Alienware Aurora Worth it?

[Deadmedic]

i have owned one, i spent way too much for it, it was supposed to be built and shipped within a month, but due to parts unexpectedly not being in the warehouse it was sent 2 months late, and when it got to my house it literally did not turn on, straight up, took it out the box set it up, and it would not boot at all, well, 6 months and several in home technician calls ( from random guys who where contracted by alienware) and parts replaced later i did finally get my computer to work, but i promise you i wont ever buy one again, or suggest anyone that it would be a good idea to get one. my next pc i got was cyberpower, and like alienware its still a bit overpriced versus doing it yourself, but mine, my wifes and my bother in laws are all working perfectly. so my advice? screw alienware and their shitty quality control. your better off with other companies.

[Bmfstunner]

I've built computers and I own an Alienware Aurora, what I can say from my experience is that there is a cost difference but people telling you that they can build the same computer and save 40% is blowing smoke up your ass. The people that say that are the same type of ads that you see on the internet that tell you that they can get you ripped without going to the gym. No matter how you cut it if you want an excellent gpu it's going to cost you, rebate or not.

I have decent disposable income, so I don't mind buying Alienware since they are nicely built and they look better than most (not saying that cosmetics mean everything, just a perk.)

[SpacedOut]

No I don't believe this. I got a build using pcpartpicker and got a gaming pc that would cost $1,100, it would have an i5 with 3.4ghz, 2ghz of video card, and 8gm of RAM. Now an Aurora comes with an i7 that has like 3.9ghz, 1.5ghz of video card, 8gb of RAM, for $1,300 with shipping included plus one year of guarantee. Now you are going to tell me its a big friggin deal to pay $200 more for an Alienware, get more cpu, a little less video card power, but with guarantee and shipping? Man I don't buy all this BS that building a custom pc is such a great thing. I think that just because most people here have build their own they just brag and bash anyone who would the the other route and this kind of pisses me off because its not fair.

You clearly have no idea what you're talking about, so stop bashing other people's opinions.

What the hell even is 2 GHz of video card anyway? That doesn't make sense in ANY way at all.

Alienware upgrades aren't just expensive, the base build is overpriced too.

The cheapest aurora I can find on the site starts at $1400. That gets you the i7 4820k, 8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ram, a 2TB HDD, a 1.5 GB 760 (why you would want to spend 1k+ on a build and get such a budget gpu I'll never know), a disc drive, an 875W PSU (why?? for a single GPU setup??) and that's it.

On PC partpicker, for the same price, you can get SO MUCH MORE, I'm not even going to bother going through the process of setting up an entire build for you to make my point. I'll just offer some advice:

i5 4670k is probably a better choice of CPU for a gaming PC, price/performancewise. Someone who measures GPUs by their VRAM probably doesn't own a 120 Hz monitor (or if he does doesn't know it), so it's plenty of GPU grunt.

8 GB is plenty, find a reputable brand and get 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 and you're golden.

2 TB might be overkill, but a 128 GB SSD for your OS and key programs is awesome and definitely something you should consider.

Don't get a 760, at least get a 770. Ignore the VRAM for the love of god.

650W PSU will be fine, just make sure it's at least bronze certified from a reputable brand.



There never has been nor will there ever be a situation where a basic Alienware build will be price/competitive with something you can build. Don't kid yourself.

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I've built computers and I own an Alienware Aurora, what I can say from my experience is that there is a cost difference but people telling you that they can build the same computer and save 40% is blowing smoke up your ass. The people that say that are the same type of ads that you see on the internet that tell you that they can get you ripped without going to the gym. No matter how you cut it if you want an excellent gpu it's going to cost you, rebate or not.

I have decent disposable income, so I don't mind buying Alienware since they are nicely built and they look better than most (not saying that cosmetics mean everything, just a perk.)

It's a fair point except for the fact that the Aurora doesn't come with an excellent GPU, it comes with the budget GPU of the 7xx series, the 1.5 GB 760. If you put that in your 'self made' build it probably will be 40% cheaper than the $1400 aurora.

[Shinzou]

Though I agree with spacedout on most points, I will say this. Do NOT ignore vram.

At least not if you plan to play games at a high resolution with high resolution textures.

vram comes into play when playing at higher resolutions (1920x1080 and higher), as well as with games which use very high resolution textures as those textures are stored in vram. Most current cards have 2gb or higher these days, which is usually enough, but that doesn't mean you should ignore it. There is nothing worse than getting a good card thinking you can max out your game, only to see the game crash when you try to run it at max textures due to not enough vram. Yes, this has happened to me on a card that had 1gb vram. I used gpu-z to monitor usage. It maxed out and the game crashed. The same model of card with 2gb of vram had no crashes.

I would not recommend getting anything with less than 2gb vram. If you plan on modding games like Skyrim with high resolution texture packs, then more than 2gb would be recommended. Stock games usually will not need more than 2gb though.

vram will just get more important when 4k gaming becomes more widespread.

tldr: All specs of a video card are important, not just the speed. Never ignore or prioritize one aspect of a video card over another, they all have their uses.

[SpacedOut]

Though I agree with spacedout on most points, I will say this. Do NOT ignore vram.

At least not if you plan to play games at a high resolution with high resolution textures.

vram comes into play when playing at higher resolutions (1920x1080 and higher), as well as with games which use very high resolution textures as those textures are stored in vram. Most current cards have 2gb or higher these days, which is usually enough, but that doesn't mean you should ignore it. There is nothing worse than getting a good card thinking you can max out your game, only to see the game crash when you try to run it at max textures due to not enough vram. Yes, this has happened to me on a card that had 1gb vram. I used gpu-z to monitor usage. It maxed out and the game crashed. The same model of card with 2gb of vram had no crashes.

I would not recommend getting anything with less than 2gb vram. If you plan on modding games like Skyrim with high resolution texture packs, then more than 2gb would be recommended. Stock games usually will not need more than 2gb though.

vram will just get more important when 4k gaming becomes more widespread.

tldr: All specs of a video card are important, not just the speed. Never ignore or prioritize one aspect of a video card over another, they all have their uses.

You're right, I could've worded the point better. I just want to steer this guy away from rating video cards by how much VRAM they have and nothing else. Given that he's looking to spend 1.2k+ on this build, I would hope any GPU he should reasonably be considering would have 2GB vram at the very least, so it's not really worth worrying about.

[Shinzou]

You're right, I could've worded the point better. I just want to steer this guy away from rating video cards by how much VRAM they have and nothing else. Given that he's looking to spend 1.2k+ on this build, I would hope any GPU he should reasonably be considering would have 2GB vram at the very least, so it's not really worth worrying about.

It's all good, I figured your post was more pointed at the OP.

I just wanted to make the point in case others read this thread, so they won't take what you said literally and will have proper information.

[Murderdoll]

No I don't believe this. I got a build using pcpartpicker and got a gaming pc that would cost $1,100, it would have an i5 with 3.4ghz, 2ghz of video card, and 8gm of RAM. Now an Aurora comes with an i7 that has like 3.9ghz, 1.5ghz of video card, 8gb of RAM, for $1,300 with shipping included plus one year of guarantee. Now you are going to tell me its a big friggin deal to pay $200 more for an Alienware, get more cpu, a little less video card power, but with guarantee and shipping? Man I don't buy all this BS that building a custom pc is such a great thing. I think that just because most people here have build their own they just brag and bash anyone who would the the other route and this kind of pisses me off because its not fair.

So you came in here, asking for advice, only to totally ignore and bash anything someone has to say that doesnt fit in with your idea of Alienware products?

Theres a very good reason why Alienware sparks such criticism.

Before they were owned by Dell, they were legit, good systems, made by enthusiasts. They were expensive sure, but they were good.

Now? They are a fancy case and a huge price tag and the Aurora isnt even a fancy case.

They are for people that have more money than sense. It doesnt matter if you cant build your own system, there are plenty of PC shops out there that will help you buy the peices and put it together for a small fee and you will still end up getting a much better system for much cheaper.

It sounds like you are deadset on getting an Alienware, just do some basic research on a custom build or even look to see if some of the PC parts places do prebuilt systems. it will be much better for you in the long run.

[BicycleMafioso]

I'm going to go ahead and close this thread, on the basis that asking a question and then ridiculing people who answer that question not being a good basis for a constructive discussion.

Closed.