Alternative to Alienware

Happyman42

Wondering would anybody be so good to advise here.
My son wants one of these as his dream computer. It is just too much money to spend for us though.
http://www.dell.com/ie/p/alienware-x51-r2/pd.aspx

He is at an age where any laptop or pc he gets his hands on gets filled up to grinding along with crap he downloads.

I was wondering is there anything that will give somewhat similar performance at a lower price?
Thanks in advance.

grindle

Which particular model/which price bracket are you aiming for or under? Pre-built or are you able to build yourself?

Happyman42

Sorry, I thought that linked to an actual PC>

He was looking at this one.
http://www.dell.com/ie/p/alienware-x51-r2/pd?oc=d00ar227&model_id=alienware-x51-r2

Would prefer to buy but would build if the saving was worth it.

Digital Solitude

Building will save you a lot of money. What's the PCs primary use going to be?

TerrorFirmer

A €1200 PC that comes with a GTX750Ti. That's just absurd. If you self build you will save a ton of money - you can either get identical games performance for about €500, or else build a much faster games machine for €600-700.

That Alienware is totally unbalanced -a high end i7 processor with a budget graphics card.

grindle

Happyman42 wrote: »

Sorry, I thought that linked to an actual PC>

He was looking at this one.
http://www.dell.com/ie/p/alienware-x51-r2/pd?oc=d00ar227&model_id=alienware-x51-r2

Would prefer to buy but would build if the saving was worth it.

Well, it'd be better if you could give us the budget you are willing to spend, but as an example of what a rip-off those Alienwares are, here's a build that would (after paying E30 odd for Windows via Reddit) cost E80 less (which includes paying for postage twice because of the case - you can always shop for the case elsewhere and spend less) and absolutely annihilates the Alienware build and is likely to be overkill for 1080p gaming for the next few years (I only chose the 8GB 390 over a 4GB 290 because they were out of stock of the Sapphire 290s)


It has a large SSD for program storage and twice the storage space for everything else

Digital Solitude

If OPs young lad isn't gaming then a €300 machine will more than suffice, €400 at most

grindle

I'd presume anyone who's dream PC is an Alienware Gaming PC is going to want it for games.

But whatever way he goes he'll be able to blow past the Alienware with huge savings or gains depending on the budget.

ScottStorm

If his pc / laptops keep grinding to a halt because of all the **** he downloads, it might be worth signing him up for an evening class in pc maintenance and then letting him build the pc.

Happyman42

Brillint advise folks, yes the primary use will be gaming and editing videos.

grindle

And the budget you (presumably the wallet) would like to keep to?

Happyman42

grindle wrote: »

And the budget you (presumably the wallet) would like to keep to?

I'll talk it over with him in morning and get back to you. Many thanks.
I want him to have a good set up as it seems to be his thing, and it is great that he now sees the Alienware through sensible eyes.

Happyman42

grindle wrote: »

And the budget you (presumably the wallet) would like to keep to?

Had a chat and we are going to throw 600 euro at this. Thanks again.

If possible could you id components that can be upgraded later maybe?

ScottStorm

You should get some pretty solid recommendations at that price range.

Any idea what sort of games he plans on playing and if second hand parts would be an issue to him?

Either way the guys on this forum would be more on the pulse than myself so I'll let them take a run at it for you.

Lu Tze

An option that isn't often suggested here is buying a complete desktop second hand off of adverts or similar, there can be a lot of value to be had especially in the budget you are looking in.

The desktops may be on the previous generation of processors etc. But many are still powerful enough for the next few years for gaming, given the step up between generations hasn't been huge.

Be prepared to haggle, and run it by the regulars here as there are some awful lemons for sale at extortionate prices as well to be wary of, but a bit of patience could get you a bargain. A few regulars here likely have desktops for sale as well (they often do).

grindle

Happyman42 wrote: »

Had a chat and we are going to throw 600 euro at this. Thanks again.

If possible could you id components that can be upgraded later maybe?

Fill this in and everyone'll know how we can spend the money (I've filled in the first two):

1. What is your budget? €600

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming

3. Do you need a copy of Windows?

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.]

5. Do you need a monitor?

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? (Mouse, keyboard, WiFi card, etc...)

7. Are you willing to try overclocking?

8. How can you pay?

9. When are you purchasing?

10. If you need help building it, where are you based?

Digital Solitude

Talking (kinda) new builds first, were looking at
i3 4160 €120
H81M board €50 (MSI, Gigabyte, ASUS, ASRock)
1tb HDD €50 (Seagate or WD)
8gb RAM €50 (Crucial, Kingston)
Zalman A1 €20
400w PSU €40 (BeQuiet, Corsair, SeaSonic)
Second hand R9 270X €135 from Cex, cheaper elsewhere
250gb SSD €90 (Samsung, Crucial, Kingston)
Total €550

Rough total, think I added it up right. Windows is €20 so put the rest into a cheapo keyboard and mouse set, especially if he gets a cheap 270X.

This will offer much better gaming performance than the Alienware, easily upgradable and its already faster.

Case is just a cheap placeholder, have a look and if he sees something he likes better shout and we'll give a call on it. BitFenix, Fractal and Zalman are good brands.

Buy from Amazon EU or UK, Alternate.de, Caseking, mind factory or computer universe.

Any other questions, ask away.

Happyman42

grindle wrote: »

Fill this in and everyone'll know how we can spend the money (I've filled in the first two):

1. What is your budget? €600

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? Gaming

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? Windows 10 if possible or advisable.

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [Hard drive/DVD Drive/Case/PSU/etc.] Have an old Dell Dimension, so maybe could use that case.

5. Do you need a monitor? Yes

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? (Mouse, keyboard, WiFi card, etc...) Wifi Card

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? No

8. How can you pay? Card

9. When are you purchasing? ASAP

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? Monaghan area


We would certainly be interested in secondhand computers members might have.

Happyman42

Regarding the build.
I have replaced most things on a pc and laptop and know how they all work and what is what inside and have no fear of the inner workings. What level of competency is required to put these together?

grindle

Happyman42 wrote: »

Regarding the build.
I have replaced most things on a pc and laptop and know how they all work and what is what inside and have no fear of the inner workings. What level of competency is required to put these together?

Very little. 2 hours for a first timer, 1 hour if you sorta-kinda know your way around, 20 mins tops if you're confident and know where everything is.

Digital Solitude

Drop the SSD from my build and you should be able to fit a second hand 1080p or 720p monitor. 1080p preferable.

For internet, get a pair of homeplugs for €20-30, definitely worth the few euro over a WiFi Connection.

grindle

Digital Solitude's build is as good as you'll get for the money right now.

An extra E100 (E70 added for an i5 CPU & E30 for 600w PSU) would give you an easier life if upgrading in the next couple of years, as you'd only have to upgrade the graphics card, but that's the only thing I'd change that's within easy-ish reach.

Happyman42

Folks, this briliant. Many thanks...starting to track down the components today. Will get back to you if there are any problems

..Brian..

Here's something else to consider.

It does have isome draw backs but will lend itself towards more FPS now (which should be the primary concern of a gaming PC) with good upgradibility in the future. It will also require you to get into overclocking (actually quite easy, safe and fun!) to get the most out of it.

The below is about €346. OCUK are a good shop but their praice are a bit high sometimes so shop around and you may save some money.

You should easily be able to a second hand r9 280x for under €200. Keep an eye on eBay. Here's a brand new one for €210

This will quiet easily handle most games at 1080p I think. The processor can be upgraded to an i5 later on when the funds allow. And an SSD can be added at a later stage also.

Does your son have a TV with a HDMI port in his room, or wherever the PC is going? That will do for now but again, keep an eye out on Adverts or eBay and the like and you should pick up a 1080p monitor second hand for under €100.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £55.99

1 x Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £41.99

1 x Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro-ATX Case - Black £29.99

1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TPKD38G1600HC11DC01) £29.99

1 x EVGA 430W 80 Plus Power Supply (100-W1-0430-KR) £27.95

1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler £24.97

1 x Seagate 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD - OEM (ST1000DM003) (1 Year Warranty) £34.99

Total : £245.87.

Digital Solitude

The G3258 has problems with Minimum framerates in modern games, its worth €30 to just get the i3 with a stock cooler

Brianconway_

Digital Solitude wrote:

The G3258 has problems with Minimum framerates in modern games, its worth €30 to just get the i3 with a stock cooler

Defiantly worth the extra money for the i3. I myself have a g3258 and on Far cry 3 & Grand theft auto IV I'm on 100% usage. It really hurts the FPS.

Happyman42 wrote:

Folks, this briliant. Many thanks...starting to track down the components today. Will get back to you if there are any problems

Have a look on adverts, eBay, etc for used parts. You'll find some excellent deals. Good luck with the build.

Happyman42

My son is not one bit happy with the re-emergence of Mammy and Daddy Scrooge!
Thanks folks

Digital Solitude

Happyman42 wrote: »

My son is not one bit happy with the re-emergence of Mammy and Daddy Scrooge!
Thanks folks

Tell him he's getting more computer for less money :pac:

I'd stay away from second hand RAM and hard drives specifically. Anything else is probably okay to go with. That's if you're buying second hand.

Redfox25

Happyman42 wrote: »

My son is not one bit happy with the re-emergence of Mammy and Daddy Scrooge!
Thanks folks

Tell him to fund it himself so. That should shut him up.

The above builds will blow the dell builds apart.

Sonics2k

Happyman42 wrote: »

My son is not one bit happy with the re-emergence of Mammy and Daddy Scrooge!
Thanks folks

Alienware is a bit like McDonalds to be honest.

They get pumped out by the million. Sure the poster may make it look nice and tasty, but no sooner than you've finished eating that you realise what you just ate and you can't help but cry at the wasted money.

grindle

Sonics2k wrote: »

Alienware is a bit like McDonalds to be honest.

Except Alienware would charge €502 for assembling what you think might be a double cheeseburger and present the cheese and second burger as upgrades for €75 each.