Should I go Alienware or Macbook ?

DKushner · Post by **DKushner** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 3:46 pm

Can someone post the link to the KVR thread where they are charting when things will be universal?

Digi V · Post by **Digi V** » Sun Apr 09, 2006 3:51 pm

DKushner wrote:Can someone post the link to the KVR thread where they are charting when things will be universal?

yeah i searched the KVR forum for that to and couldln't find it.

DKrushner- hope you do know there are some hardware issues going around with the macbook as well.

those should be almost gone by this summer.

kenn michael · Post by **kenn michael** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:19 am

they should actually be gone now... they're already at version D of the MacBook motherboard for crissake!

i don't think people who buy now and get a version D will experience the whine, etc...

i have a version B and even though the whine is there faintly (doesn't bother me), the rest of the machine is perfect.

the machine is WAY more quiet than my previous 17" G4 Powerbook.

Digi V · Post by **Digi V** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:24 am

kenn michael wrote:they should actually be gone now... they're already at version D of the MacBook motherboard for crissake!

i don't think people who buy now and get a version D will experience the whine, etc...

i have a version B and even though the whine is there faintly (doesn't bother me), the rest of the machine is perfect.

the machine is WAY more quiet than my previous 17" G4 Powerbook.

kenn if you didn't see my other thread....

i got a version D. my machine was built on april 1st, shipped on the third.

i had my macbook replaced on the 5th and i still have the occasional cpu whine.

no lcd whine, no heat issues, just the cpu whine.

it has to be software related.

MrYellow · Post by **MrYellow** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 4:48 am

I am so crazy angry with Alienware right now I can't even begin to explain. It's been over a month since the estimated ship date on my computer, and they are still only in phase 4 of building it. And the graphics card- they've had the graphics card on backorder the whole time. They keep telling me new dates the graphics card is expected in. The most recent is the 04-21-06! When I get home from work I'll compile the whole line of dialogue between me and their customer service department from all these emails. This shit is infuriating.

Ask for a different graphics card.....

Done.

-Ben

DKushner · Post by **DKushner** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 5:09 am

I'll do it, if they throw in the upgrade for free. I dont want a different graphics card, I want the one I ordered. When I ordered, the graphics card was supposedly in. Right now, everything but the top of the line graphics card is on backorder. I don't want to spend $400 just to get the computer sooner- especialy when I feel I shouldn't have to.

digitalb0y · Post by **digitalb0y** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 10:43 pm

I didn't read all five pages of this thread, so hopefully not all of this is repeat info, but as someone who's owned an Alienware Area-51m 3.2GHz with 2GB of RAM, I can tell you that it SHOULD have been pretty well-suited for doing audio work, expecially for the 3 grand I paid for it. Granted, many advancements have been made since the one I bought, but their options are still limiting and their company sucks.

My problems: I had to replace the fan and heatsink once because it was overheating, even though I didn't think there was anything wrong with the fan and heatsink that was already in there. The thing stopped overheating for a while, but it started again, two days AFTER my warranty expired. Tech support wouldn't even TALK to me after the warranty was done, they kept referring me to sales, as if I'd ever buy another Alienware. I also had a RAM chip fail on me after a year, causing several BSODs a week. That was while the machine was still under warranty, but all of the testing software Alienware supported, as well as the stress software said both chips were fine, so I had to pay for new RAM chips, which low and behold, solved the BSOD problem.

Other problems with this piece of garbage waffle iron include extreme size and weight, and the loudest fan I've ever heard in a laptop. In fact, it's the loudest fan I've ever heard in any computer, unless you factor in fans that are breaking down. The machine cooks itself after running Ableton for 45 minutes, even with a cooling usb fan pad under it and with Windows as stripped-down and minimal as I can make it. Sure, it's fast as hell, especially for 3-year-old machine, but my new macbook can't get here fast enough. Don't buy Alienware if you want an audio machine.

C

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:14 pm

digitalb0y wrote:I didn't read all five pages of this thread, so hopefully not all of this is repeat info, but as someone who's owned an Alienware Area-51m 3.2GHz with 2GB of RAM, I can tell you that it SHOULD have been pretty well-suited for doing audio work, expecially for the 3 grand I paid for it. Granted, many advancements have been made since the one I bought, but their options are still limiting and their company sucks.

My problems: I had to replace the fan and heatsink once because it was overheating, even though I didn't think there was anything wrong with the fan and heatsink that was already in there. The thing stopped overheating for a while, but it started again, two days AFTER my warranty expired. Tech support wouldn't even TALK to me after the warranty was done, they kept referring me to sales, as if I'd ever buy another Alienware. I also had a RAM chip fail on me after a year, causing several BSODs a week. That was while the machine was still under warranty, but all of the testing software Alienware supported, as well as the stress software said both chips were fine, so I had to pay for new RAM chips, which low and behold, solved the BSOD problem.

Other problems with this piece of garbage waffle iron include extreme size and weight, and the loudest fan I've ever heard in a laptop. In fact, it's the loudest fan I've ever heard in any computer, unless you factor in fans that are breaking down. The machine cooks itself after running Ableton for 45 minutes, even with a cooling usb fan pad under it and with Windows as stripped-down and minimal as I can make it. Sure, it's fast as hell, especially for 3-year-old machine, but my new macbook can't get here fast enough. Don't buy Alienware if you want an audio machine.

C

I'm running an M-Tech D900T, which is the EXACT same thing as the Alienware laptops from last years. The Area-51.

It has performed quite well for audio. While the CPU is a desktop Pentium 4, which is clearly dated by the Core Duo standards.... it has dual hard drives in Raid 0. This fact makes the performance screaming fast in Ableton.

However.... having said that... I would not recommend purchasing a Pentium 4 laptop anymore. The technology in the new Core 2 Duo chips really does make more sense with Ableton 6.0. Plus you get lots of power, in a lightweight laptop, with better battery performance.

Alienware is already making laptops with Core 2 Duo, which weigh mich less than the desktop replacements they make. The prices are also way below the prices at Apple, who charges more for older technology. (ie Core Duo vs. Core 2 Duo)

I think the real reason the original poster is having such a delay with the Alienware system is because he is trying to order something which is pretty much getting phased out. I don't think they will be selling Pentium 4 laptops much longer. They probably don't have some of the parts around, and they are tough to get now.

err_eur · Post by **err_eur** » Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:47 pm

Ok i was wrong Alienware makes Core 2 laptops, but they seem to be overpriced to me and I think they look silly..........

subterFUSE · Post by **subterFUSE** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:09 am

err_eur wrote:Alienware is useless............they are still using Pentium 4 and AMD chips. Overpriced crap......don't waste your money on those or the Voodoo's....just designer bullshit, they are no faster than something you can get at CompUSA for half the price.

The "moment" in "computing" does not belong to MAC, or Windows.

It's all about Intel's CORE 2 DUO processors. Whichever you choose, PC or MAC, just MAKE SURE YOU WAIT A MONTH OR TWO and get a CORE 2 laptop,

make sure it has one of these inside, that's all you need to worry about, make sure it's 667 Mhz Front Side Bus, not 533 Mhz.........oh and as 1-2 Gigabytes, and.......................important.........a 7200 RPM hard drive.......

do NOT GET A PENTIUM 4 computer, they are obsolete, they get too hot, consume too much battery, require loud fans, the computers are more prone to break because the heat they generate melts the rest of the computer's components if they are left on for long periods of time, i.e. it won't last long if you use it a lot.........the Pentium 4's were not designed to be used in a laptop.....TOO HOT!!!!

Thank you for the huge text reply.

Perhaps you may consider checking your information before making such bold statements, however.

Alienware does make Core 2 Duo laptops. They have been doing so for quite some time now, actually.

http://www.alienware.com/intro_pages/pr ... core2.aspx

You don't like Alienware. That's fine. Just say so. But don't toss around false information.

I do agree with you that Core 2 Duo is the way to go now. My Pentium 4 laptops works great, and I've used it for many many hours non-stop. But like I said above, the technology in the Core 2 Duo is the future.

glu · Post by **glu** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:34 am

I already posted this before... but I am looking into HP which has some great options.

Then I saw this gateway that has an internal 7200RPM drive. Still trying to decide...

Gateway® NX560XL $1224.00

Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5600 (1.83 GHz, 667MHz FSB, 2MB L2 Cache)

Memory: 2048MB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (2-1024MB modules) (limited time promotion)

Screen: 15.4" WXGA Ultrabright TFT Active Matrix (1200 x 800 max. resolution)

Hard Drive: 80GB 7200rpm Serial ATA hard drive

Optical Drive: Modular 8x Multi-Format Double Layer DVD Writer (DVD±R/±RW/CD-RW)

Expansion Slots: One type II PC card slot

External Ports: (4) USB 2.0, VGA, S-Video (TV Out), IEEE 1394 (FireWire)
Video: ATI Mobility™ Radeon® X1400 128MB Graphics (up to 256MB HyperMemory)

Battery: Primary 6-cell lithium-ion battery with AC pack

Network Adapter: Integrated Intel® 10/100/1000 Ethernet adapter

Spikee · Post by **Spikee** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 2:57 am

FWIW... I bought an Alienware m-7700 machine in May. I got it a week after I ordered it, I've had it on for extended periods of time with no noticeable depriciating output, and it runs like a beast. When I was running 5 the cpu benchmark set clocked in at 29%, now it clocks in at 19% in L6. Yeah the thing is hot, fairly heavy and a little noisy but I don't really understand why noise is a factor anyways. If you're recording you should be taking the right precautions, whether it's propping your mic in a different area of your house, turning off the dehumidifier in the basement, whatever may be a contaminate in your session. And for the weight... I'm frankly just happy that I don't now have to tote around a 50 lb desktop tower and a 30 lb monitor.

I'm not advocating a purchase for any given company, I just felt that it should be fair to point out that I've been pleased to the fullest with my machine. I also think the OP failed to point out that the backorder on video cards wasn't Alienware's fault but ATI's and subsequent posters that have posted about stuff failing don't seem to grasp that laptops have a much higher failure rate than desktops because you're basically trying to cram 10 pounds of crap into a 5 pound case, if you dig the metaphor... but in summary, I went out looking for portability, processing power and dual harddrives if possible, and I found what I was searching for and have been tremendously happy so far.

dataspore · Post by **dataspore** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:43 am

RopeyPunter wrote:
DKushner wrote:2. Ropey Punter: stay out of my threads. Your advice, to me, is worthless.
<----- blow me

haiku!

tumbleweed rolls by
spinning flora-type motion
entrances viewers

/haiku!

forge · Post by **forge** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 4:54 am

dataspore wrote:
RopeyPunter wrote:
DKushner wrote:2. Ropey Punter: stay out of my threads. Your advice, to me, is worthless.
<----- blow me

haiku!

tumbleweed rolls by
spinning flora-type motion
entrances viewers

/haiku!

aqua_tek · Post by **aqua_tek** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:01 am

wait wait wait.

all i hear and read is wait.

Whatever happened to just getting what you want, when you want? Take a risk. Be a man (or a liberated woman), get a spine, grab your Visa/MasterCard/etc. and splurge.

core 2 duo macbooks just around the corner? yippie. who cares? waiting for the latest, greatest thing usually ends in disappointment. You'll probably end up... once again... waiting for less buggy, better built, later generations of these products, and then when you're ready to make your purchase, you'll make another thread like this, and someone else will come along and say "INTEL CORE 89349879087 TRIO SHOULD BE COMING AROUND NEXT MONTH!!! Hold on to your money!!!"

Who knows. Maybe holding on to your money is the best decision right now. I had thought about it myself when I was first considering buying my macbook pro. But I got tired of waiting, tired of thinking that I would regret my decision when the new macbook pros came out 2 days later. Did I say I got tired of waiting? Screw it. I just went for it and couldnt be happier.

Ok in all seriousness, dont jump off the cliff just yet. I didnt really read through this whole thread so I dont know what your specific situation is. If its really not an emergecy then there's no reason for you to buy a new computer right now (PC or Mac). If you need a computer ASAP and it cant wait much longer then I say go with the mac.

Should I go Alienware or Macbook ?

Ditch Alienware and go Macbook?