[PC] Alienware Alpha vs Custom PC
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Pumpkin Ninja
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I think a custom PC would be cheaper and you could make it with a budget considered and more to your needs.
It depends on what you mean by beginner.
If you use a pc and encountered/solved easy problems, like Driver issues, BIOS updates, replacing user accessible parts (hard drive, ram et al) and if you don't mind reading a sh*t load of blog articles/YouTube vids then a custom pc would be better (more customizable and probably cheaper).
If the above does not sound like you then go for the Alienware, it's tailored for gaming, looks sleek and it's pretty portable, if you have another pc for everyday computing, this is better imo.
If you use a pc and encountered/solved easy problems, like Driver issues, BIOS updates, replacing user accessible parts (hard drive, ram et al) and if you don't mind reading a sh*t load of blog articles/YouTube vids then a custom pc would be better (more customizable and probably cheaper).
If the above does not sound like you then go for the Alienware, it's tailored for gaming, looks sleek and it's pretty portable, if you have another pc for everyday computing, this is better imo.
Desktop, they can achieve the best performance like the RX 480. They are really easy to build too, some desktop pc's cost less than 600$ and it can run present games on high to ultra settings. But if you are looking for a GPU or graphics card, I recommend the RX 480 for it offers the best performance for its price, hell probably better than my 970 but this is my personal opinion.
EliteKakashi
Active member
Which version of the Alpha would you be purchasing?
I'm just looking at the cheapest option available at $499.99 and it's a bit of a joke. i3-4710 is no bueno, you'll want an i5 at least. Only 4 gigs of ram, 8 should be the absolute minimum you settle for. And it's 1600mhz(being fair, just for gaming the 1600mhz is fine, it's just more the idea behind only offering 4 gigs at the lesser MHz), the graphics card is simply listed as a GTX GPU, but that doesn't actually specify what card it is. From my quick search it seems the card it's referring to is comparable to the 750ti from nvidia, and that's not what I'd recommend for gaming, but it depends on your budget.
Heres a $703(after rebates) build that I just threw together -
Doesn't factor in the operating system so if you don't have a copy of windows you can install on it you'll have to purchase that(or pirate it, I don't give a **** I'm not a cop).
You can do things like get an even cheaper case, get an even smaller harddrive(though I recommend sticking at 1tb minimum), or even going a bit cheaper on the graphics card, but the 1050ti is some of the best bang for your buck that you can get from Nvidia right now, and I personally recommend staying mostly away from AMD, too many over heating(without even overclocking) issues on those cards in my experience. You can probably jack the dvd drive out of your current desktop(assuming you have one) and save almost $20 there, etc.
An idea on what your budget is would be nice though.
I'm just looking at the cheapest option available at $499.99 and it's a bit of a joke. i3-4710 is no bueno, you'll want an i5 at least. Only 4 gigs of ram, 8 should be the absolute minimum you settle for. And it's 1600mhz(being fair, just for gaming the 1600mhz is fine, it's just more the idea behind only offering 4 gigs at the lesser MHz), the graphics card is simply listed as a GTX GPU, but that doesn't actually specify what card it is. From my quick search it seems the card it's referring to is comparable to the 750ti from nvidia, and that's not what I'd recommend for gaming, but it depends on your budget.
Heres a $703(after rebates) build that I just threw together -
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Doesn't factor in the operating system so if you don't have a copy of windows you can install on it you'll have to purchase that(or pirate it, I don't give a **** I'm not a cop).
You can do things like get an even cheaper case, get an even smaller harddrive(though I recommend sticking at 1tb minimum), or even going a bit cheaper on the graphics card, but the 1050ti is some of the best bang for your buck that you can get from Nvidia right now, and I personally recommend staying mostly away from AMD, too many over heating(without even overclocking) issues on those cards in my experience. You can probably jack the dvd drive out of your current desktop(assuming you have one) and save almost $20 there, etc.
An idea on what your budget is would be nice though.
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AMD are made to run hot, plus there are custom coolers out there for AMD cards but idk about the processors because mostly AMD is like "MORE CORES MORE CORES, CORES CORES CORES!!!!". Mostly about cores but they seem weak. Anyway Just don't buy the reference and wait for custom cooler, I mean no offense though, I don't disagree.
EliteKakashi
Active member
Needing a custom cooler with today's technology for video cards is stupid, though. I've had 2 AMD cards burn up on me both within a year of buying. Never had that happen with Nvidia(matter of fact I still have an old PC with a 660 that I bought a week after it launched back in 2012 that still runs perfectly).
I just don't think AMD is worth it with the issues it has. I'm not even sure I'd use an AMD card at this point if someone gave it to me for free. Completely turned off from them.
BenjerminGaye
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Well... this is my personal, I've always had AMD for a while and you are right it always has driver issues and I always get pissed. One time I was In a boss battle in dark souls 2 and so close and it crashed the game because of drivers, and it happened every time, that's why I switched to NVIDIA lol other than that I don't think there are other problems, if it's about heat I don't mind because it would automatically shut the PC down if it overheats and I never once had that happen to me on an AMD card.
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Build it yourself, you get experience. And nothing beats the satisfying feeling of building something yourself and then using it. But also I assume you will want to upgrade in the future, if you build one, it'll be easy for you to upgrade since you'll know what you're doing. Might as well learn now than later.
Easiest way of learning how to build a PC. [video=youtube;kXXct40-tA0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXXct40-tA0[/video]
Easiest way of learning how to build a PC. [video=youtube;kXXct40-tA0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXXct40-tA0[/video]