refurbished Alienware X51... worth it?

jfp · 28 Jan 2013 at 20:10

Been gaming on my GX660R laptop, spec Intel I5-460M, 8GB DDR3, 1TB HDD, ATI HD 5870 1GB GDDR5 Graphics. Mainly playing LOL, blacklight and planet side 2 although am finding I am using it more and more for gaming. I came across a dell alienware x51 with the following spec and wanted peoples opinion on it.

The spec for the alienware x51 is

Processor : Intel Core i7-3770 (3.40GHz, 8MB L3 Cache, 4C)
Genuine Windows® 7 SP1 Home Premium (64 BIT)
1 TB 3.5inch SATA III Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
8 GB DDR3 Dual Channel 1600MHz Memory (2x4GB)
Graphics : 1.5 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
AlienFX Colour : Astral Aqua
Display: Not Included
English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
8X DVD+/-RW Drive
Wireless : Dell Wireless 802.11g/n
Matte Stealth Black Chassis
Dell 105 Key Soft Touch USB Keyboard Black

For £600ish delivered.

First question would I see much difference in using the alienware X51 compared to the GX660r with regards to the graphics card and processor differences? And also price wise is it any good? or would building my own mini system be substantially cheaper or get a lot more for my money?

Any help and information would be greatly appreciated.

jfp · 31 Jan 2013 at 18:40

Can anyone provide any help/advice on this?

SkyTerran · 3 Feb 2013 at 03:47

No idea about the GPUs, but 3770 is far, far faster than 460M.

Building your own system won't be cheaper, but you can pick up better components - PSU, SSD, etc.

jfp · 3 Feb 2013 at 16:17

SkyTerran said:
No idea about the GPUs, but 3770 is far, far faster than 460M.

Building your own system won't be cheaper, but you can pick up better components - PSU, SSD, etc.

But I have got a 5870m and the X51 has a GTX660 (although it doesnt mention its an M it is a whole 0.5GB less than the normal GTX 660's that you can buy from overclockers...)

So what you are saying is if I built my own I will probably spend about the same but will get more bang for my buck so to speak?

After chatting to a friend of mine its kinda swayed me more to building a full PC rather than the SFF halfway house. I mean for the most part I am generally in the same place but do go see gf etc at the weekends when she isnt working so can always keep the laptop for then if I feel the need to play lol etc.

jfp · 3 Feb 2013 at 16:25

Just checked the dell website and the computer I was after is gone :-(