Prebuilt Alienware question

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finkebrian143

May 26, 2018
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Hi everyone, looking for all the advice I can gather on buying a system over building it. I am considering both and have replaced or upgraded hardware on my current pc but needed help from friends with wiring for power and I'm not comfortable with water-cooling.

It's a 7yr old desktop that's still running and using now.

I can get pretty nice discounts through Dell as a whole from work, so why I'm looking at Alienware first.

Here is a template I used from another forum

Laptop or Desktop? Desktop

My budget for the new computer is: $1,600

What are the primary uses for this computer (IE: mail, web browsing, programming, games, etc)? Gaming (if it's powerful enough for that it can handle browsing, email, etc)

What software do you intend on using on the computer? Steam, GOG for starters.Other programs of course but typical for any pc I suppose

Do you play games? If so, what type of games? MMORPG but also single-player. Would like the opportunity to try different types regardless

Do you tend to have a lot of programs running at the same time, or do you close every program when you are done using it? I'll close more resource intensive if needed

Do you store a lot of pictures or music on the computer? Yes, but also have an external SDD and Google Drive

Will you be overclocking? Don't know much about that. Perhaps with help & advice but am cautious

Location for online shopping/shipment/prices? New Jersey

How many monitors are you planning to use? One, but am open to two. Can always swing back to that

Do you need peripherals? OS? Can use current peripherals to cut down on cost initially. Is there a big difference between 10 Home and Pro? Pro allows disabling of different programs (Cortana) not needed?


Any particular reason why you are upgrading? Great time to buy with holiday deals and felt it's time to upgrade with gpu prices finally down

 
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g-unit1111
Vega 56/64 was also suggested and it seems like it's comparable to 1070/1080 but don't know much else aside from reviews I'm reading. Is that more future-proofed?
Click to expand...

No - they are about the same in terms of performance. And don't worry about "future proofing" because there really is no such thing. You pretty much have to buy what's available at the time and accept that it will last your needs for the next couple of years.



That looks pretty good. The D14 is mega overkill for your uses. I would drop that down to a NH-U9B or any single tower Noctua cooler and then you could save some money there and it will still be just as...
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finkebrian143

May 26, 2018
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Through my work, I can save $412 on a pre-built Aurora R7

Intel Core i7 8700K
Alienware™ 460 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply with High Performance Liquid Cooling
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1080 with 8GB GDDR5X
16GB, 2666MHz, DDR4
256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s
Qualcomm DW1810 1x1 802.11ac Wi-Fi Wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.1
DW1820 Wireless Driver
1 Year Hardware Warranty with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis


$1,619.63 after taxes. Free expedited or standard shipping



There is a slightly cheaper model for $1,421.00 but air cooled

They seem to be pretty upgradeable for the most part without voiding the warranty and having one source for support is nice. Keeping my options open before spending any amount of money as I can be pretty indecisive at times
 
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Roland Of Gilead

Roland Of Gilead

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Aug 8, 2008
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I wouldn't put that PSU in there with that build. It's not a good one.
 
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finkebrian143

May 26, 2018
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Hey Keith, thank you for getting back to me

Another said the same thing which stinks they'd use it but I guess to save wherever Alienware can. Found some pc shops that would build but worries me if they ever went out of business.

That system list you put together isn't bad. Can run everything at max settings without sounding like I'm in an airplane hanger?

I live alone so noise isn't as big a factor but wouldn't want to have to worry about leaving it on for an extended period as it'd be in the same room as the tv.
 
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Roland Of Gilead

Roland Of Gilead

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Yeah, the PSU barely cuts mustard. It's cynical i think, putting it together with a system like that. It will most likely power it just fine for a few months, then, if you OC the system you would have trouble. It's not even 80plus rated. Rubbish.

Yeah, apart from getting a 1080ti, the system listed would get you high/ultra in every game out there at 1080p 144hz. Maybe not 144 FPS/Hz in all games, AAA games being examples. But defo able to give a great gaming experience.

On the sound thing. Well, firstly the GPU is a dual fan, so at higher temps setting the fan's may spin up. You can negate this by changing the fan curve. Everything else is just fine noise wise. Although Coffee Lake CPU's run hot, so I'd get a couple of case fans for front intake, and maybe a rear exhaust fan to keep good airflow through the case.

At idle, modern systems barely make any noise. I think you'll be fine with a similar setup.


 
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finkebrian143

May 26, 2018
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I can't believe they'd have a nice system like that with a crappy psu. Another 100w or so can't cost too much but cut corners wherever they can I guess.

Not originally planning to OC but I guess if it's built right I can always experiment with suggestions, but not built for that specifically.

I'd be happy with a great gaming experience considering I can't play anything new right now. What would 144fps require? Many still don't support 4k so perhaps that's an upgrade down the road?

I know cases are more of a personal selection but any suggestions to start off with whether I go full, mid or gaming? Showing it off would be cool but would rather have a great pc overall

This is what I've picked so far myself. https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Finky/saved/#view=gvNBP6

I included a network adapter on mine but as it wasn't on the second are motherboard connections now fast enough?

I was looking at a standalone soundcard to produce the best audio.
 
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Roland Of Gilead

Roland Of Gilead

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The build is decent. I'd swap that cooler out though. The 212 was great n it's day, but for that 8700k i'd want something a bit better. PSU is very good.

Case wise, I have a mid-tower. Two front LED fans, glass side panel, and plenty of space for expansion. Others like a smaller profile or a tight fit. I'm the opposite.

144fps/hz is really down to the GPU, and of course the monitors capabilities. Like i mentioned you will be able to hit that level in some games. Just not all. Getting a second GPU can help, but only a small percentage of games make use of SLI, so in my mind, SLI is a waste, and is being less supported by devs for gaming now.

The 1080 can driver 4k in most games and keep up a nice 60fps, but you may have to dial back settings a little, game dependent.

Soundcard, unless you really need it, on board sound is fine. Most OB sound cards are 7.1 and provide perfect audio for the money.
 
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finkebrian143

May 26, 2018
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I took out the soundcard and wired adapter. Thank you for those suggestions!

It was suggested I take out the cpu with these Spectre patches and performance slowdown. Is it a big expected hit?

I don't mind waiting until later patches come out to optimize everything but hopefully not too long

Vega 56/64 was also suggested and it seems like it's comparable to 1070/1080 but don't know much else aside from reviews I'm reading. Is that more future-proofed?

1100 series hopefully announced at e3/Computex so I also don't mind waiting for this if prices would drop

Not sure about cases with all the different options. I have a full-tower currently so I'm ok with that or mid, but upgradability is key. Especially usb-c as my chromebook & phone are now that. Lights and showing it off is great if I ever brought it with me but not as critical

Still looking at a monitor as well. Might have to make that a separate purchase on the following paycheck if I want to get something really nice

I'm good with waiting for the gpu upgrades but are those huge advancements? Millions are dealing with the cpu issues as is so I don't know what to do there

Wanted to upgrade a few times, put parts together in the past but held off. Not sure what to do now as a whole
 
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finkebrian143

May 26, 2018
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Here's what I currently have without a board, case, fans, etc

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/m4BpBb

Have a few ideas at 1080p/1440p but not really looking at 4k due to price and where the technology's at.

Alienware AW2518H (25in) for a 1080p TN with 240Hz. Price has come down to $329 on some sites compared to $450.

For 1440p I'm looking at three currently,

Asus ROG PG279Q (27in) is expensive but IPS with a 144Hz

Aoc Agon AG241QG (24in) if I wanted to spend a little less with a smaller screen size, slower refresh rate but keep 1440p

Dell 24 S2417DG (24in) 1440p and 165Hz.

Surprised me finding a regular Dell on there but reviews look good. Would love to get a widescreen but they're so expensive and would tax the computer more then what I'm building it for I think.

I switched to Ryzen 7 2700 3.2ghz and saved about $100 which I'm thinking about pairing with a MSI X470 Gaming plus.

I do have Mx-4 from a previous cooler replacement I can use. Trying to nail down the rest of the parts which is hard!
 
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g-unit1111

g-unit1111

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Jul 27, 2011
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Vega 56/64 was also suggested and it seems like it's comparable to 1070/1080 but don't know much else aside from reviews I'm reading. Is that more future-proofed?
Click to expand...

No - they are about the same in terms of performance. And don't worry about "future proofing" because there really is no such thing. You pretty much have to buy what's available at the time and accept that it will last your needs for the next couple of years.



That looks pretty good. The D14 is mega overkill for your uses. I would drop that down to a NH-U9B or any single tower Noctua cooler and then you could save some money there and it will still be just as good. And you don't need to use or buy thermal compound - the stuff Noctua includes is top notch. Here's what I might suggest:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7GHz 8-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua - NH-U12S 55.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($57.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - X470 AORUS GAMING 5 WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($166.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($116.98 @ Newegg Marketplace)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($42.99 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1070 Ti 8GB SC GAMING ACX 3.0 Black Edition Video Card ($479.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT - S340 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Gold 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($95.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1610.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-05-29 14:50 EDT-0400
 
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