rec.autos.simulators

Hi, I'm seriously considering purchacing a system from Falcon
Northwest, but am curious as to what experiences you might have had
with either them, or Alienware ?

Also, is it worth the extra $$$ to save the hassles, conflicts, etc to
go with one of the above (or some other like Dell) rather than build my
own which I feel I could probably do ?

Thanks!
Jay J

Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Before you buy.

Jay,

might be able to help point you in a different direction, depending on
what type of system you're looking for.

-- JB

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

I have never even heard of this company, but I am going to go out on a limb
and take a wild guess:

www.alienware.com

just typed it in..yup, it works.

It's tough being a genius.

~daxe

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Hello,

I always build my own systems because I get a lot of hardware for
free, but if I was to buy a system, I would not hesitate to buy from
AlienWare.  We used their computers at E3 and they ran without a
hitch.

Raymond
ACT LABS
www.act-labs.com

Building your own is the only way to go!  I've done it twice, would
never do it any other way again.  Lower cost for superior spec'd
machine, and you *know* what got put in there.

--
Chuck Kandler  
"If guns don't kill people, people kill people, what happens if
you give a gun to a monkey?"

Registered Linux User #180746
http://counter.li.org

And their URL is.....??? <g>

Regards,
Brett C. Cammack
That's Racing! Motorsports
Pompano Beach, FL
(who's gonna buy a nice ***y machine configured for GPL when he gets
another job...)

On Thu, 22 Jun 2000 23:09:17 -0400, "daxe"

And so humble, too!! <g>  Thanks.

Regards,
Brett C. Cammack
That's Racing! Motorsports
Pompano Beach, FL

I'd definitely agree - I haven't bought a pre-built system since the
original IBM PC my dad bought (which is now in my attic with a 286/12
upgrade board).  My first PC was built around a $2000 Mylex 386/20
motherboard!
A couple tips:
- READ EVERYTHING YOU CAN - do alot of investigating on the
motherboard/proc/video/hd combo you're thinking about.  Check out
overclocking web pages and newsgroups (i.e. www.overclockers.com,
www.hardocp.com).  Lots of good info on various hardware configurations
and how to make them work for you.
- Don't skimp on your case/power supply - in just about no other place
can an extra $30-$50 save you more trouble.  I've had good luck with
Enlight cases.  Athlons in particular seem to be very sensitive to
power.

My current systems:
Win98 *** PC:
  ABIT BE6-II M/B


  SB Live
Linux PC:
  ABIT BH6 M/B

  Diamond SII 220
Win2000 PC:
  Intel M/B (just had it laying around)
  Intel PII 400

Good M/B's seem to be ABit, Asus, Soyo.
Also check out merchants like PCNut - you can get pretested overclocked
CPU's and CPU/MB/memory combos that may cost a little more, but take the
element of chance out of getting a good CPU stepping and memory that
works at your target speed.

Good luck!
Kendt

Sent via Deja.com http://www.racesimcentral.net/
Before you buy.

Thanks for the advice Kendt, and all!

Here's what the folks at Falcon-NW said... They gave me price of around
$3K, which includes shipping plus a 1 year warranty which includes tech
support, the ability to buy additional hardware from them at cost
(which they claim usually is stuff not available to the general public,
only OEM's can get, etc) and if they can't help me fix a problem over
the phone, they pay overnight shipping both ways to fed-ex my pc to
them to fix, and fed-ex it back to me. No charge!

They also claim that they usually have things fixed and back within a
day or two, which is why I was looking for advice from anyone else
who's bought a Falcon-NW system.

As I said above I feel confidant that I could build my own, but have
had SOOO many hassles with my current system (a PII 266, SCSI drives,
soundblaster Live xgamer, TNT 1, and VII) that I don't relish the
thought of having to deal with the probable hardware conflicts, and
other headaches involved with a do-it-yourself system.

Here are the specs they sent me:

Motherboard      Asus Apollo Pro P3V4X PC133 6PCI 1ISA
Cu P3 CPU        Intel Pentium Coppermine 866MHz/SSE/133FSB/256k
cache

CPU Cooler       CPU cooler/heatsink for Pentium IIIs
128MB SDRAM  128 Megabyte SDRAM, 7 ns, PC133, CAS 2 -133MHz
ATX Midtower    3- 5?" & 5- 3?" (2 open) bays, 300 Watt PS, 2 extra
fans

Hard Drive         Maxtor 40.9GB Diamondmax Plus 40 9ms 7200RPM ATA66
2M

Floppy Drive      TEAC 1.44mb 3?" Drive
19" Monitor        Optiquest Q95 .27dp, 1600x1200
Video Card        3dfx Voodoo 5 - 5500 2 Chip VSA-100 64mb
Keyboard           Keytronics 104 Key
CD-ROM           Toshiba 48X Speed, Internal, Caddyless, 78ms,
UDMA/2

Windows '98      Windows '98 Second Edition Plus on CD, full
version

UPS 2 Day         Insured Shipping & Handling for system boxes <40 lbs.
dim.

Total System Price Delivered UPS 2'nd Day Air Insured
$3056.00

I've already got a modem, sound card, and mouse for this system, so I
won't need to buy them, and they say I can mail my hardware and games
to them and they'll install and test them too!!

Pretty impressive.

I also checked with Alienware, but don't feel as confidant in them,
partly due to their Miami location (I lived and worked in Miami for 4
years from 1993-1997 and know how many business run down there ;-)

Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and advice!
Jay J

Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.

Best of luck to you, hope you enjoy your new system!  I just priced out
your spec list.  I could build the exact spec'd machine for myself for
~$1800.  Hmmmmm..... <g>

--
Chuck Kandler  
GPL F1 Handicap of +210.00 as of 6/15
GPL F3 Handicap of +438.42 as of 6/21
K&S Racing
http://www.fortunecity.com/silverstone/thepits/195

Registered Linux User #180746
http://counter.li.org

Doesn't this guy ever criticize other manufacturers <G>

--
Ian P
<email address invalid due to spam

  daxe how can you be considered a genius of you haven't
even heard of Alienware?  Shoot Every mensa dropout knows 'em...

--
dave henrie
Team Backmarker
#55b Dodge Stratus Super Touring Car
TPTCC

LOL

On Thu, 22 Jun 2000 23:09:17 -0400, "daxe"

writes:

daxe e. coyote...SUPER genius... :)

Eldred
--
Tiger Stadium R.I.P. 1912-1999
Homepage - http://www.umich.edu/~epickett
GPL hcp. +70.45

Never argue with an idiot.  He brings you down to his level, then beats you
with experience...
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