Alienware: Which one should I buy?

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Underscore72nd wrote:

Dell offers financing. I have an Alienware laptop and a desktop. The case on the desktop is garbage, but I'm happy with everything else.

I USED to build my own, but it's no longer worth my time. I've yet to use Dell's warranty service, but it's nice to know that it's there.

My guidelines:
Best proc until the price jump > ~$250
6GB RAM, no more, no less
GPU, NEVER buy the bleeding edge.
SSDs are awesome.

Doesn't it makes things quite limited going only for triple channel rams? Because 6gb can only be archieved with 3x2GB which is only possible in triple channel mode.
And X58 (socket 1366) chip is the only1 that uses tripple channel architecture.

I'll take your word for it on the X58 being the only triple channel board type. I should have said that those WERE my guidelines when I bought my desktop.

I don't really mind the limitation.

Beyond that, one of the usual sites anandtech, Tom's Hardware, or somebody else had an article a while back... Essentially, it claimed that beyond 6GB you're getting less performance for your money.

There is nothing wrong with x58. Im proud owner of i7 920 overclocked to 4.0Ghz and 6gb corsair dominator 1600mhz cl8 rams myself. The thing is that x58 platform still holds its own perfomance-wise, but its quite old and soon will be replaced by intel.
Sandy-Bridge is the way to go if your building PC at this time. And it uses dual channel memory architecture.
There's no difference between dual and triple channel. On paper triple channel is more advanced architecture, but in reality there is almost no software that uses it.

P.S there is some advantages from high amount of ram.
You can disable windows "Swap" and only use rams which will increase perfomance.
I personally would not go over 8Gb of ram.

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brutaliz wrote:

There is nothing wrong with x58. Im proud owner of i7 920 overclocked to 4.0Ghz and 6gb corsair dominator 1600mhz cl8 rams myself. The thing is that x58 platform still holds its own perfomance-wise, but its quite old and soon will be replaced by intel.
Sandy-Bridge is the way to go if your building PC at this time. And it uses dual channel memory architecture.
There's no difference between dual and triple channel. On paper triple channel is more advanced architecture, but in reality there is almost no software that uses it.

P.S there is some advantages from high amount of ram.
You can disable windows "Swap" and only use rams which will increase perfomance.
I personally would not go over 8Gb of ram.

Well, it will take some time to afford getting a new computer. At three months ore more I guess. But i'm indebted to you taking your time to respond to my questions. Thanks a lot :) Oh..and a question: If I, like half a year later, want to upgrade my PC with a new graphic card or anything like that..on the dreadnought, is that possible?

Yes,swapping out GPUs is a simple procedure. There are some caveats to that statement, but in the general case it applies.

Alienware looks cool, wouldn't recommend buying one though. Just buy an Alienware case on Craigslist, they crop up from time to time. I got a case with the glowing eyes and a power supply (was either 600 or 700 watts) for $60. Totally worth it.

Honestly read up on computers and build your own comp it's a lot cheaper and you can get cases that look just as good.

I apologize if I came across a bit harsh with the trolling comment.
If you're in Sweden it will change the nature of this project 100%. My suggestion would be to search out local companies that will build and guarantee their work with a warranty and tech support.
Shipping costs and the simple fact that computers don't travel well should keep you looking local.
I've done some looking around for you.
One thing to note is that bigger vendors are obliged to charge VAT according to the country of the buyer. Swedish VAT is 25% on most goods. If you buy from the US you will have to pay import tax + VAT if the package gets inspected by customs.
Here are some local options. Also; DICE Studios is in Sweden. Not a bad claim to fame.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Heat-Gaming/140011179400498

http://www.webhallen.com/hardvara/

http://www.komplett.se/k/k.aspx

My suggestion would be to contact each of them and describe what you want to do. They'll be able to give you a realistic idea of what kind of $$ it's going to cost.

Yeah its always better to buy Pc or parts at local Dealers.
Cuz if something goes wrong, its pain in the ass to deal with guarantee if u bought parts from different country.

And ofc its always better to build pc yourself. As its cheaper and more satisfying to do it yourself.
Most of people are afraid to do so, cuz they just think that a lot of knowledge is required. Its quite easy when you know how. Just do some research on internet and you will learn a lot.

Don't buy Alienware. Seriously. They're worse than Apple. All they do is assemble a computer and increase the cost by ~200%. Find which rig you prefer, and buy all the parts individually. You will save a LOT of money. Hell, upgrade. Get something better than you're currently shopping for. You'll still end up with some spare dosh.
Don't worry about assembly. It's like LEGO without the creativity. Easier than assembling furniture from IKEA.
And let me tell you.. NOTHING is more satisfying than hearing your creation boot up for the first time. Not even the laughter of your newborn babby, to put it in a similar context.