Nerd shit
Which one is better?
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.
Idk I dont know shit about technology
The price to performance ratio is good for desktop too.
You should Google "Alienware alpha"
I'm not disagreeing with you btw.
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 -You must be registered for see links
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.
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.
For a PC beginner like me, which one would be better?
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.
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 -You must be registered for see links
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.