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Alienware X51 for FPS games?

olds

olds

Elite Member
How's this rig with a GTX 660 for gaming?
Call of Duty, Battlefield 3, Bioshock.

Looking for something to game with (FPS) at high settings.

This will be my main computer and hooked to a 55" Plasma TV.
I know I can build it cheaper but I don't want to build one. I want a small form factor hence the X51.

It's my main PC so I'll also be editing pictures, ripping mp3s, watching Blu Rays.

I am a little concerned about not being able to upgrade it but I generally keep my PCs for about 5 years. So it probably won't be an issue.

Specs:
Win 7
i7-3770
16GB DDR3 up to 1600MHz
GTX 660
 
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Call of Duty, Battlefield 3, Bioshock.
It's my main PC so I'll also be editing pictures, ripping mp3s, watching Blu Rays.
 
Didn't look at refurb but that wouldn't bother me.
Code didn't work or I probably would have jumped on one.
 
Aww man that was for laptops.

They ahd a 30% one last week for AW desktops. I'll post here if I see one.
 
You only need 8 GB RAM for at least the next 3-4 years, at which point you'll need a new system anyway. Unless you need the extra disk space, get the $1199 / 8 GB - 1 TB system instead of the $1499 / 16 GB - 2 TB.

Of these, I would recommend the $999 i5 system (after upgrading the graphics card) except that they force you to get a 3.0 GHz i5 instead of a faster one. If they weren't jerks, they'd offer a $1049 i5 version with a faster CPU.
 
If I got an SSD, could I run software like photoshop, MS Office and games off a USB 3.0 external hdd?
 
http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19466559.aspx
a list of X51 gtx660 performance w/ games/drivers from various users
the most useful one is probably the BF3 @1080p ultra settings for 10 min: 40-60fps, 50FPS avg
also apparently the comp runs hotter on certain drivers (306.23 vs 301.42) which may be from a fan speed issue.

-----
A lot of older programs/games required being on the boot drive to run properly.
Many of the newer programs/games seem to work fine on non boot drives. Steam will work fine.

http://askville.amazon.com/Photosho...ive-laptop/AnswerViewer.do?requestId=67477854
photoshop might work, assuming you installed it from that desktop

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_run_Microsoft_office_off_of_an_external_hard_drive
microsoft office supposedly will run if you have the external plugged in all the time (or at least since startup maybe). Or if you somehow get a portable version?

Why wouldn't you just install photoshop/office to the SSD and put all your documents/pictures on the HDD? Is it because of stupid DRM and allowing a limited number of installed copies or something?
 
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Wow, thanks for all the info.
It was probably a bad example on my part. I'd likely have the OS, Photoshop and Office on the SSD. Probably the games I am actively playing. Other games I play on the external.
 
I love my X51. The machine runs great, have had zero issues with it since June, and Game all the time. I did add a SSD to the machine, as there is an extra SATA port inside, and use that as my boot drive, and load WOW and Diablo III to it, and my other 300 Gigs of games (Steam, Origin and other installs) to the Hard drive it shipped with.
 
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