BF2S Forums About to buy, opinions?

Kmarion wrote:

The Stillhouse Kid wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

You are aware that 300 also comes off that price since the upgrade of the video card is free(It doesnt show in the final price). Puts it closer.

I don't see that at all. I've gone through the whole process until the last step before you actually submit your order and nowhere do I see anything that indicates a $300 reduction in price. The way it looks like the deal works is that you get to upgrade to the 7950GX2L for the same price as the 7900GTX upgrade.

Its decieving I know, you are looking at the subtotal before they take it off.

Well the price stays the same up to the step where you give your payment info(which I didn't complete for obvious reasons), so I'd say it likely never comes off.

Pics:




Notice the Subtotal. $4,435. This is including the $300 upgrade for the 7950. Then the $300 is taken off, which brings us back to the original price of $4,135.



Still the same price, $4,135. Total in picture includes $100 shipping.

Kmarion wrote:

Some people just like to build them and I respect that. I have done enough inside them to be able to as well.
But I tend to lean towards this reasoning.
http://www.alienware.com/build_vs_buy_pages/index.aspx

I could respect that except for the fact that the "source" you chose to use to back up your position comes from a company that is totally biased in this matter.

Seems like a waste of money if you are just using it for gaming.  Reevaluate what your intensions of this computer are for.  As a person who does high end 3d rendering with multiple programs at a time, I like having the dual core extreme edition.  I'm not trying to discourage you, but as an architect who frequently maxs out my Intel Extreme Edition ($1600 chip), I have never needed that much computer for video games.  My 3d rendering take up to 20 hours each using all 4 processors at 100%.  Gaming doesnt require anywhere near that much processing.  Spend the money on 2 SLI video cards, this is where video games get their power.  Dual core, dualcore extreme, and the new Core Duos are truely only necessary for people who do a lot of multitasking -ie, two or three programs computing (not just running) at the same time.  The 4 gigs of ram you need is a little overkill too.  Buy 2 GB of low latency ram, it will cost about the same as the 4 gigs.  I do suggest getting a 10,000 rpm harddrive for windows and programs.  Buy 2 SATA II drives and stripe them for fastest performance.

Also, dont be afraid to buy a Dell, I have 3 .  My last one came with a 20 inch widescreen DVI LCD monitor as a  free upgrade.  I still had to upgrade and replace parts as soon as i opened the box.  But between the free upgrades to monitors, processors, ram, and free shipping, it is a great place to start and get for cheap.  Go to www.slickdeals.net.  This place will have great rebates and upgrades from Dell.  When you buy from alienware, you are paying for the name and the case.

We all get a boner from pricing out the BEST OF THE BEST computer.  Be smart about it.  Spend half of what you are planning.  Take the other half and buy a motorcycle or something.   At least with a motorcycle, you might get laid.

Last edited by general_rookie (2006-08-02 22:19:55)

alienware sucks, dont buy it.  check out www.monarchpc.com   great selection, great prices

Last edited by chefvolrath (2006-08-02 22:14:02)

Kmarion wrote:

The Stillhouse Kid wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

Its decieving I know, you are looking at the subtotal before they take it off.

Well the price stays the same up to the step where you give your payment info(which I didn't complete for obvious reasons), so I'd say it likely never comes off.

Pics:
http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/7766/aw01jw9.th.jpg

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/3403/aw02be4.th.jpg

Notice the Subtotal. $4,435. This is including the $300 upgrade for the 7950. Then the $300 is taken off, which brings us back to the original price of $4,135.

http://img397.imageshack.us/img397/7403/aw03uq0.th.jpg

Still the same price, $4,135. Total in picture includes $100 shipping.

I went through the same thing when I bought my last one. They told me it comes off when i go to pay. Strange I thought but ok. I called them when I ordered.

BTW I am not saying it's cheaper just not as far off as some would have you believe.

Hate to beat a dead horse, but if system one comes with no monitor, and the other comes with a $703 LCD and the total price is still about $200 cheaper, it should be clear which is the better deal.

It also seems pretty clear how the video card upgrade pricing works. If someone on the phone told you it works differently then either they made a mistake or were trying to mislead you.

OP:

The 'myth' that customs are cheaper than Alienware is true, and no myth at all, with very few exceptions. But I'll go Mac before I see one of those goofy-looking Alienware cases on my desk. The next time you ask for opinions, don't be suprised if people disagree with what you hoped would be a massive show of support.

However, if you insist on not building it yourself, I find FalconNW to be much more reliable than Alienware.

Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2006-08-03 02:40:23)

Dont buy Alienware.    Their service sucks.   Kmarion may have a good one, but there are thousands of people who have bad ones, and Alienware's service sucks.   My buddy bought a highend laptop from them about 7 months back, and has had nothing but problems with it.  POS was broken and wouldnt turn on when he first recieved it, then had to send it back for repair, no he didnt get a replacement.  When the POS came back it was in working condition, but it was scratched all to hell.  When he turned it on, it had 7 dead pixels... sent it back again.  They replaced the screen.  When he finally got it back (its now been 2 months since he bought it), he loaded up BF2 and started playing... about an hour into playing BAM ... BSOD.   Tried it a few more times, but everytime about an hour into playing any game it would crash.  Off to Alienware AGAIN.  3rd time in 2 months... hes used his laptop for less than 12 hours since paying $4000 for it 2 months ago.  They promised him he would have it back in 1 week.  3 weeks later, still no laptop.    Finally after 1 month he gets his laptop back... apparently it had some bad ram.   So he finally figures its all fixed.  No problems for about a month.. plays good, runs good.   Then one day when his wife was using it, the screen starts to get artifacts.  WTF.  About 5 minutes later, it shuts off for no reason.  She left it alone.  When my buddy got home from work, he turned it on, and within 2 minutes it shuts off again.  Another service call to Alienware.  Send it in for service AGAIN. 4th time in 5 months.. service guys tell him the cpu/video card fan died.  They replace the fan and send it back.. Hes now had it back for about 2 months with no issues, but hes just waiting for something else to happen. 

Moral of the story.. stay away from Alienware.. dont believe me, GOOGLE the BBB for alienware complaints.

general_rookie wrote:

Seems like a waste of money if you are just using it for gaming.  Reevaluate what your intensions of this computer are for.  As a person who does high end 3d rendering with multiple programs at a time, I like having the dual core extreme edition.  I'm not trying to discourage you, but as an architect who frequently maxs out my Intel Extreme Edition ($1600 chip), I have never needed that much computer for video games.  My 3d rendering take up to 20 hours each using all 4 processors at 100%.  Gaming doesnt require anywhere near that much processing.  Spend the money on 2 SLI video cards, this is where video games get their power.  Dual core, dualcore extreme, and the new Core Duos are truely only necessary for people who do a lot of multitasking -ie, two or three programs computing (not just running) at the same time.  The 4 gigs of ram you need is a little overkill too.  Buy 2 GB of low latency ram, it will cost about the same as the 4 gigs.  I do suggest getting a 10,000 rpm harddrive for windows and programs.  Buy 2 SATA II drives and stripe them for fastest performance.

Also, dont be afraid to buy a Dell, I have 3 .  My last one came with a 20 inch widescreen DVI LCD monitor as a  free upgrade.  I still had to upgrade and replace parts as soon as i opened the box.  But between the free upgrades to monitors, processors, ram, and free shipping, it is a great place to start and get for cheap.  Go to www.slickdeals.net.  This place will have great rebates and upgrades from Dell.  When you buy from alienware, you are paying for the name and the case.

We all get a boner from pricing out the BEST OF THE BEST computer.  Be smart about it.  Spend half of what you are planning.  Take the other half and buy a motorcycle or something.   At least with a motorcycle, you might get laid.

Short Reply, It's not just for gaming and while 4 gigs is overkill now I am building for the future. If not having a motorcycle means I don't get laid then at least i can download porn at blazing speeds.

ShotYourSix wrote:

Well, you asked for opinions.  Most (if not all) of the opinions have been "Don't do it".  Yet your posts seem to be arguing with the opinions you asked for.  Did you just post this thread to brag about your new system or what?

I am taking all considerations. I am also explaining my reasoning.

unnamednewbie13 wrote:

OP:

The 'myth' that customs are cheaper than Alienware is true, and no myth at all, with very few exceptions. But I'll go Mac before I see one of those goofy-looking Alienware cases on my desk. The next time you ask for opinions, don't be suprised if people disagree with what you hoped would be a massive show of support.

However, if you insist on not building it yourself, I find FalconNW to be much more reliable than Alienware.

Falcon-NW ,Out of my price range. I configured similar system out and it was crazy high.
Also understand that more often than not people who have had bad experiences seem to want to give their opinions than those wha have had good experiences. Please post the cost of building a comparable machine with links to partsbefore you just say it's not true. It's not that I don't believe you but I would just like to see how much cheaper it is.

As far as the can't use 4 gig issue, umm Vista ?

If I wanted a boner a would have put 4 gpu's in there...lol(Which would be retarded seeing how this DX 10 cards will soon be out.

Thank you everyone.