Alienware vs Selfbuild

Started by Con, August 09, 2017, 02:36:44 PM

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OJsDad

Con,

   What monitor are you looking at.  Just curious, as I'd like to get a new one at some point.


   I put an M.2 drive in my new rig.  I did put a 1TB, and it's the only drive I have in it at the moment.  Still have plenty of room on at the moment.  Do you notice a faster boot time with yours. 

   Final question, was there much bloatware installed. 
'Here at NASA we all pee the same color.'  Al Harrison from the movie Hidden Figures.

jamus34

M.2 is the way to go, even as just a boot drive.

Insert witty comment here.

Con

Yeah I feel more than a bit foolish that I didnt realize the SSD was an M2 drive.

The boot time was not something I had noticed until the question but without a doubt it is significantly faster than my previous SSD.

For Monitors I have these Acer H236HL monitors (now 2 of them).  They fit together seemlinessly and I like them plus they are cheap $130 ea at BestBuy/Amazon etc.
Here is a review and it is very popular on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Acer-H236HL-bid-23-Inch-Widescreen/dp/B00AZMLIDQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1505876082&sr=8-1&keywords=acer+h236hl
https://pcbuildsonabudget.com/acer-h236hl-review-is-it-a-good-1080p-monitor-for-gaming

As for bloatware I dont really have a benchmark to go by but my impression on the Alienware is that it is pretty minimal.  I am still struggling with learning the new Windows 10 interface (and i am not a big fan of tiles etc) so I deleted just about all of them.  Other programs seem a reasonable amount nothing that stood out as bloatware to my eye.


OJsDad

'Here at NASA we all pee the same color.'  Al Harrison from the movie Hidden Figures.

Con

Update part 2

This is really on me so no knock on Alienware...the computer is very weel engineered but I didnt do a good job of thinking it through when I was reading the specs.

Due to the compactness of the case there is only one 3.5 HD bay.  The other 2 bays are 2.5 bays for SSDs.  My plan was to scavenge 2 very large very fast 3.5 HD out of my old computer that had terabytes of photos and music on it (I am a huge audiophile and have kids so I use huge amounts of memory for my photos and music).  I was thinking I would just swap these drives in and be done.

Instead its like I have had to build my old computer.  Right now the old one and the new one are open and in parts in front of me.  After digging on the internet someone else had the same exact problem and they helpfully posted with pics how the modded the case to work with multiple 3.5 HD.  There is a 3.5 HD cage you can buy on ebay for $20 that fit the dimensions and screw holes of the 2.5 bays currently in the new computer.  I have ordered them and will get them early next week.  The downside of this modding is that there is now only room in the case for 1 video card and not a dual setup.  I can live with that.  Also alienware was being a bit cheap the computer did not come with any SATA 3 cables so I need to buy 2 of those with 90 degree turns in them so that they can fit the hard drives in the case.

New plan is to make the mods put the old HD in and wait until the price of SSD memory comes down.  In a couple of years I will be able to buy multi terabyte SSDs for much cheaper than they are going now and if necessary then I can also upgrade to 2 graphics cards if I want too.  Right now I can use the new computer for everything critical and music and photos can wait till later next week.

Again this is not Alienwares fault its mine in not thinking things through carefully and making some wrong assumptions.  Ironic though

Con

jamus34

You can buy an external HD enclosure and hook it up to USB 3. You won't get all the speed if it's an SSD but it should work. If it is a platter drive USB3 should not be the limiting factor I think.
Insert witty comment here.

OJsDad

Just curious, is there much need for a second video card.  Or maybe asked a different cay, when would you need to think about using a second video card.
'Here at NASA we all pee the same color.'  Al Harrison from the movie Hidden Figures.

GDS_Starfury

that really depends on the games you play.
Toonces - Don't ask me, I just close my eyes and take it.

Gus - I use sweatpants with flannel shorts to soak up my crotch sweat.

Banzai Cat - There is no "partial credit" in grammar. Like anal sex. It's either in, or it's not.

Mirth - We learned long ago that they key isn't to outrun Star, it's to outrun Gus.

Martok - I don't know if it's possible to have an "anti-boner"...but I now have one.

Gus - Celery is vile and has no reason to exist. Like underwear on Star.


jamus34

Star is right. Unless you want to play across multiple screens or max settings on a 4K screen a single 1080ti will literally run everything out now on max.

SLI also adds added challenges of not all games playing nice with it.
Insert witty comment here.

Con

Update to the update

I dived in again and changed out the stock psu for a new corsair 860AX

The Alienware oem psu gave off a clicking and coil whine that just drove me nuts since my new desktop placement is on my desk instead of under it. Alienware sent me a replacement and it was ok for a month but then it began to sound even worse. I did a lot of reading on this issue and it turns out to be a fairly common one for psu. Swapping one Alienware psu for another was a bit like gambling that you will get one that won't develop this issue.  I just decided to take the majority of the advice and spring for a 3rd party psu that was recommended for not developing this noise and coil whine.

Of course I spent about a day trying to change out all the cables and working on the guts of my computer. If nothing else I am keeping my pic build skills sharp even though I didn't build one  :)