Desktop Computers

Valderen

Valderen

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Anyone has any experience with Alienware systems?

Due to Dell seemingly either not having adjusted their Canadien prices, or deciding to absorb part of the exchange rate.

US System is $2,550
CA System is $2,650

Canadien system should be $3,187.50 at 1.25 exchange rate currently.

Newegg.ca has their parts more or less at 1.25 of their US prices.

So it seems buying an Alienware right now in Canada will end up costing me less than a system I build myself.

Also, we get a perk where I work that if we buy our systems through the company at Dell only, the company pays taxes. So being in Quebec that's another 15% saved.

So I'm really just interested in experience with Alienware system. Anyone has had problems, or good recommendation about their system build quality?

I don't usually buy brand name computers for myself, usually build them...this is just a particular situation.
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M

matsb84

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Did you go through newegg.ca? or just newegg.com?

ncix.com is apparently another big CA tech shipper similar to newegg...no clue on pricing though.
 
Valderen

Valderen

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NCIX and Newegg.ca prices are similar. I bought my last system at NCIX.

The thing is both have prices which are adjusted with the exchange rate. Dell seems to absorb a large part of it, or they have not updated their canadian prices. Also I can save the taxes at Dell through the company I work for.

It's just a very unique situation currently. So it's really all about build quality of Alienware right now, not prices which I will admit is a pretty weird thing.
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I am not buying a budget system btw, even if I build it myself.
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Joeboo

Joeboo

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blehh_sl said:
Finally getting around to upgrading my old 2600k system to a 3930k and gtx 970. I'm really on the fence about what monitor to buy. I'm considering one of the korean monitors, but I'm not sure if I want to go 2560 or 4k.
Click to expand...
Are you gaming? 4K is going to perform pretty poorly on a 970. 4k is going to perform pretty poorly on any single card at the moment. Honestly, I'd just get a Korean 1440p and call it good for a few years, we're still a ways off from decent 4K gaming(4k at a consistent 60+ fps, much less 120/144)
 
Alkorin

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Valderen_sl said:
Anyone has any experience with Alienware systems?
Click to expand...
Yes, although laptop, not desktop.

Normally, I'd tell you to stay clear of them, and that they aren't worth the brand markup. In this case, I'll say this: They're decent systems for the most part, you do get reasonable quality out of Alienware (vice Dell) systems, and their customer support hasn't really failed me. They will make you jump through every hoop imaginable for support, though, and there is no such thing as bringing a Dell to a store. You get to ship everything or have a tech come to you if you pay for that. If you elect to ship things back, it takes time, but they are good with shipping the right parts and instructions.

I'd buy Alienware again, but only if the situation were the same as the one you're describing. I'd never buy from them at regular price. Too expensive and quality isn't the same since they were bought by Dell.
 
Chanur

Chanur

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So I got money and am ready to buy finally. I am upgrading from an AMD Phenom 2 955 and a Nvidia 760ti. I want to build an i5 system with under 1k not counting the video card. I will not likely ever SLI or Crossfire. I have never overclocked, don't really know how. I am partial to gigabyte boards. Any help would be appreciated. Also whats the best mid to upper video card? I currently am running a 1080 but i could possibly upgrade to a 1440 system later.
 
Crone

Crone

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Chanur_sl said:
So I got money and am ready to buy finally. I am upgrading from an AMD Phenom 2 955 and a Nvidia 760ti. I want to build an i5 system with under 1k not counting the video card. I will not likely ever SLI or Crossfire. I have never overclocked, don't really know how. I am partial to gigabyte boards. Any help would be appreciated. Also whats the best mid to upper video card? I currently am running a 1080 but i could possibly upgrade to a 1440 system later.
Click to expand...
Won't be long and you'll get some replies from forumbros, but pcpartpicker.com is the best way to start looking at everything. It's an awesome site and interface. Check it out!
 
Lanx

Lanx

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Chanur_sl said:
So I got money and am ready to buy finally. I am upgrading from an AMD Phenom 2 955 and a Nvidia 760ti. I want to build an i5 system with under 1k not counting the video card. I will not likely ever SLI or Crossfire. I have never overclocked, don't really know how. I am partial to gigabyte boards. Any help would be appreciated. Also whats the best mid to upper video card? I currently am running a 1080 but i could possibly upgrade to a 1440 system later.
Click to expand...
This is a build you can adjust from and to give you a "real world" examination of what to expect, yes this system is exactly what you asked 1k w/o the card, the card is a nvidia 970 upper card for 3k.

it does include a very easy to overclock cpu b/c it has an unlocked multiplier (the "K" at the end of the intel number signifies this), since it's on promotion the not as easy to overclock intel cpu would be 20bucks less.

8gigs of ram would be standard, and you pretty much want a good big ssd, with around 3tb for extra storage.

of course subtract accordingly depending on what'd you like, but again this is a good base for you for now, until you specify more.

PCPartPicker part list/Price breakdown by merchant

CPU:Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor($199.99 @ Micro Center)
Motherboard:Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory:G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (4 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory($80.98 @ Newegg)
Storage:Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive($118.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage:Western Digital 3TB 3.5" 5900RPM Internal Hard Drive($99.00 @ B&H)
Video Card:MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case:Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply:Corsair Professional 850W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply($131.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive:Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer($16.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System:Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)($87.75 @ OutletPC)
Total:$1260.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-25 02:26 EST-0500
 
Chanur

Chanur

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lanx_sl said:
Video Card:MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case:Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Click to expand...
Is this the best card on the market for about 300 bucks? I assume its a large upgrade over a 760 TI?
I also hate this case, and am kind of leaning towards a full tower but I just don't think ill need all the extra space.

What do you all think of this case?

Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Plastic ATX Cube High Airflow Cube Case - Newegg.com

Also considering this and having my girl paint the side with something custom.

Corsair Carbide Series 500R White Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

or

IN WIN GRone White 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

I am not sure what to do with my old one. I would love to turn it into something to play videos from for my tv but not sure how to go about doing so.
 
Chanur

Chanur

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lanx_sl said:
Video Card:MSI GeForce GTX 970 4GB Video Card($329.98 @ NCIX US)
Case:Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Click to expand...
Is this the best card on the market for about 300 bucks? I assume its a large upgrade over a 760 TI?
I also hate this case, and am kind of leaning towards a full tower but I just don't think ill need all the extra space.

What do you all think of this case?

Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Plastic ATX Cube High Airflow Cube Case - Newegg.com

Also considering this and having my girl paint the side with something custom.

Corsair Carbide Series 500R White Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

or

IN WIN GRone White 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

I am not sure what to do with my old one. I would love to turn it into something to play videos from for my tv but not sure how to go about doing so.
 
Lanx

Lanx

<Prior Amod>
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Chanur_sl said:
Is this the best card on the market for about 300 bucks? I assume its a large upgrade over a 760 TI?
I also hate this case, and am kind of leaning towards a full tower but I just don't think ill need all the extra space.
Click to expand...
sure choose whatever case you want it's your build and how you like it, the 300R is just a good solid baseline case.

I believe the MSI is the best of em, also has the best cooling options, and yea in the 300buck range 970 is the card to go for, bittech has a nice review of the popular cards
Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 Review Roundup: feat. ASUS, EVGA and MSI | bit-tech.net
 
Ichu

Ichu

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Chanur_sl said:
Is this the best card on the market for about 300 bucks? I assume its a large upgrade over a 760 TI?
I also hate this case, and am kind of leaning towards a full tower but I just don't think ill need all the extra space.

What do you all think of this case?

Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Plastic ATX Cube High Airflow Cube Case - Newegg.com

Also considering this and having my girl paint the side with something custom.

Corsair Carbide Series 500R White Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

or

IN WIN GRone White 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

I am not sure what to do with my old one. I would love to turn it into something to play videos from for my tv but not sure how to go about doing so.
Click to expand...
This case is a monster. It has great airflow and noise control which might come in handy if you overclock. Techreport did a nice review:Fractal Design's Define R5 case reviewed - The Tech Report - Page 1
 
jeydax

jeydax

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Chanur_sl said:
Is this the best card on the market for about 300 bucks? I assume its a large upgrade over a 760 TI?
I also hate this case, and am kind of leaning towards a full tower but I just don't think ill need all the extra space.

What do you all think of this case?

Corsair Carbide Series Air 540 Plastic ATX Cube High Airflow Cube Case - Newegg.com

Also considering this and having my girl paint the side with something custom.

Corsair Carbide Series 500R White Steel structure with molded ABS plastic accent pieces ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

or

IN WIN GRone White 0.8mm SECC Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Newegg.com

I am not sure what to do with my old one. I would love to turn it into something to play videos from for my tv but not sure how to go about doing so.
Click to expand...
I used the Corsair Air 540 in two of my builds. Best case I've ever used.
 
Joeboo

Joeboo

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This is a serious contender around the $300 price point

PowerColor PCS+ R9 290X 4GB 512 Bit Video Card $270 after $30 Rebate + Free Shipping - Newegg Deals, Coupons and Promos

Price being completely equal, I'd tend to lean towards 970(unless you plan on SLI/crossfire down the road in order to do 4k), but for ~$50 cheaper a 290x is very tempting. Yeah, it uses more power and runs warmer, but I honestly don't really care about that when building a gaming PC.

And I say all of that as a perfectly happy owner of a 970 that I've had for a few months now.
 
Crone

Crone

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Gravy_sl said:
I really like the looks of this case. I like the minimalist look.

Hopefully will start building my new computer within a week or so. I'd like to get this case, but not sure I can justify the $110 for a box.
Click to expand...
I'm with you on this. The minimalist design is amazing. This is exactly the kind of case I would get, if building a new computer. Do it Gravy!!
 
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