If you have a look at these things, you’ll notice one of my big criteria is it’s gotta be small. Both of these excel in that regard. Both have 2.6 GHz Pentiums, 512 MB RAM, 120GB hard drives as well as combo DVD/CDRW drives and Win XP Pro. This will be my “daily driver” so to speak - I’m not editing video or playing the latest games, so I don’t need bleeding-edge performance.
Price difference is pretty small - one’s $1,617 and the other’s $1,571. I’ve been seeing a good amount of favorable press on both of these companies. If you were going to buy one of these two computers, which one would you go for and why? (Extra credit question - if neither of these, what other small PC would you get with these specs?
Well, I personally would build my own computer, using one of the Shuttlecubes with the nforce2 motherboard, but if you were chosing between the two, I would have to know exactly what video card that Sleekline system is using; it just says Geforce4, which could mean Geforce4 MX, which is bad, or a Geforce4 Ti, which are very nice cards, and do compete quite well against the GeforceFX 5600 in the Alienware box. The Alienware box says it has a liquid cooling system, which is good, but that 200Watt power supply on it scares me. I personally would build a modern computer with anything less 350 Watt Power supply these days. I don’t know what the Sleekline has for a powersupply.
Neither… they are both way too much money for what you would be getting…
Do you have to have a small computer???
You are paying more for the novelty of the thing… and will get less quality part because of overheating issues…
but if you really need to save the space…
www.mwave.com has some barebone shuttle systems that are small… you just have to add a CPU, RAM, HD, and CD/DVD
and you should be able to save some money… and get the same thing…
On the purely “cool factor”, alienware has some of the neatest colored cases and peripherals. Of course, you (the OP) happened to pick one that was simply black.
You don’t want a small case, you want at least a mid-tower for better ventilation. You never have enough ventilation in computer these days, particularly when you have a fast CPU. There are also questions such as:
how good is the CPU cooler. The Alienware one that says “liquid cooling system,” which I presume to be a water cooling system. That could be problematic however, so unless you are a hobbyist I recommend you stick to an air cooler.
how sturdy is the case.
how big is the power supply. Don’t just rely on the rating on the thing, either.
most combo DVD/CD drivers are mediocre at best, so you need to find out what they use.
I agree with DreadCthulhu that the boxen are too expensive for what you are getting. Better off build one yourself, or buy one from a local screwdriver shop.
Name - both of these units are offered only in Henry Ford black. Alienware’s colors and new large case design are interesting, but wouldn’t be well-received at home. Either of their tower cases won’t fit the available space. (You’d think I was outfitting an RV, but it’s really just a small apartment with no floorspace to put a computer on.)
Dread - my primary requirement on video is DVI to drive an LCD panel. The Sleekline’s video upgrade is only described as GeForce 4 with Nvideo 440 chipset and 64 MB memory. The other DVI option is an AOpen card with no info on chipset or performance.
A 200 watt PS doesn’t scare me as this isn’t a box that’s going to be crammed with drives and power-sucking case lights and such. Just the motherboard, one hard drive and one optical drive.
merge - small isn’t a novelty here. It’s essential! As for rolling my own, by the time I buy a case and a mobo and a proc and drives and cables and so on, I could just get it all delivered ready to boot in 3-4 days with a warranty. It’s also not uncommon for do-it-yourself to wind up costing more since I’d be buying one-offs, rather than having the purchasing power of someone buying drives and chips by the truckoad.
The ability to put the 2" tall Sleekline under my monitor is seductive, but a: I just realized I’d be paying sales tax on it, and b: the Alienware box can be upgraded to a 3.06 GHz HT Pentium for what I’d save in sales tax since they’re in another state. Alienware also has distincly high-performance video options - Radeon 9700 is available for it, but GeForce FX 5200 is probably more than enough. Pixel response time in the LCD sort of negates hyper-fast video frame rates. If it was available with no video, I’d just slap my existing GeForce 2 in there - as long as Word, MS Access and Dreamweaver work well, I’ll be happy.
Just for fun, I configured a low-end Dell desktop with roughly the same stuff (their cheapest video option with DVI is different) and it’s only $60 less all together. Quite frankly, Dell’s pissed me off too many times to buy another of their boxes. The more I think about it, the more I think Alienware is the winner of this little contest.
Since you said the Sleekline had a Geforce 4 with the Nvida 440 chipset, that is an MX card, so definatly go with the Alienware machine. The MX series are little more than souped-up Geforce2s.
Other than the time constraints (money should not be an issue here - I’m sure someone will be rolling 'round soon enough to tally things up), how averse are you to building your own?
I’ve put together a mini-computer (nicknamed 'Pooter 'cause he’s so damn cute) based on the Shuttle SV24 barebones. It’s a tight work area, but it’s still not too difficult to stick everything in there yourself if you’ve done it before.
There’s also a CoolerMaster case that’s about the size of…a (largish) stereo receiver that looks badass and should have decent ventilation and whatnot. If you go the DIY route, you may want to look into it. I’ll dig up a link or a pic or something if you’re interested.
I just built my own, and it’s much more fun. I was even all jazzed because I bought a case just like the Alienware cases. Then they made them way cooler. :mad:
And even after shipping (and the $1.50 for the black CD-RW), it’s about $250 left over, and that’s enough to get you a 15" LCD monitor after shipping. Or spend ~$200 on a hybrid DVD+R/+RW/-R/-RW drive, and have a cool $50 to spend on…I dunno, a steak dinner or something. (Or, if you’re me, an even bigger hard drive. )
d_redguy - Thanks for the price research, but as suspected, it’s more expensive to buy it by the part. My specs were for WinXP Pro and an upgrade to a 3.06 proc became almost free as I wouldn’t be paying tax on it. The difference adds $183, and my 8.5% California sales tax adds $115 to the whole. Sigh… That $250 savings became a $16 overage, and there’s still no warranty or support.
I agree, it would be fun to build a PC again, but right now, I don’t feel like slicing my fingers on drive cages (Sharpest PC I’ve ever been in was an AT&T 6300) or going on a carpet safari for the screw that decided to flee the advancing tip of my screwdriver. And then making another run to the store for a power supply splitter cable so that extra case fan can be plugged in. :smack:
I’m just waiting to hear back from Alienware to see if they’ll be putting the 3.0 GHZ / 800 FSB proc in that case any time soon. I also asked them for a noise spec on the thing.
I’m afraid to ask where you wear your ground strap! :eek: Don’t mind me - I’m warped to begin with and it’s late.
It looks like I’ll go the self-built route. I wasn’t thrilled with Alienware’s answers. If I want to run it 24/7, they advise shutting it off periodically to “rest.” REST?!?! What part of running 24/7 includes shutting it down to cool? If I wanted forced shutdowns, I’d just pick up a 150 MHz eMachine at a garage sale and load WinXP on it. I figured out how to wrestle a couple inches more space out of the desk without involving a Sawzall, so I can wedge a minitower in there. And I do mean wedge. But, 1/8" of clearance = it fits! :rolleyes:
I’m eyeballing the Asus P4C800 mobo as it’s got so much built in - USB, Firewire, SATA, LAN and sound. Not to mention 800 MHz FSB. For now, think I’ll pop a 3.06 P4 in there. The performance difference is nil to minimal between the 3.0 and 3.06, but the price diff is large.
For video, probably an MSI GeForce 4 Ti4200. This card’s apparently dead-quiet, and silence is a lot more important to me than frame rates.
Speaking of silence - Other than PC Power and Cooling, who makes a good quiet PS?
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