Pre-Built Choices?

[JamesA95]

First of NO self-builds.
The PC MUST be small no big towers, as close tot he X51 as possible


This is the spec of the Alienware X51 that I was going to buy as an entry to PC gaming.

i3 4130 3M cache - 3.4 GHz
1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 645
6 GB RAM
1 TB HDD (7200)

This costs £600 and includes a mouse and keyboard. As well as an operating system.

My question is can you link me to a PC better than this for the same price?

 

[joeyjojo]

You'll have to go through the "configurator" to get the best blend of components on OcUK. Important question though: what games do you play?

This is the most similar thing to the spec you quoted, but with a much, much better GPU, and no keyboard/mouse:

YOUR BASKET
1 x "Intel i3 Raid" Intel Core i3 4130 Haswell Dual Core Gaming System £252.00
- 1 x HIS HD 7850 IceQ X 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card (H785QN2G2M) £149.99
- 1 x No Second Hard Drive Option (ZERO Cost) £0.00
- 1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
- 1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX) £67.99
- 1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £69.95
- 1 x 24 MONTH WARRANTY - COLLECT & RETURN £0.01
- 1 x Standard Build Systems - Dispatched within 7 working days £0.00
Total : £602.53 (includes shipping : £15.50).

 

[JamesA95]

I play COD, looking to play Elder Scrolls Online when it is out, sme Indie games, DayZ and the occasional RPG, e.g Skyrim, Fallout

 

[[X-Ray]DON]

I was an Alienware owner and I still have an M14 laptop, avoid entry level Alienware components. The "Aliens" are solid machines but you pay brand and extra services to end up stuck with dedicated DELL mobo and other nightmares like that when you want to upgrade components.

In general are very good machines but if you arrived here, it means that you are doing "research" and is a good thing to do when it comes to PC assembling.

What "joeyjojo" here suggested (I quote and support 100%) will have a much longer "life expectation" and has a much greater performance than the "Alienware X51".

Furthermore, Alienware uses dedicated mobo and that case is built around specific components, if in few months/years you want to upgrade will be a hell of a pain (we have the Alienware X51 in the office).

My suggestion, go for something that you assemble (or get assembled by OC.uk) and that is not "brand locked".

In any case, GOOD LUCK!

 

[JamesA95]

Thanks for the help, just checking, that rig will perform fine with that i3? And it is easily upgradable for the future?

 

[joeyjojo]

The CPU is pretty weak, but without spending £100-200 more you won't be able to beat it.

 

[DaleTheWhale]

Just in case you change your mind:

YOUR BASKET
1 x HIS Radeon R9 270X IceQ BOOST 2048MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £149.99
1 x AMD Piledriver FX-8 Eight Core 8320 Black Edition 3.50GHz (Socket AM3+) Processor - Retail £113.99
1 x Asus M5A97 EVO R2.0 AMD 970 (Socket AM3+) DDR3 Motherboard £79.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 8.1 64-Bit DVD - OEM (WN7-00614) £69.95
1 x Avexir Core Blue Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AVD3U16000904G-2CW) - Blue Light £59.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 550W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £47.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £43.99
1 x NZXT Source 210 Elite Midi Tower Case - Black £39.95
Total : £620.83 (includes shipping : £12.50).



Added an SSD instead of OS by mistake aha. Lemme edit.

E: Fixed.

 

[Loxa]

I would advise not to buy any Alienware pre-built systems.

 

[joeyjojo]

Just in case you change your mind:

This is a lot more powerful for only £20 more, but you will have to slot the bits into eachother really it's very easy.

 

[Danny75]

And it is easily upgradable for the future?

Far, far more than any Dell PC's. [X-Ray]DON is bang on here:

Furthermore, Alienware uses dedicated mobo and that case is built around specific components, if in few months/years you want to upgrade will be a hell of a pain (we have the Alienware X51 in the office).

My suggestion, go for something that you assemble (or get assembled by OC.uk) and that is not "brand locked".

In any case, GOOD LUCK!

Even the PSU's in some Dells (no clue about the Alienware's, the PSU isn't even mentioned on their website) don't have 6/8-pin power connectors for GPU's. It's all done to prevent you from extending the life/upgrading the performance of your purchase with other bits and pieces, in order to get people who don't self-build to buy a whole new rig sooner rather than later.

 

[Kenjiin]

It's a shame you won't try self-building, it really is the way to go!
I build my first PC this time last year, having never done anything like it before. Armed with just a bit of research and help from this forum where need be! It really is a lot easier than it appears, plus it gives such a good feeling

It's up to you, but once you build your first rig you'll never go back!

 

[bru]

Can you build a flat pack piece of furniture? if you can then you can build a PC, if anything it is easier as piece A won't fit into socket B on a PC so it is very hard to get it wrong.