Help me convince Dad Alienware beats built at home with Parts from newegg
Computer Stuff:
Here are the specs and price for comparison between the AlienWare and the parts from Newegg.com. Newegg.com will not build or warranty the parts past the manufacturer's warranty. This is a huge risk because of the possible problems with building a system outside of a static free environment with the price on these pieces. If I were to make an error and ground the motherboard I could loose the processor and motherboard in one shot, a risk I am unwilling to take on. Also the newegg.com does not have any form of liquid cooling so I will need to add additional fans to the case which are not included in the price of the newegg.com system. The case I chose was a full tower aluminum which is compripable to the AlienWare case. The resulting difference in price would need to cover the following:
Build
Warranty
Windows XP professional
Additional fans
And Wire Management (which is not really available if I were to order the parts and have a local store build it)
Shipping cost, which the AlienWare price already accounts for.
There is a local store that I could have build the PC when the parts had all arrived. Newegg.com is out of stock of all of the absolutely essential pieces for this box.
The price on both systems can go down by a small amount due to the video card, which I have discovered has only digital input. The price on the Nvidia 6800 GT which has analog input (like my current monitor) is slightly lower. However, since I need to replace my monitor in the near future as well, I believe this conversion to be an important piece of the new box. Leaving the Nvidia 6800 Ultra will mean purchasing a new monitor. I would not do this with AlienWare as there are many local stores having huge "Day After Thanksgiving" sales which would be a much better price.
I believe the $500.00 difference more than covers the missing pieces already covered. The additional expense to include those items will make the total system plus monitor more expensive in the end.
I am continuing to review this build with several companies, and AlienWare still seems to me to be the best deal.
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Alienware Exclusive Offers: Gamespot Complete - Free 90-day Trial (a $20.85 value)
Alienware Exclusive Offers: 10% off your next EB Games online purchase Free
Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black Free
Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad
AlienInspection: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $99.99 Value - FREE!
AlienWiring: AlienWiring - Exclusive Internal Wire Management - $99.99 Value - FREE!
Automated Support: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support Request System
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Chassis: Alienware® Full-Tower Case (480-Watt PS) - Saucer Silver
Power Supply: Alienware® 480 Watt Power Supply
Processor: AMD Athlon™ 64 FX-55 Processor with HyperTransport Technology
Motherboard: ABIT AV8 - VIA K8T800 Pro Motherboard
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR PC-3200 SDRAM at 400MHz - 2 x 512MB
Graphics Processor: NVIDIA® GeForce™ 6800 Ultra 256MB DDR3 w/Digital and S-Video Out Video
Cooling: AlienIce™ Video Cooling System - Astral Blue
System Drive: High Performance - Serial ATA - 120GB Seagate® Barracuda 7,200 RPM w/8MB Cache
Optical Drive One: NEC® ND-3500 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Recorder
Floppy Drive: 3.5" 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive - Black
Sound Card: Integrated 5.1 High-Performance Audio with Digital Out
Network Connection: Integrated High Performance Gigabit Ethernet
Power Protection: Opti-UPS ES1500C 1400VA (980W Capacity)
Keyboard: Microsoft® Multimedia Keyboard - Saucer Silver
Mouse: Microsoft® IntelliMouse Explorer 4.0 - USB - Saucer Silver
Multifunction Printers: Lexmark™ X5150 All-In-One with 6' USB Cable
Total price = $3,216.00.
Thermaltake Silver Xaser V Damier Full-Tower Case with 420W Power Supply, Model "V6420AU" -$175.50
- Specifications -
Case Type: Modern Tower-Xaser V Damier
Color: Silver
Material: 1.0 mm All aluminum made Chassis, Aluminum made Front door
Drive Bays: External 5 x 5.25", 2 x 3.5", Internal 3 x 3.5"
Expansion Slots: 7
Front Ports: Dual USB2.0 & IEEE1934 firewire in front, Audio
Power Supply: 420W
Cooling System: 2 x 80mm, 3 x 90mm
Motherboard Compatibility: Micro ATX, Standard ATX & Extended ATX(Dual CPU)
Dimensions: 19" x 8" x 22.8" (HxWxD)
ASUS "A8V Deluxe" VIA K8T800 Pro Chipset Motherboard For AMD Socket 939 CPU -$129.00
Model# A8V DELUXE
Item # N82E16813131510
Specifications:
Supported CPU: AMD Athlon 64/Athlon 64 FX
Chipset: K8T800Pro + VT8237
RAM: 4x DIMM Dual Channel DDR400/333/266 Max 4GB
Slots: 1x AGP 8X, 5x PCI
Ports: 2x PS/2,1x COM,1x LPT,8x USB2.0(Rear 4),1x IEEE1394,1x RJ45,2x S/PDIF out,Audio Ports
IDE: 2x ATA 133 up to 4 Devices, 1x ATA 133 up to 2 Devices by Promise 20378 with RAID 0/1/0+1
SATA: 2x Serial ATA with RAID 0/1, 2x Serial ATA by Promise 20378 with RAID 0/1/0+1
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC850 8-CH
Onboard LAN: Marvell 88E8001 GbE
Onboard IEEE1394: 2x 1394 ports
Form Factor: ATX
AMD Socket 939 Athlon 64 FX-55, 1MB L2 Cache, 64-bit Processor - OEM (limit 2 per customer) - $899.00
*NOT IN STOCK*
Specification
Model: AMD Athlon 64 FX-55
Core: ClawHammer
Operating Frequency: 2.6GHz
FSB: Integrated into Chip
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/1MB
Voltage: 1.5V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket 939
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, SSE2, 3DNow!, 3DNow!+
Packaging: OEM(Processor Only)
Model#: ADAFX55DEI5AS
Item#: N82E16819103492
CORSAIR XMS Xtreme Memory Speed Series, Xtra-Low Latency 184-Pin 1GB(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200 w/ Heat Spreader, Model TWINX1024-3200XL - Retail
- Specifications -
Manufacturer: CORSAIR
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184-Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2-2-2-5
Support Voltage: 2.75V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: two 64M x 64-Bit
Special Features: Plug-n-FragTM Auto-Configuration - Boots automatically using the Xtra-Low latency values of 2-2-2-5
Warranty: Lifetime
*THIS IS AN EDIT TO THE ORIGINAL PRICING BECAUSE OF THE PIN DIFFERENCE. Original RAM was 240 -PIN Motherboard needs 184-pin. Price on this bundle is $251.00
ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra Video Card, 256MB DDR3, 256-Bit, TV-Out/DVI, 8X AGP, Model "V9999ULTRA Deluxe/2DT/256" -$579.00
- Specifications -
Chipset/Core Speed: nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra/425MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 256MB DDR3/1100MHz
BUS: AGP 8X
Ports: TV-Out (S-Video/Composite) + 2x DVI
Support 3D API: DirectX 9, OpenGL 1.5
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048X1536@85Hz
Cable/Accessories: TV out adaptor, DVI-to-2nd VGA adaptor, Manual, Driver CD, Games and Software
Retail Box (See pics for details)
Seagate 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST3120026A, - $89.00
- Specifications -
Capacity: 120GB
Average Seek Time: 8.5 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100
Features: 350 Gs non-op shock, 3D Defense System
Manufacturer Warranty: 5 years
Packaging: OEM
NEC 16X Double Layer DVD±RW Drive, Black, Model ND-3500A BK W/SW, OEM with software - $72.99
Model# ND-3500A BK W/SW
Item # N82E16827152029
Specifications:
Write Speed: 16X DVD+R, 4X DVD+RW, 4X DVD+R9, 16X DVD-R, 4X DVD-RW, 48X CD-R, 24X CD-RW
Read Speed: 48X CD-ROM, 16X DVD-ROM
Interface: ATAPI / E-IDE
Buffer: 2MB
OS Support: Windows XP/ 2000/ ME/ 98SE
Features: High speed writing performance.
Packaging: OEM (see pictures for details)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS GAMER Limited Edition PCI Sound Card, Model "SB0350" -$109.00
- Specifications -
Channels: 7.1
Max Sampling Rate: 192kHz
Signal-Noise Ratio: 108dB(SNR)
Hardware Decode: Dolby Digital EX, DTS-EX
Digital Audio: 24-bit
PC Interface: PCI
Connectors: Line-In/Out, Firewire(IEEE1394), Mic-In, MIDI, Analog/Digital CD Audio in(See Details)
External Box: N/A
Remote Control: N/A
Special Features: DVD-Audio, THX Certified, EAX Advanced HD
NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive, OEM - $7.00
- Specifications -
Capacity: 1.44/0.72 MByte
Average Access Time: 3ms
Interface: 34 Pin Standard Floppy Connector
Form: 3.5"
Media Type: 3.5" double-side high density, 3.5" double-side density
Features: Maximal performance in minimum space
Packaging: OEM Drive Only
Model#: FD1231H-302
Item#: N82E16821152005
LINKSYS EtherFast 10/100Mbps Ethernet Adapter Ver5.1, Model LNE100TX - $15.00
- Specifications -
Standard:802.3, 802.3u
Data Transfer Rates: 10/100Mbps
Connectors: RJ-45
Bus: 32-bit, PCI 2.1
LED: Link/Activity, 100Mbps
Drivers: Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP
Special Features: One Boot ROM Socket, Diagnostic LEDs for Easy Troubleshooting
Thermaltake W0010 Silent Purepower 480W with Black housing - Xaser Edition ATX 2-Fan Power Supply - $66.50
- Specifications -
Type: ATX
Maximum Power: 480W
PFC: Active
Power Good Signal: 100-500ms
Hold-up Time: >16ms at Full Load
Efficiency: >65%
Over Voltage Protection: +5V trip point<+6.8V;+3.3V trip point<+4.5V;+12V trip point<+15.6V
Overload Protection: Not specified
Input Voltage: 100 - 240 Vrms
Input Frequency Range: 47-63 Hz
Input Current: 8A
Output: +3.3V@30A;+5V@40A;-5V@0.3A;+12V@18A;-12V@0.8A;+5VSB@2A
MTBF: Not specified
Approvals: Not specified
Model#: W0010
Item#: N82E16817153009
OPTI-UPS Enhanced Series 1400VA UPS, Model "ES1500C" -$160.99
- Specifications -
VA Rating: 1400VA
Battery Run-time: Not Specified
Battery Recharge Time: <4 Hr
Input Voltage & Frequency: 100/110/120V or 220/230/240V, 50/60Hz Auto Sensing
Output Voltage & Frequency: Not Specified
Protection: Audible Alarm, LED indicator, Circuit Breaker, Electronic Circuit Protection
Dimensions: 5.5x14.8x7.9 inch. (WxDxH)
Lexmark X5150 Multi-function printer, 19 PPM, 4800 x 1200 DPI, Color/B&W -$72.00
Model# 17k0284
Item # N82E16828106135
Specifications:
Functions: printer/scanner/copier
Print/Scan Technology: Inkjet/48-Bit CCD
Print Resolution: 2400 x 1200 dpi black/4800 x 1200 dpi color
Scan Resolution Enhanced/Optical: 19200 dpi/600 x 2400 dpi
Print Speed: 19 ppm black/15 ppm color
Copy Speed: 16 cpm black/11 cpm color
Scan Area Max: 8.5 x 11.7 in
Connectivity: USB2.0
Cartridges: 18L0032/ 18L0000/ 18L0042
OS Support: Win 98/Me/2K/XP, Mac OS 9.22/ OS X 10.1.5/ 10.2.3-10.2.6
Dimensions(WxDxH): 18.5 x 15.5 x 9.4 in
Manufacturer Warranty: 1 Year
Logitech Cordless Desktop LX700 Keyboard and Mouse -$75.00
Model# 967418-0403
Item # N82E16823126159
Specifications:
Interface: USB / PS/2
Number Of Keys: 103 keys + 31 Function keys + 1 Wheel
Wireless Technology: RF
Palm Rest: Detachable
Design Style: Standard
Mouse included: Cordless Click! Plus Rechargeable Optical Mouse
Features: The sleek, ultra-flat design and Zero-Degree Tilt of the keyboard deliver a high level of ergonomic comfort, without changing the way you work. Keys and key layout have been completely refined for better feel and performance. The rechargeable 800 dpi optical mouse. Maximize your performance with the most advanced navigation features available in a keyboard-mouse combination.
Total Price: 2700.98