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Forums - PC Discussion - PC Gamers: Any thoughts on the Alienware Alpha console? (& steam boxes)

 

On a $500 budget, What would be best?

Alpha 8 18.18%
 
building a PC 36 81.82%
 
Total:44
oodles2do on 25 March 2015
spemanig said:
Captain_Yuri said:

Well thats the thing... It wont be able to... More and More games are requiring quad core cpus in order to even run games (less so cause they require it and more so that they are lazy to code it in) and the 750Ti isn't a very good card. I mean, if hes going to spend $500, he may as well get the best possible PC he can get instead of one that will be meh at best. I would rather choose a ps4/x1 than the alienware alpha where as say, if he has his own copy of windows or if he can get windows from somewhere else, he can get a fairly good PC for just $500. Like here is a PC that I quickly made for $500 and it will pretty much beat the alienware alpha while having that upgradiblity factor

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($65.99 @ NCIX US) (Easily Overclockable to 4ghz in stock fan)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-B85M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.98 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 270 2GB Dual-X Video Card  ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H22 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 600W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($61.49 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($18.75 @ Amazon)
Total: $492.16

(Of course, you don't really want to use that cause u would want to find one store + price match instead of multiple stores and put more thought into it but as an example)


Wait, so even the the Alpha is stronger than the PS4, it won't be able to even run some of it's games in the future? Maybe this is ignorant to say, but the last thing I'd want to do if I owned a PC is constantly have to upgrade it.


I don't claim to be an expert, but with the console hardware the devs can work to get the most out of the hardware and to use it much more efficiently. I don't think a pc that matched the ps3 in power in 2006 (I know its hardware was very custom and do it's difficult to make a direct comparison) would be able to still match it in the quality of games in 2013. This goes for 3rd parties but especially for first party games like TLoU and God of War ascension.

 

Anyone is free to call me out if I'm wrong but I want to see a source. 



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Vasto on 25 March 2015

You need $600 if you want to build a good budget gaming pc.



Azuren on 25 March 2015
vivster said:
Steam OS is free. You can slap it on any machine you like. Buying prebuilt is never a good idea, especially if your cash is limited.

Just think about this. Alienware has a very good reason why they don't disclose what hardware is actually used.


I work in a computer store. Pre-builds are generally cheaper nowadays, and the only reason you would custom build is for specific desires in your machine (personalized case, overclock processor, etc).



Watch me stream games and hunt trophies on my Twitch channel!

Check out my Twitch Channel!:

www.twitch.tv/AzurenGames

Azuren on 25 March 2015

For the record, we have an Alpha running in the store i work at. We loaded the most recent Tomb Raider, and it runs at a decent level at about 45fps. Not bad for the price of the machine, and it's definitely better than some of the other Steam Machines out there.



Watch me stream games and hunt trophies on my Twitch channel!

Check out my Twitch Channel!:

www.twitch.tv/AzurenGames

vivster on 25 March 2015
Azuren said:
vivster said:
Steam OS is free. You can slap it on any machine you like. Buying prebuilt is never a good idea, especially if your cash is limited.

Just think about this. Alienware has a very good reason why they don't disclose what hardware is actually used.


I work in a computer store. Pre-builds are generally cheaper nowadays, and the only reason you would custom build is for specific desires in your machine (personalized case, overclock processor, etc).

So your computer store doesn't pay its employees?

Look at any PC that is labeled as gaming PC and it will likely be overpriced. Look at Dell, Alienware, even some prebuilds of hardware stores like Alternate. Every steam box is overpriced for what's in it. Saying that it's generally cheaper is just a false statement.



If you demand respect or gratitude for your volunteer work, you're doing volunteering wrong.

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HoloDust on 25 March 2015

This might help you, if you haven't already checked that article:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-2015-alienware-alpha-review

Alpha seem relatively ok, specially if you care for small form factor and those bundled games, but for that price it's a bit tough sell for just 4GB of RAM and 500GB HDD...and not being able to upgrade GPU in the future is major no.

If you choose to build, definitely don't go with anything less than i3 or AMD 6300 for CPU. And don't go berserk with PSU - this calculators will help you, don't believe that Newegg's overbloated pos:

http://www.extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine
http://powersupplycalculator.net/



Azuren on 25 March 2015
vivster said:
Azuren said:
vivster said:
Steam OS is free. You can slap it on any machine you like. Buying prebuilt is never a good idea, especially if your cash is limited.

Just think about this. Alienware has a very good reason why they don't disclose what hardware is actually used.


I work in a computer store. Pre-builds are generally cheaper nowadays, and the only reason you would custom build is for specific desires in your machine (personalized case, overclock processor, etc).

So your computer store doesn't pay its employees?

Look at any PC that is labeled as gaming PC and it will likely be overpriced. Look at Dell, Alienware, even some prebuilds of hardware stores like Alternate. Every steam box is overpriced for what's in it. Saying that it's generally cheaper is just a false statement.


You apparently haven't shopped for computers recently.



Watch me stream games and hunt trophies on my Twitch channel!

Check out my Twitch Channel!:

www.twitch.tv/AzurenGames

vivster on 25 March 2015
Azuren said:

You apparently haven't shopped for computers recently.

Maybe you would enlighten me with a single example. Because as of date I have not seen a single prebuilt PC that was cheaper than the parts it was made of.



If you demand respect or gratitude for your volunteer work, you're doing volunteering wrong.

anthony64641 on 25 March 2015

Alienware Alpha Runing Crysis 3 at a pretty steady FPS @ around/+ 30FPS 1028P! And AA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFbLx9eaGTE

BF4, COD:AW, middle earth, sons of rome, metro last light and more, @~30 at high settings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_5PB73ZdV8

Maxing out games is a bit unrealistic but for the price and size, its looking pretty good. The base model is $450 on Amazon. I dont know many built PC that can do that, FOR THE SAME PRICE :D lol. times has change... if nvidia can build a android console with above ps3/xbox 360 graphics for 200. alienware building a console pc, which is decent in power for a good price. In all honesty i would personally recommend building.... but on a $500 budget I feel i could get the most money out of this console




'Video games are bad for you? That's what they said about rock-n-roll.'
-Shigeru Miyamoto

Kami on 25 March 2015
anthony64641 said:
Alienware Alpha Runing Crysis 3 at a pretty steady FPS @ around/+ 30FPS 1028P! And AA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFbLx9eaGTE

BF4, COD:AW, middle earth, sons of rome, metro last light and more, @~30 at high settings

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_5PB73ZdV8

Maxing out games is a bit unrealistic but for the price and size, its looking pretty good. The base model is $450 on Amazon. I dont know many built PC that can do that, FOR THE SAME PRICE :D lol. times has change... if nvidia can build a android console with above ps3/xbox 360 graphics for 200. alienware building a console pc, which is decent in power for a good price. In all honesty i would personally recommend building.... but on a $500 budget I feel i could get the most money out of this console

You can build something stronger with the money.



Current Consoles: PS3, PS4, Wii U

PC Specs: i7-4770, GTX 560 Ti, 12GB 1600Mhz DDR3