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| Thread ID: 136836 | 2014-04-20 06:23:00 | Alienware X51 | EFFIGY (12530) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 1373114 | 2014-04-20 06:23:00 | Hi all. I had a little bit of money luck, and am sorely tempted by the new Alienware X51. I run and work with alot of graphics software, Photoshop CS6 and Illustrator via Adobe Creative Cloud are the main two; and I like to game. :blush: Now, bearing in mind I *could* rebuild my own aging system, and will probably do that as a *project*; am I just being seduced by the Alienware brand, or is this a viable option? I have discounted iMac and I cant afford MacPro. The top end of my budget is 3k. I am looking at these options; 4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4770 Processor (8MB Cache, up to 3.9GHz with Turbo Boost Technology) 256GB 6Gb/s + 1TB 5400RPM SATA 3Gb/s AMD Radeon™ R9 270 with 2GB GDDR5 Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW) Pro's: The reviews are all good, Its small. My studio is small, and I am really over huge noisy boxes. Its an Alien. Cons: The reviews do highlight limited expandability, but I really don't think that my gaming is that hardcore, at most I would only ever be doubling RAM and upgrading the video card. It not a Mac, I am fully cognisant of the Macs are best for graphics professionals vs PC arguments. My sister and I have a combined experience of 55 years of working with computer graphics, she took the Mac road, I didn't. So please don't drag that argument into the discussion. Its probably overpriced - it's an Alien, (I won this money, so its a bonus) Help me to take off my rose tinted spectacles on this decision, or hold my hand and say 'It's OK'. I value this forums inputs into my decision making. It has always worked in the past. :thumbs: |
EFFIGY (12530) | ||
| 1373115 | 2014-04-20 06:45:00 | For $2.5k you could do significantly better. Personally I wouldn't touch a brand name desktop (excluding workstations which make sense for large businesses). You could get a better system put together by a local company (ie computer lounge or playtech). Something like this: nz.pcpartpicker.com (case could be smaller but I couldn't remember which silverstone mATX case was the small one) They'd probably charge $50-$100 to stick it all together for you. |
icow (15313) | ||
| 1373116 | 2014-04-20 08:42:00 | Thanks iCow That's the pink off one lens of the goggles.... and I don't need to spent the $50-$100, I could do it myself - but I would rather just be painting, and I could change the colours on the Alien's lights you see...... |
EFFIGY (12530) | ||
| 1373117 | 2014-04-20 09:30:00 | The alienware is a really nice machine but you are paying a premium for them shoehorning all that tech into such a small case and it has Zero potential for future upgrades. If size and style are important to you sure, if you want the best PC for your money then build one or have it built. The silverstone SG06, 07, and 08 are about half the size of the prodigy that icow suggested and with a bit of care can take a full powered gaming rig based around an itx board. The system in my signature is in the same case icow linked and is virtually silent. 550W is plenty in my case too as far as the PSU goes too. Looking at Icows list it's all good stuff but you could easily swap things around depending on your goals and save some money or make it even better at the same price. You may want to include the OS in the price if you don't already have it also. I like the prodigy, I have 2 of them, but for an itx rig it is rather large, about 2/3 of a mid tower in size. For example if it was for me I'd drop the after market cooler - stock works perfectly for the non-K (I should know I have that case and that CPU using stock cooling), drop the second SSD, swap the TB drive for a 1 or 2TB Seagate 3.5" SSHD hybrid for fast cheap storage, go for this PSU www.computerlounge.co.nz and put the approx $350 in savings towards a 780 or 780 TI for a truly awesome gamer that'd last a few years. It all comes down to personal choice. If you like colours check this out www.computerlounge.co.nz Same basic internals as the prodigy but a blinged out exterior. |
dugimodo (138) | ||
| 1373118 | 2014-04-20 09:30:00 | www.computerlounge.co.nz You can customize if you like... I just added/removed what I would probably do if I was spending 3k. |
ronyville (10611) | ||
| 1373119 | 2014-04-20 09:35:00 | link doesn't work for me rony, think you need to be logged into your CL account to see your shopping cart. | dugimodo (138) | ||
| 1373120 | 2014-04-20 09:39:00 | Works for me, and I am not logged in. Dont even have an account. 5688 |
ronyville (10611) | ||
| 1373121 | 2014-04-20 10:08:00 | Thanks guys -keep the ideas coming in. One question - Do I want Windows 8? Or just stick with 7 until 8 is better resolved, my experience of 8 on a non touch machine is that it is cumbersome. Edit... Oh and remember... In this discussion the argument is that pc can do everything that iMac pro can for 1/4 the money + personality and style. Love this debate. |
EFFIGY (12530) | ||
| 1373122 | 2014-04-20 10:17:00 | There are ways to add a menu in Win8 if you want one | Speedy Gonzales (78) | ||
| 1373123 | 2014-04-20 10:25:00 | There are ways to add a menu in Win8 if you want one LOL :nerd: |
EFFIGY (12530) | ||
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