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About to order mine. Final check list?

post #1 of 11
11/24/03 at 5:35am
Thread Starter 
So I'm about to take the plunge and order my Alienware Area-51m system.

Going with the P4 3.2ghz, 1gig 400ddr ram, 60 gig, CD-RW/DVD combo drive (decided I didn't need DVD r/w), ATI Radeon 9600, 2 year warranty, add in JK Academy, BF1942 and Enter the Matrix.

About 3500 total.

Add in: 20 off Enter the Matrix
Add in: 200 off return customer code.

Is there any other promotions or perks I should take advantage of?

Also, am I fairly correct in assuming this beast can handle Homeworld 2, JK Academy and BF1942 and all it's glorious expansions? With hopes that it will be able to run Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 at decent rates?

Thanks for your time, input and wisdom!

-- Sebayn
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post #2 of 11
11/24/03 at 6:06am
Thread Starter 
Oh I'm also getting the internal a/b/g card. I'm tempted to buy something to plug into the PC card slot if that'll make it a more reliable feature.
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post #3 of 11
11/24/03 at 10:15am
Drop a few more dollars for the 3 year warranty. It is worth it.

-Craig
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post #4 of 11
11/24/03 at 11:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sebayn
So I'm about to take the plunge and order my Alienware Area-51m system.

Going with the P4 3.2ghz, 1gig 400ddr ram, 60 gig, CD-RW/DVD combo drive (decided I didn't need DVD r/w), ATI Radeon 9600, 2 year warranty, add in JK Academy, BF1942 and Enter the Matrix.

About 3500 total.

Add in: 20 off Enter the Matrix
Add in: 200 off return customer code.

Is there any other promotions or perks I should take advantage of?

Also, am I fairly correct in assuming this beast can handle Homeworld 2, JK Academy and BF1942 and all it's glorious expansions? With hopes that it will be able to run Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 at decent rates?

Thanks for your time, input and wisdom!

-- Sebayn
Yes those games work well. I don't have as much power in my system as you will and those games run great.( Laptop specs are in my signature)
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post #5 of 11
11/24/03 at 9:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craig
Drop a few more dollars for the 3 year warranty. It is worth it.

-Craig
"Extended warranty, I'd be a fool not to!" -- Homer Simpson

I dunno, three years just seems over kill. I've always replaced my machinery every 1-2 years or so.

I'm still kinda hestitant about the whole upgradable GPU thing. I just have a feeling that a whole new chasis will be introduced that will leave the rest of us out in the rain.
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post #6 of 11
11/24/03 at 10:55pm
Get the 3 year, it is worth it as Craig stated, if for no other reason than the pixel policy thats included.
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post #7 of 11
11/24/03 at 11:06pm
Also keep in mind...

That Alienware gives you smoking deals on upgrades WITH the warranty. When you're out of the warranty, your price goes up considerably.

Just another reason. And when you consider that this laptop is probably going to set you back $3500, is another $195 really that bad?

-Craig
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post #8 of 11
11/24/03 at 11:42pm
Thread Starter 
What kind of deals? Since my system is maxed out, I don't see what kind of deals they could give me that wouldn't involve trading it in for a brand new one.

The GPU could be one item I suppose, but they'll probably either double back and unveil a new case design which makes the upgrades incompatible to us or charge the same rate.

3 years though...using the same machine for 3 years seems like a stretch.
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post #9 of 11
11/25/03 at 12:14am
They're quite confident this will be their case design for some time to come. They've talked up the upgradeability of these machines big time.

I don't forsee them canning these cases anytime soon...AND if they did, I'm sure the components they use in the future would retro fit into our cases.

Read the fine print on the warranty page...it talkes about upgrades being more affordable within the warranty period.

If not, we can release the Cracken on them, cause after all, I'm just an IP and a keyboard :-/

-Craig
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post #10 of 11
11/25/03 at 12:19am
Thread Starter 
Oh one last thing, I read the whole fiasco about AW's not being dual channels. A loss, but not the final nail in the coffin for me, but what's the scoop on the Area-51m's not having the 9600 Pros while the Sagers do?

For that matter, when is the first upgradable GPU coming out?

I know the Sagers edge out the AW's slightly in peformance so I don't want to get into the whole "which is better" debate since that's been done to death.
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post #11 of 11
11/25/03 at 12:40am
Ok,
First off...We're not sure when but Nvidia has announced support for the alienware module in their upcoming GoFX5700 card.

Secondly...The difference between the ATi 9600Pro and Non-Pro is the clock speeds of the GPU and the Memory...period. You can either purchase the Alien Adrenaline or download Powerstrip and get the same results. Don't be fooled by the "Pro" tag meaning much more than it does.

Thirdly...If you buy Alien Adrenaline and blow up your Video Card, Alienware covers it under warranty...so get the 3 year warranty and overclock your machine to the limit!

-Craig
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