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Digital Gaming => Computer Gaming => Topic started by: Gusington on November 19, 2020, 02:49:30 PM

Title: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 19, 2020, 02:49:30 PM
Ok so we all know JH is sick and he needs help. I embrace my disease by picking the brains of you fine peeps here to get your opinions.

With Black Friday cracking early this year, I have received clearance to purchase my new rig a few days early. Building my own is no longer an option with the whole family home - I just don't have the time. So I have just built a Falcon Northwest Talon online, and yesterday built an Alienware Aurora.

Both come out to a pretty penny for the builds I want, more than I have ever spent on a rig. The components include an NVidia 3080, extra memory, dual drives, liquid cooling, etc. With monitor and shipping the total cost would be ~4500.00 on both.

Warranty/insurance - which I usually waive on most things but would get here because of the cost of these machines - is 'standard' with Falcon Northwest for three years. It would be several hundred dollars with Alienware.

So I come to you all - I need the opinions of peeps here before I spend that kind of money. Falcon Northwest or Alienware?

Or do I go to NewEgg and build something there? Haven't tried that yet.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 19, 2020, 03:03:24 PM
Also have found the Falcon NW Tiki - configured how I want it - is about 1000 less than the Talon. That seems like a no-brainer, unless someone here has a FalconNW Tiki and stands up to scream 'IT'S CRAP'
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: jamus34 on November 19, 2020, 03:09:25 PM
Hey Gus,

Couple of thoughts for ya

1) Strictly Falcon vs Alienware, if costs are anywhere close, I would go for the Falcon every time.

2) There are a number of boutique system builders out there, that I've heard good things about (Maingear, Cyberpower, Origin, Ibuypower). I would at least peruse some other sites if you really are interested in buying just for comparisons sake.

3) Costco has a deal with Cyberpower for building PC's - 90 day return policy and 2 year warranty.

Again, none of these may suit you and back to your original question if the price was anywhere comparable I would go Falcon NW 10 out of 10 times; just heard way too many good things and no negatives out of them.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 19, 2020, 03:19:24 PM
^Thanks man. I've been on Falcon's site for an hour and get that they are definitely the better choice than Alienware. If I price out even their smaller systems like a Fragbox or a Tiki (which I forgot existed), I am heavily leaning that way.

I have iBuyPower/Cyberpower systems still running in my house right now and never had any complaints. One is 10 years old and still boots up without issue every single time for my older daughter. I just wanted the gold standard this time, since until now I have always settled. I don't splurge often on very many things and am pretty frugal, because I have to be.

But right now, I agree with you that Falcon looks great and is worth the price - not just for the machine but for the expertise they appear to have and the support they offer on everything.

I just don't want to be foolish with this kind of money and drop it when I can save potentially thousands at NewEgg...another vendor I trust.

So now it looks like the choice is between Falcon NW and assembling one @ NewEgg...God help me NewEgg is having a big Black Friday sale...
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 19, 2020, 03:42:59 PM
Perusing NewEgg and found this  :o

https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali454/p/N82E16883360038?Item=N82E16883360038

NewEgg has some insane deals - I may have to go with them.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: airboy on November 19, 2020, 03:55:58 PM
Go with Falcon over Alienware every time.  Had both, never going back to Alienware.

My Falcon Talon with Monitor, mouse, surge protector was a little over $4,000 delivered.  Got more stuff because this machine is in a rural area and your electronics store is either a 90 minute drive or Wal-Mart.

Newegg - you can get a lower price but you will not get the support or the reliability that Falcon does as a matter of routine.  The Falcon will be quiet.  Newegg - who knows?

I'm keeping a machine for 6+ years now.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 19, 2020, 04:05:46 PM
^Thanks AB. It's almost like you're sitting next to me. I have a 'work meeting' running in the background as I peruse NewEgg. It's hard to resist those NewEgg prices.

Am I being silly with the NVidia 3080? I think I might be. I've read articles saying that the older NVidia 2080 cards are almost as good as the 3080s.

Getting a 2080 would save some cash.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: jamus34 on November 19, 2020, 04:13:47 PM
So from what I heard the 2nd gen RTX cards are MUCH better with Ray Tracing support than the 20XX cards.

Do you need it, nope.

Do you want it, well, seeing some of the stuff that ray tracing can do is really cool, but there not a whole lot of games out there that is supporting the tech yet.

Also note the 2080ti will be about equivalent to the 3070 (not quite but close enough) at about a $600 cost difference.

The 3080 is better than the 2080ti and significantly cheaper.

Also, if you have no interest in ray tracing the new AMD video cards seem to smoke the nvidia cards on pure performance from early reviews.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 19, 2020, 04:22:21 PM
^Thank you. Now I'm going deep into the weeds.

I will probably lose my mind before I actually purchase  :nerd:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on November 19, 2020, 05:08:43 PM
Did you rebuild your specs with the Fragbox? Just curious. I'm glad to see the Tiki came out cheaper, though I'm not sure why since usually equivalent performance in a smaller form factor tends to increase the price somewhat. Maybe the difference is that the Talon still leaves room for expansion later, and you're paying extra for that?

That ABS system at Newegg does look very crisp! -- of course you'll have to add a monitor to it, but still should be under the Falcon pricing. (As an aside, I don't know that I'd buy a monitor or speakers or mouse or anything else in accessories like that from Falcon. They aren't going to offer something that they haven't tested extensively, to protect their rep, but it isn't like they're putting those things together and wiring them intelligently and running the bios etc. I recommend using their accessories as recommendations, and shopping for them somewhere else. Like at Newegg for example. This is how I shopped a sound system for my Dad's den, by the way: computer speaker/amp systems are just as awesome if not moreso, at some cost savings, and I worked off Falcon's recommendations at the time.)

I just don't know how reliable to expect it to be. When you buy Falcon, you're buying a very long-term well-earned reputation, sort of like buying a Volvo if Volvo made Ferraris. They're going to put your computer through a rigorous test of dozens of points before it leaves, including extensive software and hardware tests: that computer will be chugging steadily hard at work for forty-eight hours, for example, if I recall correctly.

I also don't know if the ABS system will be bloated or not. Often systems with suspiciously low prices will come with bloatware on your software: the software publishers partially subsidize your cost that way, by shoveling demos and other things they'll hope will convince (or annoy) you into buying them eventually. FNW comes with Windows, and the software needed to run your hardware, and whatever extra software you ordered from them (like Office365), and that's all. They also send an emergency reinstall kit; and an entire set of extra (high quality) cabling for everything on your computer; and instruction manuals for all your hardware. (They used to send the original install discs, too, including for anything Windows you bought; not sure how they send licensed software installs now, but I bet it's still policy somehow. Office is now only a one year license, of course, FNW can't do anything about that.)

This is a big selling point on doing your own whitebox build, too, of course: you can be sure you're only getting the system footprint you want, and minimize the extra stuff eating up your cycles and hectoring you about buying the full version or whatever. I've managed to stay away from having to do tech work on friends and family the past few years, so I don't know how prevalent that sort of thing still is.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 19, 2020, 05:23:39 PM
^Yeah I've dealt with bloatware before. My ASUS has some but not a ridiculous amount. It's definitely irriating. I've got the monitor chosen already:

https://www.newegg.com/black-acer-predator-z35-z35-bmiphz-35/p/N82E16824009874?Item=9SIAFVF7MY4993

I did price out a Falcon Fragbox too and it's easy to get any Falcon machine to ring in over 4000. But if I tweak memory, video cards, etc., obviously I can bring that down a bit.

You own a Falcon, Pratt?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: endfire79 on November 20, 2020, 12:06:17 PM
Hi Gus,

Time is money for people, and a good system builder (Falcon, Alienware etc) with a good reputation is worth it.  There'll be mark up on the prices for sure, but as already mentioned, you're paying for their reputation and ability to get you something ready quickly and in good order, so you don't have too spend time. Not everyone has the spare time to shop for components, and then put everything together themselves, especially during this pandemic.

If the pc is for mostly for gaming and not being used for heavy video editing, my personal recommendation would be to save a bit on the CPU if you can (mid range vs higher), and put the extra cash on the display, graphics card and other things.

I prefer air cooling vs water cooling (I like my air cooled MG's instead of heavy water cooled tripods  ;)   - and I've still managed to keep my towers pretty and with good airflow/noise balance.

I would recommend getting a NVME SSD drive if your motherboard supports it.  This is basically what they have on laptops for a while now (looks like a memory stick, interfaces with PCIE on the motherboard instead of SATA like SATA ssd's.  Booting into windows is even way more faster than with the SATA SSD.  I still use SATA SSD though since their prices are pretty good now, and still use a mechanical HDD for stuff that I consider essential (work, pictures, documents etc, backups). 

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy it!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 12:15:21 PM
Thanks! After sleeping on it, I am honing in on a Falcon NW model...just not sure which one yet. And I agree on the CPU/GPU and am going to do that - have done that for the last few rigs.

I would really like to save some desktop space so I am very seriously considering a Tiki or a Fragbox - both can be tricked out as much as Falcon's Talon desktop model.

Also think I am leaning more towards the NVidia 2080ti instead of the 3000 series.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 20, 2020, 12:36:35 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 12:15:21 PM
Thanks! After sleeping on it, I am honing in on a Falcon NW model...just not sure which one yet. And I agree on the CPU/GPU and am going to do that - have done that for the last few rigs.

I would really like to save some desktop space so I am very seriously considering a Tiki or a Fragbox - both can be tricked out as much as Falcon's Talon desktop model.

Also think I am leaning more towards the NVidia 2080ti instead of the 3000 series.

You would be crazy to get a 2080ti over a 3080. The 3080 is about 20% faster and about $600 cheaper. Its part of the reason why 2080ti owners are so pissed off.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 01:24:29 PM
Is it? Haven't done a build yet today - didn't know the 3080 was that much less. Maybe the builds I was doing yesterday included a regular 2080 vs a 3080, not a 2080ti.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: GibbyG on November 20, 2020, 01:24:40 PM
I've had a couple of Falcons and both were great.  Also had a Digital Storm and liked it as well.

My current one I got from NZXT BLD.  Great system for me.

https://www.letsbld.com/ (https://www.letsbld.com/)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 20, 2020, 01:31:25 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 01:24:29 PM
Is it? Haven't done a build yet today - didn't know the 3080 was that much less. Maybe the builds I was doing yesterday included a regular 2080 vs a 3080, not a 2080ti.

Probably. The 2080 and 2080 Super are substantially cheaper than the 2080ti. Still, I think you would be penny wise and pound foolish to go with anything in the 2000 series. They've already been surpassed and the 3080 is very affordable.

FWIW, I also would not go with an i7. Those are also starting to show their age. i9, Ryzen 9 3rd gen or just go home.

This is why I would never get a system from Falcon or Alienware. You either get current tech and take out a second mortgage on your home, or you need to buy a system with last generation components. I don't get it.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 01:43:31 PM
Thanks challerain.

JH I was thinking of an i9.

Balancing everything here - price vs. tech - is the real thing that keeps me staring at the screen for hours.

But my goal for each new rig is to always try to keep it for 6-7 years. So to do that you lean towards NewEgg? You don't subscribe to the premium price of a Falcon or an Alienware because of the security the brand has?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 20, 2020, 01:53:04 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 01:43:31 PM
Thanks challerain.

JH I was thinking of an i9.

Balancing everything here - price vs. tech - is the real thing that keeps me staring at the screen for hours.

But my goal for each new rig is to always try to keep it for 6-7 years. So to do that you lean towards NewEgg? You don't subscribe to the premium price of a Falcon or an Alienware because of the security the brand has?

I've been buying computers since 1992 and I have always purchased the most current tech for the best possible price. I have never paid a premium simply because of name brand, warranty or service. In nearly 30 years of buying PCs I've never received a lemon. Perhaps I've just been lucky? Still, I get a new car every three years. I feel the same way about PCs. So for me, it makes more sense to get the most power for the cheapest price, since I will be buying a new one within 2 - 3 years tops, anyway.

I could never justify paying $5000 - $6000 for a PC that contains last generation tech, when I could get one that is at the top of the food chain for half the price. Keep in mind, the price I'm judging from does NOT include a monitor or peripherals. I'm talking only about the rig.

Finally, my last 4 PCs have been purchased from Newegg. Up until my recent debacle, I've never had a complaint. If the rigs I've purchased from Newegg have one problem it is that they all seemed underpowered, but it never really gave me an issue. However, now that I'm looking at 3090s, a 750-850w PSU seems dangerously underpowered, so I'm taking a much closer look.

As far as the i9 goes, I've always been an intel guy too...but I'm looking very seriously at the AMD Ryzen 9 3rd gen processors. They seem to have the i9 beat with 12 cores, instead of 10 and they only cost about $15 more.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 02:22:54 PM
I think similarly but over a longer period of time and I could never get a $6000 rig. Looking for between 3k-4k, and if I can, I will cram a monitor in with that deal, along with a modest subwoofer and speakers (most likely Creative), a mechanical keyboard and a nice new mouse.

My last two rigs have been from NewEgg. I would just like to feel the warmth of a splurge, eventually. But NewEgg prices are just too good to argue with. I also have not had a problem with them. I have never ordered a liquid cooled machine from them either, but I have no reason to doubt them.

I'm back at square one now, almost. But I do know that I am not getting an Alienware.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 20, 2020, 02:27:22 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 02:22:54 PM
I think similarly but over a longer period of time and I could never get a $6000 rig. Looking for between 3k-4k, and if I can, I will cram a monitor in with that deal, along with a modest subwoofer and speakers (most likely Creative), a mechanical keyboard and a nice new mouse.

My last two rigs have been from NewEgg. I would just like to feel the warmth of a splurge, eventually. But NewEgg prices are just too good to argue with. I also have not had a problem with them. I have never ordered a liquid cooled machine from them either, but I have no reason to doubt them.

I'm back at square one now, almost. But I do know that I am not getting an Alienware.

Go to the CLX gaming website. Talk to the chat bot that shows up. Tell him you want to build a rig and tell him your price range. He'll build one for you that you can then customize. It's what I've been doing to find the most bang for the least buck. Tweaking the parts is almost a game in and of itself.

https://www.clxgaming.com/ (https://www.clxgaming.com/)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 02:29:26 PM
You've purchased from CLX?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 20, 2020, 02:56:01 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 02:29:26 PM
You've purchased from CLX?

Never, but I'm considering it now.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 03:07:09 PM
Can't wait for work to end so I can play the design a rig game. Thanks for posting that. My wallet and household will be pleased.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: jamus34 on November 20, 2020, 03:10:00 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 01:24:29 PM
Is it? Haven't done a build yet today - didn't know the 3080 was that much less. Maybe the builds I was doing yesterday included a regular 2080 vs a 3080, not a 2080ti.

Yeah. It's about $1100 (2080ti) vs 700 (For the 3080, I think).

Problem is you can't find the 3080 in the wild right now.

Going through a builder those costs will be increased but they should have access to the part if they are offering it in the build.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 03:23:12 PM
^Yeah that I noticed. Another wrench in the works. The struggle (shortage) is real! It should be the worst problem I face this year.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: trek on November 20, 2020, 04:45:47 PM
Gus, Like I previously mentioned in JH's thread I'm on my 2nd liquid-cooled Falcon Tiki. My previous model was five years old. I've had the new one exactly one-year now. My PC Gaming area is in my den between wall-to-wall bookshelves on the left and a full-size component stereo rack on the right. Because of the fact I have a compact area and desk 48"x20" I like the Tiki because of the small form factor. In over five years I've not had a single problem with this model. The damn thing is so quiet you hardly know it's running. I've located mine on the floor under the left side of the desk. But it is compact enough to place on top of your desk if you prefer.

One thing about Falcon is that they really match their components well with each other. Every so often I read on a forum about someone having some problem with running a game due to some tech issue with their rig. I've yet to experience any problem with any game I've ever purchased. And I can run every game with everything maxed out as well.

As I also mentioned before I just went from a 27" monitor to a 32" curved one. To get my seat position back more from the larger monitor I found a gadget called a "Vaydeer Desk Extender" on Amazon. Now my keyboard and mouse sit on the extender and give me that extra distance from the monitor. The extender also folds down when you don't need it. Holds a joystick well too. Thought I'd put this up for any of you that have a compact desk and want more room. Tried a mountable keyboard sliding drawer but it sat too low below the desk to be useable and wasn't rigid and stable like the desk extender.

Anyway. I'll echo what many here have posted and put in my vote for a Falcon too. Once you buy one you will never buy any other brand. They are that outstanding.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 04:48:45 PM
Thank you Trek!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 06:12:32 PM
Gotta say JH, that CLX site you posted above it really good. I put together a rig with 32GB of memory, i9, 750w power supply, 1TB SSD, Creative sound card, liquid cooled + fans, and an NVidia 3080 card for ~3300 to be built in about two weeks. I may go with that. Not sure how I couldn't...it would be almost criminal not to. Little nervous though because I have never used them before.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Millipede on November 20, 2020, 06:35:33 PM
I'm with Trek. As I've mentioned previously, in other threads, I'm on my 5th FNW system and doubt that I'll ever go anywhere else for my computers.

There was a time when I considered building my own because it seems like something I'd enjoy and it would save me some bucks. I finally rejected the idea because I knew that, even with identical components, I wouldn't end up with a system as good as a Falcon. FNW has decades of experience matching components that work well together and decades of experience assembling those systems with all the best/correct settings so that it works flawlessly for years. Sure I could have saved some money but I can always make more money and I never have to fiddle with my Falcon to get some game to run without a hitch.

There was also a time when I wondered if I was being too much of a FNW fanboy and perhaps I should explore some other manufacturers of boutique gaming systems. After some research it seemed that Alienware was the only outfit in the same league and cost was about the same. After diving into Alienware a bit more I discovered that there were some of their customers that were not completely happy with their purchase and were even less happy with the tech/customer support department. If anyone knows of complaints about Falcon Northwest's customer service or tech department, please speak up because I'm completely unaware of any. On the contrary, my experience with their tech guys (3 or 4 times in ~25 yrs.) has always been fantastic. The first time I had to call them was for a problem that they couldn't diagnose over the phone but it was narrowed down to 2 or 3 possibilities so they shipped me the parts necessary to correct each of the problems (no charge). The package showed up the next day and within an hour I had the same tech on the phone and he led me through various processes until the problem was located and resolved (as I recall, it was a faulty cable) and then I took the remaining parts to UPS and shipped them back to Falcon with no charge to me. They care about each system that they ship and they care about their customers. That's why I'm on my 5th Falcon and won't be looking anywhere else. Why would I?

The big problem with buying a Falcon is that, like me, you'll never go anywhere else and end up giving them lots of your hard earned cash.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Queeg on November 20, 2020, 07:00:58 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 06:12:32 PM
Gotta say JH, that CLX site you posted above it really good. I put together a rig with 32GB of memory, i9, 750w power supply, 1TB SSD, Creative sound card, liquid cooled + fans, and an NVidia 3080 card for ~3300 to be built in about two weeks. I may go with that. Not sure how I couldn't...it would be almost criminal not to. Little nervous though because I have never used them before.

My brother has a CLX rig and is happy with it.  One unique thing about CLX is they offer a variety of case options.  Most places, the case is the case. 

The variety of options CLX offers is pretty impressive but you might want to do a bit of research on each of the choices in whatever size you are looking at.  Many of these case designs with tempered glass panels look great but have poor airflow and cooling and often, as a result, are pretty loud under load.  If you use headphones all the time, then noise may not be a big deal.  But some of these case designs can look great but sound like an airplane at takeoff under load.  More recent versions of some of these cases have more mesh openings on the front panel or elsewhere for that reason.

Also, do you want a rig that sits under your desk on top of it?  Until recently, I always had giant towers on the floor under or around my desk, but my current rig is a smaller form factor that I really like.  You really can get a powerful computer with a good thermal and noise profile in a smaller form factor these days.  CLX offers several good smaller to mid-size form factor case options.

Good news is CLX offers several popular case designs, most of which have a bunch of in-depth reviews floating around on the internet.  Probably worth investing some time watching some review videos to get an idea of the practical pros and cons of each of the options they offer.     
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Queeg on November 20, 2020, 07:12:57 PM
Not sure if any of you follow Linus Tech Tips (kind of a squirrely guy but he really knows his stuff).  Perhaps apropos of this discussion, they currently are doing a "secret shopper" review of several big-name PC makers, including some of the niche gaming rig makers.  They've posted videos on the front-end purchasing experience and tech support.  Pretty interesting stuff -- a lot of variation among the companies.

Here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gz7WMF4wWko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ViO0ETvfEc&t=143s



 
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 07:38:35 PM
Great posts man. Thanks Millipede and Queeg.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 07:40:53 PM
Right now my ASUS sits on top of my desk, which I never wanted...but I have bought all new furniture to go with the new machine so it will not be an issue...on top of or below will be fine because I will have a lot more space.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on November 21, 2020, 06:45:05 PM
To answer Gus' question, yes I've had three Falcons (and nothing else) since 2000 or a little earlier. My laptop is even on their photo collage, as a sort of joke, because the paint job was so totally black that the light simply bounced off as photo lights or didn't return to the lens at all -- so they ended up settling for taking a photo of TRYING to take a photo of the laptop!

My current system was bought in December 2012, and has had one upgrade of a gfx card since then. My running cost average for this rig stands at just over $650 a year so far, and will doubtless drop farther.

If messing with hardware and system software didn't leave me a nervous wreck, I'd shop for components myself, with the understanding that I'd have to be my own tech support, and build a new computer every couple of years (reinstalling my software if I couldn't migrate the system and data over). Instead, I save up cash during many years of owning a FNW and then buy a new one eventually. I'm willing to pay for peace of mind and lack of hassle, including not having to wonder if the guys who put my computer together are optimization experts (much less even really know what they're doing).

The first question to ask yourself, aside from budget constraints, is: how comfortable do you feel working on your rig yourself? I can do it, barely, but I'm not comfortable AT ALL doing it.

Next therefore, if someone else will be putting your rig together: do you care if the people putting your rig together are just functionaries plugging things into each other, leaving performance on the floor or creating conflicts? In other words, how much do you care about how much of their reputation (and thus their job) is at stake in giving you the best possible performance and the least amount of trouble over the longest possible system life, and how much do you care about how much they care about that?

I care about both of those enough to pay for someone else to do the work, and I care enough to be picky about the competence and pride and longterm support of whomever I'm paying to do the work.

At the same time, I one thousand percent understand all the appeal, including cost, of building a rig. It's just something that would give me migraines, and I've had enough of those in my life already (including working on systems for other people: setting up my family's factory's accounting system back one summer during high school gave me literal migraines. Though that turned out to be worth it, because we used it up through this year when we sold the company, long, lonnnnnng after the publisher was so done with it that they offered to sell us the source code! ;) )
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on November 22, 2020, 04:01:05 AM
The guys at FNW really sit on roses! I must contact them about their road to success where robbing people blind while they actually like the process is just amazing! It's just completely nuts for me to read about many 'defending'  this company just for the sake of support and reputation.  :uglystupid2:

Also, the story about how they are able to configure and match the hardware like nobody else can is crap, you know that right?
They don't manufacture their hardware, they are assemblers of off the shelf stuff, just like any of us building our own rig.

That said, it does illustrate that building a rig is not that simple as many sites make it out to believe. You do need to have knowledge or are willing to dive into the deeper dark arts of hardware configuration.
But still, and I've said it before, the prices that roll around here for rigs from these 'dependable companies' are just insane to me!

Listen to Jarhead, the man talks sense and will save you at least 1000 dollah without you having to do any hard work.  :peace:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: MengJiao on November 22, 2020, 06:29:21 AM
Quote from: jamus34 on November 19, 2020, 03:09:25 PM
Hey Gus,

Couple of thoughts for ya

1) Strictly Falcon vs Alienware, if costs are anywhere close, I would go for the Falcon every time.

2) There are a number of boutique system builders out there, that I've heard good things about (Maingear, Cyberpower, Origin, Ibuypower). I would at least peruse some other sites if you really are interested in buying just for comparisons sake.

3) Costco has a deal with Cyberpower for building PC's - 90 day return policy and 2 year warranty.

Again, none of these may suit you and back to your original question if the price was anywhere comparable I would go Falcon NW 10 out of 10 times; just heard way too many good things and no negatives out of them.

I've had only good (okay one was slightly weird bu not bad) experiences with Cyberpower's desktops
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 22, 2020, 09:33:23 AM
Quote from: Yskonyn on November 22, 2020, 04:01:05 AM

Listen to Jarhead, the man talks sense and will save you at least 1000 dollah without you having to do any hard work.  :peace:

If there is one thing I've learned in 20 years of counseling and advising people it's that you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 22, 2020, 01:07:34 PM
The CLX site is pretty slick and I can get what I want there, comparable if not identical, to a Falcon NW rig, for about 1000 less if not even more than that.

Meng - I have had a Cyberpower rig as well and also never had any complaints or issues.

So...I am leaning toward CLX. Purchase day is now just five days away!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: WYBaugh on November 22, 2020, 01:46:15 PM
I have been building my own pc's since the 486 days.  It's not a big deal, especially with modern pc's, to build your own. Making it look clean is a labor of love and one I'm not patient enough for.

Seriously guys, do not spend the money on pre-built.  Use the money to pick out the best parts you can and assemble yourself. 
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 22, 2020, 02:07:28 PM
I have in the past, don't have the time or inclination to do it this year. Willing to pay for it this time.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 22, 2020, 03:00:31 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 22, 2020, 01:07:34 PM
The CLX site is pretty slick and I can get what I want there, comparable if not identical, to a Falcon NW rig, for about 1000 less if not even more than that.

Meng - I have had a Cyberpower rig as well and also never had any complaints or issues.

So...I am leaning toward CLX. Purchase day is now just five days away!

I'm probably going to buy a rig from CLX sometime in the next few days too. I'm still waiting to hear from Fred Chang.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 22, 2020, 04:09:11 PM
Don't grab mine by accident! 😎

And thanks for posting that CLX link.

I'm also getting a 35" Acer Predator monitor to go along with it from Amazon.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Millipede on November 22, 2020, 05:50:41 PM
JH and Gus... I should probably explore vendors other than FNW so I would appreciate it if you could share your experience purchasing and living with your CLX systems. Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: airboy on November 22, 2020, 06:02:38 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 22, 2020, 04:09:11 PM
Don't grab mine by accident! 😎

And thanks for posting that CLX link.

I'm also getting a 35" Acer Predator monitor to go along with it from Amazon.

Can you get a 27" monitor that has two ports?  I'm spoiled with my one in the mountains compared to the one in Alabama.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 22, 2020, 06:09:04 PM
^If not, you can most likely get an adapter AB.

Will do Millipede. It may a few weeks at least until I get delivery depending on components.

Not sure if JH will spring for 'speedy delivery,' but I am patient and can wait that long after I finally order.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 22, 2020, 06:51:16 PM
Memory is a little low on this and it has an i7, but look at that price! Any opinions on this one?

https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali454/p/N82E16883360038?Item=N82E16883360038
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on November 23, 2020, 02:22:20 AM
What brand is the AIO cooling?
I wouldn't skimp on quality on such an important part.

The picture looks like it might be a de-branded NZXT kit?

Another thing to keep in mind: all the RGB stuff needs to have a controller active. These drivers are known to be taking up CPU cycles at a constant rate.
For example, Asus Aura takes 3% of my CPU power at all times. Adding to that is that there is no unified software to drive all your RGB stuff from different brands so you'll end up with each brand having its own control panel app. If we're talking about wanting peak performance you should consider leaving the lightshow off.
I did on mine and it also got rid of microstutter in a few games. Just a FYI.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 08:59:46 AM
Didn't even notice the light show - none of my previous machines had anything ridiculous like that. But the rest of the machine seems solid and inexpensive for the build. No brand listed for the cooling as far as I can tell.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 23, 2020, 09:15:41 AM
Quote from: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 08:59:46 AM
Didn't even notice the light show - none of my previous machines had anything ridiculous like that. But the rest of the machine seems solid and inexpensive for the build. No brand listed for the cooling as far as I can tell.

I'm not a fan of that rig. You can do much better.

For starters, its an i7 with 8 cores...I wouldn't even think about a new rig with a last generation CPU. It's also light on RAM at only 16GB and also light on storage at only 1TB. Weren't you saying your budget was between $3,000 and $4,000? It's $1900 and not even on sale. For just a few hundred bucks more you can get a much more capable machine.

Look at these...not perfect, but sort of in that $1899 price range and much more capable in my view...there are many in the $2,000 to $2,400 price range that far exceed the value of the system you linked.

https://www.newegg.com/p/3D5-000B-001G1 (https://www.newegg.com/p/3D5-000B-001G1)
https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali446/p/N82E16883360030?&quicklink=true (https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali446/p/N82E16883360030?&quicklink=true)
https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali460/p/N82E16883360045?&quicklink=true (https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali460/p/N82E16883360045?&quicklink=true)
https://www.newegg.com/hp-omen-30l/p/3D5-0005-00BR4 (https://www.newegg.com/hp-omen-30l/p/3D5-0005-00BR4)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 09:38:49 AM
Yep 3-4k. I will check those links out, thanks. And yeah I did think it was light on the RAM/storage. Still leaning towards a CLX machine on Black Friday.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 11:34:03 AM
That above list from JH is gold. One of those machines was the same ABS Gladiator I posted above, but upgraded. Never heard of that company though. Seen HP Omen machines pop up on my searches too and the one above that JH posted is a lot of machine for the money - anyone have an HP model? My work laptop is an HP and is quite the workhorse but I have not used an HP for gaming.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 23, 2020, 11:47:13 AM
Quote from: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 11:34:03 AM
That above list from JH is gold. One of those machines was the same ABS Gladiator I posted above, but upgraded. Never heard of that company though. Seen HP Omen machines pop up on my searches too and the one above that JH posted is a lot of machine for the money - anyone have an HP model? My work laptop is an HP and is quite the workhorse but I have not used an HP for gaming.

I've had two ABS systems and never had any issues. I used to get HP rigs long ago, but stopped when more competitive brands started appearing. I see the Omen line around a lot, but have had no first hand experience. They seem to be popular.

The list I posted was really just the tip of the iceberg. There are alot with slightly different configs. You just need to decide how much you want to spend, and what is most important to you based on the type of gaming you'll be doing. Once you figure out which components you must have in the rig, it will really help narrow your search. For instance, if you decide you want an i9, you just punch that into the filter on Newegg's site and it will trim the list down making your decision and life much easier.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 12:03:14 PM
Seems like every day I have a different favorite. Check out this bad mofo:

https://smile.amazon.com/30L-Desktop-GeForce-Computer-Made_by_HP/dp/B08D4WCSRZ/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=HP+Omen+desktop+rtx+3070&qid=1606149503&s=electronics&sr=1-4

And the price is ridiculous. Only thing is I would have to wait until 1/1. Who knows what kind of discount will be available on Black Friday, too.

I agree with you about the tip of the iceberg. I have fallen down the new rig rabbit hole. At least I have narrowed it down to NOT Alienware and NOT Falcon NW, so this thread has served it's purpose.

Perhaps when I am retired I can splurge on a boutique machine from Falcon NW. Wouldn't be prudent at this juncture though, especially when I know I can get a reliable system for literally 1000 less or more. Plus now I can push some more cash towards a bitchin' monitor.

Forgot to mention: my gaming ranges from old school RTS and wargames like Panzer Corps to Assassin's Creed and Metro Exodus. In this new rig I want to play those latter games maxed out. So that's my benchmark.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 23, 2020, 12:21:05 PM
So let's set a baseline for you.

CPU: i9 or Ryzen 9 3rd Gen
RAM: 32 GB
GPU: RTX 3000 series

This means, for the most part, you have storage to play around with and maybe power supply. That will give you the opportunity to control pricing by about $500+ depending upon how much or little you want to live with.

There are also three options in the RTX 3000 series that can also impact cost. Again, if you're willing to spend up to $3,000+, I see no reason why you shouldn't at the very least go with a 3080. Most humans really do not "need" a 3090...but for those of us beasts who sim in VR, its looking like a wise investment.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 12:35:16 PM
^That's where I'm at, gonna try to squeeze in 64 MB of memory and I know I can get an RTX 3000 with a pre-built machine - most likely an RTX 3070, because going the next step up to a 3080 or 3090 raises the price by at least 600.00.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 23, 2020, 01:08:51 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 12:35:16 PM
^That's where I'm at, gonna try to squeeze in 64 MB of memory and I know I can get an RTX 3000 with a pre-built machine - most likely an RTX 3070, because going the next step up to a 3080 or 3090 raises the price by at least 600.00.

I honestly don't see a need for 64GB, but if the money isn't an issue, have at it.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 01:27:37 PM
My current rig has 16GB and I got that in 2015 to 'future-proof' it. The machine is running great so I wanted to apply the same thing here.

A 3TB HDD would also be great (upgraded from a current 2TB HDD) along with a TB SSD (upgraded from 128GB).
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Father Ted on November 23, 2020, 05:49:53 PM
Someone should write this this thread up as a (very geeky, admittedly) soap opera.  What will Gus plump for?  Will he be convinced by the brusque economics of JH and Yskonyn or be swayed by the more dulcet arguments of Jason and trek?  Tune in to find out after this word from our sponsors...
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 23, 2020, 06:06:22 PM
Quote from: Father Ted on November 23, 2020, 05:49:53 PM
Someone should write this this thread up as a (very geeky, admittedly) soap opera.  What will Gus plump for?  Will he be convinced by the brusque economics of JH and Yskonyn or be swayed by the more dulcet arguments of Jason and trek?  Tune in to find out after this word from our sponsors...

I don't find my comments to be brusque, at all. I think they are very well-reasoned, supported by logic and polite.  For that matter, I don't find the arguments of Pratt and trek to be particularly dulcet. Although, I'll admit to having had to look up that word. 
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: steve58 on November 23, 2020, 06:12:42 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on November 23, 2020, 06:06:22 PM
Quote from: Father Ted on November 23, 2020, 05:49:53 PM
Someone should write this this thread up as a (very geeky, admittedly) soap opera.  What will Gus plump for?  Will he be convinced by the brusque economics of JH and Yskonyn or be swayed by the more dulcet arguments of Jason and trek?  Tune in to find out after this word from our sponsors...

I don't find my comments to be brusque, at all. I think they are very well-reasoned, supported by logic and polite.  For that matter, I don't find the arguments of Pratt and trek to be particularly dulcet. Although, I'll admit to having had to look up that word.

"dulcet"?  You mean your Drill Sergeant didn't use that term even once in Boot Camp??   :-"
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 23, 2020, 06:18:26 PM
Quote from: steve58 on November 23, 2020, 06:12:42 PM
Quote from: Jarhead0331 on November 23, 2020, 06:06:22 PM
Quote from: Father Ted on November 23, 2020, 05:49:53 PM
Someone should write this this thread up as a (very geeky, admittedly) soap opera.  What will Gus plump for?  Will he be convinced by the brusque economics of JH and Yskonyn or be swayed by the more dulcet arguments of Jason and trek?  Tune in to find out after this word from our sponsors...

I don't find my comments to be brusque, at all. I think they are very well-reasoned, supported by logic and polite.  For that matter, I don't find the arguments of Pratt and trek to be particularly dulcet. Although, I'll admit to having had to look up that word.

"dulcet"?  You mean your Drill Sergeant didn't use that term even once in Boot Camp??   :-"

No. My Drill Instructor had a very limited vocabulary. If it wasn't 4 letters and start with an F, it wasn't worth using.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 08:33:31 PM
This rig will be borne of four fathers. I am happy to say it's the most research I have put into a rig purchase and even happier to say that I will be saving hundreds of dollars. Friday!!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on November 23, 2020, 09:35:50 PM
...so we can infer he used a fork, at least!  >:D (In at least thirty-six different ways to dispatch an enemy!  :cowboy: )

I am entirely aware that I can clumsily put a rig together with components I can shop and buy myself, and save a lot of money, while giving myself a piercing headache over a protracted period of time. I decline to do so from decades of experience -- no one on the planet should ever use a computer built by me, including me!  :crazy2:

Other people can skillfully do that themselves, and have fun doing it, and save themselves a lot of money: definitely the proper choice, for them! I've never said any different, so there has never been any argument from me about that.

If I'm going to spend my own money hiring someone to build my computer during any particular decade, I'm going to take minimal risks for the best results over the longest period of time that I can save up money to afford. That is a logical purchasing strategy under my circumstances, and has saved me a lot of headaches over 20 years. For other people, a different strategy would be much better.


Ysk: "Also, the story about how they are able to configure and match the hardware like nobody else can is crap, you know that right?
They don't manufacture their hardware, they are assemblers of off the shelf stuff, just like any of us building our own rig."

Also Ysk, literally five seconds later: "That said, it does illustrate that building a rig is not that simple as many sites make it out to believe. You do need to have knowledge or are willing to dive into the deeper dark arts of hardware configuration."

For which you gave a small but important and subtle practical example of this a few posts later; which I technically understand but which many people would not and which I have less than no desire to try to do myself.

FNW spends research time running their own experiments on how to configure and match the hardware they offer (including the hardware's software settings, and the bios settings, and ideal wiring and circuit paths etc.) -- they dearly enjoy doing that, they take great pride in being the best in the world at it, and their skill has repeatedly been shown in the final test results in competitions with other professional rig builders across decades now. I've talked to Matthew up there off and on for 20 years, along with a couple of other guys, and (much like me) they'll segue off into fascinating trivia discussions at the least excuse -- in their case, about tests they've been doing to carefully maximize performance. They like to chat shop; not ONCE have they ever chatted shop as a way to upsell me on something, ever. On the contrary, they've warned me off paying for various pieces of hardware, when I had questions about them, every single time I've contacted them personally for a quote (more than only for my own rigs). They don't encourage ordering any rig from them without carefully talking it out first, in person, often to DOWNQUOTE out unnecessary or trivially superior components.

So, no, I don't know that the story about how they're able to configure and match the hardware like nobody else can, is crap. They're highly competitive professionals in a very niche and thin market going up against other highly competitive professionals, and all the evidence I've gotten from them in personal experience and from tech journalists comparing the merits of various rig designers (even when some of those occasionally edge out FNW on performance), points uniformly in the other direction.

More importantly, they're able to configure and match the hardware a damn sight better than I can. So do plenty of people, all over the world! ;) But unlike any of those other people, FNW has earned my repeat business. Partly by not needing to repeat my business much with them at all.  ::)

That is not an argument that Gus or anyone else should use them over any other option. I look forward to hearing about the merits of whatever builder Gus ends up using (if he doesn't end up building it himself).  O:-)

Quote from: Gusington on November 23, 2020, 08:33:31 PM
This rig will be borne of four fathers. I am happy to say it's the most research I have put into a rig purchase and even happier to say that I will be saving hundreds of dollars. Friday!!

I'm certainly glad to have been of any help.  8)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on November 24, 2020, 01:53:12 AM
My point was that their 'knowledge' is being put to use at exorbitant prices as illustrated by Jarheads linked options which will save you much cash.
I don't think there is an embargo on stating your views here, but if my attempts of making a case for saving you money is taken as being brusque or not wanted, just say so.
We don't have to act as toddlers who get their lollipop taken away, now do we? :hug:  L:-) :D (smileys are used to make SURE this is not taken personally, but tongue in cheek)

I fully understand people paying a hundred or two on warranty and support, but whenever it reaches a thousand or more it just becomes robbery in my opinion.
I am trying to look out for you guys!  :peace: Especially since you explicitly tell time and again you're not savvy with this stuff. There really are cheaper options with similar dependability and stableness of your system.
And while all counter arguments of why FNW and their kin ARE in fact the masters of their trade, still doesn't change that in my opinion they ask outrageous prices for it. Wether thats something you are ok with paying for is highly subjective and none of my business (obviously).
But to be fair, I do see a lot of 'confirmation bias' towards FNW and its kin in this discussion.

Jarhead already posted in depth examples, so I didnt think I could add to that. Besides I am not aware of options in the US, so thats better served by others.

Love.  :smitten:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: airboy on November 24, 2020, 11:12:32 AM
The discussion has been a cordial as it can be.

I just bought another FNW system this Fall.  Why? - It will work right out of the box, at high performance, and I don't have to mess with it until it is obsolete.  It is also quiet and if I have any problems (even long after the warranty has expired) they will talk me through it on the phone.

I'm paying a price premium for something that I use for hours every day that I don't have to ever worry about (except to clean the area every six months).  I agree that if you have the skill set you can build your own for a fraction of the price.  If you know what you are doing, plan to replace the machine every 3-4 years, you can buy a similar machine for much less.

My three FNW systems ran absolutely flawlessly.  One I kept for 7 years until it was obsolete for what I want to play.  The other two are too recent to have encountered any issues at all.

I have also driven Toyotas for decades - currently a Prius with 70,000 miles on it.  Why? - I don't have any issues with something I rely on every day.  Do the routine maintenance and the car will continue to operate without problems for longer than a decade.  Same reasons I purchase FNW.

If you value what Jason & I value - FNW is a reasonable price to pay.  If you have different skills (or if money is tighter), then other options are clearly superior.

Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: trek on November 24, 2020, 11:22:16 AM
This has been a great thread. Ysonkyn, I admire your passion and honesty on the subject. As the "Old Man" (73 years old now) on this forum I have a somewhat different perspective. My background and career was 35 years at a big city newspaper. As a young man and before the advent of personal computers I was like many of my friends a fanatical audiophile. There were two companies around that sold audio electronic kits: Heath and Lafayette. So, my first 100-watt amp I built from a Heath Kit.

At the newspaper I was working in the News department for the first five years and after marriage and two young daughters the odd hours, many working nights encouraged me to seek out another job with better hours within the company. With my aptitude for electronics I went into Systems & Engineering, spent some time on the help desk, then went into Tech Services and finally got a job doing research, fact-checking and archiving as well as handling all the facets of the paper's electronic media.

Part of my job was buying systems and brainstorming with others on what to purchase. No matter how well we at times researched and vetted a new system or product many times they did not work well together with other systems. Our computer room was a half-city block in size and contained over 80 different systems as well a satellite bank for the eight large dishes on the roof of the building. When we at times had a heavy snow storm we even had to go up on the roof and sweep the snow off of the sat dishes!

My point here is that what you said about components working or not working together is crap certainly has some truth to it. But, when you go through the steps in building a high-performance PC and say you're choosing between A-B or C of the same component there WILL be a difference in how well they perform with each other on specific high-demand programs. Falcon seems to always spec the ones that co-perform with each other the best. And no, I don't think they sit on Roses. I just like the way they do business and I'm willing to pay for it. Their lifetime support to me is priceless.

On a similar note concerning paying for something more expensive than another, I'm lusting after the new mid-engine Corvette. First time I've ever even considered a exotic and very expensive automobile but I like mid-engine European Sports cars and the new Vette is the first one. I will never buy it as I could never justify to myself spending that kind of money on a car. Also my other passion is cycling which I've been doing since 1974. I have a $9,000 Time-Trial Racing bike which I CAN justify the price to myself whereas I can't with a car as I still do some competitive racing. So, go figure where my mind is at!

On the topic of long-term support and standing behind you product here is a recent example: I have two Bose Cinemate 2.1 Sound Systems. One in my living room and one in my den. I bought them from Circuit City 15 years ago. Couple weeks back the interface module and cable stopped working. Got on the Bose website and under support found that they STILL stock a replacement for $80.00. They also stock the original replacement remote as well as the speaker stands. That to me is remarkable in this day and age of throw-away electronics.

I used to build my PC's but in 2008 I decided in my retirement that I no longer wanted to spend the time doing so. Like all of us I did all the research and read the reviews and made calls to the various vendors. After multiple calls I liked what I heard from Falcon. Of course I knew they were more expensive but I'm finally at the age I can afford to pay the price.

I guess my final point on all this is that we all drink the kool-aid on our decision making to a point it's just that the kool-aid comes in different flavors. At my age I've come to the conclusion that what we are is the sum of our life experiences and that is really what informs our decision-making process. When I bought my first small form factor PC in 2007 from another company for LAN Parties with friends it had an AMD Chip and graphics card. At that time considered the best bang for the buck. In several instances it had problems running a couple games I had whereas friends with Intel and Nvidia had none with the same games. Hence I have a bias against AMD and always stick with Intel and Nvidia. I know AMD has improved and is right up there now with competitors but still that is my own personal experience bias. At the end of 2008 I bought my first Fragbox from Falcon and never looked back.

I WILL say that you guys have piqued my interest in CLX and I checked out their website and their systems look good. I would suggest to Gus that he opt for the Asus ROG Strix motherboard and the Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2-TB SSD though as I think they are the best of those two components. I also know that New Egg is a good outfit but I think a buyer is always better off buying directly from the PC manufacturer for initial and long-term support if you need it.

And I will say again I really admire all you younger guys energy and passion on our hobby. Reminds me of myself years ago. I have the mantra that "you never stop learning no matter how old you get" and that's why I come here.

Happy Turkey Day to you all!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 24, 2020, 11:40:15 AM
^Great post! Thoughtful. The rig I am replacing now is an ASUS and it has been excellent, if a little quirky - but the quirky is more from weird application behavior on occasion than the hardware itself.

Two days to go!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on November 24, 2020, 05:27:37 PM
Great post, trek!  :bd:

In the end it isn't my or anyone else's business telling you guys what to spend your money on. It's not a matter of 'being right'.  I hope I didn't come across as trying to, because it wasn't about that from the start at all.

And I fully agree on your points made about spending money on whatever doesn't always have to be about the numbers, but its also about emotion and piece of mind. Fair enough.
And the tolerance bandwidth here is variable.

In the cockpit we have this thing called 'elastic boundaries'. Whenever people start to operate out of the normal you end up in the 'elastic boundary realm'.
This boundary is elastic, because how far the hard limit for any individual lies is dependent on various factors like experience, cooperation with the given colleague in past events, your emotional state, etc.

Coming back on topic; when I read through this thread I reach my elastic boundary's hard limit in terms of pricing in relation to the subject.
I can get vocal about it, but it comes from a good heart. I just have a hard time accepting you actually might WANT to pay premium for it. But everyone can tell me off without me throwing a tantrum. We've been around each other here long enough, I'd say.  :hug:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 24, 2020, 06:17:33 PM
YOU'RE WRONG

8)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on November 25, 2020, 02:12:51 AM
I love being WRONG around the RIGHT people, though.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 25, 2020, 08:41:34 AM
 8)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: trek on November 25, 2020, 09:13:28 AM
Ysonkyn, no worries everything is cool. Your enthusiasm is infectious and you're probably at the top of your game in life.

I also liked JH's old quote about "leading a horse to water". A couple blocks from where I worked in Wash. DC was the National Geographic HQ. They had a museum included in the building with a small auditorium. Every few weeks they would have a speaker come in for a "brown bag lunch" event at 12:00 noon. It was open and free to the public. So, I went to one where the speaker was a guy who had formed an old fashioned expedition in Egypt to follow the Nile River down to it's source. He was a real character and very funny.

Anyway, he started out his presentation with a joke lead-in: "So I formed this expedition with a caravan of camels and pack mules. Our mission was to trace the source of the Nile. The longest and I might add the dirtiest river in the world. It was so dirty that the camels and pack mules would lie down and play dead when it came time to water them."  I think the laughter from that opening lasted a least an entire minute and set the stage for a great presentation.

I am worried about my mental well-being right now because the most exciting thing I'm looking forward to about Friday is finally finding out which PC rig Gus is going to buy. Seems like we should be able to set up a "Let's Make a Deal" game show type presentation with the question: "Is it Door Number 1, 2 or 3?

Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Father Ted on November 25, 2020, 10:14:40 AM
Quote from: trek on November 25, 2020, 09:13:28 AM

I am worried about my mental well-being right now because the most exciting thing I'm looking forward to about Friday is finally finding out which PC rig Gus is going to buy. Seems like we should be able to set up a "Let's Make a Deal" game show type presentation with the question: "Is it Door Number 1, 2 or 3?"

There could be a cliff-hanger...
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 25, 2020, 01:49:24 PM
I am quite the exciting guy. I definitely know which way I am leaning, however - would it be wiser to wait for Cyber Monday to buy as opposed to Black Friday, since I am 100% certain I am buying online? Or will there be no real difference between the two? Just thought of that last night while staring at the ceiling trying to fall asleep.

And isn't the Ganges more filthy than the Nile? It has to be! I don't know how we could compare the two without flying down that rabbit hole that none of us really want to go down.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Grim.Reaper on November 25, 2020, 02:12:22 PM
It's funny Gus as I was going to bet that you don't end up purchasing anything on Friday:)

You have to prove me wrong...eagerly watching:)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: WYBaugh on November 25, 2020, 02:19:05 PM
Quote from: Father Ted on November 25, 2020, 10:14:40 AM
Quote from: trek on November 25, 2020, 09:13:28 AM

I am worried about my mental well-being right now because the most exciting thing I'm looking forward to about Friday is finally finding out which PC rig Gus is going to buy. Seems like we should be able to set up a "Let's Make a Deal" game show type presentation with the question: "Is it Door Number 1, 2 or 3?"

There could be a cliff-hanger...

I'm invested now too
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 25, 2020, 02:58:17 PM
You're all killing me. I don't need this added pressure! :)

Anyway I was just perusing the sales again while eating lunch and prices on monitors, on Amazon here in the US at least, are silly low even right now. There's a company called Sceptre that I have never heard of until today selling 30" and 35" 4k monitors for 300 and 400 dollars, respectively.

When it comes to monitors, I am a loyal Acer customer as I have 3 in the house right now that have never given me an issue, so I am going to get an Acer Predator...but still, 300/400 for a 4k monitor is just ridiculous.

All that to say - I think I will be fine on Black Friday, no need to wait.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on November 25, 2020, 06:19:46 PM
I totally forgot about Cyber Monday being a thing now, and thus possibly affecting the deals you could get from your rig, Gus! -- but this time of year, you might be better off going for Black Friday for timing sake anyway.

Quote from: Yskonyn on November 24, 2020, 05:27:37 PM
Coming back on topic; when I read through this thread I reach my elastic boundary's hard limit in terms of pricing in relation to the subject.
I can get vocal about it, but it comes from a good heart. I just have a hard time accepting you actually might WANT to pay premium for it.

Yep, totally understand, and I appreciate JH, too, trying to help by offering cash-saving options. To which I will add that I would never recommend paying anything (much less premium pricing) for cachet value -- there's a reason why the PC MASTER RACE meme uses something that looks like a MachV, after all! -- nor for the less egotist value of simply feeling pleasure about paying for luxury. I would have avoided the fancy paint on my desktop-replacement laptop all those years ago, too, if I had been given an option. (Though I think the resulting story is very funny, and naturally it still looks sharp so I've been glad to enjoy that aesthetically. But my other two Falcons have been completely boring looking, and I don't care in the slightest.)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Father Ted on November 25, 2020, 06:20:33 PM
Quote from: Gusington on November 25, 2020, 02:58:17 PM
You're all killing me. I don't need this added pressure! :)

Man, you chose the celebrity lifestyle.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on November 25, 2020, 06:21:44 PM
He didn't choose the G life, though. That chose him!  >:D
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 25, 2020, 07:17:53 PM
Hahaha  :2funny:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 26, 2020, 10:36:36 PM
Ok so I am pulling the trigger a little early...for the monitor anyway. At the price listed for the Alienware 34" ultrawide curved monitor I would be nuts not to do it (~900 with tax) and free shipping:

https://deals.dell.com/en-us/productdetail/5z5w?AID=100097115&cjevent=d0afe376305f11eb825206370a24060c&gacd=9694607-23736398-5750457-266319267-127795103&dgc=af&VEN1=12578053-100097115-87431X1560958Xcad81e046b593fe22adbb622f207d01a&dclid=CLvjneTioe0CFcMCswAds5sFeA
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 26, 2020, 11:07:14 PM
...and I have this HP Omen in my NewEgg shopping cart right now...originally listed in one of JH's posts above:

https://www.newegg.com/hp-omen-30l/p/3D5-0005-00BR6?Item=9SIA8S1CTD5998

Specs:

HP OMEN 30L
NVIDIA RTX 3070
RGB Liquid Cooled Intel i9-10900K
Z490 Mobo
750 Watt Platinum PSU
Windows 10 Pro
1TB WD Black SSD + 2TB HDD
32GB HyperX RGB RAM

Will sleep on it and most likely pull the trigger in the morning to make it a proper 'Black Friday' purchase. Threw in a Razer hybrid keyboard (Ornata V2) and a white Logitech mouse.

~2800.00 before taxes, shipping and MS software suite.  May tweak the PC very slightly to bring the grand total back under 4k. I need to go to bed, I am dizzy from looking at specs  :nerd:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: airboy on November 26, 2020, 11:25:37 PM
Are you surrrrrrrrreeeeeee this is the right system?

Right supplier?


Right configuration?


Sleep well!   >:D >:D
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: trek on November 27, 2020, 08:25:50 AM
That's a damn good monitor and price. Just be sure if you're coming from a 27" regular monitor and going to a ultra-wide 34" that you're not going to be bothered by the loss of screen height from the 27" 2760x1440. And the black bars on each side in games that don't support 21:9 A good friend of mine didn't with his 34" and ended up returning it for a 38" ultrawide for the screen height reason. As I've previously mentioned I recently bought a Dell Gaming 32" curved monitor and kept the 16:9 ratio and 2560x1440 gentler 1800R curve and actually gained a little more screen height. I especially like the extra screen height for flight sims.

Not trying to change your choice at all Gus, just want to make sure you've thought of everything. Good hunting!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 27, 2020, 08:46:28 AM
Thanks Trek, yes, I can live with the black bars where the 21:9 is not supported...thought about that for a day before buying! Screen height won't bother me.

As far as the rig itself, I think it's perfect and will last me 5-6 years at least. I'm going in, credit card in hand.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 27, 2020, 09:26:31 AM
Had a last minute discount! That HP Omen was 200.00 less on Amazon than New Egg. So dropped the price from 2700 to 2500. Have 200 additional to spend on a sound bar, etc  <:-)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: trek on November 27, 2020, 09:40:53 AM
Well, I can see you've done your homework well. Good man! That's a great PC rig for the price too. Since you're talking about a sound bar I just realized that I've been so invested in your purchase I forgot that I've got a Logitech 2.1 Sound System coming in today with UPS. I'm going to audition it against my current Bose  Companion 2 speakers.

I've already returned a pair of Razer Nommo speakers to Best Buy that looked great but didn't even come close in sound quality to my Bose. I'm getting the Logi Z533 system as it has a wired volume and bass controller you can set on your desk and place near your fingertips for quick adjustment.  So, I'll see how this one stacks up against the Bose.

Sound like you're more than confident in your choices and that's a good feeling. Best of luck on your new system!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 27, 2020, 09:50:20 AM
^Thanks Trek!

'I'm finally finished,' he said, eyes red-rimmed.

In the end it was definitely worth it to wait to purchase the (HP Omen) rig this Black Friday morning, as the price difference between NewEgg and Amazon was 200.00  \m/

So, all told, with the Alienware 34" monitor, the HP Omen, a Creative Labs sound bar/subwoofer (not an upgrade because I have an older one right now that I am giving to my younger daughter), new 'gaming' mouse (ROCCAT Kain 120) and a Razer Ornata V2 hybrid (membrane/mechanical) keyboard...my total is roughly 3950 with tax. Just under my limit!

The one thing I did not get was a MS Office subscription (Word, Excel, etc.) because I never got around to getting MS Office on this current rig five years ago and it didn't really matter, and also SCREW IT THIS IS A GAMING PC.

Thanks to all who participated in what turned into quite a thread.

It will take about 10 days for all of this to arrive and then probably one full weekend to disassemble my study, reassemble the old PC for my daughter, place my old office furniture in the basement, assemble the new Respawn desk, chair and cabinet I got a few months ago, and then finally put together the new rig.

So this is not only a PC upgrade but really an entire office upgrade!

I need a cigarette.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Pete Dero on November 27, 2020, 09:52:37 AM
^ Sounds like you already had hours of fun and a few sleepless nights with your new PC and he hasn't been delivered yet ;).
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 27, 2020, 09:59:38 AM
^Indeed. Going for a run now to clear my head  :uglystupid2:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on November 27, 2020, 10:01:46 AM
I feel like I just gave birth.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: trek on November 27, 2020, 10:06:53 AM
JH, I'll echo that. Just listening to all the stuff Gus just said he's going to be doing sounds exhausting and makes me feel like I need to go lie down somewhere and take a nap!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: WYBaugh on November 27, 2020, 10:09:30 AM
Congratulations Gus!  That is a nice looking setup.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on November 27, 2020, 11:02:54 AM
Congrats Gus! Its always thrilling having just bought a new system!  :bd:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on November 27, 2020, 11:38:36 AM
Thanks guys, and thanks again for all your help and advice. I must be aging because I have never been this diligent in spending money on a PC. I think that's a good thing. But...stressful. I should just be ecstatic that I can purchase this at all, especially now.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: MC on December 01, 2020, 06:23:45 PM
Gus, now you got me started, but I'll be assembling.  First step: Intel Core i9-10850K Comet Lake 10-Core 3.6 GHz LGA 1200 125W Desktop Processor  Second Step: 2 x SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2 2280 1TB PCIe Gen 3.0 x4, NVMe 1.3 V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive  Next step: Motherboard/Memory
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 01, 2020, 06:32:25 PM
^ I do that to people.

The HP Omen arrived today, BTW. Waiting for the monitor, the keyboard and the mouse.

Assembling all the furniture and putting the rig together this weekend :)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: jamus34 on December 02, 2020, 11:20:36 AM
Is that the sound of Gus "Ssquuueeeeeeeeeing" like a schoolgirl?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 02, 2020, 11:42:57 AM
I await the delivery of the 34" Alienware monitor with giddy loin-moistening abandon. Should be here tomorrow.

(https://media.tenor.com/images/17092aa9bed117ae76cbcb11e6e61f67/tenor.gif)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on December 02, 2020, 12:03:03 PM
That's awesome. I still haven't pulled the trigger. It's perhaps the one trigger in my life I've ever hesitated in pulling.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 02, 2020, 12:34:27 PM
Unlike you to wait - are you still shopping around?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on December 02, 2020, 12:59:16 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 02, 2020, 12:34:27 PM
Unlike you to wait - are you still shopping around?

Having trouble settling for anything but the best, and the best is just a little more than I really want to spend.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: airboy on December 02, 2020, 04:54:28 PM
My 27" monitor barely fits on my computer desk in NC.  What type of desk did you get?  Want to post a picture when you have it set up?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 02, 2020, 05:02:47 PM
I bought a Respawn desk and chair to replace the old, tiny ones that I have now. A few years ago I posted my current setup and I think Slash commented that it looked very 'Dickensian,' which it is in a Tiny Tim way. I will post the new set up here once I have it put together this weekend. It will be great :) Not in a JH Skynet kind of great, but still great.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on December 02, 2020, 06:01:16 PM
 :bd: <:-) :clap:

Happy Birthday To Rig!

Now, of course, you must name it.

Have fun choosing a name.  >:D
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: steve58 on December 02, 2020, 06:28:13 PM
New Rig Day is always very anticipated.  Enjoy.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 02, 2020, 07:11:58 PM
Thank you. The older rig's name is Gigatron. Before that was Megatron, and IIRC before that was UNIVAC.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: steve58 on December 02, 2020, 07:55:03 PM
Careful.  Knowing UNIVAC may be showing your age.  I bet you remember vacuum tubes too.  :timeout:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 02, 2020, 08:44:29 PM
I...do :/

I actually had an illustrated history book of computers that my dad gave me around 1985, and UNIVAC was in there. I was mesmerized.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: jamus34 on December 02, 2020, 10:03:05 PM
Quote from: airboy on December 02, 2020, 04:54:28 PM
My 27" monitor barely fits on my computer desk in NC.  What type of desk did you get?  Want to post a picture when you have it set up?

Wall mount - Makes a world of difference!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Ubercat on December 03, 2020, 08:26:28 PM
Here's the system that I'm considering ordering from Digital Storm.
The cost will be about $3,372 after 10% discount.  Thoughts?

Chassis Model: Digital Storm Velox

Processor: Intel Core i9-10850K (5.2 GHz Turbo) (20-Thread) (10-Core) 3.6 GHz
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z490-P / MSI Z490-A Pro (Intel Z490 Chipset) (Up to 2x PCI-E Devices) (No SLI Support)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 3200MHz Digital Storm Performance Series

Power Supply: 850W Digital Storm Performance Series (Modular) (80 Plus Gold)

Storage / Connectivity
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (1TB Samsung 860 EVO)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)

Graphics / Multimedia
Graphics Card: 1x GeForce RTX 3080 10GB (Performance Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio

Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux PRO: Exotic Custom Cooling System (1x Graphics Card + CPU)
HydroLux Tubing Style: Flexible Tubing (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
HydroLux Fluid Color: Clear Fluid + Clear Tubing (Requires HydroLux Liquid Cooling System)
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 03, 2020, 08:28:25 PM
Solid price for what you're getting, there. Can you increase the power supply a bit?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Ubercat on December 03, 2020, 08:35:25 PM
Do you really think I need to?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 03, 2020, 08:41:28 PM
Not need to, no, but for absolute future proofing, where you would be able to keep this PC for 6, 7 or  8 years and stretch your dollar even further...a slightly more powerful power supply would help.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Jarhead0331 on December 03, 2020, 08:43:22 PM
Quote from: Ubercat on December 03, 2020, 08:35:25 PM
Do you really think I need to?

For a 3080 850w is enough. If you ever upgrade to a 3090, it probably won't be.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 03, 2020, 09:39:24 PM
^Right. Futureproofing!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on December 04, 2020, 04:55:48 AM
I don't know if you care to overclock the processor, cause it's a K model that means it's unlocked and could be overclocked fairly well.
For example, my 9700K runs stable at its constant boost clock of 5.0 Ghz on all cores without breaking a sweat.
So, if you want to pull that off as well I would change the Asus Prime board for something more high end. While Asus makes good stuff their Prime line of products is budget oriented and don't handle overclocking as well as their Strix boards for example. No need to go for Maximus tier, but I would swap out the Prime board if I'd need to chose now.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 04, 2020, 09:26:33 AM
I can also vouch for Asus. The machine I am replacing is an Asus and while not fancy like Yskonyn said, it is a workhorse, always boots up, never crashes and is an all around great machine. And it ran every game I played on it for five years without issues.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 04, 2020, 11:38:11 AM
My Alienware monitor and the keyboard arrived a few minutes ago. The FedEx delivery truck literally exploded in my driveway and there were packages everywhere. From within came the monitor. Hopefully it's alright. Just waiting on delivery of the new speakers, subwoofer and hopped up mouse now.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on December 04, 2020, 12:17:32 PM
Don't Intels have dynamic overclocking? Or used to?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: steve58 on December 04, 2020, 03:29:18 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 04, 2020, 11:38:11 AM
My Alienware monitor and the keyboard arrived a few minutes ago. The FedEx delivery truck literally exploded in my driveway and there were packages everywhere. From within came the monitor. Hopefully it's alright. Just waiting on delivery of the new speakers, subwoofer and hopped up mouse now.

So was it your unbridled enthusiasm/impatience that blew up the delivery truck??  That was me last December waiting for the delivery truck to pull up my driveway with my formerly new PC. 
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 04, 2020, 06:11:26 PM
Believe it or not no. I just stood up from working, and lo and behold, the van was there, with dozens of packages spilling out of it, and the monitor appeared. It's next to my spot on the bed now :)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: matt3916 on December 04, 2020, 07:08:34 PM
Wait...you SLEEP with your monitor?
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on December 05, 2020, 03:34:45 AM
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 04, 2020, 12:17:32 PM
Don't Intels have dynamic overclocking? Or used to?

Intel's have factory spec 'boost'; the old school turbo.
For example, the base clock of my 9700K is 3.6Ghz and can dynamically ramp up to 5.0Ghz in boost for peaks.
However, this up and downclocking of processor caused some microstutter in some situations, at least it did in earlier days, but regardless it's only a feature about energy management and labels, so rather bullshit to me; if I build a high performance gaming rig I don't care about the 20 dollars I pay extra a year due to slightly higher power consumption. It just needs to run at peak performance all the time.
That's why the K models are so nice. Allmost all can run stable at their boost peak with proper cooling and if you get the silicon lottery you can even go beyond without too much trouble.
Though, arguably, the 200 or 300mhz extra wont be very noticable.
Base clock to boost though... different case!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 05, 2020, 09:01:38 AM
Yes, kicked The Wife out for the evening and slept with the monitor  ^-^

TODAY IS THE DAY!!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 06, 2020, 06:02:46 PM
Hello from The Future. After two days and an embarrassingly high amount of help from The Wife to build the furniture and from my daughters to move the old stuff out, the new system is up and running! Downloading clients and apps and AV and games the I couldn't run on my old machine like nobody's business. Even got my Bluetooth speaker running and it is glorious. This HP Omen machine is so damned quiet it's barely noticeable that it's even on...the light show out of the side of the case helps with that. Not sure if that will drive me crazy after a while. But - everything is running flawlessly as of right now. Will post a pic or two when I get the chance.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Yskonyn on December 07, 2020, 03:11:09 PM
Congrats Gus!  :clap:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 07, 2020, 03:43:27 PM
Thanks! Have to say the HP Omen is well-named. It is so efficient and quiet that it's creepy. I had no idea how quiet a PC could be.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 07, 2020, 04:23:31 PM
BTW I have named the PC 'DAMIAN.'  >:D
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Father Ted on December 08, 2020, 01:38:50 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 06, 2020, 06:02:46 PM
Hello from The Future... everything is running flawlessly as of right now...

That is quite a relief - I've been fearing that any new post in this thread will be about Something Going Horribly Wrong
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 08, 2020, 02:09:01 PM
^Give it time, Father.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on December 08, 2020, 08:22:26 PM
Quote from: Gusington on December 08, 2020, 02:09:01 PM
^Give it time, Father.

Your name pick does bode something...!
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 08, 2020, 08:40:14 PM
 >:D
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: steve58 on December 08, 2020, 08:51:27 PM
I thought pics of your new rig/desk were 4thcoming?  :knuppel2:
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 08, 2020, 10:03:38 PM
They are, I just have to get them off my phone and into Imgur...
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Ubercat on December 15, 2020, 06:45:43 PM
Here's the system I ultimately ordered.

I stuck with the 850W PSU because it's plenty for this system and I don't plan on upgrading the graphics card. The 3080 should be great for years and the 3090 is only fractionally better for a much higher price.

After several weeks of vacillation I decided to forgo liquid cooling for some good Corsair fans. This dropped the price by more than $500! It also no doubt saved me some PitA maintenance.

My current system has a 500G SSD and a 3TB HDD. After 2.5 years neither drive is anywhere near full. I've known about RAID for years but never tried it. RAID 0 combined with dual SSD's should make for some blazingly fast load times! I don't have any plans to keep anything irreplaceable on the drives so it won't be the end of the world if one dies prematurely.

The price came to $2,997 after 10% discount.

Chassis
Chassis Model: Digital Storm Velox

Core Components
Processor: Intel Core i9-10850K (5.2 GHz Turbo) (20-Thread) (10-Core) 3.6 GHz
Motherboard: ASUS TUF GAMING Z490-PLUS / MSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE (Intel Z490) (Up to 3x PCI-E) (No SLI)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 3200MHz Digital Storm Performance Series
Power Supply: 850W Digital Storm Performance Series (Modular) (80 Plus Gold)

Storage / Connectivity
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (1TB Samsung 860 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD (1TB Samsung 860 EVO)
RAID Config: RAID 0: Striping: Performance, But No Data Fault Tolerance (Requires 2 Identical HDDs)
Internet Access: Wireless PCI-E (Supports 802.11ac)



Graphics / Multimedia
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 3080 10GB (Performance Edition) (VR Ready)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio

Digital Storm Engineering
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (Dual Fan) (Fully Sealed + No Maintenance)
HydroLux Tubing Style: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
HydroLux Fluid Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a custom HydroLux liquid cooling system selected
Cable Management: Premium Cable Management (Strategically Routed & Organized for Airflow)
Chassis Fans: Corsair LL Series (RGB Fans) (Software Controlled Effects)
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: WallysWorld on December 15, 2020, 06:57:47 PM
I like those specs.

When I got my new computer last year, I stayed with the onboard audio for the Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Master and thought the sound was very good. But this past summer, I bought a Sound BlasterX AE-5 card and I think it does a better job at audio than the onboard sound chip does. Not a whole lot better, but with my Creative Gigaworks T40 2.0 speakers, I can definitely tell a difference. Something you may want to consider in the future.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: Gusington on December 15, 2020, 08:57:27 PM
Creative make very good and affordable audio speakers, bars, subwoofers, etc. for PCs.

Uber for what you got, that is a very good price too.
Title: Re: Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg
Post by: JasonPratt on December 16, 2020, 03:46:06 PM
I'm interested to hear of someone using the RAID system. I've never bothered with it myself, and definitely didn't want to experiment!  :notworthy: