Wednesday, August 13th 2008

Alienware Aurora Series now out with Radeon HD 4870 X2 Graphics Cards

Following the launch of the flagship graphics card from AMD, the Radeon HD 4870 X2 (codenamed R700 Spartan), Alienware has begun offering its Aurora series high-performance gaming desktops with this card. It lists as a US $550 upgrade over the base model that comes with the GeForce 9600 GT accelerator, buyers can customize their desktops with these cards. When configuring, buyers might incur costs such as $1100 for two cards in Crossfire X plus $350 for the required 1,200 Watt power supply that (Alienware finds) is required when configuring Aurora desktops with two cards.

The Radeon HD 4800 series micro-site can be reached here
Source: Alienware
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22 Comments on Alienware Aurora Series now out with Radeon HD 4870 X2 Graphics Cards

#1
Mussels
Freshwater Moderator
$550 for an upgrade from a 9600GT = about $250 too much

$1100 for crossfire X :(

and $350 for a 1,200W PSU! how much can they milk this! (admittedly, its going to need a lot of PCI-E connections but come on, an 800W would probably handle it fine)
Posted on Reply
#2
alexp999
Staff
Mussels$550 for an upgrade from a 9600GT = about $250 too much

$1100 for crossfire X :(

and $350 for a 1,200W PSU! how much can they milk this! (admittedly, its going to need a lot of PCI-E connections but come on, an 800W would probably handle it fine)
On benches Crossfre of the 4870X2's hit about 750W.

So in a case with pretty lights, and more stuff than reviewers use. I'd would personally get a Corsair HX1000W for crossfire of these X2's.

1200W is too much tho IMO.
Posted on Reply
#3
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
A Corsair TX750W should suffice for 2x R700 + mainstream quad machine.
Posted on Reply
#4
alexp999
Staff
btarunrA Corsair TX750W should suffice for 2x R700.
Dont you think thats pushing it? Like I said reviewers had got it upto about 700-750W under load for two in crossfire. What with the extra lights and gadgets you get on alienware, your asking a lot from a 750W PSU. Dont forget also, that people who buy Pre-builts will usually keep them for a while. People like us here on TPu can run a PSU close to its limits cus we're probably only gonna keep it for a year.
Going on Mussels thing about Capacitor aging you need head room as the PSU ages, even more so with a 750W power draw under full load.
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#5
btarunr
Editor & Senior Moderator
Corsair PSUs are not what their numbers are :) For example, a VX450W is as good as a 550W PSU, it can handle a 9800 GX2 / HD 3870 X2 plus a quad thrown in plus 2x HDDs. TX750W should run them + mainstream quad (read 95W)
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#6
Animalpak
Oh c'mon, you can have the same PC with the same components to half the price that costs this .

Dont' be lazy, but do these pc have market? I ask because they keep on selling them
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#7
Scrizz
AnimalpakDont' be lazy, but do these pc have market? I ask because they keep on selling them
obviously yes :p
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#8
chron
Animalpakbut do these pc have market? I ask because they keep on selling them
yeah people buy them man. A mechanic might think the same thing of someone who buys one of those cobra kit cars pre-built instead of buying the kit and building it themselves.
Posted on Reply
#9
Megasty
lol, its called buying a company-made pc instead of building it yourself. Paying $3500-4000 you can build yourself for $1500-2000 is sick.

Building an enthusiast rig is half the fun of owning one. Of course there are super rich boys out there that don't want to be bothered with the woes of making a rig work - but alienware pc's are hardly idiot poof.

I wouldn't use anything under 1000W with 2 of those beasts. But I also have the cash to blow on uber PSUs. If you don't then you can get by on smaller PSUs but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm not about to hook up $1k+ of cards to a $150 PSU. If you can buy 2 of these, then you will most likely have the cash to buy the best PSU that's available (within a reasonable range).
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#10
WhiteLotus
Allienware have always been massively overpriced. They are good machines but an experienced person could build the same thing at a great reductions.
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#11
WarEagleAU
Bird of Prey
yes they have, but they have a niche and not everyone can do what we all do on here.
Posted on Reply
#12
KBD
WarEagleAUyes they have, but they have a niche and not everyone can do what we all do on here.
def a niche market. The best thing about alienware are those rockin' cases. I would love to get my hands on one of those :p
Posted on Reply
#13
Wayward
*SARCASM* Wow, thats not overpriced at all. Totally reasonable. */SARCASM*

*LIES* I totally want one. I couldn't build one myself for less than half the price. */LIES*

*OBVIOUS* Oh wait, Alienware sucks! */OBVIOUS*
Posted on Reply
#14
TheGuruStud
Wayward*SARCASM* Wow, thats not overpriced at all. Totally reasonable. */SARCASM*

*LIES* I totally want one. I couldn't build one myself for less than half the price. */LIES*

*OBVIOUS* Oh wait, Alienware sucks! */OBVIOUS*
So, uh, how many pots of coffee have you had today? :D
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#15
Nkd
what a waste of money and the fun you can have building your own. than again if I had a million bucks I would probably get one, lol.
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#16
ShadowFold
Nkdwhat a waste of money and the fun you can have building your own. than again if I had a million bucks I would probably get one, lol.
If I had a mil I would just build my own custom case out of gold and get some diamond thermal paste :cool: and a xigmatek sized diamond heatsink for my two 4870X2's and QX9770 :cool:
Posted on Reply
#17
zithe
ShadowFoldIf I had a mil I would just build my own custom case out of gold and get some diamond thermal paste :cool: and a xigmatek sized diamond heatsink for my two 4870X2's and QX9770 :cool:
(since I'm an artsy fartsy guy) I would design my own case, get it patented, and go to a big company to make them for me. Also ask if they would like to sell them and I'd take 25%.
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#18
Wayward
TheGuruStudSo, uh, how many pots of coffee have you had today? :D
One too many, lol! :toast:
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#19
Unregistered
Alienware is a mess... If you're gonna go prebuilt in the US then MainGear and OverdrivePC should be your first ports of call. Maybe VooDoo at a stretch, but Sood has gone all crazy on us recently.

Obviously personally I wouldn't touch one because I enjoy building my PCs, even when they piss me off and bugger me about for hours at a time.
Posted on Edit | Reply
#20
johnnyfiive
chronyeah people buy them man. A mechanic might think the same thing of someone who buys one of those cobra kit cars pre-built instead of buying the kit and building it themselves.
People and business' FINANCE them. Plus, they have warranties which is a good selling point for some people. I'd never buy an Alienware though. To me, its all about building up your own machine. That is half the fun of it IMO.
Posted on Reply
#21
WhiteLotus
and they look amazing! i would just like the case to be honest
Posted on Reply
#22
KBD
yea, i dont know why they dont sell these cases to the public. they can make good money, sell them at a steep price and they can still stay in the custom pc business. I wonder who makes these cases for them, anyone know?
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