I finally ordered my new rig today. Have to say it cost quite a bit more than I initially budgeted, but, oh well, fuck it. I have the money now, and probably won't have any that I can spend like this again for awhile. And, before anyone starts bitching, yes, I ordered from Alienware. I probably could have built it myself, for less money, but I'm only moderately versed in computers, and a couple parts are a bit out of my league. The liguid cooling for the CPU especially. I would hate to fuck that up and ruin my CPU and motherboard, just because I didn't know what I was doing. So I just gave my extra $ to Dell, not to mention the warranty, as well.

Anyways, here's what I ended up going with:

• Alienware Aurora with ALX Chassis
• 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3820 (10M Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1 GHz)
• 8GB Quad Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz(RAM)(I was going to go with 16GB, but if I ever need that, its no biggie to upgrade)
• 4GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 690
• 500GB SS Hybrid MAIN + 1TB 7200RPM Storage
• Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium
• Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
• Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit
• Alienware™ 875 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
• MicroATX Motherboard, Mid-Tower Chassis
• Alienware™ High-Performance CPU Liquid Cooling
• Alienware Active Venting
• Enhanced AlienFX™ System Lighting - 8 Lighting Zones
• Slide-in, tool-less, and cable-free hard drive bays
• Internal Theater Lighting
• Asus VS248H-P 24-Inch Full-HD LED Monitor (Main monitor, 19" Dell for secondary)
• Razer Deathadder Infrared Gaming Mouse
• Logitech G13 Programmable Gameboard with LCD Display (I was going to just get a nice keyboard, but I like what I heard about the G-13)

The estimated delivery is on the 19th. Luckily, I live slightly more than an hour away from the main Dell plant in Round Rock, so it should ship here on time. I also wanted to get a 2560x1200 monitor, but them shits is expensive. Ironic to hear from someone who just dumped $2000 into a pc, I know, but I'll wait until I can find a good deal on one. I also had to order a new desk, speakers, chair, and surge protector, on top of getting my car fixed. Probably should of gotten my car fixed first, but, well, priorities, ya know!

The real question is, what do I do until then? Other than driving my car a couple towns over to get repaired, I'm pretty much sitting around waiting for my pc. I'm chomping at the bit for the Steam summer sale, which is rumored to start on Thursday the 12th. The downside to that is I currently have little to no room on my hard drive. 12GB on my C: drive, and maybe another 10GB on an external. So if I do some shuffling, and top off my external, I'm looking at 20gbs. Not a whole hell of a lot. I've even got box copies of Battlefield 3 and Max Payne 3 sitting on my desk right now, taunting me. Nowhere near enough room for MP3 (35GB is a shit-ton), and maybe just enough for BF3, but my current pc barely meets the minimum requirements, anyway. I want to play both of those games with all the bells and whistles at as steady of a frame rate as possible. From what I've heard, they are 2 of the most gorgeous games yet made.

So, with the exception of buying an ass-load of games from Steam, and not installing them until my new rig gets here, I'm kinda bored. Well, gaming wise, I'm kinda bored. I bought The Darkness 2 and BioShock 1&2 from Amazon. The Darkness 2 was decent, but rather short(as I expected), and although I love BioShock(particularly the first), its not like I haven't played them both several times before. I'm roughly half way through the original(which is still a fantastic game, even several years later), and have hit that point where I'm just trying to get through it, so I can play the second one. I have several games that I'm definitely going to replay, such as The Witcher 2, Skyrim, Arkham City, and Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but I'm waiting on my new rig so I can max them out and behold them in their true glory. Especially Skyrim, which I can't currently run with the HD texture pack(not enough RAM, meaning constant CTDs). So, yet again, waiting on my new rig.

Which brings me back to my current situation, and my question to you Duders and Duderettes( is that even a word?). What should I do for the next 9-10 days? As stated above, I'm bored, so even though game suggestions are welcome, any wild nonsense that the community is famous for is also appreciated,lol.

I'm sure you won't disappoint!

(EDIT: While typing this I got an Email from Dell saying my debit card was declined. Seems I forgot to call my bank and let them know I was going to be making a large purchase online. I got it straightened out, but it set my order back by a day..............FFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU-)

(UPDATE-7/19/12: So for some reason Dell is now telling me that I won't get my PC until the 26th.............Lame.........Super Lame.....)

I bought a laser from amazon and it came 3 days later but it turns out it was defected so Ihave to send it back and wait again. Moral of the story is that I know the feeling of having to wait.

I really hope you got the GTX 690 on a discount, the blu-ray drive for free, and the soundcard for free because all of those are either overkill(the GPU) or not needed(other two). I also hope you're going to do more than just gaming with it cause otherwise you just blew like 5000 dollars. I think paying $1000 for one GPU is just plain stupid but I'm not you. The fact that you bought through Dell doesn't even matter to me. I don't think you'll ever get the value out of that machine at least not the amount of money you put into it.

Nothing like getting a new rig. A buddy and I are both ordering parts to build our own, but I have been getting them shipped in pieces. I myself don't really care for alienware stuff, but that razer mouse is slick. Good luck and hope everything ships in good shape.

@Jazzycola said:

I really hope you got the GTX 690 on a discount, the blu-ray drive for free, and the soundcard for free because all of those are either overkill(the GPU) or not needed(other two). I also hope you're going to do more than just gaming with it cause otherwise you just blew like 5000 dollars. I think paying $1000 for one GPU is just plain stupid but I'm not you. The fact that you bought through Dell doesn't even matter to me. I don't think you'll ever get the value out of that machine at least not the amount of money you put into it.

Yeah, I don't believe in the buying a $1000 GPUs either, for what is currently available gaming-wise, it's definitely not needed. Would have been much cheaper to wait a year or two. I bought a $240 HD7850oc and even then I was wondering whether I paid too much; but that GPU is more than enough to handle today's games.

At least he will slightly future-proof, GPU-wise, but still, I am firmly of the belief of waiting for GPUs to drop in price. $1000 seems like nuts to me.

@SexyToad said:

I bought a laser from amazon and it came 3 days later but it turns out it was defected so Ihave to send it back and wait again. Moral of the story is that I know the feeling of having to wait.

Always nice to know somebody else feels my pain, lol. Waiting sucks!

@Jazzycola said:

I really hope you got the GTX 690 on a discount, the blu-ray drive for free, and the soundcard for free because all of those are either overkill(the GPU) or not needed(other two). I also hope you're going to do more than just gaming with it cause otherwise you just blew like 5000 dollars. I think paying $1000 for one GPU is just plain stupid but I'm not you. The fact that you bought through Dell doesn't even matter to me. I don't think you'll ever get the value out of that machine at least not the amount of money you put into it.

Actually, the 690 was only $800 from Alienware, and I doubt I'll need a new GPU for a rather long time. The Blu-ray drive was only $50 dollars, and seeing as how my pc is the only thing I ever watch movies on, seems like a good deal. As for the sound card being useless, I do all my music recording and editing, as well as playback on my pc, too. I actually do nearly everything with my PC, so I think it was well worth the price. And your estimate of $5000 dollars is really high. Try $2844. Between the hundreds of hours I spend yearly gaming or producing music, I think I'll definitely get that much out of it.

@lead_farmer said:

Nothing like getting a new rig. A buddy and I are both ordering parts to build our own, but I have been getting them shipped in pieces. I myself don't really care for alienware stuff, but that razer mouse is slick. Good luck and hope everything ships in good shape.

Yeah, I've been using a Logitech G5 for a few years, but have heard nothing but awesome things about the DeathAdder. Hope everything ships well for you, too.

@Tsoglani said:

@Jazzycola said:

I really hope you got the GTX 690 on a discount, the blu-ray drive for free, and the soundcard for free because all of those are either overkill(the GPU) or not needed(other two). I also hope you're going to do more than just gaming with it cause otherwise you just blew like 5000 dollars. I think paying $1000 for one GPU is just plain stupid but I'm not you. The fact that you bought through Dell doesn't even matter to me. I don't think you'll ever get the value out of that machine at least not the amount of money you put into it.

Yeah, I don't believe in the buying a $1000 GPUs either, for what is currently available gaming-wise, it's definitely not needed. Would have been much cheaper to wait a year or two. I bought a $240 HD7850oc and even then I was wondering whether I paid too much; but that GPU is more than enough to handle today's games.

Unfortunately, I got the $ from an insurance settlement from a car accident I was in. I have the $ now, and doubt I would have it in a couple of years. I even started a thread asking about the 690, and was told the same from a couple of people. I mainly went with the 690 because A) it was cheaper than 2 680's SLI'd, which I was originally planning on getting, and B) 2 680's took up all the slots in the motherboard, which means I couldn't put in a sound card, which is kinda of essential for some of the music recording and playback I do. I know "Future-proofing" is kind of a misnomer, but I figure when the 690 is obsolete, it won't cost another $800 to upgrade to something better. And even if it does, that's still cheaper than buying a brand new rig. Hell, my current rig is running a 9800 GT, and it plays most things fairly well. But who knows, if I have the $ after doing all the other crap I need to do with it, I might even end up running 3 2560X1200 monitors in Nvidia 3D vision. I just like having the options to take it to the extreme if I want to.

Skyrim will still crash to desktop depending on the texture packs you use. It will not use that 8GB of RAM. Hope you enjoy.

@Samael2138 said:

@SexyToad said:

I bought a laser from amazon and it came 3 days later but it turns out it was defected so Ihave to send it back and wait again. Moral of the story is that I know the feeling of having to wait.

Always nice to know somebody else feels my pain, lol. Waiting sucks!

@Jazzycola said:

I really hope you got the GTX 690 on a discount, the blu-ray drive for free, and the soundcard for free because all of those are either overkill(the GPU) or not needed(other two). I also hope you're going to do more than just gaming with it cause otherwise you just blew like 5000 dollars. I think paying $1000 for one GPU is just plain stupid but I'm not you. The fact that you bought through Dell doesn't even matter to me. I don't think you'll ever get the value out of that machine at least not the amount of money you put into it.

Actually, the 690 was only $800 from Alienware, and I doubt I'll need a new GPU for a rather long time. The Blu-ray drive was only $50 dollars, and seeing as how my pc is the only thing I ever watch movies on, seems like a good deal. As for the sound card being useless, I do all my music recording and editing, as well as playback on my pc, too. I actually do nearly everything with my PC, so I think it was well worth the price. And your estimate of $5000 dollars is really high. Try $2844. Between the hundreds of hours I spend yearly gaming or producing music, I think I'll definitely get that much out of it.

@lead_farmer said:

Nothing like getting a new rig. A buddy and I are both ordering parts to build our own, but I have been getting them shipped in pieces. I myself don't really care for alienware stuff, but that razer mouse is slick. Good luck and hope everything ships in good shape.

Yeah, I've been using a Logitech G5 for a few years, but have heard nothing but awesome things about the DeathAdder. Hope everything ships well for you, too.

The best thing you can do for music recording and editing is getting a good soundcard so I am happy for you there. I do the same thing (producing/recording) and the worst thing I ever did was getting a below average soundcard. I need to upgrade it now. A decent microphone also works wonders for recording vocals.

I think you should be pretty future-proof, that GTX 690 is supposed to be quite a monster. I am just generally wary of pricing for new GPUs.

@Tsoglani said:

The best thing you can do for music recording and editing is getting a good soundcard so I am happy for you there. I do the same thing (producing/recording) and the worst thing I ever did was getting a below average soundcard. I need to upgrade it now. A decent microphone also works wonders for recording vocals.

Yeah, I think the X-fi Titanium should work out nicely. My next purchase will actually be a decent condenser mic, undecided as to which one though. As for vocals, you have to have a really good compressor,too, as well as know how to work an EQ.

Gots to get those vox to ride in the mix just right!

@Samael2138: Just ignore the pre-built haters, and enjoy your PC. You pay a premium, but the support you get from Dell tech support is awesome. I got my Dell XPS 720 and had a few hardware issues within the first year. I called them up, told them what was broken, they got me to run some built in test that generated some number and 5-10 min later I had the new item being over nighted to my place free of charge with no questions asked. 5-6 years later and I have the same PC and I'm still able to play every game on the market at mostly high settings with a 1920x1080 resolution. I can not begin to count the hours of joy this thing has brought me, and it was worth ever penny. Especially if you are still newish to PC's. Having that Dell tech support line always there is such an amazing thing.

The only thing I had to put into the machine over the years was a 460 graphics card to replace my SLI 8800 GTX Ultras that overheated due to cat hair build up and my stupidity of not regularly cleaning out my PC, and a new SSD hard drive that I just bought because I said fuck it I want one. So I got one.

Right now I'm planning to save up to buy a PC in the near future, but I think I'm going to hold off for another year or two. Mainly because it still plays everything on the market fine, and I think it won't start to get pushed to the limit until next year when the new consoles come out. By then there will probably be another chip set revision anyway. So I can ether jump on the bandwagon and get the new one, or get the current hot shit at a bit of a mark down since it would be a gen older at that point. I really want to build this one myself, but I'm terrified as it will be the first time I build a PC from scratch and not just swap out some old RAM or burnt out video cards. Especially since I plan to go with water cooling as my main focus this time around and I can't find any good tutorials on how to install water cooling pipes.

As for things to do while you wait, if you got consoles play on them. You won't ever want to touch the filthy things again once you get your PC. So get in some time while you can before you see the sexy vista that a high end PC can get you and have it make going back to console games look like you are playing on a SNES by comparison.

@Samael2138 said:

@Tsoglani said:

The best thing you can do for music recording and editing is getting a good soundcard so I am happy for you there. I do the same thing (producing/recording) and the worst thing I ever did was getting a below average soundcard. I need to upgrade it now. A decent microphone also works wonders for recording vocals.

Yeah, I think the X-fi Titanium should work out nicely. My next purchase will actually be a decent condenser mic, undecided as to which one though. As for vocals, you have to have a really good compressor,too, as well as know how to work an EQ.

Gots to get those vox to ride in the mix just right!

How much was the X-Fi Titanium? As I mentioned I am in need of a new one. And you are so correct when talking about knowing how to work with the EQ and compression; one of my musician mates a few years ago gave me so many helpful tips on balancing the EQ just right, attack and release, etc, and those tips have worked wonders. I was actually amazed at how much of a difference they can make.

@AlisterCat said:

Skyrim will still crash to desktop depending on the texture packs you use. It will not use that 8GB of RAM. Hope you enjoy.

That makes me a sad panda :(

If I run it on my current rig with the HD texture pack, I can walk around in the world ok, but every time I fast travel or enter a town or dungeon, or hit a load screen, CTD. I had a few people tell me that I just didn't have enough RAM (3GB) . Have to experiment with it on my new rig. Hopefully I can get it running fairly smooth

@Tsoglani: Here's one on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-SB0880-Express-Blaster-Titanium/dp/B001E25KDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341978177&sr=8-1&keywords=Creative+Sound+Blaster+X-Fi+Titanium+PCI+Express+Sound+Card

@crusader8463 said:

@Samael2138: I really want to build this one myself, but I'm terrified as it will be the first time I build a PC from scratch and not just swap out some old RAM or burnt out video cards. Especially since I plan to go with water cooling as my main focus this time around and I can't find any good tutorials on how to install water cooling pipes.

As for things to do while you wait, if you got consoles play on them. You won't ever want to touch the filthy things again once you get your PC. So get in some time while you can before you see the sexy vista that a high end PC can get you and have it make going back to console games look like you are playing on a SNES by comparison.

Yuuuuup! My situation exactly.

I've been using an XPS 420 for a few years, and other than slapping in a better PSU and GPU, I haven't done much with it. The liquid cooling scares the shit out of me, hence why I went with Alienware.

And, I've been gaming exclusively on PC for awhile. I sold my 360 and PS3 about 1 1/2 to 2 years ago. They already feel like, as you put it, a SNES. And my current rig isn't all too shit hot. XPS 420, Nvidia 9800GT, 3GB RAM, Vista 32 bit. Can't wait to max out all my games. Mos def not going back to consoles, unless this next gen does something super awesome, like make me burritos on request!

Jesus Christ that is a great rig!

@DillonWerner said:

Jesus Christ that is a great rig!

Thank you , sir!

Just hope the UPS man is having a good day and doesn't decide to throw it in my yard!

@Samael2138: What video card are you using in your current rig? I'm asking because VRAM plays a bigger part than RAM when it comes to texture packs. I have a 570 (1280 MB VRAM) and 8GB RAM in my rig and if I put too much texture packs and/or some crazy performance sucking ENB mod then I can't get very far without a CTD. You should be able to put A LOT more high-res texture packs than I can with that 690. Also, congrats on the new rig. That thing is a monster.

I got a new rig this year as well that got shipped to me. I know your pain.

@Samael2138 said:

@AlisterCat said:

Skyrim will still crash to desktop depending on the texture packs you use. It will not use that 8GB of RAM. Hope you enjoy.

That makes me a sad panda :(

If I run it on my current rig with the HD texture pack, I can walk around in the world ok, but every time I fast travel or enter a town or dungeon, or hit a load screen, CTD. I had a few people tell me that I just didn't have enough RAM (3GB) . Have to experiment with it on my new rig. Hopefully I can get it running fairly smooth

First, YAY!

Second, you can put all that extra RAM to use with a duel monitor setup. Personally, I plan on having Planetside 2 on my main flatscreen and the updates on the global map on my monitor to keep track of the larger picture of the war. It's gonna be wicked.

/squee!

@MODernChris said:

@Samael2138: What video card are you using in your current rig? I'm asking because VRAM plays a bigger part than RAM when it comes to texture packs. I have a 570 (1280 MB VRAM) and 8GB RAM in my rig and if I put too much texture packs and/or some crazy performance sucking ENB mod then I can't get very far without a CTD. You should be able to put A LOT more high-res texture packs than I can with that 690. Also, congrats on the new rig. That thing is a monster.

I'm running a 9800GT(1024 Mb, I believe), with 3GB RAM. I was using the ENB mod, too, but my PC just couldn't handle it. Even with no mods, just the HD texture pack, same CTD. And thanks, I'm mega stoked to get it!

@Grimhild said:

@Samael2138 said:

@AlisterCat said:

Skyrim will still crash to desktop depending on the texture packs you use. It will not use that 8GB of RAM. Hope you enjoy.

That makes me a sad panda :(

If I run it on my current rig with the HD texture pack, I can walk around in the world ok, but every time I fast travel or enter a town or dungeon, or hit a load screen, CTD. I had a few people tell me that I just didn't have enough RAM (3GB) . Have to experiment with it on my new rig. Hopefully I can get it running fairly smooth

First, YAY!

Second, you can put all that extra RAM to use with a duel monitor setup. Personally, I plan on having Planetside 2 on my main flatscreen and the updates on the global map on my monitor to keep track of the larger picture of the war. It's gonna be wicked.

/squee!

Lol, YAY indeed.

And I'm mos def running dual monitors. Planetside 2 looks awesome, and thats a great idea. Props!

$2000 is pretty cheap for a computer with those specs... The GTX 690 itself costs around $800+.

Congrats! Make sure to send back as soon as possible if there are any technical hitches. Getting new stuff is the greatest.... mmmmmm..... Capitalism.

@LiquidPrince said:

$2000 is pretty cheap for a computer with those specs... The GTX 690 itself costs around $800+.

Well, $2844, before shipping,and when I was thinking of assembling it myself, I couldn't find a 690 for less than a $1000. When I ordered from Alienware the 690 only cost $800, so I was pretty happy with that.

@Samael2138 said:

@LiquidPrince said:

$2000 is pretty cheap for a computer with those specs... The GTX 690 itself costs around $800+.

Well, $2844, before shipping,and when I was thinking of assembling it myself, I couldn't find a 690 for less than a $1000. When I ordered from Alienware the 690 only cost $800, so i was pretty happy with that.

So it's closer to $3000, I SEE...they probably get away with saying it's $800 by throwing in extra charges elsewhere. But yeah, that's a great computer either way.

I remember waiting for a new rig...about 5 times (starting with a 350 hz something or other pent 1) I fully understand..it's exciting but hey, it'l be way better when it's here!

I built my last rig and I will never order again, but I do know that feeling.

I was in Aircrew training for a couple months and didn't have stable DSL/Cable internet, so once I got to my current base I bought the Alienware X51. Needed it for mostly size, and holy shit is it strong.

But to the point, I couldn't focus on work until I had the PC in my room and I waited 2 weeks.

@Grilledcheez said:

@Samael2138 said:

@LiquidPrince said:

$2000 is pretty cheap for a computer with those specs... The GTX 690 itself costs around $800+.

Well, $2844, before shipping,and when I was thinking of assembling it myself, I couldn't find a 690 for less than a $1000. When I ordered from Alienware the 690 only cost $800, so i was pretty happy with that.

So it's closer to $3000, I SEE...they probably get away with saying it's $800 by throwing in extra charges elsewhere. But yeah, that's a great computer either way.

I wouldn't be surprised, but their doing all the work, and its under warranty, so it works with me.

@AlisterCat said:

Skyrim will still crash to desktop depending on the texture packs you use. It will not use that 8GB of RAM. Hope you enjoy.

Skyrim will use up to 4GB since patch 1.3 but due to the way it streams data you have use a lot of mods at one time and a customised ini file combo (tweaking view distance and detail higher than the included config tool alllows). As his machine has 8GB he can comfortably run the game maxed out to hell and back and never reach the limits of his RAM. CTDs from texture packs are from bad texture packs (with corrupt textures/dds headers) or, more likely, from poorly configured ini combos (turning everything up to the highest number will break the game's renderer). CTDs from ENB are not a memory issue but rather a GPU power issue because the GPU gets too busy and leaves the renderer waiting on frames to be filled and so it times out and CTDs when the game throws the timeout error.

Sick rig, thumbs up. Some parts I would do differently but you'll get quite good performance out of it regardless.

Alienware .. Why would you do such a thing ;~;

Edit: I wonder why Alienware put in dedicated soundboards (and a $200 one at that). Most gamers use headsets anyway, don't they?

@Jazzycola said:

I really hope you got the GTX 690 on a discount, the blu-ray drive for free, and the soundcard for free because all of those are either overkill(the GPU) or not needed(other two). I also hope you're going to do more than just gaming with it cause otherwise you just blew like 5000 dollars. I think paying $1000 for one GPU is just plain stupid but I'm not you. The fact that you bought through Dell doesn't even matter to me. I don't think you'll ever get the value out of that machine at least not the amount of money you put into it.

They wouldn't sell them if no one wanted em duder. I am a little sick and tired of folks like you that just assume enthusiasts are idiots for spending money on what they love.

I have my own issues with the 690 (It's two underclocked keplers, not some magical beast, so SI 680's will beat it out and can potentially have a lot more VRAM)

That card will have a lot of benefits though, particularly higher resolutions and AA. And there are still games like Witcher 2 and Metro 2033 that tax even enthusiast rigs.

A sound card can be important if you want to do a more serious audio set-up or want to use an expensive pair of headphones for music, etc.

The bluray comment is just asinine, because bluray is worth it, if you watch blurays, because blurays are fantastic. If you don't watch movies, fine, it's not worth it for you, doesn't mean no one else wants a bluray player.

@Samael2138: Duder, what are you doing, two different monitors AND different sizes? Bad juju duder, you should always try and get the same two screens, or at least keep the sizes the same, if you ever want to do multimonitor gaming (dual monitor is pretty crumy, but triple screen is fuckin awesome).

I'd also give you shit for your mouse but I'm done trying to scare people off of razer mice. Hope it works out for you, make sure you get a good mouse surface, I'm a fan of steel series, even if they never keep their smoother surfaces around.

Otherwise, enjoy your rig! It's gunna be awesome, make sure and pick up stuff like Crysis and Metro and Witcher and Battlefield to show off the pretty polygons!

I'm about to build a rig, maybe I'll do a blog post on my plans so far. Very similar to yours honestly, with a 680 (plans to SLI after I finish the build). Honestly the only thing there that could be "wasted money" is W7, but I think Dell (someone, anyway) is doing a "buy W7 machines now, get W8 free" and it's included in the price anyway, as far as I remember. But W8 is coming out in a couple months anyway and is only going to be like 40 bucks, you could get by on the W7 trial until W8 came around, if you re-arm.

I need to decide if I want to go for a 2011 mobo or not, those CPUs are super hot but the socket is ALREADY DEAD. I think I'm a little more sweet on the Ivy Bridge high end quad core.

@Droop said:

Alienware .. Why would you do such a thing ;~;

Edit: I wonder why Alienware put in dedicated soundboards (and a $200 one at that). Most gamers use headsets anyway, don't they?

I think I made myself perfectly clear as to why I went with Alienware. I live in a part of town that is zoned industrial, meaning no noise ordinance. I can crank up the volume of my games, movies, and music whenever I want. Its 4:40 in the morning here and I'm blasting Mos Def like there's no tomorrow. Using headsets is kinda pointless, unless I'm playing multi-player.

@MordeaniisChaos said:

@Jazzycola said:

I really hope you got the GTX 690 on a discount, the blu-ray drive for free, and the soundcard for free because all of those are either overkill(the GPU) or not needed(other two). I also hope you're going to do more than just gaming with it cause otherwise you just blew like 5000 dollars. I think paying $1000 for one GPU is just plain stupid but I'm not you. The fact that you bought through Dell doesn't even matter to me. I don't think you'll ever get the value out of that machine at least not the amount of money you put into it.

They wouldn't sell them if no one wanted em duder. I am a little sick and tired of folks like you that just assume enthusiasts are idiots for spending money on what they love.

I have my own issues with the 690 (It's two underclocked keplers, not some magical beast, so SI 680's will beat it out and can potentially have a lot more VRAM)

That card will have a lot of benefits though, particularly higher resolutions and AA. And there are still games like Witcher 2 and Metro 2033 that tax even enthusiast rigs.

A sound card can be important if you want to do a more serious audio set-up or want to use an expensive pair of headphones for music, etc.

The bluray comment is just asinine, because bluray is worth it, if you watch blurays, because blurays are fantastic. If you don't watch movies, fine, it's not worth it for you, doesn't mean no one else wants a bluray player.

@Samael2138: Duder, what are you doing, two different monitors AND different sizes? Bad juju duder, you should always try and get the same two screens, or at least keep the sizes the same, if you ever want to do multimonitor gaming (dual monitor is pretty crumy, but triple screen is fuckin awesome).

I'd also give you shit for your mouse but I'm done trying to scare people off of razer mice. Hope it works out for you, make sure you get a good mouse surface, I'm a fan of steel series, even if they never keep their smoother surfaces around.

Otherwise, enjoy your rig! It's gunna be awesome, make sure and pick up stuff like Crysis and Metro and Witcher and Battlefield to show off the pretty polygons!

I'm about to build a rig, maybe I'll do a blog post on my plans so far. Very similar to yours honestly, with a 680 (plans to SLI after I finish the build). Honestly the only thing there that could be "wasted money" is W7, but I think Dell (someone, anyway) is doing a "buy W7 machines now, get W8 free" and it's included in the price anyway, as far as I remember. But W8 is coming out in a couple months anyway and is only going to be like 40 bucks, you could get by on the W7 trial until W8 came around, if you re-arm.

I need to decide if I want to go for a 2011 mobo or not, those CPUs are super hot but the socket is ALREADY DEAD. I think I'm a little more sweet on the Ivy Bridge high end quad core.

Well, first the monitors. I'm using the 24" for a main, doing all my gaming and movie watching. The 19" Dell is the one I'm currently using, and is more for opening wikis and also monitoring all the music recording and editing I do. Using DAWs on one screen sucks. You're constantly minimizing and restoring all the windows for different plug-ins. If I have the funds available, I'm definitely going to get another 24". But for now, I'm using what I have.

As for the mouse, I've been using a Logitech G5 forever, and got the Razer DeathAdder for less than $50. If I don't like it, I'll just go back to my G5.

Crysis 2 Maximum Edition is pretty high on my list. Hoping it gets super cheap during the Steam summer sale. Although it's published by EA, so I'm not holding my breath. Already have The Witcher 2, can't wait to crank that up. That game is breathtakingly beautiful. I played Metro when it first came out, although on a 360. I'll definitely get it again though. And I've got a box copy of Battlefield sitting here waiting on my new rig. So, I'm right with you on those suggestions.

My original build for this PC was with 2 680's SLI, and I totally agree with you, but, I wouldn't have room for the soundcard, which I need for music production.

Good luck with your new rig, hope it goes swimmingly!

@MordeaniisChaos: Hey that's just my cup of tea on the GPU. As for the blu-ray, I find disc drives to be redundant if you're already taking advantage of the streaming services out there. Cheaper cost of movies and saves you shelf space. Seeing as he's buying his games on steam I'd say he has the broadband to support it. And one comment on the GPU, 2 GTX 670s are equivalent to the GTX 690 on resolutions under 2560X1600.

Also, you don't need to press enter after every single line to make yourself look like you're saying more than you actually are.

@Jazzycola said:

@MordeaniisChaos: Hey that's just my cup of tea on the GPU. As for the blu-ray, I find disc drives to be redundant if you're already taking advantage of the streaming services out there. Cheaper cost of movies and saves you shelf space. Seeing as he's buying his games on steam I'd say he has the broadband to support it. And one comment on the GPU, 2 GTX 670s are equivalent to the GTX 690 on resolutions under 2560X1600.

Also, you don't need to press enter after every single line to make yourself look like you're saying more than you actually are.

Except the streaming service out there don't support 1080p for the most part, let alone the bit rate and audio quality/channels that a Bluray will offer, and disks don't go away. If you know about a place I can stream Bluray quality movies legally, please, let me know, because that'd be awesome, although I couldn't use it much seeing as I'm on about 100 GB a month, which isn't much when you follow Giantbomb and download PC games off of steam. But the main issue is quality. Low bitrate 720p is fine for watching something like The Office, and for that, I have Netflix, and I love the instant access. But for movies, especially ones I really care about, I want a bluray, because A) I know that'll always be instantly watchable as long as I have it on hand, and B) it's very high quality.

Just saying "STREAMING EASY, MUST BE BETTER," is about as Cavemanish as it sounds. I'd happily buy a bluray player just to know I can watch the LotR and Serenity blurays, not to mention all of the other awesome films on bluray that are worth having if your a fan of film.

Yes, I know that 2 670's are essentially what a GTX 590 is. Is that not what I fuckin said? You know what's better than two slow 670s right next to each other burning up like a jet engine? Two separately cooled, fully clocked 680's. And there are 690's out there that cost as much as two 680's cost together. The 690 is for those too scared to do SLI the old fashioned way (a reasonable feeling) and so they just go with a 590, or people who buy into the crap and don't really know what they are paying for. Dual cards are actually silly, because their just expensive SLI setups that aren't even the best SLI you could get at that price. Look at the 590, which used a wopping 700 watts of power, cost way too much, was massive and noisy. Compare that with two decent, seperate, full speed 570's and you'ld probably get better performance, and certainly betters temps/noise levels.

I'm not even going to touch that other than "damned if I do, damned if I don't." I guess I can also give it a "sick burn brah." Der der der.

@MordeaniisChaos: First off we're not talking about you specifically are we. Second, Streaming is cheaper, more portable, and, as long as you're not some videophile, just as good as blu-ray. Now if you have an attachment to the physical discs, are a videophile, or don't have the internet to support it then it's probably better for said person. The last part is what you said so get some glasses. Not to mention it wasn't an attack so stop vehemently defending yourself. A GTX 690 is essentially 2 GTX 670s under the hood. I'm just starting to think you're mad at the comment of paying for a $1000 gpu for gaming use is stupid. Look hey sorry I hurt your feelings for commenting on buying a 690 or any other comment. Granted, I should've worded better to not attack the buyer but hey that's the internet for you. (no tone)

Edit: If you want to continue to argue with yourself go ahead but this has derailed this thread enough.

@Jazzycola: My entire issue was that you came off like a total dick to the guy just because he bought things you didn't find worthwhile, and you WERE talking about the original poster who clearly wants the stuff he got otherwise he never would have gone for it. I don't even like the 690 and you think it has anything to do with that? I just can't stand dickheads who have to pick apart someone's purchase or choice just because they behave in a way you wouldn't. If you were just trying to say "not what I would have done but more power to you" your issue was well beyond tone. You just said a bunch of the shit he paid for was a waste, basically. You say it's not about me, but I wasn't making it about me, I was pointing out the positives that he could see in his purchases. You just spoke as if only your opinion mattered and everyone else's needs and wants were moot.

Value is a great thing and a lot of people should focus on it, but attacking a guy (who it's pretty clear knows what he wants and why he wants it) just because he doesn't cling to your sense of value isn't going to help anyone, at all. Just makes you come off as a pushy dick instead of helpful in any way.

@Samael2138: Makes sense, I currently have differnet sized monitors and personally it drives me nuts, but I'm a little crazy that way. Plus I eventually want to play Dirt 2/3 on a tri-screen setup because my past adventures into multiscreen driving games has been pretty awesome :3

Ah, having a backup G5 is a pretty good place to be.

I'd also recommend the original Crysis, seeing that with AA and super silky framerates is... man... it's amazing. I think I actually prefer that engine/the visuals in the original to 2, but then I never was able to run 2 super well. Hell, wait until Crysis 3 comes around, that game looks stunning in the shots they've released so far.

You might also try some emulation if that's your thing. It's so easy to turn your PC into an awesome Wii or what have you. It's one thing I am certainly considering when I finish my build, getting all the hardware I need for Wii emulation, and playing the few Wii games I want to play like the Mario Galaxy games and all that.

I'm paying the premium for a mobo with enough room to spare even after a couple of 680s so I should be able to go SI with two 680's and still have a sound card in mine. As long as you're going for it because of needs and not just "hey look, that's expensive, it must be worth it, you'll be fine. The 590 is still a monster and will do very well for ya.

@MordeaniisChaos: @Jazzycola: Duders, chiiiilllll!!!!

I can't say that I'm not amused, but, this blog/thread was more about the wait than a weenie wagging contest about GPUs. I am well aware of how much it cost, because I'm the one who payed for it. As I stated previously, I started a thread on the PC forum a week or two ago, asking about the 690. I know that I could get more out of 2 680s SLI, but again, it would take up all the slots on my mobo and I wouldn't be able to have a sound card. This rig is for gaming AND music production, so a good soundcard is ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. I could have went with a single 680, but the 690 was the best option to get as close to SLI 680s, yet still get the sound card I need. And, the 690 from Alienware was $800, they wanted $950 for SLI 680's. I used that extra $150 to get the 500GB SSD+1TB 7200rpm HD. I would rather have the sound card and an SSD, than 680s SLI and no soundcard.

Not dissing either one you, even though, in his opinion, @Jazzycola called me stupid, lol. No worries, bro! As a white boy in central Texas that plays Reggae and Ska to live audiences, I've been called MUCH, MUCH worse than that (there are some very ignorant/racist rednecks in these parts).

I'm experienced enough on the internet to realize any time you start a thread you should expect these kind of things. Just keep it civil. Please.

And, another thing, out of 30 some odd replies, I've only received 1 suggestion as of what to do while waiting. Guess that's my fault for posting a blog that's TL:DR! Although compared to my last Blog, I thought I kept it rather short and coherent.

@MordeaniisChaos: *690

@Samael2138: Trust me, nothing will help the butterflies in your stomach waiting for a sick new rig. Except maybe constant lovemaking. Maybe.

@MordeaniisChaos said:

@Samael2138: Trust me, nothing will help the butterflies in your stomach waiting for a sick new rig. Except maybe constant lovemaking. Maybe.

Lol, unfortunately that's not an option. Haven't had much luck with the ladies, as of late, but, then again, I technically live in a shed(shed is a bit of a misnomer, my Pops and I took the Quonset Hut in our back field and remodeled it into a music studio. Super nice on the inside, but from outside it looks like, well, a shed.), and its hard to lure a woman into a shed. Did I just say lure?........ I meant entice....yeah, that's the word ....entice. The last girl a friend of mine tried to hook me up with was 17 & pregnant. I'm 30 and there was no way in hell that I was going to deal with a fucking teenage girls drama, especially a pregnant teenage girl!!

I'm currently re-watching The Wire, so all 5 seasons of that excellent show should last until next Thursday.....I hope

@MordeaniisChaos: I've been here long enough to see your name do the exact same thing. I admit that the first post was really poorly worded and insulted the buyer but hey it happens to everyone.

@Samael2138: Made the post rather fast so I did come off as a dick, that I do apologize for. I was making a comment, however poorly worded comment, that's really stands for 95% of the population. I went through the same thing when I built my system 2 years ago. I ended up getting a 9800 GTX+ then upgrading 2 months later to a GTX 460. During which I had to constrain myself to not buy the amazingly fast GTX 480. It wasn't that I didn't have the money, cause I did. I knew that if I did I wouldn't be using it to it's full potential. I did end up getting a second GTX 460 after a $150 price drop. So in the end i had a 480 equivalent but for $200 cheaper. In your case you don't have the option for SLIing so you minus well dump that full 800 at the moment which I didn't know from the OG post.

One thing I hope for is that Dell's customer service is a whole lot better than it was 8 years ago. My mom got me a Dell Dimension 8400 from them in 2004 for my 14th bday, dead on arrival. Took them a month to bring a guy out to put in a new mobo which also ended up not working. Wait another month for them to ship another system out as they figure its just a dud. They never asked for the dud back so got it fixed by an IT dude about a year later(forget what was wrong with it but it worked fine after that). Though, I guess the good thing about their bad customer service at the time is I got 2 PCs for the price of one.

@Jazzycola: Like I said, no worries. I've got pretty thick skin, lol.

I was actually on the phone with Dell earlier today, because they couldn't get the charge accepted on my debit card. Other than deciphering(what I believe to be) a rather thick Indian accent, they took care of my issue fairly quickly, and my order is already in production. Just hoping it ships okay. I live roughly an hour away from their main plant in Round Rock, Texas, so hopefully nothing catastrophic happens between there and here! Fingers Crossed!!

Try waiting a month.

I had to wait a month to get my new Macbook Pro Retina. Allllmost died.

@Panpipe said:

Try waiting a month.

I had to wait a month to get my new Macbook Pro Retina. Allllmost died.

Uuugghhh.....that sounds terrible. I'm just trying to keep my self occupied for the next 8 days. Waiting a month sounds rough!

@Samael2138: Heh. After about 2 weeks I was in a blissful state of zen.

Sadly, when UPS fucked up the delivery and it was delayed for 2 days I acted like a child for an entire day.

@Panpipe: Yeah, UPS is good at that kind of stuff. I just keep telling myself "Patience is A Virtue", and all that jazz

You really don't save much by building your own pc. I ended up building my own mostly because I wanted to know exactly what I was getting for my money. They don't put it together for free, so you will save that money by spending an evening or 2 assembling it yourself.

Order a domino's pizza and use the pizza tracker to watch it made...?

Rinse. Repeat.

That is a killer setup you're getting, congrats! I'm a little jealous though, I've been making do with 6 year old hardware and have recently started teasing myself with the thought of upgrading (this at a time when I have less money for indulgences than ever). On the plus side, I've been getting reaquainted with some good old PC games.

Waiting for deliveries is a bitch, but the way I do it is I try and forget that I've ordered anything at all, so don't torment yourself over the wait. You could do what I do and enjoy some good ol' games for the time being.

@cclemon36 said:

That is a killer setup you're getting, congrats! I'm a little jealous though, I've been making do with 6 year old hardware and have recently started teasing myself with the thought of upgrading (this at a time when I have less money for indulgences than ever). On the plus side, I've been getting reaquainted with some good old PC games.

Waiting for deliveries is a bitch, but the way I do it is I try and forget that I've ordered anything at all, so don't torment yourself over the wait. You could do what I do and enjoy some good ol' games for the time being.

I've been using a rather outdated setup for awhile now, also. If the Steam sales starts tomorrow as rumored, I should be fairly entertained until delivery. Here's to hoping it actually starts tomorrow!

@crusader8463: I would not call dell support "awesome." But I know what you meant. Having warranty support from a company is far better than the individual warranties of the parts (because it can be a pain to fix yourself if you're not into that stuff)

@Samael2138 said:

@Jazzycola: Like I said, no worries. I've got pretty thick skin, lol.

I was actually on the phone with Dell earlier today, because they couldn't get the charge accepted on my debit card. Other than deciphering(what I believe to be) a rather thick Indian accent, they took care of my issue fairly quickly, and my order is already in production. Just hoping it ships okay. I live roughly an hour away from their main plant in Round Rock, Texas, so hopefully nothing catastrophic happens between there and here! Fingers Crossed!!

Man, I had that shit happen with amazon two weeks ago. My Turtle Beach headphones (I'm on a budget) broke and I had to order a new pair ASAP*, even paid for two day shipping. Didn't recieve notification until two days later that they couldn't bill my card for some reason.

*I have no other reasonable audio solution to skype with people and play games.