Help please! Alienware vs Scan 3xs systems both spec'd need to decide

[arbitor]

Well i must admit The equipment was fine, the ac97 sound on some of the desktops was a large issue..

But at the end of the day they are slightly overpriced.. they do look awesome and you will get respect from all people that donbt know much about pcs for ever.. But i mean for the fact that they cant provide enough detail on what the motherboard is ect ect i would go scan

[Blood]

Id pick scan too purely on the fact they actually say what your getting, as most people here have said.

[Dreaming]

Scan's specs didn't say what motherboard they were using did they? Make sure they give you a new p35 chipset one, performance increases of 5-10% over nvidia 680i chipset if I recall correctly.

Personally I'd never let someone else build my system for me as it's a hobby to me. It seems alien just thinking about it. Scan are pretty good though, the only complaint they ever get is about their courier which is out of their hands really.

Although if I might be so rude to say, getting a good system now and then another good system in 18 months is probably better than getting an awesome system now and in 3 years time having the same rig. I mean, it'll still run, probably very well, just... it wont be as awesome as it once was

[Spartans]

Scan's specs didn't say what motherboard they were using did they? Make sure they give you a new p35 chipset one, performance increases of 5-10% over nvidia 680i chipset if I recall correctly.

This is the scan motherboard is an Asus P5B Deluxe/WiFi-AP iP965, S775, PCI-E (x16), DDR2 533/667/800, SATA II, SATA RAID, ATX

The Aienware is an NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard with FSB at 1333MHz

I have had more time to think about this, I am taking the monitor option out of both specs and will go with the new Samsung 22" SyncMaster 226BW.

I have also taken out the TV tuner from the Scan system, as I really want a Card that allows me to copy VHS tape onto my HDD whilst still having Digital In, none of the Scan cards provide both.

The Alienware Spec I am looking at now for a Quad Core and 4Gig RAM ( 4-4-4-12) I spoke to Alienware and they said they use various sources for RAM, but all are high quality, and they would be happy to let me know when building what is going in so that I can object and they change RAM. Price is around £2,100. The Scan now comes in at £1,900.

Both systems are almost identical, and I am hopelessly torn. I want to submit this order at some point tonight so that they can start getting underway before the weekend.

I appreciate that most people here have pointed me towards Scan, so why am I still debating the Alienware? Have I been so brainwashed on the brand?

Aaaargh

[arbitor]

Yes yo have been brainwashed to an extent, they look sexy, they are expensive and you probably always wanted one, now you are in a position to buy one your not thinking..

But either of those systems will be great, i just reckon go scan because they arent owned by dell?

[Blood]

Either way its going to be a humdinger of a system, one you will definatley enjoy

[Dreaming]

Yea, as others have said you can't really go wrong with either of the systems. If it was my £2,000... I think just on past experience I'd go with scan because I trusted them.

[mcmiller]

yes you have been brainwashed lol but if your bothered about the looks of the machine choose the p180 case that is a seriously sexy case lol

[amjedm]

One of the guys at work has had a horrible horrible horrible experience with Alienware.

The machine packed up one day and he contacted Alienware, after a short chat the UK Support guy refused to speak to them and they ended up being put through to the US. The guy there was very helpful.

Once they opened the case they realised the machine hadn't been together too well and cables were lying in the bottom of the case. Alienware arranged for the machine to be picked up.

Two months down the line the machine has been returned, actually may have been longer. He was about to get a Solicitors letter off to them asking for a refund.

Moral of the story - go for Scan.

[Spartans]

I completely forgot about Chillblast:

Akasa Mirage-62 Aluminum Case

CPU:Intel Core 2 Quadro Extreme QX6700 2.66GHz Quad Core overclocked to 3.0GHz

Total Ram 4 Gig

Corsair XMS2-6400 C4 TwinX PC2-6400 2GB

Memory 2:

Corsair XMS2-6400 C4 TwinX PC2-6400 2GB

Motherboard:
Asus P5B Deluxe Motherboard LGA775

Asus Geforce 8800 GTX 768MB PCIe Retail

Optical Drive:
NEC AD7173A 18x DL DVD±RW LabelFlash Black OEM IDE

PSU:
OCZ GameXStream 600W PSU ATX 2.01
OCZ GameXStream 600W PSU ATX 2.01

Black Internal 3.5" 17-in-1 Card Reader

Hard Drive 1:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB 16MB Cache SATA-II

Hard Drive 2:
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB 16MB Cache SATA-II
Sound Card:
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio

Operating System:
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-Bit OEM
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-Bit OEM

Warranty:
Chillblast 2 year collect and return warranty with lifetime support


Keyboard and Mouse:
Logitech Cordless Desktop MX5000 Laser Keyboard & Mouse

Total products cost inc.VAT: £2,118.38



This looks like a no brainer guys, that system is awesome, it is actually superior to the other two, and has an extra year's warranty thrown in.

Any views on Chillblast, if the response is good this system is as good as ordered.

[arbitor]

Another factor of selling as many machines as alienware do compaired to scan.

Same as we get told to stop slating mesh, yes they appear crap but they sheer numbers of machines means more problems.

Now scan sell nowhere near as many machines as alienware i doubt so i mean they aren't comparable on that front

[arbitor]

Custom pc have always rated chillblast

[kasavien]

If it's not too late to give advice, i'd go for the scan system, indeed i did last year Scan built the computer i'm currently using and it's superb. There were a few problems (basically software issues) when i received the machine, but their customer service was truly amazing, everything was sorted and it's been working perfectly ever since. Everything is very well put together and solidly built. Delivery wasn't a problem, it was sent in a mahoosive box and very well packaged and they sent the boxes for the components that are inside too! It is a bit noisy but that's my fault for getting a cheaper motherboard with a whiny fan instead of a passive heatsink lol. Anyway scan will always be getting my pc orders whenever i need a new one!

Hope this helps

Andy

[arbitor]

Its a tough question you have asked to be fair, i dont know if there is any alienware owners on here, so there goes your advice, alot of the people on this forum buy from scan so they even if they have bought a screen and received good CS are reccomending scan on no real basis of the machine,

is there not an alienware owners club or forum, same with chill blast you can check out?

[Blitzen]

The point MANY people are missing is the customer service factor.

Basically, we all know that the Scan machine would be every bit as powerful as the Alien Ware one.

The Alien ware has the bling factor to push it up and a system bought because of this bling is a blinkered decision.

Where Scan will stand head and shoulders over almost all others is that if anything goes wrong you have this forum, a phone number for immediately assistance and 100% knowledgable people to help you out.

No-one has actually given a reason to go AW over Scan yet.

[kalniel]

Problem with half the people on here sprartans is they haven't used alienware....
I have used them but not bought..

Its a tough question you have asked to be fair, i dont know if there is any alienware owners on here, so there goes your advice, alot of the people on this forum buy from scan so they even if they have bought a screen and received good CS are reccomending scan on no real basis of the machine,

It's not for you to assume why people are recommending SCAN - in fact it's a bit off for you to say people are recommending them on no real basis.

There are people who have experience of Alienware machines here, of course. Rubbishing other peoples advice is petty, and ill-informed. And you don't need to repeat yourself