Alienware v/s Custom Rig

Folks, i am conflicted between buying an alienware m17x Laptop or building my own custom rig.

I pay 1.8 lacs for the m17x and i get the below..

Intel i7 core 2860 QM
580m GTX Nvidia 2gb
16 GB Ram DDR3 (1333mz)
17" full HD screen (1080p) with 3d and glasses
250 SSD and 500 HDD
Blu Ray Read only
Standard sound and netwrok cards (with chipset)
3 yrs complete warranty.. (even if i throw it off my roof, they will come and replace it)

At almost 4kg it can not be used as a loptop, however it is more mobile then a rig..

I am sure i can get a much better config if i build my own rig, but is it worth going for something more powerful? I would go with the rig only if there is atleast 20% better specs.

Primary use would be for gaming. Expected lifespan is 3 years, will opt for a new configuration after that.

PS - since i have the warranty with the AW, i have the option of overclocking..

spec wise custom/assembled rig would be far more powerful so you should just ask yourself do u want mobility or pure power?

M

Go with Custom rig this way you will get a good rig again laptops are not upgaradeable :wink:

alienware-looks, neighbours envy, lan party...
custom built-performance, looks if you can mod it, your full freedom of choice of components...

Custom rig of same price would outperform it anyway. But yeah the Alienware is the envy of everyone. Stands out In a crowd

S

Overclocking a heavy duty laptop like an Alienware is not recommended, especially with that big ass GPU inside! The i7 with its HT runs hot enough as it is on stock.

Please fill this up, so we can help you better: *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/pc-compon...build-questionnaire-template.html#post1542847

would this AW build still be a mid range gaming laptop in 3 years?? i want to be able to play all the latest games, without compatibility issues.. so my real doubt here is, will i really require more power than that??

Overclocking a heavy duty laptop like an Alienware is not recommended, especially with that big ass GPU inside! The i7 with its HT runs hot enough as it is on stock.

Yep, i have read a lot about the heating.. but i the AW represntative gave me a lot of gyan about new copper wiring technology which absorbs the heat.. i know its a load of bullshit, but do you know any workaround to the heating issues?

x86 performance wise ur laptop is going to be ok in 3 years time not lagging behind so much... but on the gpu side will definitely hurt a lot in 3 years time... worst part will be u wont be able to upgrade also coz its a lappy...

also a ~100k custom rig will out perform this AW lappy.. dont really see value in this...

S

What Lionking said is true. The i7 performance will be good enough to last you, but your upgrading options are mostly shut.

If you want a desktop replacement unit, the AW laptop is an option because of its portability. But if you want a desktop, you can knock about 1Lakh off your bill and get a kickass rig!

alright, can someone please post a rig configured at ~ 180 - 200k.. if such a thread already exists can you pls post a link here ( i tried searching but i get a lot of irrelevent results).

also there are the dell workstations which a priced much higher, any reviews or opinions on that? are those only for business use or can i play games on those??

Check here: *www.thinkdigit.com/forum/pc-components-configurations/150819-pc-buying-guide-2012-q1.html

T

Alienware catches everyone's eyes. Great looks, great performance. On the other hand a cheaper custom rig can really outperform it in performance and possibly compete AW in looks, if you spend a fair bit.
TBH, I've never been a fan of gaming laptops, I mean they look good, but in my opinion laptops are just not for gaming

Bro tip: Go for a custom rig and buy a bike with the money saved. Lol!

T

you can get a 7970 CF with a i5 2500k and a gene z/Gen3 and 8GB RAM and a 850watts PSU all in a HAF 922

1. You will get more from your moneys worth if you go for a custom build

2. You will get better service from Alienware (Dell) as they give a comprehensive warranty as against you in a custom build, first identifying where the problem is and then going in for specific service.

3. Alienware - their own tweaking and modifying means they have got all the components which complement each other, more so with regards to airflow etc. Custom means you can do the same with little or more effort.

4. Alienware looks cooler and no matter how much more cooler and expensive your custom rig is, alienware has more bragability

Each has it's own strengths but customs do take a lead.

OP can get a highend gaming pc for 100k & spend the rest on purchasing an Alienware MX14 (80-85k) :smile:

Sam said:
OP can get a highend gaming pc for 100k & spend the rest on purchasing an Alienware MX14 (80-85k)

this.
i doubt that a 200k rig is possible, unless you are adding several SSD's in RAID and using 4 GPU's

also, a 100k rig will play near about EVERY game at HD resolution at maxed settings, infact, get 2 monitors, to take full advantage of your rig.

doomgiver said:
this.
i doubt that a 200k rig is possible, unless you are adding several SSD's in RAID and using 4 GPU's

also, a 100k rig will play near about EVERY game at HD resolution at maxed settings, infact, get 2 monitors, to take full advantage of your rig.

i think you read 200k in place of 100k in sam's thread....

Here's your 200k thread

Source

^^ thats 2 7970's, and multiple hdd's, crazy expensive psu/case and a exorbitant processor.

all for what? a minor increase in "visible" performance?
that is a "show-off" rig
at performance levels like that, it does not matter if you are getting 300 fps or 200 fps, if all you gonna do is game.

pramudit said:
i think you read 200k in place of 100k in sam's thread....

im responding to op's budget here.

but i wholly agree with sam here.
it'd be the best for the op guy to invest in a beastly rig, and a nice portable gaming laptop for those lan parties, best of both worlds.

it'd be the best for the op guy to invest in a beastly rig, and a nice portable gaming laptop for those lan parties, best of both worlds.

I already own a dell xps 15, which serves me good for the lan parties (primarily CS, DoTA and MMOs)

But yea, i will go for a 100-120k rig and spend the rest on a 60" sony led.. gaming will be awesome right?? this will also be a great fit for my consoles (xbox, ps3)

If i get my sales bonus this quarter i will also sound proof my apartment and go for a kick ass sound system..

You can purchase a much faster desktop and a fast laptop in less than 65% of that price.

Alienware laptops are not laptops. They are suitcase heaters.

I have i5-2500k + HD 6950. A computer similar to mine should cost ~70k. i5-2500k + HD 6950 >> i7-2830QM + GTX 580M in games.

i5-2500k + HD 6950 >> i7-2830QM + GTX 580M in games.

i did not know that.. then why is there soo much difference in price??

i thought the i7 2860 + gtx 580 is faster and better for gaming.. seeing all the talk about the gtx 580 being the fastest single core gpu in planet etc etc..

W

GTX 580M is not the same or even close to GTX 580 just because there is only a difference of "M".

patrick4 said:
i did not know that.. then why is there soo much difference in price??

i thought the i7 2860 + gtx 580 is faster and better for gaming.. seeing all the talk about the gtx 580 being the fastest single core gpu in planet etc etc..

You missed the M.

Hardware is all about being specific. GTX 580M = GTX 460 approximately.

Secondly, HD 7970 is the fastest GPU chip on the planet for now.

"M" stands for mobile right?

Just checked the nvidia site.. 580M is just about 75% GPU of 580 is..

I think it would be better to buy just one PC now, Desk or Laptop. The rest can be saved up for upgrades.

patrick4 said:
I would go with the rig only if there is atleast 20% better specs.

I seem to have blatantly missed this line.

A rough estimate would be that you would get atleast twice the pwerformance in a custom rig than an assembled one. Although that is highly questionable the benefits will definitely be more than 20% eyes closed.

If you are looking for VFM you can spend a lakh on desktop to get more power than the Alienware you are looking at.

I have an i5-2500k / HD6970 and I'm sure it will be able to beat the Alienware rig you are talking about. It cost me 65k for the core system w/o accessories.

I think you'd be better with a custom rig or if you still want to get an Alienware I suggest you get it from Amricca as it's cheaper there.

patrick4 said:
Just checked the nvidia site.. 580M is just about 75% GPU of 580 is..

No. It is ~50-60%. Around GTX 460 in performance like I said.

^^ he is right. GTX580M is 75% of GTX580. but what he missed is even at 75% die size its way too big and hot to be packed into a laptop. solution? lower clock speed which results in GTX560 like performance.

copied from Anandtech:

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580M 2GB GDDR5
(384 CUDA cores, 620MHz/1240MHz/3GHz core/shader/memory clocks, 256-bit memory bus)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580
(512 CUDA cores, 772Mhz/1544Mhz/4008MHz core/shader/memory clocks, 384-bit memory bus)

so its 75% core but at such low clock, thats a real waste of money.

^^ yes. I talked in absolute performance terms.

Performance wise, it is GTX 460/HD 6850-like only.

HD 6970M = HD 6770 performance. HD 6990M isn't exactly HD 6850 in performance terms. GTX 580M slots in between them ~GTX 460.

*media.bestofmicro.com/9/W/254372/original/Battlefield%20Bad%20Company%202%201920.png

*images.anandtech.com/graphs/graph4897/41444.png

S

it would be much better to make a custom rig because rigs can be easily repaired or even u can replace the inside components or upgrade them......

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