Alienware Comp...

I own a four year old Alienware Area 51 and I would not recommend Alienware. I can't upgrade my processor because of the motherboard they installed and I've had trouble with their tech support which I believe is in South America.

Read this: ➡ http://www.1up.com/news/gfw-ultimate-gaming-machine

You can compare hardware using the links below.

Thanks for the advice and links. After you mentioning not to go with Alienware i've priced up some hardware (some better, some not compared with the above specs) to build my own PC, The processor i've picked is a hell of a lot better than the alienware computer I was looking at and its still cheaper too :p, here's what i've priced up:

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Quad Core (2.67GHz) Socket 775 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor with fan - £583
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119918/rb/0

XFX nForce 650i Ultra MCP Socket 775 onboard 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard - £69.95
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/128568

Aspire X-Dreamer II Black Mid Tower Gaming Case - with 420W PSU - £46.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/101221/rb/0

XFX 8600GT 256MB DDR3 XXX edition DVI PCI-E Graphics Card - £108.32
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127345

Kingston 2GB KIT (2X1GB) DDR2 667MHz/PC2-5300 CL5 Non Ecc 1.8V - £45
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/91124/rb/0

Creative Soundblaster X-fi Xtreme Gamer Soundcard - OEM - £49.98
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127030

Maxtor STM3250820AS 250GB 7200RPM SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM - £36.95
http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/120303

Total Price: £940.18

If I were to get something very similar from Alienware it would cost me over £1,600!

I was just using the link you posted which compares CPU's and the Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 is gonna so much better than my old Pentium 4 3.00GHz HT one 😂

Looking good!

Be sure to get a power supply (name brand) at least 700-750w.

Thanks, I forgot about a PSU :p

Do you think this is good enough?
http://www.ebuyer.com/124927-arctic-power-700w-psu-4x-sata-1x-pci-express-p2-arctic-700td

Alienware is a huge joke. Ive owned 4 Alienwares (never paid for a single one, thank god) and still one an Area-51 Laptop for work, but as for their gaming machines, you can build a SUPER computer compared to anything Alienware can produce for much much much less.

They have their top of the line Aurora, fully loaded, nothing faster QX6850, etc... for over $8000, I can build the SAME pc for $4100, so you are paying a 50% markup... PLUS, if you look them up in the BBB or Consumer Reports, they have pages upon pages of actions against them.

dan_cbw wrote:

Thanks, I forgot about a PSU :p

Do you think this is good enough?
http://www.ebuyer.com/124927-arctic-power-700w-psu-4x-sata-1x-pci-express-p2-arctic-700td

It's a name brand.

Ok, so with the stuff added it comes to a total of £1040.29 which, again includes:

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Quad Core (2.67GHz) Socket 775 8MB Cache Retail Boxed Processor with fan - £583
XFX nForce 650i Ultra MCP Socket 775 onboard 8 channel audio ATX Motherboard - £69.95
Aspire X-Dreamer II Black Mid Tower Gaming Case - with 420W PSU - £46.98
XFX 8600GT 256MB DDR3 XXX edition DVI PCI-E Graphics Card - £108.32
Kingston 2GB KIT (2X1GB) DDR2 667MHz/PC2-5300 CL5 Non Ecc 1.8V - £45
Creative Soundblaster X-fi Xtreme Gamer Soundcard - OEM - £49.98
Maxtor STM3250820AS 250GB 7200RPM SATAII 8MB Cache - OEM - £36.95
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium x32Bit OEM 1PK DVD - £63.45
Arctic Power 700W PSU - With PCI-E, SATA, 20+4, ATX12V, 8pin +12V Connectors - Retail Boxed - £36.66

Not bad considering on Alienware it would cost me around £1,800 :p.

Thanks for all the help guys...Time to fly! 😀

No, its time to change the memory, 667 is very slow for the QX6700, get 800mhz minimum, and 4gigs, not two... Memory is a very important piece of the equipment.

Ok, so that ups the price by £140...but if I can get a good price selling my Wii I shouldnt have too much of a problem :p

i would say tone the processor down and go a a new Motherboard.. the one u picked is a 650i which is the old Nvidia chipset

i would get one with a 680i or a P35 or P965

also as langevin stated the memory is to slow for the processor, get 800mhz min,

with the hardware u;ve chosen alongside that beat of a processor, u will just hamstring it and lose most of its power