My ALX is being built!! (or so I'm told...)

Called today to check my order status and a note had appeared on my account this morning, stating that my system is now being built.

I'm obviously not going to get too excited, since I placed my original order on May 23rd.

Anyway, I'll be sure to post photos when the big boy arrives and may even post a video of the FX lighting in action.

Wish me luck...

I know May 23rd seems a long time ago, but since then I've made two rather large changes to the system specs, so it's mostly my fault.

Still, it's been a tough wait...

Absolutely correct! They still don't offer the Intel ALX system in Europe yet, anyway. Also, I fancied the Quad SLI system, so I could go with the massive monitor... Hehe - got spend fever right now - just ordered this beauty, despite having a G5, just coz I think it'll match the better. So call me an idiot! (if you're gonna do something, do it right!)

Phoned them again today for an update and apparently it never went into production at all!!!

I'm furious - what the hell are they playing at? Never before in my life have I come across a company so irredemably, glowingly and all-encompassingly incompetent.

I have given them two weeks to deliver me my system, or I will certainly be getting a full refund and buying one of the sweet looking machines from Beast Computers. They're just as well specced (if not better) and a significant amount cheaper...

Rather than type it all again, I'll link to my update HERE

Still wanna cancel, unless I find out I'll receive it next week...

As you can see from my sig, I have now cancelled my order.

My system is now outdated before I receive it, whereas it was bleeding edge when I ordered it originally in May.

This is the PC I'll be ordering as soon as my refund comes through from Alienware:

BEAST Intel Custom PC

Processor: Intel Core 2 DUO Extreme Edition X6800 2.93GHz
Motherboard: ASUS PW5 DH Deluxe
Memory: Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-8500C5 TwinX
Case: WaterCooled Koolance PC3-724BK Lian Li V1100
Hard Drive One: 2 x 150gb Raptor 10,000 RPM (300gb)
Hard Drive Two: 300gb Maxtor Diamondmax SATA II
Graphics Cards: 2 x ATI X1900XTX Crossfire Setup
Sound Card: Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty
PhysX Card: None
Optical Drives: 16x16 Dual Layer Pioneer 111BK + DVD Reader
Cooling: CPU + GPU + Case Watercooling
Operating System: Windows XP Pro SP2
Overclocking: Extreme (Maximum we can achieve)
Power Supply: 700w Tagan
Cable Management: Premium
Warranty: 3 Yr Extended Parts and Labour
Build and Labour: Express 7-10 Day Guaranteed
Delivery Options: Premium Delivery Service* (Delivered by BEAST)

The motherboard and graphics cards may be subject to change, as they have just started offering the Abit AW9D-MAX motherboard, and I'd quite like Crossfire X1950XTX cards, which they are offering soon, too.

Should be sweet.

This is from BEAST COMPUTERS. Check out the delivery option - one of the manufacturing team drives the PC to your house and personally hands it over so it'll be looked after from start to finish. Pretty cool, huh?

And also, it'll wipe the floor with the Aurora ALX system...

On top of all of this I'll have £600 (around $1100) in my back pocket to do with as I wish, which can't be a bad thing, can it?

They're a small-ish company and very down to earth and honest and I feel I can trust them with my PC. Which is somethig I can no longer say about Alienware.

And I'll probably receive it sooner than I would my ALX, too.

I'm really happy with this decision - it's like a load has just been lifted off my shoulders.

Excited once more, as opposed to apprehensive, frustrated, angry and dumbfounded.

Said in the vein of a true fanboy!

It's not bleeding edge because here in the UK Alienware don't offer an Area-51 ALX, which is what I would have really liked. The FX-62 has been totally beaten by the Conroe chips, hands down, so I'd bve silly to pay that kind of money for an AMD system.

I won't change my order with Beast computers because they'll have it built and shipped within a week. As you can see I haven't actually ordered it yet, as I haven't got my funds back from Alienware.

When I do, I'll order the best system I can from Beast and stick by it. And I bet it'll beat the Area-51 ALX system hands down!

Yeah, I changed my order twice only - once a few days after my original order, then again when the P2 chassis was advertised. And I only made the second change because I was told (totally untruthfully) that the P2 was already in stock. Anyway, I got my refund through today from AW and I've placed my order with Beast this morning. Delivery scheduled for November 2nd, and that's guaranteed! Specs: BEAST Intel Custom PC MOTHERBOARD Asus P5W DH Deluxe WiFi (Socket 775) CUSTOM CPU Intel Core 2 DUO Extreme Edition X6800 2.93GHz (1066FSB) OC'd COOLING Koolance CPU+GFX+Chipset Liquid Cooling CASE Koolance PC3-724BK Lian Li V1100 Aluminium Tower - Black MEM Corsair 2GB DDR2 XMS2-8500C5 TwinX HDD1 2 x Western Digital Raptor 150GB SATA 16MB Cache (RAID 0) HDD2 WD Caviar SE16 500GB SATAII 7200rpm 16MB Cache GFX 1 Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900 Crossfire Edition GFX 2 Sapphire ATI Radeon X1900 XT-X 512MB GDDR3 OPTIC1 Pioneer DVR-111DBK DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter Black OPTIC2 AOpen DVD-1648L DVD ROM OS Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition inc. SP2 OVERCLOCKING Maximum FLOPPY Mitsumi 7in1 USB 2.0 Floppy & Media Drive - Black SOUND CARD Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Edition PSU Corsair HX 620W ATX 2.2 Modular SLi Compliant CABLES Beast Premium Cable Management OTHER Red UV Modding + Premium Delivery Service WARRANTY 3 Year Extended RTB Full Parts and Labour Looks nice, huh? The great thing here is that every component's manufacturer is listed (unlike Alienware Approved - that's a get-out clause if ever there was one - Hipro, anyone?) and that every component has received absolutely rave reviews, from the PSU to the mobo to the case. I know what I'm getting and I know it's gonna totally rock!

Thanks, guys.

Rig cost me £4169, which is £720 cheaper than the Alienware system would have cost. I think you'll agree that the spec is much better on the Beast than on the AW.

Can't wait to get my grubby mitts on it now!

And yes, I'll be sure to post a full review, including pics, screenies and benchies as soon as I can.