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Board's opinion on Alienware R13 (current prices)?
Posted on 6/17/23 at 1:06 am
Posted on 6/17/23 at 1:06 am
So, I see this desktop gets bashed on a lot of reviews, but that seems to be at a price point of around $3-4k or higher.
So, how is this:
19 12900k cpu
1000w psu
120mm liquid cooled
RTX 3080 10gb gpu
32gb RAM
1tb ssd hard drive
price was marked down to $1799. To the door with 1 yr service under $2k.
Use is going to be mostly gaming, with internet surfing and some basic Office stuff, no productivity (video editing etc) being done. When I dig through the reviews, people say they don't have much issue with heat if you're mostly gaming, and with the liquid cooler. Worst case scenario, I saw a video where someone mounted fans on the radiator to address that.
Terrible, ok, somewhere in between?
So, how is this:
19 12900k cpu
1000w psu
120mm liquid cooled
RTX 3080 10gb gpu
32gb RAM
1tb ssd hard drive
price was marked down to $1799. To the door with 1 yr service under $2k.
Use is going to be mostly gaming, with internet surfing and some basic Office stuff, no productivity (video editing etc) being done. When I dig through the reviews, people say they don't have much issue with heat if you're mostly gaming, and with the liquid cooler. Worst case scenario, I saw a video where someone mounted fans on the radiator to address that.
Terrible, ok, somewhere in between?
7
Posted on 6/17/23 at 5:31 am to Scoob
Absolutely terrible. Everything is proprietary for one. Another thing is that crappy 120 mm aio will throttle the shite out of that CPU.
You can find better prebuilds for cheaper than that.
You can find better prebuilds for cheaper than that.
This post was edited on 6/17/23 at 5:34 am
Posted on 6/17/23 at 8:18 am to Scoob
It's not pure robbery like most Alienware products at full price, but it's still a really bad deal. Not only is the motherboard going to be a bullshite proprietary piece and the case is utter garbage, but I just spec'd out a similar system for about $1,400. Because I hated it, I then spec'd out a system that was better in nearly every way. It cost me $1,610:
PCPartPicker Part List: LINK
CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.42 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($128.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SK Hynix Gold P31 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($63.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Phantom Gaming OC Radeon RX 6950 XT 16 GB Video Card ($609.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1610.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-17 09:17 EDT-0400
PCPartPicker Part List: LINK
CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K 3.2 GHz 16-Core Processor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($119.42 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($128.00 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($78.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SK Hynix Gold P31 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($63.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Phantom Gaming OC Radeon RX 6950 XT 16 GB Video Card ($609.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000x (2021) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1610.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-17 09:17 EDT-0400
Posted on 6/17/23 at 10:22 am to Joshjrn
quote:isn't your time, labor and expertise to actually build it worth something? What would you sell it for? At the 1799 sale price their $~400 markup seems pretty fair to me
but I just spec'd out a similar system for about $1,400.
Posted on 6/17/23 at 10:28 am to Gaggle
quote:
isn't your time, labor and expertise to actually build it worth something? What would you sell it for? At the 1799 sale price their $~400 markup seems pretty fair to me
Arguably, if the motherboard wasn't proprietary, the case wasn't awful, and the 120mm AIO wasn't a waste of copper and aluminum. The $1,400 system I spec'd out was superior because it used off the shelf parts that could be upgraded in the future. And if we're talking about baking in profit, I have to think Dell spends far less than retail for their components. If someone wants to buy a prebuilt instead of going DIY, I have no issue with it. But in 2023, Alienware is almost always the wrong pick.
Posted on 6/17/23 at 10:30 am to Scoob
i got an r14 a few months ago for 1600 from dell. I spec'd out the parts and it was over 2500 if i tried to build it myself. it's not bad, but alienware is a crap shoot these days theres no getting around it
This post was edited on 6/17/23 at 10:33 am
Posted on 6/17/23 at 10:37 am to Gaggle
quote:
isn't your time, labor and expertise to actually build it worth something? What would you sell it for? At the 1799 sale price their $~400 markup seems pretty fair to me
I mean, you could probably get a local pc repair shop to put it together for less than half of that.
They'll generally even give labor warranty on parts. Assuming no user errors.
Yep, it's as bad as I thought.
Of course, this is with a 3090 instead of 3080, but you get this gist of it.
This post was edited on 6/17/23 at 10:40 am
Posted on 6/17/23 at 11:16 am to Scoob
$3000-$4000 and it doesn’t even come with a current gen cpu or gpu? Lmao
Posted on 6/17/23 at 6:08 pm to hoojy
quote:
I mean, you could probably get a local pc repair shop to put it together for less than half of that.
If you caught me when I wanted a zen stress release, I would do it for a hundred bucks and a nice four pack
Posted on 6/18/23 at 8:40 pm to Scoob
Posted on 6/18/23 at 8:41 pm to hoojy
quote:
Yep, it's as bad as I thought.
Whoops you posted the same link lol.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 12:44 pm to Inadvertent Whistle
Ok, I'm going to revisit this, I am not arguing but I do want to get a good understanding of everything, and not just a knee-jerk reaction.
I went to pcpartpicker, and tried to match specs to what I'm getting from Alienware. I chose comparable specs, including the same size radiator, processor, gpu, memory, power supply, storage etc. I included a case and a Windows 11 Home key, because I would need it.
The best I'm getting is $2359.55, and I don't know if that has tax included (it does have shipping).
That's $400 higher than the price I got from Alienware.
In the reviews I have read, the heat issue comes into play on "productivity using cpu" stuff, and not gaming.
I am familiar with intensive stuff, such as 3D software and rendering, and video editing, and we don't do a lot of that. I'm not going to be running Maya or Cinema4D (a Maxon product that is the basis of Cinebench), not at movie-studio levels. I dabble as a hobbyist, but have done so with much lesser systems. And the software I do fart around with is optimized to use the Nvidia cards a lot.
And for the record, this will not be a bitcoin mining machine, which seems to be one of the unstated criticisms of it.
The opinion on actual gaming has been good, outside of one guy who says "this is junk!", while testing a box priced at closer to 4 grand. I have read he's biased against pre-built, and against Alienware specifically.
I do know one guy personally who has this exact system, he said he paid a grand more than current price, and that he has zero complaints. He runs a 4k monitor and says he has things basically max'd out, and never an issue for him.
Regarding upgrades (another focus of criticism), ...
I've done the pc building thing going back to 286, pre-Windows systems. I know you run into chipset compatibility issues at a certain point, and will just need an entire new system to keep doing it. The way this is spec'd, I'm thinking a lot of things are already close to maxxed out, I don't think I would need anything other than more RAM for a few years.
Thoughts?
I went to pcpartpicker, and tried to match specs to what I'm getting from Alienware. I chose comparable specs, including the same size radiator, processor, gpu, memory, power supply, storage etc. I included a case and a Windows 11 Home key, because I would need it.
The best I'm getting is $2359.55, and I don't know if that has tax included (it does have shipping).
That's $400 higher than the price I got from Alienware.
In the reviews I have read, the heat issue comes into play on "productivity using cpu" stuff, and not gaming.
I am familiar with intensive stuff, such as 3D software and rendering, and video editing, and we don't do a lot of that. I'm not going to be running Maya or Cinema4D (a Maxon product that is the basis of Cinebench), not at movie-studio levels. I dabble as a hobbyist, but have done so with much lesser systems. And the software I do fart around with is optimized to use the Nvidia cards a lot.
And for the record, this will not be a bitcoin mining machine, which seems to be one of the unstated criticisms of it.
The opinion on actual gaming has been good, outside of one guy who says "this is junk!", while testing a box priced at closer to 4 grand. I have read he's biased against pre-built, and against Alienware specifically.
I do know one guy personally who has this exact system, he said he paid a grand more than current price, and that he has zero complaints. He runs a 4k monitor and says he has things basically max'd out, and never an issue for him.
Regarding upgrades (another focus of criticism), ...
I've done the pc building thing going back to 286, pre-Windows systems. I know you run into chipset compatibility issues at a certain point, and will just need an entire new system to keep doing it. The way this is spec'd, I'm thinking a lot of things are already close to maxxed out, I don't think I would need anything other than more RAM for a few years.
Thoughts?
Posted on 6/20/23 at 12:57 pm to Scoob
Because of the terrible case design and terrible thermals, the PC will get EXTREMELY loud under load while gaming. If you are gaming with closed back headphones and no one else would be bothered, then I guess that wouldn’t be an issue. The Alienware also uses proprietary parts like a motherboard… if that gets messed up, you have to deal with dell… you won’t be able to upgrade your CPU unless it uses the same socket…. Alienware will also come with a lot of bullshite bloatware you don’t want or need.
gamers Nexus review of this PC
The GN review shows just how loud it gets… granted this is back when it was $5,000… but it’s still not worth.
PCpartpicker here is a build that has the best current gen cpu for gaming along with a comparable/better GPU with more VRAM and, a decent airflow case (fans not included), and a quality full sized 360mm aio for under $2,000… much better than that Alienware.
gamers Nexus review of this PC
The GN review shows just how loud it gets… granted this is back when it was $5,000… but it’s still not worth.
PCpartpicker here is a build that has the best current gen cpu for gaming along with a comparable/better GPU with more VRAM and, a decent airflow case (fans not included), and a quality full sized 360mm aio for under $2,000… much better than that Alienware.
This post was edited on 6/20/23 at 1:12 pm
Posted on 6/20/23 at 2:16 pm to LSUGent
quote:That's not the same specs. It's an AMD CPU and GPU, and a 750w PSU... and we're still $180 more.
PCpartpicker here is a build that has the best current gen cpu for gaming along with a comparable/better GPU with more VRAM and, a decent airflow case (fans not included), and a quality full sized 360mm aio for under $2,000… much better than that Alienware.
I'm looking at identical hardware, which is a i9 12900F, Nvidia 3080 and 1k power supply.
quote:The system is now $1799, not $5000. And he's got the mic pressed up to the side panel. Pretty sure I'm not going to put my head next to it where the mic was.
The GN review shows just how loud it gets… granted this is back when it was $5,000… but it’s still not worth.
I looked at the figures he posted, and what he said, and the readings are 31.5 on idle, 49.7 max, and he states it "settles in" around 45.
I looked up common decibels, and a library is generally 40-45, an AC unit running is 40-60. I don't have the stuff to measure at home, but I can definitely hear both my AC running if I listen for it, and I can hear the fans on my current desktop (not the alienware enroute).
It's a CyberpowerPC with a 700w psu, a 1060 gpu and some extra case fans. I hear it if I try to, but it's white noise otherwise, and I can hear my son's footsteps over it all (hardwood floors, and he's halfway across the house).
Dude talks about thermal throttling, but that's doing Blender and Cinebench stuff, and we're not going to be doing 3D design and rendering on that system.
You go on some forums, and there are people commenting that he went way overboard on that, to the point where it was just clickbait shock stuff.
It is what it is, I pulled the trigger and will find out firsthand how terrible (or not) it is. I suspect it's not the calamity that dude made it out to be.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 4:16 pm to geauxtigers87
quote:Yeah, I was looking at that video, with the push-pull radiator fan setup. I'm getting the standard liquid cooler, he says it's a simple issue to address. If I do anything, it's probably that.
gain, I have the R14 and i really enjoy it. the only thing i would consider is doing something like this guy did LINK
running the fans on performance mode through the alienware command center i usually hover 49-60 c
Posted on 6/20/23 at 5:15 pm to Scoob
quote:
I went to pcpartpicker, and tried to match specs to what I'm getting from Alienware. I chose comparable specs, including the same size radiator, processor, gpu, memory, power supply, storage etc. I included a case and a Windows 11 Home key, because I would need it. The best I'm getting is $2359.55, and I don't know if that has tax included (it does have shipping). That's $400 higher than the price I got from Alienware.
Link?
Posted on 6/20/23 at 5:24 pm to Scoob
I'm not sure why you even made this thread. You seem to have your mind made up regardless of what's said here.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 10:23 pm to Drewbie
quote:I bought it before I posted. I was curious what the board's opinion was.
I'm not sure why you even made this thread. You seem to have your mind made up regardless of what's said here.
People keep circling back to one guy bitching about it, when the system was $5 grand. It's now under $2 to the door.
There's one poster who has an Alienware system, and he seems to like his.
People are saying you can build it cheaper... I can certainly build a system for less, but I can't do this configuration for less than the prebuilt. Not with an i9 processor, 1k psu, and 3080 gpu.
This wasn't a "what should I buy" thread, it was a "how's this for that price" thread.
Truthfully, I'm not as worried about noise as I am heat, and from all reports, straight gaming isn't going to overheat it. The person who will be using it to game will either use his Razer headphones, or his Bose surround setup, and I doubt the fans will be noticed. He's about reached the end of his current rig, which is a i7 8700, 32gb DDR4 ram, and recent upgrade from a 1060 to a 3060, in a Cyberpower config. We recently saw a couple BSOD, and talking to someone who works in IT, those may well have been showing impending death of motherboard. So it was going to be either a complete new system, or plunk some cash down to keep a 5 yr old configuration alive. I chose to go with a newer gen.
I still have an identical Cyberpower for my own, so that 3060 can find it's way to mine.
I hope that clears up any misunderstanding about it. I guess a lot still don't think it's a decent deal. That's fine, I've scored some good deals in the past, as well as some not-so-good.
Posted on 6/20/23 at 10:27 pm to Joshjrn
quote:Not sure how to post it. Is this it?quote:
I went to pcpartpicker, and tried to match specs to what I'm getting from Alienware. I chose comparable specs, including the same size radiator, processor, gpu, memory, power supply, storage etc. I included a case and a Windows 11 Home key, because I would need it. The best I'm getting is $2359.55, and I don't know if that has tax included (it does have shipping). That's $400 higher than the price I got from Alienware.
Link?
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/qLpQ8r
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