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Dell fights Alien Invasion
Asakawa writes "With manufacturers like Alienware and Voodoo sucking up the low-volume/high-margin high-end gaming market, it looks like Dell wants a piece of the action. The machine that these guys have reviewed looks pretty awesome, but they reckon it's overpriced. It will be interesting to see if Dell can shake off its grey box image and entice the more fussy gamers and enthusias."
You mean Voodoo and Alienware are the Apples of the PC world?
It's just not the same if its not a clone. The only good gaming rig is pimped out, with glowing-thingimabobers and cooling fit for space shuttle components on re-entry.
...do we really want enthusias?
(FP!)
Dell has too much work ahead of them for this really to be a feasible switch. Further, this isn't really that large of a market. I'll be surprised if they've got that much to gain by controlling another market.
I'm probably at the karma cap. Mod up a funny troll instead, it lightens the mood
Isn't high price rather an advantage when marketing toys for people with too much money? It works for the people who sell high-end hi-fi equipment...
Dell's had a competent gaming laptop for a while now, why not a competent desktop? Inspiron XPS, now there's a laptop you can bring home to mom. According to their site, it starts at 9.06 lbs. Don't move it around too much.
I've heard bad things about Dell here on /., how is it expected to stand up?
Also, is there any reason to completely fill up the RAM slots with 256Mb DIMMs when 512MB are easily available? This makes it harder to upgrade.
If the max resolution is 1280x1024.
Dell can want to sell me a machine all they want, but they won't get my business because:
* The quality of their support has fallen through the floor due to offshore outsourcing it (the non-business support, at least).
* They don't give me the option of buying computers built on AMD CPUs, which have a better price/performance ratio than Intel CPUs.
* In most cases, they still force me to buy their systems bundled with Microsoft software, whether I want it or not.
Sorry, Dell. No sale here.
Gamers want the best - and right now that's AMD Athlon 64 (FX). Until Dell has that, they're stuff looks rather Dull. ;-)
Galileo: "The Earth revolves around the Sun!"
Score: -1 100% Flamebait
...Dell will have to start selling Powerbooks or hope the aliens haven't developed immunity to Earth bacteria and die off naturally.
'Nuff said.
Unfortunately for Dell, the market for the gamer revolves around the potential for business from the uninformed gamer. Every gamer I know (and indeed, myself) builds their own system for the fraction of the cost of buying an Alienware or a Dell that has the same specs. Indeed, as often as hardcore gamers upgrade their systems, none of these manufacturers can hope to provide the kind of support I'd need to make it worth my while. Perhaps if they offered free hardware upgrades for two years, I could see spending an extra 500-1500 dollars for the same exact system that I could build by surfing Pricewatch.com.
War isn't about who's right. It's about who's left.
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go to the apple store, go to store UK (since the article is in £ instead of $) pick the dual 1.8, add 512MB ram to get to 1GB, upgrde video card to 9800XT the upgrade to 250GB harddisk, add a 20inch flatscreen and hit 'update total'. Voila 3288£ compared to £3176 for the dell (with a 17inch monitor only, but 40GB. Okay, the dell has a 800X video card, but that's a mere 100£ difference)
and now you have a decent OS.
When will I end this grieving ? When will my future begin ?
It's Dell, so probably only one of two things:
Xtreme Piece of Shit
Xtremely Poor Support
But can it run Linux or be in a Beowolf cluster?
They need a better case designer. It looks like one of their standard boxes, but blue. Aren't gaming machines also supposed to look cool too?
Seriously - what the hell is up with Computer equipment prices in England? Is their economy so strong that $5519.37 is a reasonable price for a 3.6 ghz P4 with a Radeon X800?
This isn't the first time I've noticed this absurdity - I've read reviews of English kit before, and it's always ludicriously overpriced. Hardware sellers are making a killing off of the lot of you.
English slashdotters, is there some sort of law or something that says you HAVE to buy computer stuff in the UK? Seriously, just buy all your computer stuff from the US, but buy an English AC adapter and an English keyboard that actually has the pound key on it. You'll save a ton of money.
I wish Dell would sell Opteron 64 bit pc /notebook loaded with linux 64 bit I would love to buy that and I know lot of my geek friends would get it too.
We are making our own boxes with Opteron 64 3200 with Fedora core II linux 64 bit. We seeing 3 -4 times better performance than the high end Intel pentium 4 and $200
cheaper than the Intel high end P4.
What everyone has failed to mention is that the Dimension XPS is old. Been out for awhile. The only thing new about this is the review. But I guess since everyone has a hate for Dell, you just didn't notice and this is "news" to you.
I'm pretty lazy, but even I'm not going to stoop to paying some stooge to throw together a high performance PC for me. Is the extra cash these monsters cost really worth the flashy sticker on the front?
Clearly I'm not the desired buyer, but where is the attractive aspect to these deals that I'm just not seeing?
It will be interesting to see how long it takes CmdrTaco to learn to spell "its".
Does this machine come with ear protection for the user, and a doorstop to wedge under the front so it doesn't propel itself forward?
The comparison to a car doesn't really hold. BMW, Mercedes, etc., are under a lot of pressure not to change the appearance of models year to year, so that people who buy in year x don't suddenly appear to be driving an antique in year x+1 or x+1.
It's fine to spend $3K+ on a PC, but be prepared for the $500 PC I buy in 18 months to outperform it, no matter how fancy the case is.
Amazing magic tricks
... Headline I've read today.
.. then this one ...
...
First was this one on CNN.
And now another here on slashdot.
Someone would say there must be some sort of psy-ops going on, to soften us up for the headlines
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
How many people seriously play games over this res?
For one thing, computers that can play Doom III and the like at higher than 1280x1024 are not expected to exist until sometime in the 24th century.
For another, there are several things that make serious gaming waaay more enjoyable than straight-out resolution, including graphics card quality settings and refresh rate. Most decent monitors will still start to lose refresh rate above 1024x768... if you want anything close to 85-100Hz at higher than 1280x1024 you are talking about insanely expensive equipement.
IMHO most modern games are best played at 1024x768 on a decent gaming rig. You get beautifully high frame rates, and with a decent video card you can have all the quality settings absolutely cranked, whilst running at 100Hz or higher on your monitor to go extra easy on the eyes.
Anyone who claims they 'need' much higher resolutions is full of it.
Read Pynchon.
There are many local computer stores (if you live in a big city) that will allow you to pick individual components, and they will assemble it and add the OS for ~US$40. And there is a much wider selection of options. And they offer the same warranty as Dell. And, if something gets fubared, you don't have to talk to some Paki, or wait for on-site service. You can take the box right in and tell them to fix it, or do hardware upgrade, or whatever. If people found out about this, Dell and Alienware would both be screwed.
You may be lazy, but I bet you can build a system yourself. A lot of gamers can't, as a group they don't neccessarily overlap 100% with "modders" or even "hardware savvy". And a lot have the $ to pay extra for the Dell sticker...
Freedom: "I won't!"
They pay hideous prices for hifi equipment and other electronics, too. As a rule it seems that UK prices for this type of stuff is about 1.5x Australian prices (where I am), which are about 1.2x US prices.
I have lived in the UK briefly, and EVERYTHING is horrendously overpriced, excepting maybe chocolate for some weird reason. The strangest part is that noone complains about it - they just seem to accept it.
Even weirder, wages are really not proportionally higher compared to the cost of living. A lot of Australians head to the UK because they will be 'earning the pound', only to find it costs them $15 Australian for a meal at McDonald's that costs $6 at home, yet their income has only risen by about 20% or so.
Read Pynchon.
Because only poseurs would buy a '1337 gamer' rig from Dell. This box should come with a warning to not take it to LAN parties, lest you be laughed out of the place by the other friendless virgins-- you're on the 'peer respect' meter somewhere below the investment bankers who have their Harleys shipped to Sturgis for Bike Week.
So what if the G5 is cheaper? The task at hand for the XPS is something the G5 cannot do. If your looking for a lower priced machine they are many many alternatives to this machine or a G5.
Next time don't compare ox carts to apples....
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Yeah, kinda like how Apple moved into the music biz with the iPod and ITMS, 'cause they've been dying for, what, 10 years now?
And how exactly is Dells' attempts to break into a niche market a sign that their consumer products are going the way of the dinosaurs? Didn't they dominate the market last quarter?
Now, to be sure, your comment is true for certain businesses, like Gateway, but I doubt that it applies to Dell. MS is also going after 'other business'. Are they 'on the way down', references to Hell aside?
(tig)
Ignorance and prejudice and fear
Walk hand in hand
That'll do it to ya.
I have lived in the UK briefly, and EVERYTHING is horrendously overpriced, excepting maybe chocolate for some weird reason.
And that explains the teeth, too. Chocolate's cheap, and everything else is so expensive they've got no money left for dentistry!
... Jeff Goldblum uses an Apple Powerbook to fight an Alien invasion: Proof once more that Apple is years ahead of the PC market.
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
is a decent gaming rig that doesn't look like a tonka toy. quality components, room to upgrade, good service & warranty (no i'm not wasting time building my own - been there). maybe at 15 i'd like the area 51/vin diesel aesthetic, but i'm older now & need the system for work as well.
intel & XP Pro are probably req'd, but i'll have to see about that. any ideas?
It looks like Dell is simply trying to offer up a games oriented PC on the cheap without upsetting their system too much. This would be sort of like building sports cars on the same assembly line as compact economy cars. The sports cars would get a different body and a few performance tweaks, but would essentially be the same old economy cars underneath with a significantly higher price. This sort of thing would garner some casual driving enthusiasts, but the hardcore enthusiasts who actually look carefully under the covers, would not be fooled by this.
It isn't really clear who they plan to sell XPS systems to. The hardcore market, as others here have commented, would likely build their own machines with higher performance for the same or less cost than the XPS. That leaves what I'll call the Mom and Pop market buying computers for their kids. This market might buy the XPS, but would be scared off by such a pricey machine that would probably be used to play games rather than doing homework. The kids would have to push them to buy this, and well, Dell just isn't cool right now (Apple is!). So I guess Dell needs to bring back that stoner dude to rev up those back to school sales!
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
When they really wants to make a nice gaming pc, they should offer lefthanded keyboard for the righthanded gamer. The usual keyboards are good for lefthanded gamers, but not for righthanded gamers. wsad is ancient, use a lefthanded keyboard, you score better :)
Hasn't this been out for atleast 6 months now? How is this new attempt? They just upgraded the damn thing.
Is that like how it was the end of Vanderbuilt when he scrambled for the railroads?
That is why dell is so looked down upon. If you ever have to work with them you just know you are dealing wich a "company/piece of hardware" were everything was done by the lowest bidder. Such tricks as finding out a 128mb machine had all its memories slots full (wich as you say makes it harder and more expensive to upgrade). Finding out that for some unspeakable reason yes this PC comes with only 1 IDE slot. That the case size means no expansion card fits.
It is not that Dell actually makes bad stuff. Just that if you are used to make your own cages or worse IBM style hardware Dell feels cheap. The biggest problem is that they feel cheap but often really aren't. If you buy your dell as is and never ever touch its insides then it is a decent enough deal. Else just don't. Friends don't let friends dell.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
In my personal opinion, I'd say that whoever would need all of that in a computer would already know that it's cheaper to buy all of the parts and build it manually. Sure, you'll still pay a pretty good bit, but at least you'll shave off a good deal of cash because you won't be paying for the name of the computer. It's not really Dell's fault as they could do that also, but where's the profit for them?
"Instant gratification takes too long." - Carrie Fisher
Even if this machine completely flops, Dell is going to have minimal losses since they keep the minimum of parts to build the systems and could surely use parts unsold in other systems. So really, there is no loss to them to even try this market.
Then again Doom3 ain't even out here yet. Grrrrr. Forcing me to pirate when I got the money itching in my pocket. Wasn't there a recent article about how game publishers are greater enemies of games then pirates? Certainly is true for Doom 3. I have the money, I got the machine but ID ain't selling. So I gotta a choice. Wait to spend money while everyone is getting Doom 3 goodness OR get Doom 3 goodness for free. I held out for a week. I caved in yesterday. Now just waiting for it to become dark again so I can go back to mars. Playing it in sunny weather just ain't right.
So yeah there are high-end gaming systems running linux. Just not with a huge variety of games. Don't be suprised however if you see the highest benchmark scores come from penquin machines. Kinda helps when your memory isn't polluted with MS bloat.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Sadly of late that argument is loosing weight as we keep the high taxes but most of the social services are hollowed out to american levels. So no free health care but still the high mandatory taxes for it. Less schooling and more and more money needed to be paid by students. Higher and higher sales taxes coupled with greater reductions in social security.
At least in america it seems you get an anti-social society but low taxes. Here we got anti-social society with high taxes. Yippie.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
Dell has been making these XPS systems for well over half a year...
I boycott Dell because of the offshoring of support. Dell sucks.
Build your own or find a local company. Everyone knows the components are offshored. There's no point in having everything over there.
Again, boycott Dell. I've successfully gotten all my family, a few friends and one friend's business all switched from them. I will continue to work on more. The current company I'm doing work for has been a big Dell advocate in the past. They have 600+ desktops. I'm finally in a postion to kill further orders there. My boss has final approval. I came in too late for the last order of PCs, but I'm hoping to research the alternatives and present them to him.
Boycott Dell!!!
Anyone who claims they 'need' much higher resolutions is full of it.
Of course that person who's "full of it" will be able to see you from further away due to his better resolution. But hey, your death will look really nice on your screen with all the quality setting cranked.
I imagine there are gamers out there who would play in black and white if they could get double the resolution.
Life is too short to proofread.
Did anybody else notice that in the backview they've put a very large sound card, yet the computer only comes with 2.1 speakers?
Learn something new.
As I write this on a Dell Inspiron 7500 (redhat 9) let me tell you. First I really like this machine. But I really hate companies that phase out the people who recommend them, a lot more.
Like they phased out linux service. I bought this in the U.S. and came to Japan, they wouldn't fix it here. Can't easily get a Japanese windows unless you go through the Japan office. Fine. Wiped most of windows, linux on here. Had to figure out all the hardware crap myself. Haven't got enough memory on this and don't want to send it in for a month, find that too. Broken battery (probably due to lugging it through town on wheels), little help. Now if Dell can give me top products at a reasonable price (and this *was* pc of the year some years ago), I'll buy it. But when the only part of their online service I find interesting is the refurbished parts catalog. Oh yeah, if you want to look for parts on line forget it, you end up wading through refurbished instead. When I bought this I was told to wait for a big HD to come out, well I never got it for the second bay because it was never in stock, then got dumped apparently. Now I am looking at new computers. I need a desktop pc and I want a system with high performance opengl (I'm not a gamer, I want to make displays). I'm thinking seriously about getting a G5, though it may soon be supplemented with an Alienware laptop which I've been drooling over. Before I buy those two though I'll 90% likely be building a linux box for myself. For me Dell has to seriously shake off an old bad service image and a new bad quality image. It's not like they don't have competition.
People who know, don't buy Dell.
This is for when mommy wants to buy 15 year old Johnny a Dell and Johnny wants "That one! It's the only one good enough for the games!"
So I guess Coca-Cola was "on the way down" when they tried that crazy "Dasani" idea.
Pleeeze....
Quick little story:
;)
My girlfriend moved in (shocking, i know) with a hobbled together PC, same way i do mine - buy mobo-proc combo, case with decent psu, some video card that works with the mobo and some ram from crucial.
i normally repeat this cycle about meh, once every 2 years (recently graduated computer engineering student) and it worked out okay, but both of our machines always suffered from the old, *something* has gone wrong and died all the sudden.
With just one real workstation at any time to mess with for many years, i didn't mind all that much. Well, with two of them in house pulling that crap - it seemed like every month, i was buying some new component for either her pc or mine. It was getting old.
She scored a few contracts for her art (the Papa Roach cd and a slew of Brit albums from various artists that will hit soon have her stuff on them). Well, it was time to get a real machine. i wanted her to get a dual g5, but she wanted to stick with windows for all of her art software and plugins (well over $4k of x86 only stuff). Soooooo, we got her one of these...and here is the point of this post:
Blah, blah, blah as you will about Dell-this and Dell-that - i've not had *one* problem with that machine. i'll remind you, she is not doing light weight work. Not one problem. Er, and it kicks some serious ass with ut2k4 i might add
....and that blue case is huuuuuuuuge - 'tis my only gripe ;-).
i do have to chuckle though, the p133 with 64megs that serves as the firewall? Can't even remember the last time i rebooted that machine, much less opened it up to fix anything. An old Gateway, but still chugging away.
I think his point was that the Apple, whatever its merits as a gaming machine, is a beautifully-made piece of high-end hardware. Others have mentioned that there's nothing particularly special about the Dell other than the standard case being painted blue instead of black. The G5 is precision-made of solid, shiny aluminum, and everything about the designer case is custom.
I was actually going to make a similar point, which is that Alienware and other companies make their machines better. Just to point out the obvious, they use higher-end case designs that were designed especially for gamers. And they sell them at comparable to lower price points to Dell.
Considering Dell's Dull image, I don't see this machine as changing many minds. I can only imagine the catcalls someone would get at a LAN party when they brought the Dell next to all the shiny Alienware systems. I think Dell would have to provide a much higher price/performance ratio to crack this market. A Chevy is still, well, a Chevy.
D
What is with that stupid front door on the drive bays? Why can't that design style just die already? It looks even more flimsy than ususal.
"Remember, there never were pineapple-almond cookies here."
Uhh, the cheap looks are horrible.
Crappy cabling all over the place in spite of clips & belts (uh, but perhaps it's UV ready right!?).
Breathing power switch done wrong (they understood it backwards, it's distracting... ask the Apple designers)
A lot of fans! Hmm, helicopter or whisper? They look like off the mill beigebox fan, one can only hope the motherboard supports speed scaling like that other PeeCee would-(rather not)-be ;-)
Oh well, I'll continue lusting for that G5... wake me up when a PC manufacturer finally gets to properly copy Apple's designs
Mi domando chi à il mandante di tutte le cazzate che faccio - Altan
I think your experiences are atypical. I work at a private university in Texas with Baptist ties, and Dell's support has been phenomenal. We have access to their premeire support which means we go on their website, enter the system tag number, what part needs to be replaced, and it's shipped the next day with no questions asked. We had 120 machines brought in recently and one of them had a cracked LCD screen -- and the replacement was delivered the next morning. Now, on the personal computing end, there are some issues with their service -- but if you're a big player, they're going to bend over backwards to make sure you are satisfied.
This is my digital signature. 10011011001
Everything in UK is the same price as the US. They pay in pounds and the US pays in dollars. For gasoline they pay pounds/litre, US pays dollars/gallon.
they call it trustedreviews and the fact is they put the conclusion, the "Verdict" Before giving the specifications and benchmark results. Hmmm ok?!
The case looks cheap. The guts look cheap and messy. The style of the outside is reminiscent of Alienware and the positioning of the PSU is reminiscent of G5's.
It seems like some clueless executive has seen an opportunity to reap big profits and has quickly slapped some crap together to cash in.
Summary: Has all the class and style of one of those people you see walking around with the no-name cheap asian iPod-styled flash-based MP3 players with white headphones.
...that you don't hear about in the product reviews. It's something the reviewer doesn't have the resources to factor in: their customer service is often mind-bendingly useless. Most of the costumer satisfaction indices I've studied rank Dell very low on the totem pole. CSRs with incomprehensible accents, circuitous and protracted RMA procedures, bait-and-switch discounts (where they offer something for an incredibly low price, it sells out in two minutes, and the hundreds of people who ordered it and didn't get it have their order cancelled for them and are offered a similar product that just happens to be more expensive as well). I think Dell puts together some great systems that will last through almost all of your warranty period. I also think they cut costs when it comes to actually servicing the people that give them money.
clicky clicky
...Rob
The American Dream isn't an SUV and a house in the suburbs; it's Don't Tread On Me.
I would have to disagree with you - a $3000 rig will still outperform a new $500 PC 18months later - in games.
Why? Because the graphics will be so much weaker. Also, the processor will only be a speed grade or two faster.
No, I don't trust in god. He'll have to pay up front, like everybody else.
when some company orders 1000 desktop clones, the tech guy is gonna throw in a gaming system for himself, under the guise he needs a better system. but in reality, he's gonna be in his office playing UT2K4.
My problem? I was perfectly gruntled, until some numbnuts came by and dissed me.
...holy fawking crap out of everything imported and sold there so they'll have money to give to all those highly-educated jobless people there who are living on the dole.
And here, ladies and gentlemen, we have an absolute masterpiece of cluelessness; one demonstrating perfect irony as unspoilt by even an inkling of ironic intent, in which convoluted infantile rationalizations of selfishness are only as preposterous as their self-contradictory dichotomy of arrogant egotism and ignorance.
"Social Darwinism", indeed; this *theory* came into being as a justification for the societal inequities brought about by the inordinate wealth of the robber barons / industrialists during the late 19th / early 20th centuries. It has never had any basis in empirical science..... and for that matter neither does the ludicrous "...reproduce your defunct genes?" assertion, which operates on the obviously incorrect assumption that the ability to be socialized as an educated person is genetically derived (!) as opposed to socioeconomic in nature.
It is so patently clear that this sort of shrill screed is based in the affluent's seeming need to concoct some cockamamie *explanation* for their fortunate circumstance.
"Reward the smart, punish the stupid."
Were this platitude the basis of our society, then it is without doubt that you'd be subject to lifelong imprisonment, Mr. Bios Hakr.
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THese guys are brilliant!
Market tap water and make millions off the
dweebs who thet've targeted.
That said, the bottle is nice.
I bought one and poured some tap water inside and its greeeeeeeeeat!
Furthermore, Dell's not attempting to break into this market (reviewer stating so beside the point). Dell's been making these kind of machines for quite a while and it's unlikely that Dell cares one way or another about Alienware. Dell's entire Dimension brand was created for these types of customers and has existed for a decade, far longer than Alienware. Only difference is today's kids are familiar with Alienware's flash. Once you get past the fancy case, parts is parts.
Dasani is shit water though, in March there was a recall of Dasani because it had excess bromate, which long-term exposure to can elevate cancer, not only that, Dasani is just purfied-tap water, if I wanted that I might aswell by a Brita water filter.
First, they say the graphics card I selected which guaranteed an August 6th ship date became limited availability which would delay my order. So since time is of the essence (I need it at home before I go to school to transfer a LOT of files) I switched cards to a better one, which was NOT limited now (it had been when I first configured my system) and now they're saying it MAY ship on the 9th or 10th.
On top of that Alienware had offered us a $150 rebate. Then, on the order confirmation they say its only $75. We bitch and complain, and they finally get us the $75 rebate, and a $75 coupon for Amazon, which, while we use it extensively and will have no problem with that....is STILL a very bad business practice.
Its at the point where if it doesn't ship via next day ground service at their expense, we just may well cancel the order and tell them we're getting a Dell instead.
And a tip for buying from Alienware: If you don't care about a flashy case, check out their small business computers. They're just about the same specs, and a LOT less expensive.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
How is Bill supposed to afford that ivory back scratcher if you won't buy another version of Windows you don't need?
--- It is not the things we do which we regret the most, but the things which we don't do.
I've been a Mac user for years and currently use an old dual-processor 450 MHz G4. I realized that Macs are generally better designed inside, but didn't realize that current PCs were this cobbled-together. Compare these two shots:
Dell XPS
PowerMac G4
Dell already went into the gaming laptop business with their Inspiron XPS system. It's a bit pricy, so I bought myself a Inspiron 9100 (much the same realy, except for the P4EE). There's an excellent review here.
StarTrek.org Free Webmail
Dell is different. You usually see them coming in organisations with HP or IBM (and 7 years ago Apple) on their way out. This is done on price. Usually with a big 'contractual discount', so you'll forget checking in with HP once in a while.
But the trouble is then, the competition has vanished. There's no way you can ask someone else for an offer on Dell than your Dell account manager.
So, as an IT manager you really need to stay in check with technical developments, realism and pricing in the rest of the market since Dell will try to upsell you all kinds of crap for a premium when you don't really need it.
Dell, not a cheap as you'd think!
* In most cases, they still force me to buy their systems bundled with Microsoft software, whether I want it or not.
So true! I work for an agency of the most populus state. Our IT dept. has purchased a license for Win2K and Office for every CPU. We are also required to buy Dell machines only. This means every time someone buys a computer, a copy of XP, or whatever is paid for and goes unused. I wonder why the state is in such fiscal trouble...
any specific vendor, but I hear that Daktech has a 7 year warranty, with a generally good quality reputation. The downside is that they, like Dell, only seem to sell Intel stuff. No AMD. Oh well.
----- Question authority, but not ours. Hate the man, but we're not him.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I suppose when Anand did his review in November it wasnt news then.
= 19 20
/.
http://www.anandtech.com/systems/showdoc.aspx?i
It must be post your obscure hardware review site day on
I actually was in the process of building me a good PC for Stanton Final Scratch and serious gaming. The thing is that the only way I could get an X800 XT was to import it from the US, pay the customs, shipping and canadian taxes. It won't be availlable here before mid-october and that's according to an ATI representative over email. If I would have decided on AMD in about 2 years I'd be totally f*cked, no chipset support PCI-E yet and AMD are planing serious change to their processor line in 2005 and I doubt the next upgrade I would have done would have been on the same socket. Nvidia? They need special power supplies and except for Doom3 they are mostly inferior in performance.
So here I was kinda stuck with Intel because of PCI-E (and the novelty of socket 775 makes me feel safe for future upgrade) and with no way to get a decently priced X800 XT. I wen't to Dell site and I could configure me an XPS with exactly what I needed including a video card I couldn't get otherwise in Canada, for 4000$CAN I got what would have cost me 3800$CAN otherwise, without mentionning lack of availlability (I build several concept over the web on frontierpc.com, tigerdirect.ca, local mom and pop shop and large surface retailler, I did my research). That 200$ actually gets me a waranty for my entire machine, not one per part it's made of.
All in all I believe I made a very good choice. Now, I don't live in the US or elsewhere where pricing might be quite different...
**Sorry for what is a second post, first one was done without me logged-in**
I actually was in the process of building me a good PC for Stanton Final Scratch and serious gaming. The thing is that the only way I could get an X800 XT was to import it from the US, pay the customs, shipping and canadian taxes. It won't be availlable here before mid-october and that's according to an ATI representative over email. If I would have decided on AMD in about 2 years I'd be totally f*cked, no chipset support PCI-E yet and AMD are planing serious change to their processor line in 2005 and I doubt the next upgrade I would have done would have been on the same socket. Nvidia? They need special power supplies and except for Doom3 they are mostly inferior in performance.
So here I was kinda stuck with Intel because of PCI-E (and the novelty of socket 775 makes me feel safe for future upgrade) and with no way to get a decently priced X800 XT. I wen't to Dell site and I could configure me an XPS with exactly what I needed including a video card I couldn't get otherwise in Canada, for 4000$CAN I got what would have cost me 3800$CAN otherwise, without mentionning lack of availlability (I build several concept over the web on frontierpc.com, tigerdirect.ca, local mom and pop shop and large surface retailler, I did my research). That 200$ actually gets me a waranty for my entire machine, not one per part it's made of.
All in all I believe I made a very good choice. Now, I don't live in the US or elsewhere where pricing might be quite different...
"...gamers expect more in the way of extra stuff that most buyers simply don't care about, like case mods and LED lighting..."
I'm a hard core gamer and I certainly don't care if my PC has any "mods" other than those that would actually add to its performance. I want a faster bus, lower heat, more L1 or L2 cache, faster graphics card, error correcting memory, better software drivers, faster CDROM drive, faster CPU, etc. I don't need any fangled L.E.Ds on my case. I would rather have a case like a PowerMac G5...solid and well built with no frills.
I also don't want to drive a pimped up Honda Accord either. I'd much rather have a real sports car than imitation fluff. Just what are these gamer "wanna'be's" compensating for?
Save your money. Get a real machine.
I have a pimped up Dell XPS at work, and it rocks. I play tons of games all the time, and I have tested the AlienWare computers. Alienware rocks also, but the latest XPS RULEZ! Also Tech-TV(G4) "The Screen Saver" did a test among the best laptops for gaming, and I think they gave 1st place to Alienware and 2nd place to Dell just since Alienware is cheap and Dell isn't. Plus, Linux is better than Windows. Now, let the fight begin! -P
-= Piffer =-
So I guess slashdot is posting reviews on old PCs now. The XPS has been out for months. Maybe I'll submit some of these other XPS reviews to slashdot and see if they end up a story:
p hp /2217931
/ 45 05-3118_16-21137073.html
. as p
/ ar ticle.php/2219451
l
e ll /xps/001.htm
http://hardware.earthweb.com/computers/article.
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Dell_Dimension_XPS
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1522371,00
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/testdrive
http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review158.htm
http://www.gamers-depot.com/hardware/desktops/d
Having lusted for the looks of the Apple G5, the G3 iBook and even the G3 desktop with the rounded handles on top .. some days I wish Apple made hardware that ran all the stuff I run (read : Windows 2000 Pro / XP Pro and all the apps / games I run thereon.)
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
that's the PERFORMANCE network cable. It makes your packets S00PER L33T!
Come on.. this is slashdot. Home of the geek! We don't buy PC's from Gateway, Dell, or IBM. We build them the old fashioned way by hand selecting our motherboard, harddrives, CPU, RAM, DVD-ROM, Case, Powersupply, and Videocard.
Unfortunately, I occasionally work on the Dell/Gateway value PC's and they are typically junk inside. Low end harddrives that die every year on the year. Monitors that snap, crackle, pop and die. CD roms that skip and don't even have audio cables for playing normal Audio CD's. I've have seen fixed and witnessed nearly every shortcut imaginable on their PC line. I would never trust these guys to build a killer PC. I wouldn't even buy one of their value PC's as a base for building a high-end killer PC.
My Advice: Do your research. Hand pick your components and build it yourself.
We are making our own boxes with Opteron 64 3200 with Fedora core II linux 64 bit. We seeing 3 -4 times better performance than the high end Intel pentium 4 and $200 cheaper than the Intel high end P4.
... Doom III? Everquest? Star Wars Galaxies?
Sweet! What kind of frame rates are you getting on those things in say
Glonoinha the MebiByte Slayer
Well if they hadn't signed a treaty with the aliens and cut my funding, I could've defended them better!
</X-Com>
They're a MAJOR, and I mean billions of dollars, contributer to the Republican party.
Every penny that goes into Dell's pockets goes into Orrin Hatch's campaign fund, along with Bush, Ashcroft, et al.
Just because you can mod me down, doesn't mean you're right. Shoes for industry!
Yeah the MAC looks neater on the inside but when you close the case on both machines it doesn't make any difference to the neatness of the cables on the inside.
As a previous Voodoo owner, I spent nearly $6000 on a box, that's just the tower folks. It was crap, yes there were folded cables and whatnot but the hardware wasn't good and the service was awful, I had to send my system to them 3 times because of catastrophic hardware faliure and excluding the overnight freight I spent the last and simplest repair took darn near 2 weeks, it was a bad RAID card. That's nut's Voodoo blows and I'll never buy anything from them again.
Actually, it does. Those fat IDE cables strung all over the place do a lot to impede airflow. And if you thought the G4 was neat inside, take a look at the G5.
Also, it's much easier to work on a computer when you're not having to constantly move cables, wires and brackets out of the way.
Too bad Macs are much more expensive to deal with. For the price of those G4s and G5s, you damn better be able to get a good case. It's a shame too, because I'd like to get a machine to try to develop on...
Also, I've worked on Dell cases and saw little problem with airflow and installing/repairing. If you think that Dell cabling is ugly, you should check out the machines I've had to deal with.
I'm not arguing with you...just a little friendly debate. :)
:)
While the initial purchase price of a Mac is higher, they stay useful a lot longer than the average PC. My G4's four years old and is still plenty fast running current programs like InDesign CS and the latest release of OS X. I doubt you want to try and run XP on a four year old PC.
There are plenty of used G4's on eBay. Good dualies like mine sell for about $500. The only thing you'd probably need would be a new video card, since the Rage 128 Pro that came in them sucks and doesn't support Quartz Extreme. I got a Mac Radeon for $20 on eBay.
And if you know anybody affiliated with a school/college/university, you can get a base dual 1.8 G5 for $1799. That's cheap by Mac standards...my dual 450 was $2200 when it was new back in 7/00.
HTH.
I had to use Dells via work and they sucked, the hardware blew, the installation was bad and the support sucked. Enough for me never to use them. I can get better support from local dealers with physical shops I can visit and demand satisfaction. It helps service a lot when you are face to face and other customers are listening in.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
486sx-25Mhz can run command keen just fine what do i need all that fancy stuff for....
... cool.
Aaaah the purple case makes it go faster
I just want to know: Did you read the entire comment, or just the rant about taking from the rich and giving to the poor?
In my last paragraph, I clearly state that I know giving to the poor is the best for everyone. I stated that if Bill G. gets a $300M tax cut, he doesn't really spend it. If 300M people get a $1 tax cut, most of them will spend it. Over all, distribution of wealth leads to a better economy.
Of course, since you can't be bothered to read the entire thing, you probably never saw that part.
I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
We had a hard drive go south in a Dell box at work a few years ago. The box was less than 6 months old, and the guy using it needed it constantly for his job (CAD).
Dell wouldn't send a replacement HD until they received the bad drive, and they were adamant that the problem probably wasn't in the drive anyway. ("Unable to find boot device" sounds a lot like a bad drive to me.)
Mind you, we were buying Dells by the truckload at the time, so it's not like we were unknown to them.
I was already skeptical of Dell - they had a history of "strange quirks," much like old Compaqs - and after the HD debacle I was convinced that no Dell product would ever cross my doorstep.
"A generation which ignores history has no past and no future." -- Robert Heinlein
I did read your entire comment.
The fact that you contradicted the part of it which I critiqued by stating what you *reminded* me does not, to me, invalidate my critique.
If however, your whole ill-conceived 'Social Darwinism' screed was truly meant as satire, then the harsh statements I made wouldn't apply.
It is cool to see these systems in my office buidling, unfortunatly I don't have one, and my work doesn't warrant me having one.
Another fellow subsidiary company of ours is using these babies for various forms of web development. I talked to one of the guys on that team, and they are 3.04 Pentium EE CPUs, and a crapload of memory and disk space.
I'm just jealous because I don't think I'd be able to get my boss to drop that much money on a desktop for me.
YOU'RE WINNER !
Another lame blog