$699 Alienware x51 + $400 upgrade later vs Next Gen Consoles

just type matx case into new egg or itx

id go with micro atx over itx

Silverstone make plenty of high quality small cases.

[QUOTE="seanmcloughlin"]

Alienware suck

LiquidAjax

[QUOTE="LiquidAjax"][QUOTE="seanmcloughlin"]

Alienware suck

PCgameruk

I build myself, way better deal and I get the parts I want.

Silverstone make plenty of high quality small cases.

kraken2109

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138366

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811237026

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280

Id get something like that.

[QUOTE="kraken2109"]

Silverstone make plenty of high quality small cases.

*silverstone pics*

Timstuff

And unlike X51 you can get decent GPUs and PSUs in them

[QUOTE="greengloop"]

Yeh what's wrong with Alienware? They've been reviewed highly and give me a cool easy way to get a good computer. Maybe I'm missing something?

toast_burner

Can't agree more !

Base model x51 has a GT640.

No thanks.

kraken2109

[QUOTE="kraken2109"]

Base model x51 has a GT640.

No thanks.

fr3ddiemercury

I tried making a system equivalent to the $899 Alienware x51. But my total reaches $875 (a negligible difference):
Intel Core i5-3330 Ivy Bridge 3.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core Desktop Processor$190

ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard$110

EVGA 02G-P4-2645-KR GeForce GT 640 2GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card$110

Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory$40

SilverStone Fortress Series FT03B Black Aluminum / Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case$170

Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power$40

Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit (Full Version) - OEM$110

Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive$85

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM$20

Total $875

Do I need any other parts and stuff? This isnt worth it :S.

170$ microATX case,there goes your problemMonsieurX

[QUOTE="MonsieurX"]170$ microATX case,there goes your problemslipknot0129

[QUOTE="slipknot0129"]

[QUOTE="MonsieurX"]170$ microATX case,there goes your problemMonsieurX

they're not really that overpriced these days

NoodleFighter

I've done direct piece by piece comparisons with the latest Alienwares as recently as a couple months ago. You'll still save anywhere from 300 to 1000 dollars building an identical machine yourself, depending on which one you're looking at.

[QUOTE="kraken2109"]

Base model x51 has a GT640.

No thanks.

fr3ddiemercury

Yeah. It says "it does 1080p gaming". That doesn't mean anything. That means it can run games, and the video card is capable of displaying 1080p. Nothing more. Good luck actually running the latest games at anywhere near max settings and 1080p. Maybe with <30 FPS (so, console standards).

If I take the same setup but swap out the CPU and GPU with:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130825 $220 GTX 660

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502 $300 Core i7 3770

The price comes to $1085 which is even closer to the price of the $1099 Alienware x51.

So the Alienware 'premium' is in the fact that the system gets to you all built and tested and has the cool Alinware chassis. Looks like its worth it for someone just looking for a console replacement.

If I take the same setup but swap out the CPU and GPU with:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130825 $220 GTX 660

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116502 $300 Core i7 3770

The price comes to $1085 which is even closer to the price of the $1099 Alienware x51.

So the Alienware 'premium' is in the fact that the system gets to you all built and tested and has the cool Alinware chassis. Looks like its worth it for someone just looking for a console replacement.

greengloop

Too bad Alienware cases aren't even that good. If you're into the look, more power to you, but they're not actually very good cases. You can spend less than $100 on a case from Rosewill or something, that will have better airflow, better cooling, more room for expansions, and more built in ports, and will (IMO) look better, too. Also, with any of these setups, you're wasting money on your CPU that would be much better spent elsewhere. And i7 is overkill, for now, at least. An i5 2500k, or 3570k is just about the best CPU for gaming. Upgrading to an i7 is just spending more money to get something that won't actually be of any measurable benefit, for gaming. The extra cores in a 6-core i7 aren't even being used, and you can just put a $25 heatsink/cooler (one that's too big to fit in that tiny X51 case) on a quad-core i5, and safely OC to well over 4 ghz.

PS: I just saw that the i7 you linked to was only a quad-core anyway. Just go with this i5 for only $215, combine that $75 savings with another $70 or so you'll save going with something besides that overpriced $170 case you posted earlier, for about another $140 to put towards a better video card. Then you can get this 670, which is almost exactly $140 more than the 660 you posted. A system with a 670 and an i5 will definitely outperform a 660 and i7, in any game.

No alienware, build your own rig.rjdofu

gotta use a small form factor sfx powersupply though for that case regular atx is too wide.

but you can get more powerful sfx powersupplys than 330 watt lol

see aint much smaller

you can use more powerful psu with this case and aint much bigger.

The X51 is not overpriced its a decent value for a prebuilt gaming pc and its the only I know of with that small of a form factor which of course limits you in upgrade options but some people want form over function but the x51 isn't really lacking in performance when compared to similar priced prebuilt gaming pcs. Of course you can build a pc that will out perform it in games for the same amount of money or even less but that's true for any prebuilt.

Alienware is doing a good job imo with the X51 lineup relatively affordable gaming pc that don't suck for gaming and each step up gives you a boost in game performance(except for the highest end one) and doesn't charge an absurd of a price hike for the higher end models. If you know what to look for you can find or customize a prebuilt pc on cyberpower pc or ibuypower to get a better value then the alienware x51 models but most people looking to buy a prebuilt won't know what to look for or what to customize to get maximium gaming performance for there dollar and may very well end up buying a bad bang for your buck pc as on those two sites the more expensive a pc is does not mean it will perform better or if it does will be worth all the extra money the same isn't true with the alienware x51 its simple there more expensive equals better.

[QUOTE="seanmcloughlin"]

Alienware suck

LiquidAjax

[QUOTE="kraken2109"]

Base model x51 has a GT640.

No thanks.

fr3ddiemercury

11fps.

14 fps

Seeing as I am considering maybe getting me a nice gaming PC this year but have ZERO knowledge on the subject, I am gonna leave this post here as I find it relevant to my interests...

I'll own all the next generation Consoles...like I always have. That's the setup I prefer over any computer.

i feel like making a case out of the scrap wood i have laying around.

[QUOTE="LiquidAjax"][QUOTE="seanmcloughlin"]

Alienware suck

ArisShadows

[QUOTE="fr3ddiemercury"][QUOTE="kraken2109"]

Base model x51 has a GT640.

No thanks.

kraken2109

11fps.

14 fps

lol

i could of made it smaller but funk dat.

[QUOTE="fr3ddiemercury"][QUOTE="kraken2109"]

Base model x51 has a GT640.

No thanks.

the_bi99man

Yeah. It says "it does 1080p gaming". That doesn't mean anything. That means it can run games, and the video card is capable of displaying 1080p. Nothing more. Good luck actually running the latest games at anywhere near max settings and 1080p. Maybe with <30 FPS (so, console standards).

Actually the GT 640 it uses is OEM and not the same as retail versions it's faster and it's close to a GTX 550ti and HD 7750

alienware x51 you've met your match.

i could make this smaller but yea.