Alienware desktop question

hey so i decided after a while, i am going to skip notebook as of now and instead will get a desktop, so i started looking up, i need a desktop from somewhere where i can get it financed. (0% interest for XXX month, Etc)

so anyhow, i started configuring my fav. brand (alienware) Area 51!

and although i do know about computers, id thought id ask some of the big minds in here about what a desktop should be maxed out for gaming?

here is what i think --> Graphics Processor > Processor > etc etc...

to double check am i doing right? should i stack graphics proc or the processor?

another question, i figured that it asks me to get a monitor (in configure), so it doesnt come with a monitor? if it doesnt, what monitor should i consider getting? the options where i get from configuring my CPU which are:

1) 19" Samsung 953BW – 1440 x 900 (2ms) Widescreen Flat Panel [+$255 or $8/mo.]
2) 20" Samsung 2053BW – 1680 x 1050 (2ms) Widescreen Flat Panel [+$320 or $10/mo.]
3) 22" Samsung 2253BW – 1680 x 1050 (2ms) Widescreen Flat Panel [+$369 or $12/mo.]
4) 24" Samsung 245BW – 1920 x 1200 (5ms) Widescreen Flat Panel [+$450 or $14/mo.]

or would it be better of from gettin one from bestbuys or somethin? also if i can get a link off one of the monitors! and wat resolution would be better? computer is mainly for games!

Thanks!

 

it depends on your budget on what parts you should get. the desktops that AW currently offers will play most games on the market right now on max. it would be cheaper if you knew how to build one yourself though. and yes you will have to buy a monitor unless you have a spare monitor. you can always use your tv as a monitor though.

 

my budget is about 2800 or so. but now with monitor i will have to give up a bit on processors.

 

I am going to agree with exiled. I mean if you knew how to build your own computer you could have a kick arse set up. Well...I mean if you can rack up a bit more money you may not have skimp out on the processor.

 

If I were you I would spend my $$$ mainly on GPU and CPU, and then on HD and lastly on RAM because RAM is quite cheap and easy to upgrade yourself even if you aren't good with computers.

 

even the slowest processor they offer on the Area 51 is sufficient for gaming. duo cores are good enough for gaming right now. Games cant even use 4 threads yet so going quad core for games is pointless. by the time games can use 4 threads im sure quad core prices will go down and you can upgrade.

for the video card i would suggest getting the GTX 280 since that will last you a long time for max settings in games. The GTX 280 has better drivers than the GX2 i believe which makes the GTX 280 a better card.

Ram you should pick up from a different retailer after you recieve your desktop. get the 2 gigs from AW since thats the lowest they offer and when you get the machine replace the ram inside with the ones you bought.

There are a few places you can save money tho. You can skip out on the lighting but that wont make the desktop as cool, you can skip out on liquid cooling, and acoustic dampening is quite useless.

The Area 51 with

1 GTX 280
1 E8200 2.6 GHz Duo Core <- you should be able to over clock if you want
2 gigs of ram
250 gig hard drive

comes out to 2818 before taxes which imo is quite a ripoff considering you can get the same specs for much much cheaper.

 

^^ thanks bro, helped a lot, although ive had many ppl told me alienware ripping off and stuff, BUT i HAVE to get a desktop wth finance, and i dont kno any other place where they do it. you tell me some sites/stores who do that? ;p

 

Check out Dell's XPS gaming lineup. I got a good deal on my desktop (it wasn't the cheapest, but it wasn't too overpriced), plus their's are usually better than Alienware's.

 

I'm waiting for my m15x to be fixed (monitor case cracking issues as with fex, buzzin, jay, etc) and returned to me. But seeing the results of everyone elses repaired laptops, im not too hopeful.

I'm seeing that refunds are hard to come by, so I'm specing out some AW desktops just in case. Its not looking too bad:

for $1949 im specing:

Athlon 5800 3.0 ghz dual core cpu
2x Radeon 4850 in crossfire config
300 gig velociraptor 10,000 rpm HD
790fx amd motherboard
2 gig ddr2 ram at 800mhz

That's a TON of performance for under $2,000. 4850s in crossfire will kick ass for a long long time. Going with a similar spec Nvidia package (260s in sli) and you're talking $2,700.

Is an AMD platform that much cheaper? And for a desktop with that performance, isn't $2,000 a reasonable price? Am I missing something?

 

I think that AW has some pretty decent pricing and if you like what they have to offer go for it.