Originally posted by Vorthanion

If you want a pre-built system that still allows you the freedom to pick name brand components specifically as well as the features such as size and capacity and so forth, try visiting http://cyberpowerpc.com and click on the Configurators link at the top of the page.  Not only does this company help you configure a nice system, but they have question mark icons for almost every single item, explaining their features.  They also have a tool under the price window that gives you feedback on frames per second for various high powered games, showing you which components give better results.  On top of all that, they are actually very reasonably priced and you'll get a system that is close to what you would pay if you built it yourself.

 

My suggestion would be to give it a try and configure the same system you recently ordered.  If you can get the same results or something better for a better price, only with better name brand components or even better capacities, then consider sending the original system back when it arrives without even opening the box.

Thanks for the heads up.  I was on newegg and was pricing out some cyberpowerpc's.  They also had some ibuypower pc's to look at also.  For the same price, I certainly could have got a little more bang for the buck - the reviews scared me off, to be honest.  Maybe most people don't have issues with them, but I'm not sure :P

Originally posted by Vorthanion

If you want a pre-built system that still allows you the freedom to pick name brand components specifically as well as  features such as size and capacity and so forth, try visiting http://cyberpowerpc.com and click on the Configurators link at the top of the page.  Not only does this company help you configure a nice system, but they have question mark icons for almost every single item, explaining their features.  They also have a tool under the price window that gives you feedback on frames per second for various high powered games, showing you which components give better results as you choose them.  On top of all that, they are actually very reasonably priced and you'll get a system that is close to what you would pay if you built it yourself.

 

My suggestion would be to give it a try and configure the same system you recently ordered.  If you can get the same results or something better for a better price, only with better name brand components or even better capacities, then consider sending the original system back when it arrives without even opening the box.

I could be mistaken but I think the draw for that particular system is the small size. About the size of the original x box.

Its more of a media center/ console replacement that will fit in your TV stand, entertainment center or what not. The small size is its main selling point. Otherwise just buy a full size comp IMO.

Originally posted by jdnewell

Originally posted by Vorthanion

If you want a pre-built system that still allows you the freedom to pick name brand components specifically as well as  features such as size and capacity and so forth, try visiting http://cyberpowerpc.com and click on the Configurators link at the top of the page.  Not only does this company help you configure a nice system, but they have question mark icons for almost every single item, explaining their features.  They also have a tool under the price window that gives you feedback on frames per second for various high powered games, showing you which components give better results as you choose them.  On top of all that, they are actually very reasonably priced and you'll get a system that is close to what you would pay if you built it yourself.

 

My suggestion would be to give it a try and configure the same system you recently ordered.  If you can get the same results or something better for a better price, only with better name brand components or even better capacities, then consider sending the original system back when it arrives without even opening the box.

I could be mistaken but I think the draw for that particular system is the small size. About the size of the original x box.

Its more of a media center/ console replacement that will fit in your TV stand, entertainment center or what not. The small size is its main selling point. Otherwise just buy a full size comp IMO.

That was part of  my decision.  I plan on using it in both my computer room and moving it to my living room (when I can steal the big screen from the kids :P).  I like that it woud fit right into my entertainment stand.  Size wasn't even a consideration when I started shopping, but the compact size is pretty sexy imho.

Originally posted by Qazaam

Originally posted by jdnewell

Originally posted by Vorthanion

If you want a pre-built system that still allows you the freedom to pick name brand components specifically as well as  features such as size and capacity and so forth, try visiting http://cyberpowerpc.com and click on the Configurators link at the top of the page.  Not only does this company help you configure a nice system, but they have question mark icons for almost every single item, explaining their features.  They also have a tool under the price window that gives you feedback on frames per second for various high powered games, showing you which components give better results as you choose them.  On top of all that, they are actually very reasonably priced and you'll get a system that is close to what you would pay if you built it yourself.

 

My suggestion would be to give it a try and configure the same system you recently ordered.  If you can get the same results or something better for a better price, only with better name brand components or even better capacities, then consider sending the original system back when it arrives without even opening the box.

I could be mistaken but I think the draw for that particular system is the small size. About the size of the original x box.

Its more of a media center/ console replacement that will fit in your TV stand, entertainment center or what not. The small size is its main selling point. Otherwise just buy a full size comp IMO.

That was part of  my decision.  I plan on using it in both my computer room and moving it to my living room (when I can steal the big screen from the kids :P).  I like that it woud fit right into my entertainment stand.  Size wasn't even a consideration when I started shopping, but the compact size is pretty sexy imho.

Sorry, misread your response to read that you thought my option was too console sized.  Yeah, if you want a console style box, you're going to limit yourself no matter what you do or who builds it.

If it makes you feel any better.. I KNOW how to build a PC but I would still rather spend the money than spend the time researching which chipsets work best with what boards then having to make sure I flash the BIOS properly and do all that.

Far easier (though not as cost effective) to let someone do it for you.  I'm on the same hunt but I'm pretty much looking at BUYPOWER and CYBERPOWER.  The reviews are hit or miss on the newegg but I was reading up on some of the professional sites about bang for buck and they are consistently up there.  Alienware, since they were bought by Dell, IMO lost some of it's sparkle.

I'm glad you got a new comp though.  It's always fun.

Originally posted by Ikeda

If it makes you feel any better.. I KNOW how to build a PC but I would still rather spend the money than spend the time researching which chipsets work best with what boards then having to make sure I flash the BIOS properly and do all that.

Far easier (though not as cost effective) to let someone do it for you.  I'm on the same hunt but I'm pretty much looking at BUYPOWER and CYBERPOWER.  The reviews are hit or miss on the newegg but I was reading up on some of the professional sites about bang for buck and they are consistently up there.  Alienware, since they were bought by Dell, IMO lost some of it's sparkle.

I'm glad you got a new comp though.  It's always fun.

Thx.  I'll be updating this thread once it arrives and share my experince w/ everybody. Delivery date is March 1st ... yeesh.

Originally posted by Qazaam

Originally posted by 77lolmac77
If you like wasting money than yeah, go for it.

Criticism with no constructive feedback...comment disregarded.

If you need him to tell you why then you don't need to hear it. I suggest you disregard every post in this thread then with the exception of those that stroke whatever nerve you're hoping.

Originally posted by Qazaam

I don't build computers and have no interest in it - (wanted to get that out of the way).

I pulled the trigger on the new console-competitor X51 from Alienware.  I got the i7 model.  What's most impressive about this sytem to me is that all of the parts are upgradable - I can just hit up newegg and get a new graphics card or whatebver in the future as components get outdated.

I play MMO's and wanted to get a solid system to run Guild Wars 2 and run fraps while keeping things on max (or close to max) settings.  I'm also going to be playing TERA quite a bit.

It set me back about 1200 bucks.

Anybody else take a look at this model? It looks good to me, but I'm curious if anyone else has checked this computer out (or has one).

 

Edit: Here's what it looks like (I didn't buy the monitor etc, I just used this pic to show the size of the case)

Specs:

i7-2600 , 8GB DDR3 SDRAM, 1 GB DDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 555, 1TBHD 7200 RPM

All components are supposedly upgradable as they become obsolete (according to the manufacturer)

you could ask to someone to build you one, but for the price you are paying I could make a better one just saying. also even so they say you can upgrade things later, normally that if you do void warranty in all parts unles you bring the pc back to then, try to find someone who build pcs for you, even if you pay then for that you could make a better one

Originally posted by tyrannis

Originally posted by Qazaam

Originally posted by 77lolmac77
If you like wasting money than yeah, go for it.

Criticism with no constructive feedback...comment disregarded.

If you need him to tell you why then you don't need to hear it. I suggest you disregard every post in this thread then with the exception of those that stroke whatever nerve you're hoping.

 

(since I can't quote 2 posts here...)

well you make that I won't build computers thing, only for that most people would ignore you, but hey its your money want to toss it in garbagge go for it, only morons would ask for opnions then disregard then because its not what you wnat to heard, or even worse if you place it to try raise some kind of e-peen you really failed HARD

Dude, you got a Dell.

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Originally posted by jdnewell
The way I see it is its your money, spend it how you want.
The only problem I see with it is the upgradability. Everything is very tight in there already. If you think you will just be able to go to newegg, buy new parts and stick em in there you are in for a disappointment.
The review I read on the system pretty much confirmed this. You are limited alot by the power supply. Not sure but I think its propriotary ( sp?). So the 320watt one that comes with it is pretty much what you got. Graphics cards will have to be below a certain Height x width to even fit, and below a certain watt use.
I am sure it will meet your needs and will be much enjoyed. But much like a laptop you will be able to make some small upgrades but not as much as a full size computer. If nothing else due to the restrictions of size / space in that tiny case. Not to mention airflow & heat issues should you choose to OC or upgrade parts.
Anyways hope you enjoy it =)

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+1
This pretty well sums up exactly what I would have said had I got up earlier: be wary if you actually try to upgrade it, because it will be very restrictive. Possible, but you'l have to pay attention because not just anything from Newegg is going to fit in there.

Congrats on the new computer, hope it works out for you. It should game pretty well for a long while without needing to upgrade anything.

If your top priority was the form factor, then you made a good choice.  The real competition on small form factors is all-in-ones and gaming laptops.  What you got has some severe disadvantages as compared to a real desktop, but considerably less crippling than what all-in-ones and gaming laptops are saddled with.

If your priorities were price, performance, reliability, and upgradeability, and you really don't care one way or the other about the form factor, then you blundered, and badly.  Comparing it to other prebuilt computers is a serious mistake.  The percentage of prebuilt computers that are junk and/or overpriced is within rounding of 100%.  If someone buys a car for $30k that commonly sells for $20k, that he could have found somewhere to pay $40k for it doesn't magically make it a great deal at $30k.

Larger cases exist for a reason.  A larger (say, mid-tower) case means you can stick a big heatsink on a processor, a big heatsink on a video card, and have a few large fans blowing air through the case.  It also means that there is plenty of room to stick any parts in there that you might desire in the future.

Smaller cases give up some of this.  For starters, you can't get nearly as much airflow, unless you spin fans really fast and make it really loud.  That means you either have a very noisy case, or not very powerful hardware.  The smallest case that I'm aware of that can fit a genuinely high end gaming system is the Silverstone SG07.  The Alienware X51 looks a lot smaller than that, even.

As I said, laptops and all-in-ones have a much worse case of this.  For laptops, it's partially because you have a lot less physical space, and partially because the heat is released right underneath the keyboard, so if that gets hot, the laptop is very awkward to use.  For all-in-ones, it's because the heat is released behind the monitor, and monitors can't take high temperatures nearly as well as a simple steel wall of a case.  So at least you were able to get genuine desktop parts rather than slower laptop parts.

Upgradeabiilty will be slim.  It's likely but far from certain that you could add more memory at some point.  It's possible but unclear whether you would be able to add an SSD or a second hard drive.  You'd surely be able to replace the hard drive you have with a different hard drive, but that's not much of an upgrade unless you get an SSD.

You probably would be able to upgrade the processor, but that also probably be pointless.  The motherboard probably can't handle overclocking, but the fastest LGA 1155 processor that ever will release (including products not on the market yet!) will probably lose badly at stock speeds in gaming performance to a simple overclocked Core i5 2500K that is a lot cheaper today than what you got.  Yes, overclocking versus stock speeds isn't a fair comparison.  But that's part of the point:  that form factor can't dissipate the heat to let you overclock.

If you're interested in upgrading in the future, the video card is most likely what you'd want to upgrade.  And there, you probably won't be able to upgrade at all.  The overwhelming majority of video cards won't physically fit in that case.  You'd probably need something custom-done from Alienware.  This raises the vendor lock-in problem:  if the rest of the world charges $100 for a video card, then Alienware can charge $200 and your choices would either be to pay it or do without.

And that's if they even offer an upgrade at all, which they likely won't.  They probably won't be able to offer much even if they wanted to.  The case probably can't dissipate much more heat than what the video card it came with will release.  Even if it could, the power supply probably wouldn't be able to handle it, either.  And you probably won't be able to upgrade the power supply, either, as the overwhelming majority of power supplies won't physically fit in that case.

Die shrinks do bring cards with better performance in the same thermal envelope.  So Alienware would be able to always offer the latest mid-range cards if they want to--which they might not.  And mid-range cards a few years from today will probably be a lot better than mid-range cards today.  (For that matter, mid-range cards today in the same thermal envelope are better than what you got.)  But mid-range is the best you'll ever be able to get.

If you want a good deal on a price/performance basis and can't or won't build your own, then the thing to do is get one built to order from a site that lets you pick the exact parts.  And also, to ask before making the purchase, rather than buying something at random and then asking if it's any good.  (The answer to that is almost invariably "no", except from people who either don't know any better or are trying to be nice.)

Now, the problems I listed above are problems of the form factor, not problems of Alienware.  So if you really needed the small form factor, then what you got is probably the best available.  But you made major sacrifices on price, performance, reliability, and upgradeability to get that form factor.  If you think that's worth it, that's fine.  For most people, it wouldn't be, but I could see why someone would think it is if you're frequently taking the computer to a friend's house or LAN parties or whatever.

OP, I would also not pay attention to reviews unless there was an overwhelmingly amount of negative reviews. People are most likely to review if the product does not work for them rather than it working perfectly. I have never reviewed a part I bought off of newegg simply because they've all worked perfectly.

upgradeable is a relative term ...upgradeable for X amount of time while parts are available.

I built my system a while back based on the fact my motherboard could support a wide range of processors. But now that I am ready to "upgrade" i can't find a processor to upgrade too.

It is my experience that "upgrade" has a very limited time frame to be done. Generally it is the time it takes for the next generation of CPU to come out about 6-12 months tops.

To be honest upgraibility is not a strong sell factor in my opinion unless you plan to upgrade really really soon.

The real questions ARE

ARE YOU HAPPY WITH YOUR COMP?

DOES IT DO WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO?

IF you answer yes to both those qustins you are golden and it does not mater what anyone here says.Most people here are much much more involved in building systems and demand alot more of a system than you ever will and thats alllllll guuuud.

You may notice my comp stats below my sytem is old and outdated but I love it and it works fine for now and when I build the new one it still will not be cutting edge but it will be what i want at the time and will be good for a few years and I will love it jsut as much.

Originally posted by Qazaam

Originally posted by Dragonantis

Their isnt a more rewarding and fufilling experience than building your own gaming computer :)

I think I might be ready for this next time around.  With 50+hours at work and college plus a wife and 3 kids - I just don't have the brain cells left to pull this off.  Maybe next time - It would be nice to have a system that I built.  That time will come.

 

Actually building and upgrading my PC is my way of unwinding from all those things ( wait for everyone to go to bed and start tinkering :)) can't afford the hot rod cars anymore (or the tickets) so customizing my PC has become my hobby.

while i do agree its hard to first learn how to build your own pc.. once you do it a few times (id say 1-2 pcs given today's manual-posters @_@) it gets easier.. as well as much cheaper. 

alien ware is long known as over priced hardware.. while it is good i dont deny that.. alot of what they put in the rig can be replaced the same day with something cheaper and actually better quality.. 

that being said.. if you have the money to burn and just dont care, that system seems decent for what you want. i know GW2 isnt going to be a huge system hog as GW2 like GW1 is being built for lower end systems. video recording you could run in to trouble dependin on what you are playing. as recording video does sap your ram(s) at time.

but i would really suggest you take a light interest in building your own pc. even if you buy pre-builds soley. doing it your self can save you alot of money should you find your current hardware is not upto the task / fries/ or you want to upgrade.. it will save you loads doing it your self instead of paying someone at a computer service center to do it (some places can charge up to 50 bucks just to look at your system.. and tell you the on switch is upside down)

its also good knowledge to have when you feel you want to upgrade the cpu or gpu or whatever.. you arent left wondering why your system isnt doing well (as you bought the wrong part or something)

OH and some pc places will try to rip you off as well, so i would suggest you do spend some time to get knowledge-able about video cards/motherboards and cpus atleast... as some techs can and will try to push out of date crap on you for higher price then a better video card or cpu

you can buy a prebuilt off of newegg for far less for same performance and also is upgradable. if you have a really tiny apartment or w/e and really need a console sized pc, you can get a smaller case prebuilt.wont be as small as the console pc, but it'll be far cheaper and easier to upgrade(not as much space issue).

 Anyways, you bought it already so have fun.It looks cool at least, and fits in living room easier.I heard they perform well and can handle most games on high setting.ign reviewed it recently, and it got a good review.

Honestly, that's a nice form-factor that I'd love to try building for a backup comp, and it's got a respectable level of gaming power too. Considering what people burn on gaming laptops with less ability, $1200 really isn't that bad. If you absolutely have no interest in DIY, I wouldn't sweat it.

The "upgradability" is a little suspect, IMO. Not many options for that form-factor, for both dimension and thermal reasons. And with no experience/interest in DIY, you're kind of at the mercy of the manufacturer's pricing for any of the available options.

I will say this - a lot of people underestimate how much raw info is needed before building becomes easy. I'll strip down any of my computers for fun, I'll process new hardware specs in seconds, the idea of buying a prebuild is absolutely obscene to myself, etc. BUT I've been doing this for a decade now. My experiences with walking friends through the process have enlightened me that there's A LOT of detail that one takes for granted, that will easily swamp a newcomer to the sport. So yeah, no need to pay too much attention to people who are snubbing their nose at your prebuilt system.