work. Does that make sense?
 
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KennyT772

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try maingear or some of the other pc builders out there. imo alienware is about as brand name as it gets and they charge for it. goto www.hardocp.com and look at some of the systems they have reviewed. you might find a better alternative for cheaper yet.
 

Dizzy

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Processor Core 2 Duo X6800 @ 3.4 gHz
Motherboard nVidia nForce 680i
Cooling Tuniq Tower
Memory 2GB Mushkin XP2-8500 DDR2
Video Card(s) 8800 GTX
Storage 2 x 160gb Western Digital in Raid 0
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Software Windows XP
check out scans system configurator(at www.scan.co.uk), it'll cost a LOT less than alienware

or www.vadim.co.uk
or even www.cyberpower.com


try maingear or some of the other pc builders out there. imo alienware is about as brand name as it gets and they charge for it. goto www.hardocp.com and look at some of the systems they have reviewed. you might find a better alternative for cheaper yet.


Uh guys... I already did. Hence why I have a second rig that I'm looking at, made by Beast Computers: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showpost.php?p=285893&postcount=9
 

Dizzy

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Processor Core 2 Duo X6800 @ 3.4 gHz
Motherboard nVidia nForce 680i
Cooling Tuniq Tower
Memory 2GB Mushkin XP2-8500 DDR2
Video Card(s) 8800 GTX
Storage 2 x 160gb Western Digital in Raid 0
Audio Device(s) Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Gamer
Software Windows XP
The beast is ordered! It will be here in 10-12 working days. I'm so excited! :D
 
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