tonyh29 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Trying to sort a decent Gaming PC out for my lad , presently he's only really playing Minecraft , Team Fortress , World of tanks etc but I'd imagine he will gradually go more hi-tech and thus need something that can dish up the required fps etc .... Clearly I don't want to spend fortunes on something that will become obsolete 6 mths down the road , but whilst I was looking around I came across the Alienware Alpha and wondered if anyone had seen one / used one or had any thoughts it appears to be able to run Office suite etc so he can keep his mother happy by doing his homework on it as well as save the universe .. thoughts and also recommendations appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V01 Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 You can configure the same build £30-£40 cheaper at PC Specialist. They can handle all your upgrades too so if in 12-18 months you want a better graphics card or more RAM they could either give you a list of compatible options and technical support to do it yourself or run a collect and return service to install them for you. Both companies offer sales/technical support so you can get feedback as you choose the configuration you want. That configuration for the Alienware doesn't include keyboard/mouse or monitor, so bear that in mind if you don't have them already. You're probably best getting a low-mid range spec right now and then upgrading in 12-18 months when everything has dropped in price massively. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davkaus Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) The only thing that has going for it is that brandname, and the size, if space is an issue. It's a power friendly CPU, and a generation old mobile graphics card, neither of which are ideal for gaming, they're sacrifices you make for a laptop, it's nonsense for a desktop. Due to the small form factor, it'll be impossible to upgrade to a proper desktop graphics card if he finds the 860m a bit slow in a couple of years. For a similar price you could get a higher spec PC, with proper desktop components, from a site like PC Specialist that'll build it for you and offer a decent warranty. I'm about to head out but I could knock up a build for about the price of the Alienware in the morning if you'd like. Edited January 21, 2016 by Davkaus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 Thanks guys yeah I'd appreciate your thoughts Davkaus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyh29 Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 as a PS to this , I can order from our IT suppliers something like an HPz230 Intel® Core™ i7-4790 with Intel HD Graphics 4600 (3.6 GHz, 8 MB cache, 4 cores) Intel HD Graphics 4600 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 non-ECC Unbuffered RAM (2 x 4 GB) 1 TB 7200 rpm SATA and thus blag it through the company and get the VAT back , and probably expense it as well for working from home aside from saving me money .... Would I got more bang if I went this route and stuck a decent graphics card in it , rather than buying something with an i5 processor in it to a budget ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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