If I order an Alienware PC, will that mean I fail at life?

[cutliquidsnake]

I know how ridiculously overpriced they are, but my god, those awesome looking cases! I didn't wanna ask this at any other forum because I knew I'd get flamed badly.
I have 20 grand saved up for College, so money isn't an issue. I think it would be worth it, but that might just be me. >_>
Also, are they pretty reliable?

[Ryos]

If you don't want to bother making one yourself, they are the best gaming PCs on the market but the markup is insane for a bit more power. A $620 Gateway I got Black Friday 2008 still runs everything I throw at it. The $40 set of fans I threw in there with neon lights makes it look surprisingly cutting edge.

One plus though is that SSD seems to not be as supported elsewhere for prebuilt so getting that as a primary drive will be very nice. Not thousands of dollars nice but nice.

[Talyn]

I would also recommend checking out Ibuypower.com to see some of their powered up machines. They may not match the cool looking towers but those computers they have are built for the abuse and not overly priced.... My laptop is a champ! Until I encountered issues with my tax return I was going to get a tower from there...

[Gatts]

If you don't want to bother making one yourself, they are the best gaming PCs on the market but the markup is insane for a bit more power.

Falcon Northwest (http://www.falcon-nw.com/) systems will generally outperform Alienware systems at around the same price point.

Digital Storm (http://www.digitalstormonline.com/) has about the best cooling system you'll be able to find in a custom built PC which is more important than some people give credit.

Origin (http://www.originpc.com/) doesn't have as nice of a case as the other companies, but they are building Sandy Bridge rigs that are overclocked to 5Ghz (http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/05/origin-pc-takes-genesis-and-big-o-gaming-desktops-to-5ghz-with-o/). You can always get their Big O system which is a gaming PC with an Xbox 360 built in, but that might be a bit outside of the normal desired price range.

I'd put Alienware behind any of these companies when it comes to prebuilt PCs.

[cutliquidsnake]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Gatts, does that digital storm website ship to Canada? It doesn't say anywhere in the customer service section.

I think I'll choose one of those PCs, since they seem really reliable.

[Gatts]

Thanks for all your suggestions. Gatts, does that digital storm website ship to Canada? It doesn't say anywhere in the customer service section.

They ship to Canada. You should probably ask around in their forums for experiences from other Canadian customers so you can get an idea on how much it will cost with customs fees.

I was able to find this thread (http://www.digitalstormonline.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=13083), but I'm not sure if it will cover all of the questions you might have. Also I would suggest calling the company directly with questions, but honestly I would suggest that with any custom build company.

[Ryos]

Digital Storm (http://www.digitalstormonline.com/) has about the best cooling system you'll be able to find in a custom built PC which is more important than some people give credit.


Cooling is huge. The PC I picked up had all sorts of bad reviews because the thing always overheated as, of all the things Gateway opted to be cheap with, they tossed in one weak fan, so the thing invariably overheated with the first couple months of heavy use. Fortunately (?) it was pretty easy to hook up 3 extra fans with the provided expansion space and an extension and (knock on wood) I haven't had the thing freeze up on me yet.

BTW, not that I would necessarily suggest them over Digital Storm, but apparently iBUYPOWER is coming out with quite the awesome cooling system pretty soon: http://www.ibuypower.com/ibpdri/tm.aspx?m=55595

[Talyn]

BTW, not that I would necessarily suggest them over Digital Storm, but apparently iBUYPOWER is coming out with quite the awesome cooling system pretty soon: http://www.ibuypower.com/ibpdri/tm.aspx?m=55595

I noticed that as well! *sigh*

[Gatts]

Is the Erebus even out yet? I haven't seen any reviews on the final product at the usual places yet.

[Ryos]

Is the Erebus even out yet? I haven't seen any reviews on the final product at the usual places yet.

Nope, but I am definitely interested in seeing what the reviewers have to say about a system with one of these running.

[Rhodes]

Ibuypower.com is cheaper than the ones listed above but I would avoid them since their build quality is sub par... you get what you pay for.

could also check out www.maingear.com or www.pugetsystems.com

[Skywise]

For desktops, Alienware are rather a waste IMO. You get a fast computer, sure, but it's also noisy and for that amount of money you could get a prebuilt silent computer from Puget:

http://www.pugetsystems.com/nav/serenity/SPCR/customize.php

(note: they actually do some mods to the system and also cherry pick the components so that you actually get HDDs and fans that are quiet even though there's some variation in production quality. You could buy the parts yourself separately, but don't expect quite the same results)

For laptops Alienware can be an alternative, but I'd look at alternatives from Asus and Sager/Clevo if you want a high end one. www.xoticpc.com will do custom laptop builds - I particularly like how they let you swap out the optical drive for a HDD with mounting frame for instance.