New PC stuck on the fence

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I was set on going with an Alienware x51 i7 4770 and a gtx660 but I can't pull the trigger on it.

I currently have a Alienware laptop with a i7 and GeForce 750 and I play Arma 3 on high settings in most cases. What I'm wondering is will the x51 perform better then my current PC or the same?

Also if anyone has a better suggestion please feel free to post. I could build my own PC but I am not confident in component selection.
 
Generally speaking, a desktop has potential to always perform better than a laptop. Without more specs on the laptop, it's hard to say, but I would guess that, yes, that desktop would in fact perform better than the laptop. I would probably bump the graphics card selection up to a 760 or 770 however if your budget allows it.
 
Instead of buying an Alienware desktop, why don't you just build your own?
 
We could help you with component selection.

You really should consider it as you will most likely end up with a better PC for a lower price.
 
Roughly configured, $1,500 for the Alienware and $1,400 for this.

Benefits for the home-built:

  • Video card in the home built is better
  • The SSD is almost assuredly better. A $300 add for a 256Gb SSD over a 2Tb drive is asinine
  • The Alienware doesn't have an option for adding additional drives on their site, which could obviously be purchased afterwards, but that would increase the cost
  • Increasing the RAM from 8-16Gb won't set you back $100
  • The power supply on the Alienware has, quite simply got to suck - 240W standard and 330W for the upgraded?!? Can a 760 even run on that?

Benefits for the Alienware:

  • It shows up and you turn it on.
Bottom line - use pcpartpicker.com, add what you know you want and, provided you leave the Compatibility Filter on (which it is by default) you won't have any issues with things not working together.
 
TB I love you! Lol never seen that site before. And I like the advantage of home built because it offers the option to upgrade down the road the x51 offers no room to upgrade its made very much like a gaming console.


I really appreciate your input, thanks
 
TB
[*]The power supply on the Alienware has, quite simply got to suck - 240W standard and 330W for the upgraded?!? Can a 760 even run on that?

Those PSU aren't even ATX certified, if you seen them you'd know what I am talking about.
 
Why did you stick your new PC to a fence? :boggled:

Well, it's outside so it would have very good ventilation so no overheating problems. :p Even has liquid cooling occasionally! And good reception, but I don't think that really applies to PC's.
 
Remove the second wireless adapter and, unless you have a drive or two sitting around that you can use, definitely add in storage. You don't want everything going to the SSD (personally I only have the OS on mine) and 256Gb won't last very long. Grab a 2Tb or two.

Also, if you're even remotely considering running the 770 in SLI, get a higher powered PSU. A second one cranks up the estimated usage to 643W and your power supply is 650. I'd be looking at a minimum of 850W.
 
TB
Remove the second wireless adapter and, unless you have a drive or two sitting around that you can use, definitely add in storage. You don't want everything going to the SSD (personally I only have the OS on mine) and 256Gb won't last very long. Grab a 2Tb or two.

Also, if you're even remotely considering running the 770 in SLI, get a higher powered PSU. A second one cranks up the estimated usage to 643W and your power supply is 650. I'd be looking at a minimum of 850W.

I was thinking of suggesting a better mainboard.

The one i am getting to replace the one that failed on me is the MSI Z77 Mpower.

Has everything i need and has built in bluetooth and wifi.
 
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TB I love you!
I really appreciate your input, thanks

Just make sure you give TB a hug the next time you see him. He likes hugs, not the wimping, uncomfortable kind but the dig in deep, take your breath away, bro hug! 👍:D

And yes, of course, if you are up to the task, building your own machine can be both rewarding and cheaper.

I haven't looked at Alienware in a long time. They have really lowered their standards, but I see their prices are still top shelf. :yuck:
 
I'd recommend building your self, you can make sure every part is top quality and it's way easier than you think. I built my first PC last year and it was very easy and some people will think you are some kind of genius too lol. They don't realise all you did was stick some parts into slots that they are made to fit into.
 
I was thinking of suggesting a better mainboard.
That's the hard part about picking parts - somewhere along the line someone has had a bad experience with something and wouldn't recommend said manufacturer. As far as motherboards go, I've been quite happy with ASRock so far. 👍
Just make sure you give TB a hug the next time you see him. He likes hugs, not the wimping, uncomfortable kind but the dig in deep, take your breath away, bro hug! 👍:D

You know me all too well! :O

:lol:
 
TB
That's the hard part about picking parts - somewhere along the line someone has had a bad experience with something and wouldn't recommend said manufacturer. As far as motherboards go, I've been quite happy with ASRock so far. 👍


You know me all too well! :O

:lol:

I have had nothing but issues with gigabyte with in the first 12 months and that was with no overclocking.


My asus that died last fortnight is over a year old and is the first asus thing to fail on me.
 
It takes more time to pick out the right parts to fit your budget than it takes to build a PC.
I bought an Asus mother board and it seems decent, though I don't have experience with other mother boards to compare.
 
I have used ASUS, EVGA and Intel, all with varying degrees of success. I have never had one "fail". I've had a few dead out of the box, but for the most part, they tend to last forever if properly installed and if they have good power to them.

Take a look at the warranties of different manufacturers, 3-years should not be uncommon for a quality motherboard.
 
Ok so the MSI ATX with built in wireless is better then the board and wireless card I currently have picked out?

Help me here ive searched and searched and ive second guessed my self now. I want a quality item but i don't want to spend over 250-300$ on a board or board wireless card combo.
 
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Has everything i need and has built in bluetooth and wifi.

I had a motherboard that came with a free wifi card and it was a piece of junk. Might need to buy a good wifi card if a freebee happens to be bad.
 
I plan to order this tonight does anyone see anything wrong?
About the only thing I'd consider changing is kicking up the PSU to a higher wattage. The 650W will work but an 850 will give you more leeway should you ever decide to add another graphics card. If you never plan on that, it looks like it should do the trick. 👍
 
Plus PSUs start to slowly lose their ability to provide power
So a 650w new may be a 600w a few years down the track.

Which means any upgrade could show problems regarding power needs
 
Hey guys I have assembled my PC and it runs FANTASTIC! Arma has never looked so good or so smooth! Thanks for all the input guys.

Now for the bad part, im missing a hard drive. When I installed windows it asked me wich hard drive to install on.(It showed both correctly at this point) I picked the 256GB SSD everything went fine but now the only drive I have is the C driver with 180GB~ left. What do I need to do to use my other hard drive? Did I install on the correct one?


Problem solved, had to reformat the drive.
 
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You will be left with 238GiB in windows after installing it.
Install windows and you get about 228GiB left.
 
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