http://www.alienware.com/product_detail_pages/Aurora_ALX/alx_features.aspx?SysCode=PC-AURORA-ALX-R6&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT



On the alienware site, this version of the ALX has, 4 7900 Nvidia graphic cards, a PHYSICS CARD, an AMD FX-62, 2 gigs of ram, and cooling stuff, does anyone else think that that is insane? Who needs that much power? (Don't get me wrong, iI would love to have one, but it still is a bit overkill!) Oh, and did i mention that if you get all the cards, you don't even have enough PCI slots, you have to leave out a sound card or something...

Please make more descriptive topic titles.

This looks uberpwnsome.

Yeah, cause its only extremely overpriced. It also only comes configured with 1gb of RAM by default, nor does it come with the PhysX card by default either.

Dual Core AMD FX-62 = $1,000

4x7900GTXs (which isn't an alienware only thing at all) = $1800

Physics Card (which, btw, almost no games even support, and those that DO support it barely use it at all. There are also reports of the card SLOWING DOWN the game.) = $280

2gb of DDR2 800 (PC-6400) RAM = $200 (Notice this is less than the alienware's upgarde price from 1gb to 2gb?)

Socket AM2 nvidia nForce 590 SLi Edition = ~$150-200

700w PSU = ~$150

Water Cooling System (high end Danger Den) = $180

250gb hdd (same specs as alienwares default drive) = $85

Alienwares price = $6,440
Retail Price (build it yourself) = $3,895

Granted my quickly spec'd system is missing some items like a case (depends on what style you want), mouse, keyboard, and DVD burner, that won't add up to another $3,000 no matter how highend of parts you pick

It isn't that much of overkill either, only the 4 nvidia 7900gtx's are a bit extreme. I'm going to built myself a system this summer with an X2 5000+ (one step down from the FX62), and a single 7900GT (or 7900GTX, depending on prices), and 2gb of ram. But it'll only cost me around $1400

EDIT: Fixed mobo typo, mislabeled it socket 939 when it is socket AM2

Do you mean an fx 60? Also, alienware is WAAAAYYYY overpriced, but still, those components are sweet !

/me hates alienware. build it yourself. Find the exact same components on NewEgg. the case doesn't matter.

No, I meant what I said. I was trying to match the Alienware part for part (Oh, and the FX 60 is Socket 939 only, and therefor wouldn't fit in the socket AM2 mobo nor would it work with the DDR2 800 ram)

http://www.monarchcomputer.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=M&Product_Code=120987&Category_Code=AM2

This is the first I've heard of a physics card, but the idea sounds like a good one. Which manufacturers make them?

The processor on it is made by Ageia and is called PhysX. However, the actual cards are currently just available from BFG and Asus. While the idea sounds good, there are two others competeing with it. Plain ol' CPU physics (what else is that second core gonna do? ) and using the GPU for physics (Havok FX)

The problem with Ageia's solution is it requires another $250 or whatever, and without a game that can really utilize it, it basically just sits there doing nothing. Havok FX, however, can use any modern GPU (i think it needs to be SM3.0 capable, so nv 6xxx/7xxxx series or ATi's X1xxx series), and could be used as a "drop-in" alternative to the regular CPU powered Havok, since both Havok (and therefore Havok FX) and Ageia use their own physics APIs

Cool! I'll have to research it more. I've heard of using the gfx chip to do the physics stuff, but never a standalone card to do it.

I remember that a few months ago, in CGW (Computer Gaming World, they have a tech section) they had an article on the fact that in a few years, physics cards might be needed. (I think they gave an example of their use as lets say, instead of leaving a texture over a wall when you shot it, you could actually blow through and it would break realistically, with no scripted events.)

Oh man, that would be so awesome. At last, photorealistic gaming.

There are already games that do that, in vary intuitive ways. Take HL2 for example. Every texture also stores all the info about it. So if I were to make a simple box room, and apply metal textures to the floor, brick textures to the walls, and wood to the ceiling, each surface would automatically take on the properties of that texture. Shooting the floor would produce sparks, the ceiling would result in wood chips, etc...

F.E.A.R. lets you just shred rooms to pieces, tearing chunks out of the walls. None of that is scripted, as trying to programmically specify every possible solution is crazy inefficient.

That is already here and available, and a physics card is far from Plus, as CPUs scale with more and more cores, the idea of needing a seperate physics card becomes laughable. What else is the CPU going to do if not physics? Sure, there is AI and such, but thats not going to keep both FX-62 cores busy....

@Kerm: Photorealistic gaming does not involve physics at all

How does all of that work? Does it treat each little piece of wall as a separate object, or does it deform the wall poly and create new objects when the collisions occur?

Deform the wall, creating new objects. You can watch this by just enabling wireframe mode

Cool [brb, off to mod Wolfenstein83 to allow that]

It would be sweet if it was possible (imagine bursting through the walls and the debris crushing the enemy...). Make a new gun just for that...

Have you not read anything I've said? Not only is it possible, but there are ALREADY GAMES THAT HAVE THAT!!!! (without needing any physics card either)

Aye, 'twould be cool. Somehow I doubt the 83+ could come even close to handling that though.

lol, not with the CPU being all tied up just struggling to produce crappy B&W graphics

I was referring to the wolfenstein bit