I think my PC has reached the end of its lifespan. Between the small hard disk, the outdated video card and the motherboard that is similarly outdated enough to not be able to upgrade to a next gen video card I’m thinking I might just shell out for a new PC all together (I’ve got the money saved so why not?). I’ve pretty much had to give up playing anything other than casual or strategy games because anything with interesting graphics requires the game to have all the settings turned down as low as possible and even then they still chug along a bit.
So I thought I’d investigate getting an Alienware PC - they specialise in gaming rigs and I could get a pretty good machine for about £1300 all in. Has anyone got an Alienware PC or know someone who does? Is it worth getting a PC from a company that deals exclusively in gaming rigs? Or should I just get another Dell?
Please, no recommendations for me to build my own PC - I don’t want to.
I’d say no. They charge a high premium for their stuff that you can get for a lower price elsewhere. I can’t name any companies though since I haven’t done anything other than build my own since about 1988.
I would suggest looking on ebay, that is where I have bought my last couple of computers. Even if you do not end up buying one it may give you an idea of what is available and what price you should be looking at.
Their rep has greatly outstripped their reality. 10 years ago they were a company of elite nerdheads who knew exactly how to build killer rigs (for their time). Tech support was 2nd to none.
Now they are a part of Dell, which pretty much tells you all you need to know. Tech support = a bunch of guys in India who read from scripts. I bought one 5 years ago and really don’t regret the purchase exactly, but it did come with some problems (fubared boot sequence, faulty video card)-good luck talking past the scriptheads and actually getting working remedies. I now have a Cyberpower machine which kicks ass on just about anything I run, one very minor issue relating to fog effects which only crops up on a few of my games.
Alienware is very, very overpriced; you’re paying them for the name and the fancy case and the impression of great technical support.
While granting it’s only anecdotal evidence, I have never heard of a person who had a good experience with them. My best friend tried to buy a gaming rig from Alienware, and not only did the computer never work, but the customer service was appalling. The service is very responsive and friendly, which gives you the feeling it’s good, but he soon realized that while they were available and friendly, they didn’t actually SOLVE anything.
When he tried sending the computer back, they charged him $130 because “some of the packaging was missing.” They did not actually substantiate this claim.
He finally had to send the computer back again - they sent it back to him the first time still broken - and put a chargeback on his credit card. They simply couldn’t sell him a working computer or fix a broken one. I know of two other people with similar experiences, though not as egregious as that oine.
My advice? Shop around to local computer shops and find one that’s knowledgable, friendly, and seems stable. If the computer breaks you can drive it over and get it fixed, and you’ll get a computer of your choice without a lot of manufacturer junk software.
I got my last couple of PCs (I’m too lazy to build them myself) from SAG/Thinkmate and been pretty satisfied. They let you buy a box without an OS, and are less skeevy than some of the local shops I’ve visited.
All kidding aside, a good hint is to find a computer shop that caters to businesses. Computer shops that get a lot of their revenue supporting local businesses will tend to be more systematic, will tend to be more professional, and have a lot of potential for ongoing revenue streams to keep them in business.
Their PC gurus will still know how to build a gaming rig even of most of the product they move are working computers. When I shopped for my current rig I chose a place that did most of its work with medium to large local businesses. When I explained what I needed they were all over it - they’re computer guys, and they know gaming rigs.
If you want to get the most bang for your buck on a top of the line gaming rig, building it yourself is really the only way to go. If you aren’t interested in that, you are simply are going to have to accept the inherent markup that comes with Gaming specialists. If that’s not an issue for you, then you probably want to go with the company that has the smallest relative markup and the best warranty/service. Based on everything I’ve heard that’s Digital Storm.
All that said, if you aren’t really a hard-core gamer and haven’t been heavily invested in the most cutting edge games you probably don’t need a “gaming rig” these days. You can do just as well buying a moderate, clearance model Dell from eBay, NewEgg or MicroCenter for literally 1/3rd the price that will play everything out there at close to max settings so long as you get a solid dedicated video card with it. Spend $700 there instead and use the savings to buy games and to buy another new machine 2 years down the road to keep up with demands, you’ll still be coming out ahead.
My brother bought one of their laptops a while ago. The product was pretty good (and you’re not going to get a real gaming laptop any other way), but it was pricey and there were hassles.
To buy it he had to fax them his driver’s license for some reason, and he ended up having to pay for shipping on the warranty repair when the screen developed some red lines for no reason after a few months. (I don’t think he’d have had to pay if he was in the 'states).
For a desktop I’d just pick one out of components myself. If that’s as far as you can go, most “real” computer stores will offer decent advice, put it all together, test it, and offer some sort of warranty for a reasonable price.
Omniscent’s suggestion of going low end sounds good too. If you don’t want to build it (and if you DO, we’d be happy to help you out as much as we can), and you want to save some bucks, get yourself something with a PCI express slot but integrated video and a decent dual core CPU. Then spend a little more on a dedicated GPU and you’ve got yourself a decent midrange rig which is fine if you’re not trying to run Crysis
I have no personal experience, but have heard many stories similar to those related above. From what I’ve heard from acquaintances, they started to really go downhill after being acquired by Dell. I’ve heard that they’re basically Dell machines with a fancy case at a large premium. So, while I can’t say that you’d be completely disappointed with an Alienware machine, I’m sure there are much better deals to be had.
I know you didn’t want to build your own computer, but have you considered asking a friend / acquaintance to build it for you? If you were to order all of the parts off the internet (I recommend newegg.com) and offer said friend $50 to put it together (which a LOT of people would be happy to do for what is generally about an hour’s worth of work) you’d still save hundreds of dollars of a retail brand and get a computer customized to your exact needs.
I haven’t built a computer or bought components in a year, so I’m a little out of date, but I’m sure we could make some great recommendations on parts for you. If you go custom, you can get a kickass machine for a lot less than 1300 pounds. I built a machine last February for $766 including shipping (~532 pounds) that runs Crysis very well at 1024x1280? on high settings. Now granted, I already had a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and DVD-Rom drive I dissected from my old machine, but everything but the monitor is negligible in price nowadays. I think we can get you something really nice in the neighborhood of 900 pounds, especially if you’re willing to use your existing monitors.
I’ve looked online and found some companies that will build PC for a fraction of the price so I think I will look into this instead. I imagine I can use components from my current PC to bulk it up (i.e. keep my RAM and plug it into the new PC board) and if I could transfer my primary hard drive onto my new PC as a secondary that would be quite nifty too. Possible/advisable?
I’ll dig around and once I’ve got a firmer decision will start a new thread as whilst I’m not a complete noob when it comes to hardware I struggle with things like the differences between quad and duo CPUs, why one kind of video card is better than another or what kind of motherboard I should be going for. As ever, thanks for all your help Dopers, you’re the best!
Not bloody likely. If your computer is as old and outdated as you imply, the odds of your current memory being compatible is almost nil. Modern gaming memory is DDR3 and I’m sure your current stuff is probably DDR2 at best, and I get the impression is that it’s not even that good. Ditto with the HD. It might be worth keeping as a warehouse, but it is probably a 5400 RPM IDE drive and modern stuff is probably 10,000 RPM/15,000 RPM SATA drive which simply isn’t in the same ballpark. You definitely are going to need a good new HD as your C: drive at minimum.
This is the most important stuff. It makes all the difference and it can make for a HUGE increase in price. It’s important to know if you really need a Quad core and if you really need a 64 bit CPU and OS. Generally you don’t, and based on what you have said about your current usage you just don’t need a high end rig. I think you could do great with a simple 2.6 GB Dual Core CPU, hefty memory and a above average GPU. This really shouldn’t cost more than $750.
Just curious, since I’m in a similar boat: what do I need if all I really ever do, outside of work, is play World of Warcraft. My current laptop can’t handle it anymore (i think that there are some problems with a driver / video incompatibility which causes the CPU to overheat and lock up). Should I build a relatively simple machine, buy a docking station that might be able to cool things down, or go the discontinued route?
I hook my laptop up to an old CRT right now when I’m at home, but beyond that don’t really own any other parts, not even a keyboard. If I build from scratch I’d need a lot of hand holding but could probably get through it and it might be interesting. My budget will definitely be less than $1000 total and at this point I probably should go what’s economical but get me through at least a couple of years.
Most of the components mentioned there are even cheaper now, so you can save some cash, or use it towards upgrading that CPU or the GPU (they have recommendations for stepping up in the article).
Illuminatiprimus You may be able to salvage some components, maybe. The RAM might be outdated: currently DDR 2 is what most systems use, with DDR 3 now coming into it’s own with the new i7 platform from Intel. I believe, however, that that particular platform still handles DDR2 though so even then you might be ok. This assumes you are not using DDR, because if you are then, yeah, you won’t be able to use it.
Your hard drive may be slower than one you would purchase today, but that’s still fine for a backup drive. On the other hand, hard drives are cheap now a days. you ca get a 500 GB one for under $60. And getting two to go RAID 1 for a little extra security for your important files wouldn’t be a terrible idea.
Seconding Sitnam’s newegg support. I built my current PC about 3 months ago almost exclusively from newegg, and they were great.
The mid-range build from the Tom’s hardware build that Kinthalis posted is great, but I’d make a couple changes to it:
You can replace the Corsair 650TX power supply with a Corsair 750TX for $10 more (after newegg mail in rebate).
I would replace the crap Rosewill case with an Antec Three Hundred. It’s about $20 more, but is a much, much better case.
If you’re looking to save a little, you could always drop one of the Radeon 4870’s. This build with only one 4870 will run any game out there on full blast. Dual cards only give you around a 30% boost (this is from my overseas buddy who makes drivers for graphics cards), so you’re adding $200 for a small performance increase that you don’t really need.
Building a PC is fairly simple (you are somewhat competent with building stuff, right? Of course you are you’re a guy), and we can provide you with help and support here.
