Alienware vs Selfbuild

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

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Con

Hi Guys

I am leaning very heavily to buying an alienware computer (note I currently have a 7 year old Alienware that I have upgraded a couple of times so I am happy with them and their upgradability).

I know there is a lot to be said for custom builds but I just don't have the time and bandwidth for building my own right now. I have done it in the past and this is not a skill or hobby that interests me (the building part).

The big ticket item specs are below for the Alienware R6 with my discounts and due to my company corporate purchase program for employees discount I can get it at $1900
i7-7700 at 4.2Ghz
850 Watt power supply with liquid cooling
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti 11 GB
32 GB RAM 2400 MHz
I am going to scavenge my 500GB SSD and newish 3TB hard drives and peripherals like mouse and keyboard and monitors from the older computer.
 
Pricing out similar components but including a case and a similar motherboard lands me at +1800

For a $100 more I get to have my computer running games out of the box when I order it and no matter how well I try to build a comp it always end up being a rats nest of internal cabling.  I like the pre build because their neater setup for cable makes future upgrades a breeze.  Lastly the Alienware Aurora R6 is getting excellent reviews from Toms and other sites.

What do you guys think fast and convenient over the joy of self build and maybe a better future flexibility?

(Honestly writing this all out has made me lean even more heavily towards the Alienware)

mirth

If you don't enjoy the build process (I get it, I don't find it particularly fun either), then just spend the extra hondo and buy the Alienware rig. I don't see a downside to it really.
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

bbmike

^+1. I've own Alienware laptops and have a self built desktop rig. I'm happy with both.  O0
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Jarhead0331

I agree with the pre-built approach under the circumstances. You're not talking about a tremendous savings in money there, so the $100 is easily worth the time and aggravation you will save in not putting it together yourself.
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Barthheart

Yep, fer a hundred bucks it's worth it to have someone else build it.

jamus34

If your happy with the rest of the components and aren't a "tweaker" then by all means that looks like a great deal. Main issue I have with prebuilt is a lot of the big box guys use proprietary parts that can limit upgrading.

A 1080ti at that total cost is a deal though, so go for it if you don't feel like DIY
Insert witty comment here.

Greybriar

Quote from: Barthheart on August 09, 2017, 02:54:14 PM
Yep, fer a hundred bucks it's worth it to have someone else build it.

I agree. O0
Regardless of how good a PC game may be it will always have its detractors and no matter how bad a PC game may be it will always have its fans.

Staggerwing

You have to enjoy building your Windowbox to make a self-built worthwhile. I actually do, and have assembled my own PC desktops for the last decade or so. Oddly enough I primarily use Macs (much harder, though not impossible to BIY) for every day stuff at home and even 1/2 the time at work. The Windowboxes are primarily for gaming and, lately, running 3D printers.
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Barthheart


Ubercat

What's wrong with 3D printers? They've enabled a number of Kickstarter games in the last few years with amazing mini's. I got to play 3 games of Cthulhu Wars at WBC a couple of weeks ago. One was 8 players.  :o
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mirth

Yeah, Barth man. What's wrong with 3-D Printers? :P
"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

Barthheart

Good grief guys, there's nothing wrong with 3D printers.... I have a beef with how Stagger uses his 3D printer....

mirth

"45 minutes of pooping Tribbles being juggled by a drunken Horta would be better than Season 1 of TNG." - SirAndrewD

"you don't look at the mantelpiece when you're poking the fire" - Bawb

"Can't 'un' until you 'pre', son." - Gus

OJsDad

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

airboy

I don't have the skills to self-build and have purchased gaming computers over the years.

I've drifted away from Alienware (I had two of them) to Falcon Northwest.  The Talon systems are pretty inexpensive.  My current Tallon is now 7 years old and still runs everything I want to play.  Admittedly, I don't play shooters or do video editing so my needs are not the highest.