New Dell XPS 8500 or refurbished Alienware Aurora R4 ?

[colonelpurple]

I will be using the system mainly for photo editing on a 27" monitor
However I do play the latest games a fair bit, especially single and multiplayer FPS

I have the following choice at roughly the same price:

new XPS 8500:
16gb ram (4x4gb), 3770 (1155), 256 ssd, 3tb HD, ATI 7870, Blu-ray, No dedicated soundcard

refurbished Alienware Aurora R4:
16gb ram (2x8gb), 3820 (2011), 512 hybrid HD, 1th HD, GTX 680, DVD, Soundblaster recon

the xps is smallee, new!! and better for storage
the alienware has a stronger graphics card, and theoretically more cpu upgradeability. However in my experience of Intel, even with the same cpu socket, the chipset normally doesn't support more then 12 months of cpu releases and i wouldn't upgrade for a few years

what do you guys/girls think ?

 

[Puppies04]

Are we assuming that both systems cost the same or is the alienware more expensive? If so by how much

Edit. On a side note are you completely against building your own rig or would you consider it if you could save money/build a faster rig for the same outlay?

 

[colonelpurple]

thanks, they are the same price (in the UK)

I used to build my own systems but don't seem to have the time these days.
I also like the overall guarantee, as I had a few problems before identifying the faulty component.

I priced up my own build which was 5-10% cheaper, and decided that the overall guarantee would swing it for me

rgds

 

[Sleepingforest]

For gaming, the Alienware is generally better. Plus, it has more upgrade options for the RAM, as it leaves 2 RAM slots open. You could also buy a small SSD (64GB) and put it in as purely an OS drive, which helps the "feel" of the PC (faster boots, more responsive OS). The CPU is marginally worse (in the long run) because X79 is far more expensive to upgrade, and games don't depend on multithreaded performance (only needs 1-2 cores, not 6); that said, it is clocked higher.

 

[Ketchup]

If it were me, I would buy the new one. Components don't make the Alienware significantly better in my book, and a used (excuse me, refurbished Alienware probably has worse battery life than when it was new.

 

[Sleepingforest]

If it were me, I would buy the new one. Components don't make the Alienware significantly better in my book, and a used (excuse me, refurbished Alienware probably has worse battery life than when it was new.

It's not a laptop... And a 7870 is far, FAR worse than a 680 on the graphics side. As long as the refurb unit gets at least 2, preferably 3+ years of warranty, it should be fine.

 

[Ketchup]

It's not a laptop... And a 7870 is far, FAR worse than a 680 on the graphics side. As long as the refurb unit gets at least 2, preferably 3+ years of warranty, it should be fine.

Sorry guys, I misread that one.

 

[Sleepingforest]

It's not a big deal. I would like to actually hear the cost of each of those just so I know he's not being horribly ripped off. Even at refurb prices, an Alienware could be far too much.

 

[DSF]

It's not a big deal. I would like to actually hear the cost of each of those just so I know he's not being horribly ripped off. Even at refurb prices, an Alienware could be far too much.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

We're all busy people, it's hard to imagine someone truly not being able to find 2 hours to put together a computer if they already know how to do it, especially if it could save them 100 pounds or more.

If the savings really are minimal, or if it's not so much a matter of time as much as the OP simply not wanting to do it, that's a different story.

 

[mfenn]

Yeah I was thinking the same thing.

We're all busy people, it's hard to imagine someone truly not being able to find 2 hours to put together a computer if they already know how to do it, especially if it could save them 100 pounds or more.

If the savings really are minimal, or if it's not so much a matter of time as much as the OP simply not wanting to do it, that's a different story.

I agree. I have a sneaking suspicion that one of us could put together a comparable build for less. I'd need to know the actual price to confirm of course.

 

[Sleepingforest]

I'm going to price up a build entirely from Microdirect.co.uk, just so he'll have a comparison:
Gigabyte Z77M-D3H £80.00
i5-3570K £181.97
Crucial 2X4GB RAM £27.82
EVGA 4GB 670 £340.99
Coolermaster 212 EVO £25.43
126GB Vertex 4 £96.36
Seagate 2TB HDD £71.99
DVD-ROM £11.10
Corsair 80 Plus 700W PSU £71.75
Fractal Design R4 £90.68
OEM Windows 7 Home Premium
Total: £1069.59 (inc. VAT)

This build is a fusion between the two prebuilt PCs you listed: it's got the SSD and LGA1155 CPU of the XPS, but (nearly all) the power of the Dell. The CPU easily overclocks to perform better than either of the prebuilt PCs' CPUs in games, so the intially lower clockspeed shouldn't turn you off it. Some parts are out of stock, but that shouldn't be permanent (I bet those are fast moving parts and they'll restock within a week or two). 10% of £1100 is a pretty sizeable chunk of cash (~$130); I would save if I could.

 

[mfenn]

I'm going to price up a build entirely from Microdirect.co.uk, just so he'll have a comparison:
Gigabyte Z77M-D3H £80.00
i5-3570K £181.97
Crucial 2X4GB RAM £27.82
EVGA 4GB 670 £340.99
Coolermaster 212 EVO £25.43
126GB Vertex 4 £96.36
Seagate 2TB HDD £71.99
DVD-ROM £11.10
Corsair 80 Plus 700W PSU £71.75
Fractal Design R4 £90.68
OEM Windows 7 Home Premium
Total: £1069.59 (inc. VAT)

Disclaimer: Some parts are out of stock, but that shouldn't be permanent. Listen, 10% of £1069.59 is a pretty sizeable chunk of cash; I would save if I could.

Nice build, except for 2 parts:

1. DVD-ROM?? A DVD-RW is only a couple pounds more.
2. The GS series is generally regarded as the bottom of the barrel as far as Corsair PSU's go. The TX650 is about the same price and higher-quality.

 

[Sleepingforest]

Nice build, except for 2 parts:

1. DVD-ROM?? A DVD-RW is only a couple pounds more.
2. The GS series is generally regarded as the bottom of the barrel as far as Corsair PSU's go. The TX650 is about the same price and higher-quality.

I didn't go all out searching for parts, so I must have missed those two. Good catch.

 

[colonelpurple]

Thanks
Good thoughts
The refurbished Aurora is £1097
The 8500 is £1059, and potentially 5% quid co cash back as we'll

As the build above shows, the prices are actually pretty good.

By mistake (Dell's) I managed to obtain the original tag number of the refurbished machine and found out it was originally delivered in June 2012 and replaced by Dell in December. Obviously a major failure, such as a motherboard, which presumably has been replaced.

I'd take the Refurbished Alienware one if it was new at this price, although the size of the 8500 is much more practical and the 8500 is ready to go, as I would need to add a 3 or 4 tb disk to the Alienware ASAP.


Ho humm!

 

[mfenn]

Is your 27" monitor 2560x1440 or 1920x1080? If it is 2560x1440, the 4GB GTX 670 is actually better than the standard 2GB GTX 680 in the long term. The 7870 is just woefully underpowered for the higher resolution. If your monitor is 1080p, then the GTX 680 is probably the fastest, but even the 7870 would be decent.

The 3820 is about the same speed as the 3570K, socket 2011 isn't doing you any favors with only a quad and 16GB of RAM.

Personally, I would go for the custom build because it has a good GPU and a real SSD, but I can also see the Alienware being a reasonable option.

 

[Sleepingforest]

What you're looking at here then is no longer price. The system build I put up (with mfenn's additions) is a slightly higher end system than what the prebuilt ones are. Therefore, it's really a question of how much you value your time and your performance. The custom build is definitely better than the Dell in the feel of the system's response--much snappier due to the SSD. It'll also perform better at high resolutions due to the extra memory.

At the same time, it'll be up to you to troubleshoot problems (or ask for help here) and build it. The RMAs for broken parts, if any, will put the machine out for at least a few days as it ships, gets processed, and a new part is returned.

Another option is to grab the Alienware, but sell the GPU for around £400. That should be nearly enough to buy a 4GB 670 and a 64GB SSD.