Thinking of a gaming desktop. Is this Alienware any good?

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ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,365
8,475
126
Do you value legal software?

If so, buy pre built
wut?
Do you want to be able to call up a company, when your computer is going 'beep beeeeeep beep beep beep beeeep' and hear the reason it wont POST?

If so, buy pre built

like the L1 tech at dell or HP knows
 

BigBarney

Member
May 27, 2012
153
0
0
wut?


like the L1 tech at dell or HP knows

no, they don't but it's a lot easier for them to 'send out a tech' (referring to dell/hp)

than for a n00b (which I am not) to go through figuring out specifically what caused it, RMAing that part and then waiting.

As for the legal software piece, it's a jab at the fact that when you do buy the software, you will typically come within a hundred or so of what cyberpc would charge.

Trust me, I remember trying to solder two pins (or it was the little indents on the top) together on some randomly old AMD CPU and fucking it up and being pissed about it and then when 1 stick of memory was bad. and then when 1 hard drive went out...
 

bononos

Diamond Member
Aug 21, 2011
3,911
172
106
Not sure what you mean by this part.

You were wrong about- legal s/w and time (over $30/hr) and homebuilts. Whether you build or buy prebuilt has nothing to do with illegal s/w. PCs and gaming are a hobby and we don't need to take hours off work just to build a pc since its not that hard, for the hobbyist types that is.
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
0
0
Pirated OS probably, that'd save $100 I guess.

And while it's more cost effective to build one's own, the OP has stated he'd rather not deal with the process. Many people prefer to just be given a working system and not have to deal with potentially DOA parts or warranty issues. It's a nice thing to have the sense of security that if something goes wrong it's not really going to be your problem but whoever put your system together for you.

That being said, back to the system. Going through the configuration on iBuyPower's site and the prices are reasonable enough. Don't really like the mark-up on the video cards or ram but that's to be expected from a company in their industry.

Two questions:
1. Is storage space an issue or could you store your files elsewhere and have this system come with an SSD?
2. Are you fine with swapping a few parts from the pre-built they send you? Basically you buy the base system but swap out certain components like the ram, video card, something relatively easily swapped.

You can not really save money but have back-up parts if you're willing to swap out. Otherwise, I think this build is pretty decent:
http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Intel_Z77_Core_i5_Configurator/w/120075
Important parts:
CPU: 3570k
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
Ram: random 8 GB set (4GB x 2)
Video Card: AMD Radeon 7850 2GB
PSU: Corsair 750TXV2, could save a decent amount here but I'm not sure what they mean by "standard" PSU or if its worth using. Anyone that's bought systems from iBuyPower, input would be nice.
HDD: a 60GB Intel 520 SSD, also got Windows Home Premium 64 bit for it.
 
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thelastjuju

Senior member
Nov 6, 2011
444
2
0
Honestly, its easy to ASSEMBLE a pc.. anyone can do that once you know what parts you need, its like leggos.

But.... what about when it comes to diagnosing a problem? Or what happens if you run into a finicky BIOS issue or something? Not everyone is up for that.

If a first time, amateur builder with NO experience runs into just one dead part on his first build, it could be a nightmare to diagnose the problem when you are so brand new to this stuff.

So if you're even the slightest bit hesitant and intimidated to build, I'd say don't do it. Building a PC takes at least a decent amount of confidence going in.
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
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Doesn't seem that's the case as the OP stated he enjoys working on computers, just doesn't have the time/want to deal with it this time around. And I ran into a dead motherboard and ram module on one of my first builds, the diagnosing isn't so hard when your testing methodology is correct from the get-go.
 

mfenn

Elite Member
Jan 17, 2010
22,400
5
71
www.mfenn.com
You can not really save money but have back-up parts if you're willing to swap out. Otherwise, I think this build is pretty decent:
http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Intel_Z77_Core_i5_Configurator/w/120075
Important parts:
CPU: 3570k
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H
Ram: random 8 GB set (4GB x 2)
Video Card: AMD Radeon 7850 2GB
PSU: Corsair 750TXV2, could save a decent amount here but I'm not sure what they mean by "standard" PSU or if its worth using. Anyone that's bought systems from iBuyPower, input would be nice.
HDD: a 60GB Intel 520 SSD, also got Windows Home Premium 64 bit for it.

IBuyPower and CyberPower use some pretty horrid PSUs in their standard offerings, so one of the upgraded name brand units is the way to go. A 750TX is extreme overkill for that rig, but what can you do?

OP, I would try to price out a build similar to what krnmastersgt has suggested at both CyberPower and iBuyPower and go with whoever is cheapest.

EDIT: I see that iBuyPower has a 650TX available. That is still overkill, but it at least saves you a few bucks over the 750.
 

mnewsham

Lifer
Oct 2, 2010
14,539
428
136
IBuyPower and CyberPower use some pretty horrid PSUs in their standard offerings, so one of the upgraded name brand units is the way to go. A 750TX is extreme overkill for that rig, but what can you do?

OP, I would try to price out a build similar to what krnmastersgt has suggested at both CyberPower and iBuyPower and go with whoever is cheapest.

EDIT: I see that iBuyPower has a 650TX available. That is still overkill, but it at least saves you a few bucks over the 750.

For their prices I would actually get the standard 700w (the cheapest they will allow for that build) and then replace it with a better unit from newegg as their prices are stupid.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
mfen said:
IBuyPower and CyberPower use some pretty horrid PSUs in their standard offerings, so one of the upgraded name brand units is the way to go. A 750TX is extreme overkill for that rig, but what can you do?
You can go with their standard PSU and buy a Seasonic M12II 520W from newegg ... :D
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
0
0
I didn't want to add in the 750 TX however when I was configuring the system the cheapest option from a brand name was the Corsair 650 TX, but it said free upgrade to 750 TX so I did go with the cheaper one, it just gave me a more powerful one for free.

And yeah I agree the prices and such make it pretty not worth it, if possible I'd say use the cheapest/default memory, video card, and PSU and replace with the parts you want. In terms of money you have to spend it comes out to roughly the same for the most part, but the thing is you''ll have your 8 GB set as well as a 4 GB set they sent you, a 7850 and the 6450 they gave you, etc. It in essence gives you a few back-up parts that you know for sure will work (unless they don't test before shipping) and not cost any extra.

I still stand by building it, spending hours/days looking through these pre-built systems trying to get your money's worth will probably cost you more time than just ordering a set of good parts from mfenn's standard builds thread and putting it together yourself. A bit more hassle but you know where all your parts are from, you have individual part warranties so if 1 thing breaks down you can just replace it instead of shipping the system back/waiting for them to send someone over. That and building systems is fun!
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
I've been building my own since the 386 days, and upgrading my 286, Atari 800, C=64 and TRS-80 model 1 before that.

If you can use a screwdriver and have a little patience then building is fairly easy to do in a couple of hours, especially with a decent sized case like my Antec P280.

But: not everyone wants to. They might worry about mismatched parts (we can fix that here), doing something stupid to kill a $200 CPU or video card (hard to do if you're careful), or DOA parts and the hassle of RMA'ing them.

If you can't build, the prices at CyberPower are decent, including for RAM and drives (much better than Dell / Alienware). I don't see the value in buying a prebuilt from them with one set of parts and then swapping them out, since the point of a prebuilt is to save all of that effort.
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
0
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But: not everyone wants to. They might worry about mismatched parts (we can fix that here), doing something stupid to kill a $200 CPU or video card (hard to do if you're careful), or DOA parts and the hassle of RMA'ing them.

If you can't build, the prices at CyberPower are decent, including for RAM and drives (much better than Dell / Alienware). I don't see the value in buying a prebuilt from them with one set of parts and then swapping them out, since the point of a prebuilt is to save all of that effort.

While you expend a decent amount of effort just swapping out the parts, the possibilities of DOAs are eliminated through this route, which is the thing I hate most about putting together a new system from scratch.

That aside, nothing wrong with just ordering the parts and having it completely built on their end as long as you know you're accepting a decent sized premium for not having to do any of the work yourself.
 

azeem40

Senior member
Mar 11, 2012
244
0
0
I second krn's suggestion. Buy the parts separately and have a computer store or someone you know build it.
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
0
0
I second krn's suggestion. Buy the parts separately and have a computer store or someone you know build it.

Not what I suggested, but that is an option actually if you trust someone near you who has the time and has parts to troubleshoot. They get a cool $50-100, someone you directly know benefits, and you get all the parts that you want in the system for what they actually cost.