Alienware - Aurora Desktop with AMD Phenom™ X4 9550 Quad-Core Processor

I thought that since alienware was a crazy great brand name gaming manufacturer that this pc would be good. I was wrong. The good is that the specs are awesome on paper. I has an amd phenom processor and dual ati 4850 which can easily match the 9800 gx2. The bad. The reviewer below me was right. It overheats. What does that mean? It means the stupid graphics card idle at 78 degrees celsius. I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes. In conclusion nice specs but get a cheaper and more reliable computer like the velocity micro and just upgrade the graphics. That's it.

A LOT of reviewers expect exceptional performance out of this system for games that don't require this much power, (i.e. World of Warcraft, or the myriad of other online titles) this rig is built for offline gaming. By that I mean that no system will perform beyond what the game itself can stream over your internet connection. Essentially this a similar to a video game system, it'll play everything perfectly, run its tasks flawlessly and out perform in most ways, however online gaming isn't really the forte, unless of course you are playing a game that is high speed server side or playing through LAN. nuff said.

Alienware is a great and reliable company, purchasing from them is definitely worth the price, even though it is quite a bit overpriced. Alienware is definitely trustworthy and it has extremely powerful machines to offer. This one is regular, definitely a good enough gaming computer to handle pretty much any game out there in highest configuration. However, the ram, even though you don't need a lot to run one game at a time, is relatively low compared to its price. Everything else on it is definitely good enough though. Not the best purchase if you are looking for cheap quality equipment, but I'd say it's definitely worth having an Alienware machine if you have the money for one.

Let's start with what impressed us. From the moment we unpacked the new Alienware Aurora Desktop and throughout our benchmarking, it was clear this system was a cut above the competition. Whether or not you're a fan of the signature Alienware chassis design, there's no denying that the glossy, reflective finish looks fantastic. Even the bundle came presented in luxurious fashion, as did the ultra clean wiring job But lest our opinion get tainted by an immeasurable aura, we can (and did) measure the performance, and here too the new AURORA put on a superb showing. To date, it's the fastest PC we've had in our Lab, and by a good margin. Overall our experience with the new Aurora Desktop was a positive one. The component selection alone makes this a PC to be reckoned with, but combined with Alienware's hardware and software customizations, what emerges is high class hotrod. Of course, you have to pay to play, and if you want to play with Alienware's flagship model, expect to pay a lot.

Why Dell used an AMD 9550 as the CPU - an old model which you can buy for under $90 - is peculiar to me. They should have chosen a 2009 model AMD Phenom II X3 or X4 with a forward-looking Socket AM3. Maybe they were long on inventory or whatever, but with this configuration, they could retail it for $800 and still make a huge profit. I'd stick with a different rig for this kind of money - ask the Best Buy Geek Squard or tech salespeople and they'll lead you to something truly worth $1,500.00.

Its really a fantastic system, I updated from a pentium 4 and this system is everything I expected for gaming. The 2 video cards and 4GB or RAM make the gaming experience amazing. FPS are very high all the time, I'm a flight simmer myself and I am always running smoothly. I can run many tasks and it doesnt reduce the performance of my game. Only downside I have had so far is I cant install McAfee security because its not compatible with vista 64bit.. no worries it will come with time though. I would recommend this to you, its worth every penny. BETTER OPTION THAN THE DELL XPS.

A little Expensive, but you get what you pay for. I have 2 Alienware's and I have never once regretted purchasing either one. Hight end qualtiy parts and service. I'm in the market for another alienware right now. I'm going to buy another one. I personally really like the look and I have been very happy with them. It's a computer case that you can reuse years down the road also when you want to upgrade the components. Or you can just buy another Alienware like I'm going to do.

I saved up to buy this beast and I don't regret it at all. I had a couple of technical questions about upgrading when I received it and their reps were very helpful, so I'm confident about their support. The system rocks though. I mostly play WoW but like to play COD4 and Team Fortress 2 also. I highly recommend it for gamers looking into buying a desktop. You can't go wrong with a company that specializes in gaming. Back to playing!!!