Alienware?

[ramses]

Hey guys,

Been a console guy my whole life but would like to delve into pc gaming after finding ksp.

Don\'t know much in the way of building my own pc so was thinking of starting off with Alienware X51.

Anyone got any advice for me as to whether this is a good computer to buy?

All help appreciated

[Ydoow]

From everything I\'ve seen, Alienware is over priced. By a lot. :l

People are going to comment after me giving you tips to build your own comp (which I suggest as well), and it will probably be overwhelming and advice/suggestions will go in all directions leaving you confused and even more against building your own computer.

Building your own computer is easy to assemble, however what parts you buy should take lots of research and you should have a rock solid understanding of what you\'re buying.

I researched and learned what parts were, what they did, how they were ranked, what companies were good for 2-3 weeks before building my first comp.

I was a complete noob to computer parts then.

It\'s possible to do, but you need to lay a bit of effort into the design.

The actual assembly is basically really expensive lego blocks (just don\'t try to mash things together that don\'t seem to fit )

If you want to hit me up with a PM, I\'d love to help and give you advice, whether you build your own pc, or look for a prebuilt.

In either case, I suggest checking out Newegg.com

They are very reputable.

[Rs2k]

I\'ve been tearing apart PC\'s since about 1995, and I see no reason what so ever to buy a high priced computer unless you don\'t have the knowledge to build your own or simply have a lot of money to throw away. I would personally recommend putting together your own PC. It\'s incredibly easy to do now a days with some research. There\'s always a risk involved doing that though. If you are uncomfortable with that risk then finding a local PC builder or getting a pre-built PC off of a site like newegg.com could be your answer. YMMV.

As for Alienware, they are a very good machine, but they are WAY too expensive.

[Crazy Rockiteer]

you can buy a cheaper computer better than alien ware (not by looks but the specs of it)

its a meta box I got a costume one with 16g ram Intel i7 2 gig graphics yeeh so hmmmm i cant remeber the rest of the other specs ill tell u the others latter heres the website http://www.metabox.com.au/ and its much more cheaper than alein ware but u are paying for is performance not its looks and i got mine for like $2,000 by the way this is a Australian website of the meta box thingy tho yeah so check it out!

[ramses]

Cheers guys!

Given me a lot to think about. Would really like to build my own, just laking the confidence at the moment being so new to pc\'s.

Gonna give newegg and metabox a look and see where I go from there so again thanks for the help.

8)

[TNTGODZZ]

DONT GET ALIEN WARE!!!! they are over priced... and the x-51... the worst...

To put it simply, there are guides on youtube, half an hour long (thats all it takes) to build a computer. with the money you would spend on alien ware, you could get much- MUCH better on your own. i dont know if your uk/us or wherever. building one is simple, cheep(er at least) and satisfactory in comparison to buying one. i know how to build a computer, and have done for about 2 years now. im 15. take that as you will.

IF you do build your own, go for an intel CPU. do that, and you will thank your self as they are ALOT stronger than the competition at the moment( i have the competition, is woefully underpowered.) Also make sure you get a dedicated GPU. anything above a nVidia GTX560/ AMD radeon 6850. those are BOTH last gen products, but still worth a look at and are very cheap. with your RAM, get 8GB due to extremely low pricing. it is too attractive. i know quite alot about the market, so if you go through with it, i would be happy to help.

[dogon11]

Try www.cyberpowerpc.com.

[Rs2k]

D: That site looks like an a 90\'s computer magazine!.

[dogon11]

D: That site looks like an a 90\'s computer magazine!.

My friend got his PC built there, I\'m gonna do the same. Note: There are pre-built models, but just pick one and hit the configure button, you can change everything. Case, power supply, processor, screen, RAM, graphics cards, OS SSD, mouse, OS, cooling, everything.

[Seanoog]

Alienware; Like so many others have pointed out, are great/powerful computers, but incredibly overpriced!

So I\'d suggest staying well clear!

An like so many other member\'s I too would recommend building your own.

If you have a love for cars (DIY Maintanence), Jigsaw\'s, Models? Basical anything that allows you too get hands on, Building your own computer is great, easy, an very cost effective way too getting a new, powerful computer.

+ The sense of achievement when it boots up SUCCESFULLY the first time!

- Or sheer panic when it doesn\'t!

If you consider building/specing your own system, I strongly suggest looking at the INTEL I5/I7 CPU\'s Quad/Hex Core.

They Overclock very well, an have massive grunt with other Multi-Core games.

Any Budget?

[Capt'n Skunky]

Alienware used to be the best gaming rigs you could get. Since Dell bought them, well, that\'s really all you need to know.

Self-build is the best way to go. It\'s not that hard as long as you get someone to help you pick the parts to make sure they will work together. There\'s plenty of people on various forums out there that will even help you build it by answering your questions.

Also, there is a certain amount of satisfaction and pride in pointing to your gaming rig and telling your buddies, 'yeah, I built that beasty myself!'

I will second the NewEgg choice. You can get great deals and information. Don\'t forget to price check them against Amazon. I found I saved $90 and shipping costs going with Amazon over NewEgg. Amazon also has great product return policies.

Cheers!

Capt\'n Skunky

KSP Community Manager

[Ydoow]

Also, there is a certain amount of satisfaction and pride in pointing to your gaming rig and telling your buddies, 'yeah, I built that beasty myself!'r

Absolutely true.

Even if it\'s not something you want to show off (mine isn\'t very pretty...) I definitely get satisfaction when I boot up.

Also, no one has mentioned the most awesome part of building your own PC.

No bloatware!

[SteevyT]

pcpartpicker.com isn\'t a bad place to look around at parts.

[ramses]

Wow!!!

Didn\'t expect this to be so one sided on building my own as opposed to just buying one off the shelf.

Sooooo much great advice here guy\'s, you\'ve inspired me to take the plunge and start researching what I need and build myself.

Might take some time but I\'ll be sure to pm some of you if i\'m in need of advice.

Thanks again fellas, really excited about it now!

[Tiberion]

Another thing to consider on the build vs buy issue is a warranty; When you buy a system you get warranty on the whole thing for X amount of years. When you buy parts, each separate part has its own warranty, usually more limited to manufacturing failure whereas the system warranty is mostly complete.

So you do need to consider how much security you need against hardware failure, the more money you spend, the more you have invested to lose if uncovered.

[Ydoow]

Tiberion has a good point. I\'ve never had an issue with parts though, even when I bought a few refurbed harddrives.

As for researching a pc, look around at all the parts and learn what\'s good.

Find what GPUs are ranked best, cpus, motherboards, etc etc.

Then go back and find what you think is MOST important, as in you HAVE TO HAVE it for your rig.

If your building a gaming rig, focus on a video card.

If you\'re building a workstation (video editing, animating, software) focus on a cpu.

With that 1 piece in mind, find a mobo that works with it. Then go out and fit the rest of your pieces to your motherboard.

Your motherboard determines what is compatible and what is not.

So determine what you absolutely must have, make your motherboard work with it, then you can make compromises on the rest of your system to fit with your mobo and most important piece of hardware.

The mobo is pretty important, and there are lots out there.

I don\'t think it\'s best to start with a mobo because there are just so many different types with different capabilities/features.

You really need to narrow down what you want, which will narrow down the mobo\'s to use, and then narrow the hardware you can get and...well...I\'m just repeating myself now.

[Seanoog]

Tiberion has a good point. I\'ve never had an issue with parts though, even when I bought a few refurbed harddrives.

As for researching a pc, look around at all the parts and learn what\'s good.

Find what GPUs are ranked best, cpus, motherboards, etc etc.

Then go back and find what you think is MOST important, as in you HAVE TO HAVE it for your rig.

If your building a gaming rig, focus on a video card.

If you\'re building a workstation (video editing, animating, software) focus on a cpu.

With that 1 piece in mind, find a mobo that works with it. Then go out and fit the rest of your pieces to your motherboard.

Your motherboard determines what is compatible and what is not.

So determine what you absolutely must have, make your motherboard work with it, then you can make compromises on the rest of your system to fit with your mobo and most important piece of hardware.

The mobo is pretty important, and there are lots out there.

I don\'t think it\'s best to start with a mobo because there are just so many different types with different capabilities/features.

You really need to narrow down what you want, which will narrow down the mobo\'s to use, and then narrow the hardware you can get and...well...I\'m just repeating myself now.

Good point on the Gaming/Work Station.

But I think the OP, really needs to consider, is the PC Gaming Rig (General Games/KSP Exclusively) or General Purpose or Work Station.

Because a Gaming Rig for ALL Games differs slighly than one Built Exclusively for KSP.

General Gaming: AMD/INTEL Quad Core + Powerful GPU\'s + 8-16GB RAM + SSD

KSP Gaming: i5/i7 Quad Core (5+ GHz) + Single GPU + 8GB RAM + SSD Optional + 24-30' Screen! (CPU Frequency been Priority - with Phyics Simulation Heavy.)

I know first hand, how benifical moving to High Frequency i5 2500K CPU has made playing KSP better.

Beside\'s more is better, especially when building craft with 500-600 Parts, an still playing at 10FPS!

Just my 2 Pence.

[Endeavour]

I don\'t know what an X51 is, but if its not a laptop, I would recommend building your own like all of these guys. My dad helped me assemble my first one when I was 12, and I\'ve assembled quite a few since then.

The key thing is to find what you want, then find it cheap. There are always deals out there, and if you wait a few weeks, whatever you want will be on sale somewhere.

[colmo]

A carefully specified self-build will last you ages - my own box is well over 5 years old - I\'ve mostly just added more hard-drive space as it got cheaper.

As a former PC builder myself, I will say the quality of off-the-shelf PCs was (and probably still is) lower than one you do yourself.

My basic build would probably start with

- a quality Antec enclosure with PSU,

- a Gigabyte motherboard (my experiences of motherboards were that Gigabyte were the best quality, though my present box uses something else - just don\'t scrimp too much on the motherboard) to suit the

- CPU of choice (I\'m not sure how much multi-threading would help KSP, which is the only argument for the AMD Bulldozer chips over an Intel at this moment), add plenty of decently fast RAM (currently cheap, so load up),

- a small SSD for boot and swap duties plus a

- gargantuan regular drive (or two, mirrored RAID, if you\'re really worried about data loss) for storage. Look at your price per Gb for a bare drive. If using a SSD, a slower, green model may suit, unless you work with large files like video, in which case faster is better.

I don\'t know what GPUs perform best with KSP, and they\'ve always had diminishing returns with cost - I\'d look at power consumption as much as frame rates as that will test your PSU requirements too. Some GPUs just seem stupidly expensive given their purpose and optimum lifespan.

One thing about building a PC - the contents of the box will come and go, but there\'s three or four things you\'ll have a lot longer:

- The monitor(s) - I\'d buy the best monitor I could. There are some very good monitors out there now. Learn about IPS, MVA and TN panels and select what\'s right for you - this depends what else you use your PC for.

- The mouse and keyboard. Think of your hands, wrists and fingers. Pick comfortable peripherals.

- The chair. You may be sat in it some time, so do your body a favour and get a decent one.