A Perfect Ns-computer!
Phalck
Join Date: 2002-06-03 Member: 722Members
Join Date: 2002-06-03 Member: 722Members
What could be more desirable on a NS-LAN-party than a hot custom made computer called Hive-Mind.
I wonder if the creative minds on alienware had NS in mind when they chose the color and name of this computer setup?
<a href='http://www.alienware.com/main/system_pages/hive-mind.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.alienware.com/main/system_pages...s/hive-mind.asp</a>
/Phalck
I wonder if the creative minds on alienware had NS in mind when they chose the color and name of this computer setup?
<a href='http://www.alienware.com/main/system_pages/hive-mind.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.alienware.com/main/system_pages...s/hive-mind.asp</a>
/Phalck
Comments
/me wishes i could afford it <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
Exactly, you could build the exact same config for probably as much as 50% less than Alienware's price.
I don't know what the US prices are like compared to other US manufacturers but in the UK prices were quite reasonable, perhaps slightly more than other full system suppliers, but you really should consider the full specs not a couple of headline numbers. I'm impressed with the system, it's not just a pretty case, the construction is very nice. Cabling etc. is utterly immaculate, its so clean i could fit a cat in the case without having to move any wires. The supplied keybaord is horrible but that isnt a major concern :)
I also got a T-shirt, but i wouldn't be seen dead in it frankly.
(Note: its a slightly customized area-51, so i can't make any hivemind gags :/)
So Alienware charges you for your ignorance. Huhu.
In europe (where we get fked for price on a daily basis) Alienware isnt that much more expensive than building it yourself, so if you got the money and are gonna upgrade everything at the same time, you might aswell pay a little extra for the smart look.
So Alienware charges you for your ignorance. Huhu. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Or your fat fingers. Today's computers are delicate. A small slip of your fingers and the bare cpu core of the Athlon chips, or a transistor on the mobo breaks, or you fry your memory. Or didnt get the cooling paste right. There's lots that can go wrong by building yoru own pc. And then YOU have to fork out for new parts. And error checking a PC with a dodgy component can be a bit of a pain in the arse. No I can't emphasize it enough: To avoid grief, buy your pc build from the store. And buy from a store where they guarantee repairs in 8 days or something like that. No "Sorry but our contractor has 3 months delay right now" from cockey multinational vendors.
I've build all my pc's since 1996, and before that I upgraded them. But recently it's becoming too much of a hassle and risky. So next time I am getting a new pc it will be build for me - on specification by some white box peddler who knows his ****. Ill pay 10% more, maybe 15% and that I am fine with. Ill even make sure he wont install Windows for me, coz why should I have to buy another copy? I've got a Windows 2000 and a Windows XP already. And a windows 95. And MS DOS 5.0 <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
Today's PCs aren't any more delicate than years past. An errant screwdriver could snap a stick of RAM just as much 5 years ago as today. I've put together plenty of PCs for myself (just built one a few months ago.) As for all your cooling paste concerns, like I said, if you know what you're doing, there's no problem. If you don't know what you're doing, then, again, you pay for your ignorance.
I wouldn't know how to fix my car, so for my ignorance I pay someone else to do it. Same thing.
<a href='http://www.geocities.com/apprentice91/Bluecase.jpg' target='_blank'>http://www.geocities.com/apprentice91/Bluecase.jpg</a>
Note: cut and paste into browser.
That's all I needed to notice. HP are <b>very</b> anal when it comes to prevention. They LIKE you dumb. You pay them more. That's what the annoying little yellow tags were for, that said if you broke them, you broke the PC in their opinion.
Yes, Alienware is pricy, and personally, because I do know how, I'd rather build my own. But I'd never attempt (Same thing I think Immacolata was sort of trying to say) to suggest anyone without experience try & build one. Because I've blown up a PSU myself, and it's not pretty, to say the least.
Sure, you get a tidy machine, but you pay through the nose. Mine is a mish-mash of things I <b>could afford at the time</b> with the bits I chuck in when I have spare cash. Doesn't look good, but when things go wrong, I know where & what to replace in 5 minutes, halves my running costs.
If you can learn, go for it. But don't try <b>before</b> you've learned, and don't expect to come away unburned. Everyone gets burned at least once.
Luckily in my many years of pc tinkering and building I've managed only to ruin 1 part: a mobo alas. When I tried to fasten the cpu clip, the screwdriver slipped and slammed onto the motherboard, breaking something controlling memory bank 2. But I Cannot count the number of times when my pc's been acting weird and I've hours checking for faulty components fearing that "This time you've dunnit" just to learn a hard lesson about something or other.
Replacing a card in a pc? No sweat. Replacing a drive? No sweat. Messing about with memory -be a little observant and nothing will go wrong. Replace a CPU? Be careful. Especially if it's an Athlon.
Calling it "ignorance" Not to be able to assemble a pc your self from scratch is god darned cocky in my opinion. I know how to build one, but frankly I am tired of doing it. So my next one will be built FOR ME by my specifications.
Seriously though.. Alienware caters to those who want to say 'I have a huge, fast system that can beat out your HP!'. It's essentially the casual gamer's trendy spot. The Starbucks of the system world. Thing is, those who are truly serious about it will go out and build their own. There's no way to get a rig more perfectly tuned to *you* than putting it together from parts you've taken the time to learn about. Putting out the effort adds weight to it, and turns it from a box on the desk to a machine that you're intimately acquainted with, and know what it can handle and what it'll chug on. Where your next upgrade is going, and what the current bottleneck stands at.
It is true that there are more potholes nowadays, i remember back when everyone was grabbing the early celerons. You could run a C400 with the heatsink off at its default clock speed and it wouldn't mind. The first ever duron i got, i fried by not fitting the heatsink properly. It reached the bios, then froze and started to spew smoke :)
Tailsin, whatever the situation over there is with the price of box systems, it doesn't apply over here in England. Wether its just expensive to buy components, or wether full system suppliers are just cheaper i'm not sure, but there is minimal difference between buying and building a PC over here. As for Alienware, checking prices for customized systems on Dell UK suggests there isnt much of a premium on the Alienware systems. A Dell system of the same configuration (As near as i can get it) works out just £20 cheaper than what i payed for my AW a month ago, although the Dell does come with a few extras the AW rig didn't have (Which i don't particularly want, but can't specify not to have) Such as 10 a penny speakers, and MS works.
When i was young and skint, i used to bolt on what i could afford whenever i could afford it, small upgrade after upgrade to try and keep a playable framerate. But this way of working leaves your system a real mess, and its a nice feeling to start fresh with a completely new box once in a while.
Tailsin, whatever the situation over there is with the price of box systems, it doesn't apply over here in England. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I presume your immediately discounting the big retailers like PC World with that comment. Have you walked in there recently ? The prices are <b>obscene</b>.
I do most of my shopping either at the Bowlers computer fair in Manchester or here, <a href='http://www.microdirect.co.uk' target='_blank'>Click</a>
Incidentally, we're hoping to run a Manchester based LAN at some point, as there's quite a few decent gamers.
is nazism allowed here? <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Not quite.
I've built all my PCs (bar my first <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> ) myself, and its worked out cheaper then buying it as a package from a retailer. I'm not skint but i'm not rolling in it either so I refuse to pay over the odds for something I can do myself for far cheaper.
Now, come 5 years from now when I hatch my grand scheme for world domination and I have more money the sense, do you really think i'm gonna still build my own systems ?! Don't think so <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo-->
Buying from a retailer is a luxury in IMO. Yes Commander, in your example you pay $400 over the odds. However that $400 saves you the hassle of going out buying stuff yourself, sticking it together, taking it apart when something inevitably goes wrong and generally includes a warranty/insurance as well, not to mention the nice credit schemes and paying over a period of time retailers offer you.
Would all that be worth $400 to me ? No, but only ATM. If I had it spare, sure why not ?
So, the last two PCs I've had have been Dells... a Dimension B800r three years ago (which is still running sweet today, just slowly), and this year a brand new 8250 with a P4 3.0ghz. The only upgrade I'll likely ever do is add more RAM, and probably a re-install of XP after a while to keep things shiny and clean.