does anyone here have the Dell XPS, if so could you tell me which one, what frames u get with addon scenery, in manhattan, all sliders maxed, full addon traffic, and the PMDG737 or CS727 or any other plane thats a frame hog. and anyother info and if your happy with it thanks a bunchadam

I'm sure as much as Tom and crew hate to have people sent over to flightsim.com, I am only telling you because there is a great review I saw over there today between this system and an Alienware. I highly suggest you check it out.Craig

I think that "review" is totally bogus.QUOTE:"One entire group of PCs we rejected early on were those using the new 64-bit AMD processors. We rejected them all for the time being for one simple reason: there is no 64-bit operating system. Rick has decades of experience in technology and has worked with 64-bit UNIX systems. He knows first-hand that software must be properly optimized for a 64-bit data bus in order to get true performance gains. In fact, when you run 32-bit software on most 64-bit systems, you actually get poorer performance than when running the application on a 32-bit processor. AMD claims to have solved this with their new 64-bit CPU but we just don't believe that. We'll wait until the 64-bit AMD and Intel CPUs are fully supported by a fully optimized 64-bit Windows operating system and running a version of Microsoft Flight Simulator that has been written to run on 64-bit architecture before we dive into the deep end of that pool."That statement shows either: A. a colossal misunderstanding of the AMD 64 architecture, or more likey B. unabashed and unfounded bias toward Intel. It doesn't matter what this guy Rick "believes," the fact is if you want the highest performing system right now, you get an Athlon 64 FX-53, not this ridiculous P4 Extreme Edition system that costs almost $5000. Running a 64-bit UNIX system does not qualify someone to make blanket statements regarding how AMD's 64bit CPUs will run Windows apps. Is Intel paying FS.com to say this crap? AMD specifically designed this CPU to be effective in BOTH the 32 bit and 64 bit realms.Why did they refuse to even test an AMD system? Every legitimate hardware review site out there has proven the AMD64 architechture over and over again as the fastest in most benchmarks even when running 32 bit software. The statement that 32 bit software runs slower on the Athlon 64 is just flat out wrong and there's a million benchmark comparisions showing the Athlon 64 spanking an Athlon XP at the same clock speed, as well as spanking P4's that are a full GHz "faster."Intel today just cancelled their planned next generation P4's (the Tejas) and are moving to something completely new because they can't compete with the new Socket 939 Athlon 64s that are about to come out.Take this kind of reviewing with a grain of salt - that system is a total ripoff if you ask me.

Yeah that is just a bunch of missinformation! It's PROVEN that an AMD 64 RUNS 32 bit programs FASTER! All one needs to do is check Tom's Hardware or Sharky Extreme web sites or other non biased folks to see. My system kicks some butt even with a silly Nvidia 5700 Ultra ;-) this AMD rocks............. [h4]Best Wishes,Randy J. Smithhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/betaimg.jpgAMD 64 3200+ | ASUS KV8 DELUXE | GFORCE 5700 ULTRA @535/1000 | WD SATA 80 GIG | 512 DDR 400 |

Alienware makes a good machine. No doubt about that. I love mine. I take exception to the article at flightsim; however. The basic difference between Alienware and the Dell XPS system is not price or performance. Either will perform dependent on just what components you order with the system and both are priced competitively. My suggestion, if you order an Alienware, buy it stripped of all the extras and get the standard chieftan case. Get a top mobo, video card, plenty of ram, good harddrive and sound card, extra cooling and extra large power supply. If you want fancy dvd/cd drivers, speakers and the like, go to the store and buy em' off the shelf. You'll get better components for a whole lot less money. The DVD drive that came with my Alienware is junk. The rest is pure quality. I didn't order any of the gismos and gadgets. Just the basic machine with the important components inside. With Alienware, you get the machine and the Operating System. No other software. Dell comes with a very nice software package. Much of which you don't need as you probably already got most of the stuff in the deskdraw anyway. But, it is nice to get an uptodate Works software package at virtually no extra cost with the Dell machine.If you want a good system with a decent warranty, Dell is the way to go. Alienware's definition of "ON SITE" means, their onsite in Florida. You ship it back, pay the shipping, they reformat it and check it out and ship it back to you a month or two later. It might be fixed and might not be fixed. Alienware's Warranty is totally worthless. Having said that, odds are you'll never need to use their warranty cause the equipment is very, very good. If you do ever need the warranty service, G O D help you!!! Dell, on the other hand, stands behind their words. You get a Dell tech next day at your door if you need em'. You might get an argument on the phone, but in the end, if you stick to your guns, the tech will be there next day. That just won't happen with Alienware. No chance! You ship it back. Or do the smart thing. Just take it downtown to a good computer shop, have it fixed and pay for it yourself. Forget about the warranty.Dell systems are propriety in some respects. They're getting better in that regard though. You should think of an Alienware as something you can upgrade and upgrade till the plastic on the case wears out and think of Dell as something you'll end up giving to the grand kids or to a charity after three or four years. Whatever you choose, you'll get a good machine. No doubt.

Though I build my own boxes, I'm always curious about Alienware offerings and made the mistake of reading that review at Flightsim.com. Cap Mason has proven himself to be without credibility and terribly biased in his reviewing. It's sad to see this sort of thing in our hobby. He's serving no one but himself with his product reviews.Caveat emptor to anyone who reads his stuff. Find more reputable product reviews before buying. And any seller who allows him to review their products is taking on more liability than his writings are worth.Sad... really sad.Greg

Yeah, the "reasoning" for not testing the AMD 64 is total Barbara Striesand. "We don't believe AMD's claims, therefore we will not test them." - very scientific. No worries, though. I'll be testing AMD's claims myself soon enough ;)

so what you guys are saying is that the alienware area 51 isnt as good as they say it is and not as much better than the XPS as they say it is?adam

The last couple of machines I bought have been Dells. This time, because money is tighter, I decided to build it myself. I bought the case, a 120GB SATA hard drive, mobo, 1gig of high-end Mushkin memory, and an AMD 64 3000+. I used my existing Radeon 9500 Pro (didn't want to buy a new video card with the new stuff coming out) and a Soundblaster Audigy.Price was about $700, and this new system is incredibly fast and stable. Much more stable and dependable than my 2.4ghz P4 Dell.As for FlightSim.com's "reviews", they are a joke and completely lack any credibility. How can you trust any review that has an advertisement at the end? I am sure Alienware's are good machines, but $4000.00? Zowie.

I found the 'review' most entertaining ;). It certainly displayed some great technical knowledge - ' AMD claims to have solved this with their new 64-bit CPU but we just don't believe that'. Such objectivity and with well-researched scientific facts... Check out his graphics settings and then this statement: >The agony of struggling with an underpowered PC, or a buggy video card (remember the agony of ATI!) lasts what seems like an eternity.< And how on earth did he manage to take two fairly similar systems and manage to have Megascenery load in 70 seconds on one, and over 5 and a half minutes on the other? Did he by any chance compare his old Dell with lots of software installed against a brand new Alienware with 90% free disk space? I'm just wondering - do manufacturers pay for those infomercials? Cheers,Gosta.http://www.hifisim.com/images/as2betateam.jpg

I regret I got as far as realising the review was written by CM, and read no further. No need to, as it was already obvious what he was going to say. After seeing this thread I did have a quick look at some of the setup information recommended by Alienware, and if I was asked to throttle my HUGELY expensive graphics card by setting `application preference` for anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering after spending all that money on it I'd be more than a bit miffed! Interestingly, the screenshots do not show the qualitative and quantitative aspects I would expect for the money. Only 70 fps? With the IQ strangled? Whatever were they thinking?No question, the AMD 64 3200 with an `appropriate` mobo, top of the line graphics card (and that would imply, at this level an ATI Radeon 9800XT, nothing less) and equivalent hardware for the remainder WILL outperform the Alienware rig in standard, non-overclocked trim. And at a cost that leaves enough left over for a flying lessons, let alone a few sim accessories.I seem to remember CM was removed as a moderator from that site a short time ago after some incident. I reckon the site owners need to reconsider his position as a reviewer too.Allcott

"Did he by any chance compare his old Dell with lots of software installed against a brand new Alienware with 90% free disk space?"Yes he was comparing the Alienware with his older XPS, A P4 3.2 extreme edition (800fsb) vs. a P4 3.06 (533 fsb) along with many other hardware differences.quote from the article -"Actually, comparing the Area-51 Extreme to our first generation Dimension XPS is not really a fair fight. It's a bit like going into a gunfight on the dusty streets of Tombstone with a muzzle-loading flintlock pistol against Wyatt Earp's Colt 45 six-shooter. The Area-51 is loaded with advanced technologies that were just over the bleeding edge nine months ago when we reviewed the XPS and 8300 Dimension machines."-----AlienwareP4 3.2 Extreme Edition (800fsb)GeForce FX 5950 Ultra 256MB2, 36.7GB Western Digital Raptor Serial ATA (SATA) 10,000 RPM 8MB Cache in a RAID 0 Array.Dell XPS3.06GHZ Intel Pentium 4(533fsb)Western Digital 120GB Ultra ATA, 7200 RPM hard drive 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 Pro video card with ATI Catalyst 4.4 driver -------At the bottom of the page he confuses the issue by showing a price comparison of a similarly configured Dell to the Alienware, but that is not the one compared in the benchmarks.Confusing and poorly done!All of these past reviews by him read more like ads than real reviews IMO.alienwarehttp://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=main/review/alien.htmdell 8300/xpshttp://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=main/review/dell83.htmdell8250 http://www.flightsim.com/cgi/kds?$=main/review/dell8250.htm Kurt M

I have an XPS with the ATI 9800XT Radeon. I love my computer when it comes to FS9. After a few months of tweaking I keep my frames locked at around 50fps. I dont know how many I can actually get up to though. In manhatten with 100% ultimate traffic I usually stay at around 45fps. I dont have the addon scenery for Manhatten though. At the fly Tampa sceneries with 100% autogene and 100% Ultimate Traffic and lago addon dynamic scenery I stay at around 45fps. Like I said I dont know how high I can set the fps and keep them steady though. The only down side to the XPS in my eyes is the noise. The fans are loud and they can be anoying sometimes.

AdamBefore you buy a Dell you should have a look here: www.resellerratings.com/seller1867.html . They used to be a good company, I used to buy and recommend their equipment (and now I've got a few people really pi$$ed off at me for that. I don't know what happened but Dell went downhill REAL fast. Now they're at about the bottom of the barrel. You don't want to be one of the 500 or 600 so horror stories listed at the above site. No wonder they moved their customer support to India!David