Gaming

In case you missed part 1, check it out here.

Thousands of led lights flashing and blinking illuminate the otherwise dark room at the LAN party. At first glance you might think everyone is playing on a uniformed system, but with a simple question; what kind of rig do you have, you will find out how special and unique LAN goers systems are.

Originally you were only cool if you had a self build custom computer. Still today many who build their own system will swear by it and turn their nose up at anyone with what they call a stock system. When Alienware came on the scene this all changed. It can be debated which one prefers, but once Alienware systems started showing up at LAN parties it became clear that you did not have to be a computer building whiz kid to have a sweet rig.

When I was introduced to Alienware I had already built a system with the help of my friends. I was proud of my system and it was pretty awesome. I have to be honest that when I saw the original hydraulic case in purple my jaw dropped. Here was a system just as powerful as mind in a custom color that looked like it was built by its owner. I later came to realize this was because Alienware employees did indeed hand build their own systems.

To be fair, there were those who compared prices and specs in an attempt to validate their own systems, but for the majority it was accepted as a LAN worthy rig. This may seem silly to those on the outside, but to the LAN member our PCs are as important to us as a powerful engine is to a mechanic.

A lot of time and effort was put into system building. Often one would spend days just building it and then do all sorts of tweaks and fixes to it to get it just right for game day. While it was a badge of honor when you did build your own system it was not for everyone. I never bothered anyone about having a store bought rig considering my first LAN system was store bought. This did not stop others who believed you had to build a gaming system and nothing else was good enough.

Today we have systems that can run most of the games we want to play. Many people still build, but with high performance options at reasonable prices like, Alienware this allows gamers of all ages and economic statuses to own a powerful system. Back in the late nineties this was still not the case. The 3D video card market was just taking off and newer games required quite the system resources.

The downside was that to keep up with the newer games and products you had to upgrade pretty frequently, but to the hardcore LAN and gamer this was all part of the process. Alienware allowed those who could not build or did not have time to troubleshoot the opportunity to have a system that had the power to play their games and the ability to upgrade whenever it was necessary. It was no wonder as time went on that you saw more and more Alienware rigs at LAN parties.

Many who built their own systems also owned an Alienware because of its unique look and upgradability. In the end some will always swear by their own hand built rig, but custom company systems have earned their place among gamers and LAN attendees alike.

In part three of the series we will explore how games and game play have affected the LAN party.

Sorry for the delay. Due to some technical difficultes with our registration database, I had to post this a little bit later than I wanted to. Folks who read sites like Anandtech and other enthusiast sites have known that Intel’s Lynnfield chipset and new Core family of processors were due to be introduced. Lynnfield and the new processors are here, and so is a pair of new desktops from Dell—the Studio XPS 8000 and 9000. Here’s a picture of both side by side:

The Studio XPS 8000 is a great option for the kind of user who needs performance and power without a massive full-size minitower. It is the smaller version of its big brother the Studio XPS 9000, which was formerly known as the XPS 435 desktop that I blogged about back in February. The Studio XPS 8000 stands at 16.1” tall and is 7.32 inches wide and weighs around 16.5 pounds.

Both machines are built for high-end performance, supporting the newest Intel Core i5 and i7 processors. Whether you’re interested in using a PC to watch and record HD content, view and edit photos, listen to music or to edit your own HD videos, or playing games either machine is up to the task. Beyond that, it’s powerful enough to serve all that kind of content throughout the house.

The Studio XPS 8000 is available to customers in the United States today at a starting price of $799. It’s built on Intel’s P55 chipset, and it features the following:

• Quad core Intel Core i5 and i7 processors (specifically, the Core i5 750 and the Core i7 860 and 870 processors)
• DDR3 memory (supports both 1066MHz and 1333MHz up to 16GB max)
• ATI and NVIDIA graphics card options (ATI’s HD 3450; NVIDIA’s GT220, GTS240 and GTX260)
• Up to two hard drives (capacities of 320GB, 500GB 640GB, 750GB 1TB and 1.5TB are all options)
• 8 USB  ports (2 angled ports on top + 2 front + 4 back); 1Gb Ethernet adapter, 1 eSATA port in the back; 6-pin IEEE 1394a port in the back and more
• Top-mounted power button, microphone and headphone connector

The power supply is 350W. The optional TV tuner allows you to watch and record over the air HD signals. The Studio XPS 8000 also supports up to two optical drives, including a 6x Blu-ray disc burner and 16x DVD+/-RW drive. The front-mounted 19-in-1 card reader supports all kinds of flash-based memory cards to make it easy to import photos and videos into the PC.

Speaking of videos, there’s also a pretty cool software option for both the Studio XPS 8000 and 9000 desktops called MediaShow Espresso. It’s an application that speeds the video transcoding process (converting video from one format to another). In a nutshell, it uses the combined performance of your CPU and GPU to make converting videos a much quicker process. And regardless of what GPU solution you opt for, MediaShow Espresso has you covered since it works with NVIDIA’s CUDA technology and ATI’s stream technology. Extremetech posted an in-depth review of the transcoding software complete with tons of performance data. Bottom line, if you spend any amount of time converting videos to play on your Xbox 360, Sony PSP or PS3, iPhone or other devices, buying this software for an extra $20 is a no-brainer.

Note: Click on either of the photos in this post to see larger versions of these images. To see more photos of the XPS 8000, take a look at this set on Dell’s Official Flickr page.

A good friend of mine asked me what would become of LAN parties with so many people having access to high-speed internet and online games like, World of Warcraft. To answer his question I thought back to when I first arrived in Miami.

I did not know anyone my age, so I asked my mother for a computer; this led to me buying Warcraft for the PC. I did not know much about online gaming so I did an AltaVista search and found a site called Dwango.

Dwango, called that because it stood for, "Dialup Wide-Area Network Game Operation" allowed people to dial in and play with other people over their network. The big games at the time were Doom and Duke Nukem 3D.

It was in the Miami channel that I met my first real online friends. Over the next few weeks we played a ton of games together and then one day they told me about a LAN party they were going to start called Red-Eye.

Now I had never taken my PC out of the house and with all the warnings about giving out information to people you meet online the idea of going to some warehouse with my PC to meet people I never had seen in person was just crazy. However, I decided to give it a chance and it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

The LAN party allowed me to meet great new people and make lifelong friends. In fact, if it was not for the LAN party I would not have become an Alienware employee. It was at that LAN that I learned how important a person’s computer is to them and where I saw my first Alienware. It was a jet black hydraulic case and had everyone there asking about it.

The LAN however, is more than just gaming and competition. I thought of it as a fraternity for gamers. Often you had people who were more seasoned in gaming or had been with the LAN group longer and so they were looked upon as elders.

You earned your place not only by how well you played, but your rig (computer), your knowledge of gaming and computers and your overall personality. When I showed up I had a small computer I purchased from a discount store and knew little about the inner workings of a computer. Less than a year later, I knew how to build my own PC and how to connect and troubleshoot networks without ever stepping into a classroom.

In part 2, I will talk about how personal a person’s computer is to a LAN member and the debate between buying and building your own. Also I will cover the evolution of the LAN and the friendships created within.

I pride myself on being a geek's geek. After the years of torture in high school for spending more time playing table-top and computer games than chasing girls and causing mischief, the geek label is something I've always felt I've earned. Attending PAX for the first time has shown me I only register as a small tremor on the Geek Richter Scale.

The convention is crawling with thousands of costume-clad game fans sporting colors from every gaming genre. The Jedi stand shoulder to shoulder with elves, Marios and Luigis, robots, Master Chiefs, Team Fortress 2 Engies, Ghostbusters, and super heroes, and strangely it all somehow makes an odd sense. These are the nations most hardcore game fans. I am forced to bow before their geeky greatness.

The Alienware booth is nestled off to one side of the expo hall, and is set up as a miniature "e-sports arena". Bleachers align the back of the wall where people can view gamers clashing on the two circular game pedestals at center stage. Along either side of the competition battlegrounds lie two trailer containers filled with Alienware equipment where people sign up for Alienware Arena and the tournaments taking place throughout the weekend. The action will be non-stop throughout the weekend, and the *** shall flow continually.

If you're at PAX and think you have what it takes, stop by the Alienware booth to test your mettle against others in various games, including Plants vs. Zombies, UT3, Section 8, Street Fighter IV, and others. At the least it'll be a great time, and who knows... you may just be the one to land on the top of the dog pile.

I wanted to give a shout out to our friends at NCSoft - The Space Needle was an excellent place to host the Aion release party. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Later this afternoon or early tomorrow I'll be posting some photos to the Dell Flickr gallery. I'll keep you posted.

Packing day has arrived, and in true 'John Blain style' I've saved the task until the last minute. Filling boxes or suitcases was never a job I'd relished, and considering I'll be packing to leave for Seattle's Penny Arcade Expo this weekend (or PAX to the faithful), my procrastination even baffles me. For the unfamiliar, PAX can best be described as a weekend-long celebration of everything 'gamer'. Since it is a gamer mecca, Alienware will be there with bells on, and I'll be there to blog, tweet, video, and photograph from the event.

If you were lucky enough to get passes (the event has been sold out for a bit now), I strongly encourage you to drop by the Alienware booth during the show. Each day will feature different activities, and there will surely be some classy Alienware *** to cart off. At the very least, you can get your hands on some Alienware hardware and maybe even compete in one of the various gaming challenges. You'll surely get the chance to try out the new Alienware TactX mouse and keyboard, and you may even run into little old me.

If you weren't able to get passes, never fear. I'll do my best to update Twitter with my impressions from the show, take as many photos as I can, and throw down a blog or three.

You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/johnbatdell, or just check back here throughout the weekend for updates.