DDR2 Finally Crowned DRAM King

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Lead Head

Really? The XPS700 looks like it comes with some form of Micron ram, not sure about the others though

You'd be pretty surprised to see how cheap the ram is in the Dell "gaming systems". Seriously. It would probably make you regret your spend.

[Capper]

I think anyone should "regret" spending money on a pre-fabbed system...building your own is much cheaper, and much easier than most people think

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Capper

I think anyone should "regret" spending money on a pre-fabbed system...building your own is much cheaper, and much easier than most people think

I guess, but it's the fear of breaking something that keeps alot of people from doing it.
What I "hate" about the Dell XPS, is all the ducts and Dell specific parts they use. Alot of plastic to hold alot of things, and when one breaks you have to buy one at a totally ridiculous price and wait until they ship. =|
Other than that, I guess they're not so bad for a "no hassle" gamer system.

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by Capper

I think anyone should "regret" spending money on a pre-fabbed system...building your own is much cheaper, and much easier than most people think

hehe, I totally agree, but I think you are preaching to the choir in here
Although, on the other hand, I can kindof see where people are coming from buying a "PC in a box". They just want a computer that works and know that someone will fix it if something goes wrong. Kidnof like cars. I drive my car, and I do my best to keep it in good shape (although maybe I should wash it more than I do), but I have no idea how an engine works nor do I have any desire to try and learn all about it. I just want to be able to drive it where I need to go and to be able to find a mechanic to fix it if something goes wrong. I've got "better" things to do than to spend my time trying to figure out my car.

As for DDR2 replacing DDR, yeah, the day was definately on its way. Like Ranger said, Intel's chipsets have been DDR2 focused for quite some time now. Now with AMD joining the ranks, it was only a (short) matter of time before this would happen. I wave goodbye with a tear in my eye to DDR, but I will still hold onto my DDR 600 RAM as long as I can!

[Capper]

let me enlighten you a bit.....recently I fixed a HP system for someone. TThe motherboard died and it was 3 months outside the warranty.
After yanking it apart, I called HP to see about getting a replacement board...."$260" is what I was told.....so I looked up the board online (It was simply a rescreened ASUS board)....$58!!!! Unfortunately it was no longer in production....but I was able to get a replacement for free actually.
The companies sell these systems touting high end components (Core 2 Duo), but what you don't see ids the substandard parts they surround those parts with to make their profit......poor power supplies, bottom on the bin RAM, out of production motherboards.....etc
Of course, if you want those things to be all high end, you can invest in a Falcon or other boutique system....and pay a 60% overhead

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Capper

let me enlighten you a bit.....recently I fixed a HP system for someone. TThe motherboard died and it was 3 months outside the warranty.
After yanking it apart, I called HP to see about getting a replacement board...."$260" is what I was told.....so I looked up the board online (It was simply a rescreened ASUS board)....$58!!!! Unfortunately it was no longer in production....but I was able to get a replacement for free actually.
The companies sell these systems touting high end components (Core 2 Duo), but what you don't see ids the substandard parts they surround those parts with to make their profit......poor power supplies, bottom on the bin RAM, out of production motherboards.....etc
Of course, if you want those things to be all high end, you can invest in a Falcon or other boutique system....and pay a 60% overhead

Very true. Most HP I used to see had cheap PSU's and cheap Asus boards. I've seen a few MSI boards too, as for the ram it has mostly been micron chips.
As you said, you can always get a system from Falcon, VoodooPC, Alienware or whatever other "gaming" company and pay the overhead. It's expensive, but for some it's also "hassle" free.

[Capper]

We'll be adding boutique system reviews shortly...hopefully some stuff from Puget Systems among others