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Thoughts of Dimension XPS

post #1 of 13
4/19/04 at 6:59pm
Thread Starter 
I'm looking for a gaming Desktop and I want 2 know what u guys here in the Dell forum think. I've looked at many gaming companies like Hypersonic, Alienware and Voodoo but like I wanna know what u guys have 2 say about Dell's gaming PC. It seems like AN EXCELLENT deal, seriously for the price of an Alienware I can get a system similar from Dell with more extra features. Only thing I can think of is Dell's machine might not get those blazing framerates I want for all the next gen games, I mean I demand a truely power PC, few questions for ya guys though.

1. What do you have 2 say when people of other companies say dont buy Dell because of their propietary parts?
2. Would a Dell compare up against an Alienware or any other gaming PC in terms of frame rates.
3. Will 2 gigs of ram help my games run smoother for a long time to come?? Perhaps 3 years from now.
4. Why do you guys like Dell, even knowing their reseller rating is low?

I know this is a notebook forum but this one is a general Dell forum so I'm asking, I hope u guys can voice your opinions even if u can't on every question. Thanks.
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post #2 of 13
4/19/04 at 7:38pm
Well if you are talking about the dell XPS, i think somebody actually had both that and the Alienware Area 51. The xps was hands down the performance winner if i remember correctly.

2 gigs of ram will help with a lot of things, but im not sure its enough to make it worth the money.

as far as gaming goes, the most important thing is graphics card. And in that area you will never have the best thing. As soon as you own it for a month or so something biggar and better comes out.

I have heard good and bad about dell. A lot of times its more that if your persistant and get to the right people with problems, they are really good at fixing things for you. The frustration is getting to the right people in the first place.

someone will correct me if im wrong on anything im sure.

Later
Jon
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post #3 of 13
4/19/04 at 9:27pm
My personal inclination for desktops is to build my own. If you want the best system you can get for relatively low cost, configure systems from AW, Hypersonic, and Voodoo, and make a note of what components they are using. Then, find a supplier for those parts, get a good case with proper cooling, power supply, etc., and build it yourself. You'll save quite a bit of money and have the same performance. There is no magic to what any of these high-end vendors do - all the do is spec high-performance parts and configure them correctly. (This is not to say that they aren't good - just that anything they can do a knowledgable geek with the right components can match).

Of course if you go this route all you have are component warranties rather than a full system warranty, but on the other hand if there are any problems with the build quality, all you have to do to talk to the guy who built it is find a mirror
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post #4 of 13
4/19/04 at 9:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by KevDA
My personal inclination for desktops is to build my own. If you want the best system you can get for relatively low cost, configure systems from AW, Hypersonic, and Voodoo, and make a note of what components they are using. Then, find a supplier for those parts, get a good case with proper cooling, power supply, etc., and build it yourself. You'll save quite a bit of money and have the same performance. There is no magic to what any of these high-end vendors do - all the do is spec high-performance parts and configure them correctly. (This is not to say that they aren't good - just that anything they can do a knowledgable geek with the right components can match).

Of course if you go this route all you have are component warranties rather than a full system warranty, but on the other hand if there are any problems with the build quality, all you have to do to talk to the guy who built it is find a mirror
Werd. Build your own. No real gamer in their right mind would pay those inflated prices. A bit of cooling, the correct cpu stepping, a flashable 5900 or 9800 that clocks to ~ XT speeds and u'll get a system on par for a fraction...and I mean a fraction of the cost. If you have the money to burn and want an alien case, it's your money but if anyone tells you Alienware or Voodoo or the XPS somehow magics their systems to run faster than the sum of their parts, they're either lying or are stupid.
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post #5 of 13
4/19/04 at 9:37pm
.... and with the cost difference you can afford to get a pretty rad case of your own...
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post #6 of 13
4/19/04 at 10:59pm
Thread Starter 
Ah I have built my own PC's before and I really dont feel like building this one. Do you guys know of any reviews that could help me compare Dell's system to that of Voodoo's and Alienware.........I keep in mind that Dell knocks the **** out of them all with their pricing but performance is a very big thing for me also.
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post #7 of 13
4/19/04 at 11:02pm
Compare component for component if that's the case than Chez. All things being equal the differences between the same parts will be marginal (hope that made sense :P). Any review u see comparing systems will be somewhat moot as unless they are specced out IDENTICALLY which for pre-built systems they never are .
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post #8 of 13
4/19/04 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by camaroguy
Well if you are talking about the dell XPS, i think somebody actually had both that and the Alienware Area 51. The xps was hands down the performance winner if i remember correctly.

2 gigs of ram will help with a lot of things, but im not sure its enough to make it worth the money.

as far as gaming goes, the most important thing is graphics card. And in that area you will never have the best thing. As soon as you own it for a month or so something biggar and better comes out.

I have heard good and bad about dell. A lot of times its more that if your persistant and get to the right people with problems, they are really good at fixing things for you. The frustration is getting to the right people in the first place.

someone will correct me if im wrong on anything im sure.

Later
Jon
Oh God. I hope hammerhead doesn't stumble upon this thread.
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post #9 of 13
4/19/04 at 11:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by DELL-Spiike
Oh God. I hope hammerhead doesn't stumble upon this thread.

hahahahahah, hammer does get VERY passionate when it comes to AW

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post #10 of 13
4/21/04 at 2:02am
Well, Dell does not use industry standard cases, at least. I wanted to upgrade my power suppy to a 500W one, up from the lowly 250W one they put in there. The back of the case does not have standard "vents" in the backplate. So, I had to buy a nibbler and I made it fit! But now the power cords from the 500W supply get in the way of all the other components in the case and severly cuts off air circulation. My next desktop: home built all the way!
P
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post #11 of 13
4/22/04 at 9:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by pranaearth
Well, Dell does not use industry standard cases, at least. I wanted to upgrade my power suppy to a 500W one, up from the lowly 250W one they put in there. The back of the case does not have standard "vents" in the backplate. So, I had to buy a nibbler and I made it fit! But now the power cords from the 500W supply get in the way of all the other components in the case and severly cuts off air circulation. My next desktop: home built all the way!
P
Try putting a non-dell motherboard into one of those cases as well!! Its non-standard size and very annoying.
My brother solved that issue though..... he gutted the Dell, got a new case, motherboard, power supply and Graphics card . Used the old CPU, RAM, HD, Monitor, Sound card etc from the Dell. Problem sol-ved.
stu
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post #12 of 13
4/22/04 at 1:42pm
So basically, If you plan on Upgrading, don't get a DELL desktop. You made it clear that you don't want to build one this time. There are many companies that build High Performance Systems. But Voodoo is one of the more expensive. Have you checked out viciouspc.com? They have a Vicious Predator that you can add to your comparison list. and... of course Alienware. They have the Alienware Case (code named: "Predator") I recommend staying with companies that are well known. It wouldn't hurt to buy a couple computer magazines. I applaud DELL-sakor1 for pointing out one (1) of the major shortcomings of a Dell desktop computer. Seems that DELL-Spiike just doesnt want to think about it. Look in the Alienware Desktop forum for a thread named "Alienware vs Dell" . Forum member "Hammerhead" describes some of the things that makes Alienware the Ultimate Gaming Machine. By no means should you limit your search. There are other choices.
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post #13 of 13
4/22/04 at 11:59pm
Being a college student and living in the dorms i see what the kiddies buy for laptops. So many have Dell's. But they are also the oens that have the most problems. Motherboards frying, HD's failing, memory modules going bad. So in my honest opinion i would buy some sort of clevo. I have a 4760 and i love it no rpblems.
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