Thanks for the quick review, Jim. Can I break the RAID arrays into separate drives myself after the fact, or does it need to come from Alienware like that? I will check on the DVD drive manu.

You can do it yourself. You'll have to reinstall the OS and all software, but it's doable.

Hi Jim,
Here is the latest info on the system from Alienware.

Find out exactly what model of DVD and Blu-ray burner is included. It
matters.




Their sales guy was helpful and says they change the manufacturers from time to time and it depends on what they have in stock as to what brand of drive is used. Currently, the DVD drive is LG and the Blu-Ray is Philips.

Break out both RAIDs into separate drives. You won't need them in a RAID,
but can make much better use of them as four separate drives.




They can install 4 separate drives or 2 separate drives and two as RAID(0) for video files. Ever since I upgraded to CS3 I have a horrible time trying to watch my video clips in real time as I edit. this, I am sure is due to a number of issues with my current under-powered system. So, realtime playback is a hot button with me. Would Raid(0) for the media drives improve the playback while editing over independent drives?

I also learned that Alienware does not sell a 64 bit OS; neither XP PRO or Vista. I know the general consensus is stay with XP Pro 32bit with SP3, but I wonder what the upcoming announcement will mean for 64bit apps from Adobe?

Jay

LG and Phillips are a start, but you'll want exact model numbers if possible.

RAID 0 is faster, but for DV and even HDV, it's really not necessary. Real time playback is very common on a single drive. For DVCPro HD and Uncompressed HD, it might be a good idea.

Harm had a sneak peak at CS4 when he went to IBC in Europe. The short answer is, get XP Pro 32 bit.