A Post For ADF Computer Experts

[ADF-Aztec]

Alright i have an extremely BAD computer and im looking for a brand spanking new gaming computer, I found an Alienware Area 51 ALX computer and this is the stats for it, please tell me what you think of it or post a link if you find something better.

Area 51 ALX
Stats

Intel® Core™ 2 Extreme QX6700 2.66GHz 8MB Cache 1066MHz FSB
Windows® XP Media Center Edition - Includes Free Vista Upgrade
2GB DDR2 Performance SDRAM at 1066MHz
500GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 16MB Cache
Dual 768MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GTX
High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio


Cheers
Matt

[HP]

well for one alienware is not one for good value for money and is now owned by dell so maybe the prices will become more sane but anywho [smilie=halm[1].gif]

[ADF-Nobbie]

Bugga that - make your own - cheap cheap cheap.............

[HP]

QX6700 quad core C2D

waste of money get a E6600(IMO one of the fastest on the market without spending more money on barely any major speed increase) C2D OC if game and get it over with

XP MC Edit- Win XP PRO or Win Vista Ultimate FTW

2gb DDR2 rated at 1066(667 if im not wrong)- nothing wrong spec wise(save Generic vs Brand, Corsair,OCZ,Kingston,Mushkin etc) but how about pricewise?

500GB SATA2 16mb cache- same reason as the ram save different brands(WD and Seagate FTW) although buying dual 320GB Seagates will get you 120gigs more space for about 10-20 dollars more not bad value

Dual 768(512 really i presume 256 is allocated for the PHYSICS processor) 8800GTX 1. watch your engergy bills skyrocket as these B* will suck the life out of your electricity bill. period, and thats one........now dual SLI.....don't start me  [smilie=smiley_abus[1].gif]

get a 8800GTX if you really want but i personally would just get a 8800GTS or even a 7600GT and wait for more mature DX10 cards to come out and again 256mb is enough for most people watch for memory bus no lower than 128bit wide(i made the woeful mistake of getting a 64-bit card) brands again, Gigabyte,XFX,BFG,Asus etc

High Definition 7.1 Audio? for all i know it could be a cheapa** import creative Xi-Fi(i personally wouldnt go any further than the Music Edition) have really picked up on most creative cards but Digital X-Mystique and HDA X-Plosion 7.1 DTS will do you good too

then again doesnt matter unless your going to spend the money on a good high quality set of speakers to make use of the sound card.

by far the longest post i have endured *period* consider your self lucky i havnt gone crazy as of yet(this is revision 2 revision one the submit button didnt work and lost the post(was about twice a long as this one)
 [smilie=evillol.sml[1].gif]

[HP]

Bugga that - make your own - cheap cheap cheap.............

yes build your own is the best way to go what state you in matt so i can tell you of some stores too (i know too much but heck)

[HP]

i just built this comp for the record(took me three days from shipped in(all the way from bl**dy sydney)....to up and running at owners house

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
Abit AB9 Motherboard
AOC 193FW 19" WS LCD Monitor
3.5" HDD Seagate SATA-300 320GB 7200rpm 16MB Cache- Two of them
5.25" DVD Burner/RW Pioneer DVR-111D 16x DL Black- Two of these too
G.Skill NT 2GB DDR2 667Mhz PC5400
XFX 7600GT Extreme xXx Edition 256MB
Antec Sonata II

Extras Include

Extra Firewire and USB card PCI
front 120mm Fan
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Paste(still cant get over how tiny the tube is)

all for  $1,979.95 plus  $93.00 Shipping(came from two Different Stores, Majority of Shipping was for the Case and Screen which accounts for 66 of 93)

[Fridgt]

yes i agree build ur own go to few comp shops and get prices i would had built my own from start but was inpatient so bout acer since then inserted new motherboard and process upgraded memory and hard drive all up it would had been cheaper to go to small computer shop and gt it built from ground up....

[ADF-McMann]

Hey I just built my new rig as a noobie and it was difficult but not too much so.
I built a beast (check my thread) for $3500 so whats ya budget and go from there.
Let me know, I can help ya with some good places to price out ya specs and some first time building advice...
By the way Seagate SataII 500gb HD 7200RPM 32mb cache $89 at Umart... HOOAH

Price Check at these sites:
http://www.staticice.com.au/index.html
http://www.shopbot.com.au/
Dont forget to go through the purchase process to see what shipping charges you will incur.
Often the cheapest price will cost you another $25 in postage.
I found UMart, PC Case Gear and a few others I won't list here, have some good prices.
Once you factor in shipping it's often just as cheap to find a local store that stocks the part and pick it up.

[ADF-Medic]

Here ya go Matty if ya have the $$$$$$$

Western Digital 500G SATAII 7200 rpm HDD(16Mb Cache) $89.00

Corsair TW3X4G1333C9DHX 4GB (2x XMS3 2GB) PC-10600 (1333MHz) XMP DDR3 $199.00

Zotac GeForce GTX280 1G DDR3 Dual Dual-Link DVI DVI Audio HDMI (GRID G $585.00

OCZ GameXstream 850W SLI Ready PSU $239.00

Xclio A380 Super Tower $192.00

Asus P6T Deluxe EXGTE LGA1366 X58 6DDR3 FSB1600(OC)RAID 2GBLAN 3xPCIE2 $526.00

Intel Core i7 920 Processor LGA1366 2.66GHz 8MB Cache CPU $479.00

Cooler Master Hyper N520 Cooler support LGA1366 $75.00


Total $2384.00 including GST from Umart.

[ADF-BUNGY]

Another 2 year old thread is revived

[Kenny88]

This is what im looking at getting:

Case - CoolerMaster RC-932-KKNI HAF Black Case

Power supply - Corsair TX-750 750W ATX Power

CPU - Intel ATX E8400 CORE 2 DUO /3.0GHz/6MB/1333FSB/LGA775

HD - (X2) Western Digital 500G SATAII 7200 rpm HDD(16Mb Cache) (on raid mother board of course)

RAM - (X2) Corsair DDR2 Twin2X (2048MB Kit) 6400C4 2048Mb (2X1024MB)

MB - Asus P5Q-Pro ExpGATE S775 P45 DDR2 FSB1600 PCIE RAID GBLAN 2x1394a ATX

Graphics Card - XFX GTX280 280GTX 1GB 602/2210Mhz

Total to buy only - $1864

tell me what you all think!i!i!

[Kenny88]

oh and i fogot to add the CPU cooler!!!

CPU Cooler - Zalman CNPS9700LED (Copper) CPU Cooler

and i dont know why that word was censored when all i typed was C O A R S E!!

[FDGFinger]

gday m8,

nice looking setup there. there are a few things you could change but it would only be personal choice.

the P5Q-Pro is a crossfire board not a sli board. you may well get issues with the 280 gfx card.

go 32mb cashe hdd's, they should not cost you anything more than the 16's, just shop around. double the speed for no extra cost.

the p45 chipset often has 2 x pci-e slots, like on the P5Q-Pro, but it is worth remembering that it can only process 1 x 16 the other will default to x 8 if you attempt a crossfire or sli configoration. (if you have a look at the board the pci-e slots are in a different colour - blue/black as an indication). if you want to future proof i would look at an x48 x58 board. (i have a p45 board as i have no intension to ever put a second card in to my machine. i will wait for my next build for a 2 gfx card setup. the p45's are also argueably a better board for over clocking).

with the ram - if you are going to ever put vista or 7 on this machine go 4gb not 2. as you are using ddr2 not 3 it is very affordable and should not cost you all that much more. at least get a 2gb stick so in the future if/when you upgrade to 4gb you will be able to run the ram in dual channel. (i know you could have 4 x 1gb sticks but you may well come up with heat issues).

lastly, you missed the box of beer??? half to drink whilst building it and the other half to toast its success - hooah

[ADF-McMann]

Nice rig...
What Finger said, see Umart website for 32mb Cache HD (see my post 6 up).
Oh and when your installing your raid setup see my Guide on Slipstreaming to skip the F6 BS windows install.
http://www.adfteam.com/modules.php?name ... pic&t=4170

[Kenny88]

hey guys, my good mate at work runs on the Asus P5Q Pro and he has SLI not crossfire, and also to add to it, i wont be using 2 cards just the one and in my original post i also said RAM - (X2) Corsair DDR2 Twin2X (2048MB Kit) 6400C4 2048Mb (2X1024MB) which means 4gb total. sorry just clariffying what i was saying.