What do you guys think of the Alienware Alpha Console PC? http://www.amazon.com/Alienware-ASM100-1580-Console-i3-4130T-Processor/dp/B00MA7AMKY I've been looking for a PC based gaming system comparable in power to a PS4 for 400-500 USD and this was the only thing I could find that fit my budget. Anyone have any experience with them? I've been "Googling" around and various sites say it is indeed in the same ballpark graphics-wise as a PS4. I've also seen the I3 models selling on EBAY, new, for 420-450 USD. Is it worth it?
Hello, You should never, ever buy a prebuilt computer. Building one gets you a much better computer for cheaper. If you have problems mounting the computer, you can ask someone to do it for you (probably 25buks or something? No idea). I suggest you take a look at www.reddit.com/r/buildapc and check out the suggestions. You can also, obviously, create a thread for yourself.
I completely disagree with this. I've been building PCs for myself and as part of my little business out of my home for over 20 years and there is NO WAY I can compete in price with Dell (who owns Alienware), HP or Acer. These big companies can go to WD, ASUS and Microsoft and promise to buy 1,000,000 hard drives, motherboards, and Windows licenses over the next year and demand, and get humongous volume discounts. NO WAY individual builders buying parts from Newegg or Amazon can buy 1 drive, 1 motherboard and 1 Windows license at those prices. Or even 10 drives, 10 motherboards and 10 Windows licenses. Same with the case, RAM, and power supply. I always tell my clients I cannot compete with Dell in price, but I can build a better computer in any category (general purpose PC, HTPC, CAD/CAE workstation, or gaming rig). I agree. There's a reason serious gamers spend $200, $300 or even $500 on just one graphics card when building a PC based gaming machine - and some SLI or Crossfire with two, or even three of those $500 cards! If you want a gaming PC, I recommend doubling your budget (at least) or just get a new PlayStation or Xbox.
With that Alienware or any Alienware for that matter, your paying for a name and hand crafted case. Otherwise build your own. Worst case scenario you get a better PC for your money.
Simple answer is, Since Alienware are owned by Dell, I wouldn't touch it, far too much overheads and bloat go into these systems which is totally ridiculous, To build similar yourself would more than likely cost 76% less than to buy this. Plus the fact the System you posted is only of an i3 Processor, It's hardly game worthy with the newer games Something like this would beat The Alienware hands down no comparison, and If your not in the UK they ship anywhere http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-080-OG&groupid=43&catid=2475 Here's a seperate list of list their gaming systems http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=43&catid=2475
Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately, building my own is NOT an option as I have no skill in that area. The most I've done is install/remove RAM, Video Cards, Sound Cards, etc... The only time I tried something more complicated, like changing a PSU, I fried the PC and had to buy a whole new one. So that's not happening. Any prebuilt systems with similar specs are MORE expensive than this Alienware. So I'm stuck. It's either one of these or an XBONE/PS4. The reason why I was intrigued by the Alienware setup is because I found it for under 420 USD, new, on EBAY and I wanted opinions on how it would compare to a PS4/XBONE. I've seen youtube videos of Gamespot (or was it IGN) comparing the two systems side by side using the same games. The intro model Alienware Alpha actually matched, and in some cases outdid, the PS4. The Alienware also comes with 5 free games vs the PS4's one. The Alienware can go online and play games without paying an extra fee (50 USD for PS4 and 60 USD for XBONE). But if you guys are saying it's not worth the money, is it possible then to find another prebuilt system with better specs in my price range (400-500 USD)?
Where are you located do you have any spare parts lying around ? (HDD, monitor, keyboard, mice, etc.)
America. Regarding spare parts, the only ones I have are the ones from my 4 year old PC. The keyboard and mouse show signs of HEAVY use. My monitor is a 19in DELL LCD. My current PC's specs are : Intel E8400 cpu, Nvidia GT 630 GPU, 8gbs RAM, 160gb HDD, built in b/g/n Wifi, running Windows 7 64bit, 275WATT PSU, and it's a small form factor case. The only things I added to my PC were the video card, wifi card, and an extra 4gbs of RAM.
If the alienware you linked has a GTX 860m as I suspect (amazon doesn't say the exact model), you should be good for medium-low end gaming. Value of custom building doesn't kick in that much on the lower end of the budget spectrum.
You're going to spend $500 on a gaming only machine. How about spending more for a gaming desktop which would double as your general purpose PC, is that an option? You could connect it to both the monitor and the TV.
They review the system here : http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2014-alienware-alpha-spec-analysis Supposedly the video card in the Alpha is equivalent to a GTX 750Ti. That's the thing. I originally wanted this Alienware Alpha to double as my main PC too. It's stats dwarf my current PC, is supposedly equal to PS4/XBONE in power, and nothing I can find prebuilt comes close for 420 USD. I just wanted to know if there was anything better in my price range than this machine.
If that's the card you can probably run most older games (<2013-2014) on high settings in lower resolutions and newer gen games on medium. It is preferable that you can spare more to get at an i5 with that (which amazon has an option for) but if this is your exact budget the one you linked is nice enough for now.
That review makes it clear, . That goes along with my long-held personal opinion and dislike for fancy facades and flashy lights in my PC cases. I prefer to pay attention to what's on my monitors and NOT be distracted by my PC case. In fact, I expect my cases to sit quietly and discreetly off to the side and not draw attention to themselves. Not that a case should be ugly, but it should not be the "star of the show" either. JMVHO.
I what resolutions you intend to use it? If you want to use it up to 1080p it should be ok. But I would suggest to invest 30$ more and buy the 8gb ram + 1 TB hdd version. Panagiotis
If you want a PS4/Xbone like experience, this should work fine. Also, I second what pandlouk said. As far as not being able to compete with HP, Dell, etc, I think that's really only true in the < $500-$600 range. Here's a QUICK build I just made that's $762 (no OS) that is the same as this HP PC that costs $950. Also, the vast majority of 'Gaming' prebuilts I've seen from HP and Dell have rather low end GPU's compared to their other specs. HP has PC's with 4820k's and 32Gb of ram paired up with a GTX 745. Are you kidding me?
@zopzop You can also go for a desktop built around a APU (CPU and GPU on the same chip) like the AMD A10-7850K. It won't give you the performance of a dedicated graphics card but you'll game fine at lower resolutions, and I think you can manage to stay within budget. Your best bet would be to find a shop near you (or nationwide one), choose the parts and have them build it for you.
That's the thing though, The AMD A10-7850k is worse than this Alienware setup. Here is a thread comparing the I3 Alienware Alpha vs the AMD A10-7850k : http://wccftech.com/alienware-alpha-vs-ps4-vs-xbox-one-graphic-comparison-550-pc/ Scroll down to the Comments section, "Nope, Wrong" links videos comparing them in various games. The Alienware easily surpasses the A10.
It is important to remember that game makers fully understand that most of their customers don't have the budgets to spend $2000, $3000 or more on their gaming computers so they code their games to provide good "game play" on lessor systems. They would still have HD resolutions but maybe "crop" the image, lesson the background detail, and/or have fewer independent "objects" moving about and interacting on the screen at any one time. And while I agree a good graphics card will yield better performance than an Intel or AMD CPU with integrated graphics, these integrated CPUs are often found in notebooks marketed as "gaming notebooks", and many players are very happy with the "game play" on these systems. That said, I personally to think there is no such thing as a good "gaming notebook" or "desktop replacement" notebook and feel that is just "marketing fluff". I say that because normal tower PC cases are challenged to keep the components inside cool and PC cases support several large fans providing lots of cool air flowing through them. They can pack the computer power in a tiny notebook case, but not the cooling and still keep the case thin and light for road warriors (the primary users of notebooks). Plus notebook makers don't make the innards of notebooks easily accessible by "normal users" for essential cleaning of heat-trapping dust, as can be done with PC cases. But all this is for another discussion.
If that's your budget I highly doubt you can find anything notably better than this. Anything you build in lower budgets generally won't have too much of an added value. You should be able to gameon mid-high in low resolutions barring a few resource monster games. If you up the resolution it would be mid-low range.
As a long time pc gamer, I have recently been forced to make the switch to console gaming. I miss the graphics but with various ailments piling up from years of gaming abuse to my body, I have both toned it down and moved on from the pc. Having said all that, another consideration is the fact that with both the PSN and XBox you must pay a monthly fee to play online. It is not a lot, but still something to consider. A moderate, upgradable gaming rig can be put together near your price point, but not at it imo. If it were me, I would decide if I wanted the flexibility of a console (play in bed or sofa), or play from a desktop with top notch graphics and depending on the game, no monthly fees. I am growing more and more fond of console gaming all the time...
