Let me begin by giving you all a specification run down on my newly purchased (and arrived) Alienware notebook. I have a 17'' 1920x1200 lcd display, with the 7800gtx, 2 gigs of ram, 200 gb of harddrive capacity (2x100gb @7200 rpm each),2 optical drives, and an Amd Athlon 64 3200+. Don't be agitated or turn away by hearing that I spent approximately 4k and only got a mediocre processor. I realized it was a 150 dollar proc and continue to have aspirations to replace it later. My justification follows along with a review component by component. I have pics but, well, my advertised 10 in 1 card reader isnt exactly functioning. I will manage to get pics up for you all though, however.
Processor: Talk about bottlenecks. I got the Amd Athlon 64 3200+ and yess, its slaving its ass off. I manage to get maybe 2 programs running and the proc is running at nearly 100%(keep in mind, I have backround utilities running as well). You probably are all wondering, "why the hell did this bowzoe choose a measly 3200+?". The answer is simple. And although switching app to app isnt nearly as satisfiable to me as it can be, I know that when the AM2 platform is released, I will purchase an fx-60 for replacement. Right now, they cost somewhere around 1000 bucks. Too deep for my pockets ( at least for just a proc). Eventually, around the turn of 939 pin chipsets descent towards becoming obsolete, thesse procs are going to drop price. Not to say my proc is a horrendous proc at all. But for an Alienware and consumer expectation, I rate it a 8 out of 10.
Lcd: The lcd is a 1920x1200 wide panel display monitor. These screens are absolutely gorgeous. The colors are vivid and it is everything I expected out of this monitor. For potential buyers, this screen is well worth the wait. The webcam is a mediocre in screen cam. I wasnt expecting an elite cam as some standalones, but considering it is implanted into the screen, most definetly, its a pleasant addition. Because of the lack of color in the cam video, I give the monitor a 9 out of 10.
Graphics Card: I have the 7800gtx. Need I say more. 10 out of 10.
Ram: I got 2 gigs. But after a nuisance of taking my system out of the box and seeing random system shutdowns, I immediately called AW tech support. They were more than helpful. I called them and after nearly 2 hours of troublshooting which included removing the ram several times, testing the sytem after several restarts and removing the keyboard to see if the problem was actually the seating of the wireless card, we finally resolved the problem. Currently my system is running off of a single gig. I sent in the other gig and as soon as they get it (and I know when cuz i got the tracking number!
), they will send me another gig back. Not a bad deal. Thank the man above that i didnt have to send my system in. Give it a 9 out of 10 just because of the defective ram.
Keyboard: Nice keyboard, yet takes some getting use to. Easy to type on and soft keys that dont make annoying "clicking" noises. 10 out of 10.
*Just to add, my optical drives sometimes roar up into action. This system sometimes really literally sounds like a beast!
Dj: It Works!!!!! The system is off and I just press a little chrome button to turn on the Dj. Runs like a charm. Dont listen to people who have difficulties with it.
The sound is AMazing! Great clarity, resilient little notebook speakers. Crank em up all the way, and the instruments are clearly detectable on any song. Gaming is an inner muse and without the robust sound, it just wouldnt be the same.
Im getting tired though... goodluck on your purchases and PLEASE let me know if you have any further questions. NOw that I have the system, I can answer ANY of your questions.
By the ways, whomever claimed that pics dont serve this notebook justice, boy were they right. B-E-A-utiful!
Processor: Talk about bottlenecks. I got the Amd Athlon 64 3200+ and yess, its slaving its ass off. I manage to get maybe 2 programs running and the proc is running at nearly 100%(keep in mind, I have backround utilities running as well). You probably are all wondering, "why the hell did this bowzoe choose a measly 3200+?". The answer is simple. And although switching app to app isnt nearly as satisfiable to me as it can be, I know that when the AM2 platform is released, I will purchase an fx-60 for replacement. Right now, they cost somewhere around 1000 bucks. Too deep for my pockets ( at least for just a proc). Eventually, around the turn of 939 pin chipsets descent towards becoming obsolete, thesse procs are going to drop price. Not to say my proc is a horrendous proc at all. But for an Alienware and consumer expectation, I rate it a 8 out of 10.
Lcd: The lcd is a 1920x1200 wide panel display monitor. These screens are absolutely gorgeous. The colors are vivid and it is everything I expected out of this monitor. For potential buyers, this screen is well worth the wait. The webcam is a mediocre in screen cam. I wasnt expecting an elite cam as some standalones, but considering it is implanted into the screen, most definetly, its a pleasant addition. Because of the lack of color in the cam video, I give the monitor a 9 out of 10.
Graphics Card: I have the 7800gtx. Need I say more. 10 out of 10.
Ram: I got 2 gigs. But after a nuisance of taking my system out of the box and seeing random system shutdowns, I immediately called AW tech support. They were more than helpful. I called them and after nearly 2 hours of troublshooting which included removing the ram several times, testing the sytem after several restarts and removing the keyboard to see if the problem was actually the seating of the wireless card, we finally resolved the problem. Currently my system is running off of a single gig. I sent in the other gig and as soon as they get it (and I know when cuz i got the tracking number!
), they will send me another gig back. Not a bad deal. Thank the man above that i didnt have to send my system in. Give it a 9 out of 10 just because of the defective ram.Keyboard: Nice keyboard, yet takes some getting use to. Easy to type on and soft keys that dont make annoying "clicking" noises. 10 out of 10.
*Just to add, my optical drives sometimes roar up into action. This system sometimes really literally sounds like a beast!
Dj: It Works!!!!! The system is off and I just press a little chrome button to turn on the Dj. Runs like a charm. Dont listen to people who have difficulties with it.
The sound is AMazing! Great clarity, resilient little notebook speakers. Crank em up all the way, and the instruments are clearly detectable on any song. Gaming is an inner muse and without the robust sound, it just wouldnt be the same.
Im getting tired though... goodluck on your purchases and PLEASE let me know if you have any further questions. NOw that I have the system, I can answer ANY of your questions.
By the ways, whomever claimed that pics dont serve this notebook justice, boy were they right. B-E-A-utiful!
