Buying a Dell Alienware X51 is it worth it?

[BomberAF]

I am planning on buying a Dell Alienware X51 with a third Gen Intel® Core™ i7-3770 (3.40GHz, 8MB L3 Cache, 4C) cpu, are they decent machines?

I know a load will say build your own, but I am buying on finance as I can't afford to fork out all the cash in one hit.

I have been told they will handle all games and they are good, but I would like some of your opinions please.

 

[AstaLaVista]

What games are you looking to play?

Do you Multiplay or just Solo Campaigns?

If MP... how good is your Internet?

What is your budget?

I have more questions but if you give us more info, perhaps we can help you better and perhaps you don't have to invest that much money on a gaming rig? I don't even know how much it is but I do know they are not cheap, hence, the invest much money part!

 

[Dude]

I would not go with a dell alienware. While I do recommend to build your own, I understand the finance part. If you go with something like cyberpower, you can build a better system that you can control better meaning not having a locked bios. I'm not sure if you can use cyberpower outside of the US, but maybe the UK has something similar. Your speedtest is great!

 

[BomberAF]

What games are you looking to play?

Do you Multiplay or just Solo Campaigns?

If MP... how good is your Internet?

What is your budget?

I have more questions but if you give us more info, perhaps we can help you better and perhaps you don't have to invest that much money on a gaming rig? I don't even know how much it is but I do know they are not cheap, hence, the invest much money part!

Currently only playing multiplay as my laptop cannot handle much more but will be wanting it for both. My current Internet is about 20 Mbps. The machine will cost about £1100, but like I said I haven't got the money to be buying in one hit so need to spread payments. It also comes with latest 3rd gen i7.

 

[BomberAF]

I would not go with a dell alienware. While I do recommend to build your own, I understand the finance part. If you go with something like cyberpower, you can build a better system that you can control better meaning not having a locked bios. I'm not sure if you can use cyberpower outside of the US, but maybe the UK has something similar. Your speedtest is great!

I assume by locked bios you are saying that I will not be able to over clock my machine?

I have been told they are good machines, and they are much better than what you can buy in the shops in the uk.

 

[logicearth]

The Alienware computers do not have a locked BIOS nor are they locked down in any other way. Mine certainly is not. The only limiting factor of the Alienware x51 is its small form. The x51 is a fantastic machine, you can overclock it, however, its small form is not the best for exhausting heat.

Oh and for correctness, they are not using a BIOS but UEFI.

 

[Dude]

The Alienware computers do not have a locked BIOS nor are they locked down in any other way. Mine certainly is not. The only limiting factor of the Alienware x51 is its small form. The x51 is a fantastic machine, you can overclock it, however, its small form is not the best for exhausting heat.

Oh and for correctness, they are not using a BIOS but UEFI.

Good info logicearth, I thought they were standard locked dell bios.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

If there is an option for a k series then opt for that. If you are into gaming then maybe look to a i5 k series and then get as much GPU as you can afford then ! Pull the std. cpu cooler out and replace with a sealed water if the case can handle that and it should.....maybe a H80i or a single fan solution?

 

[BomberAF]

If there is an option for a k series then opt for that. If you are into gaming then maybe look to a i5 k series and then get as much GPU as you can afford then ! Pull the std. cpu cooler out and replace with a sealed water if the case can handle that and it should.....maybe a H80i or a single fan solution?

i5 before i7, how come?

 

[linnemeyerhere]

I clicked through to customize the x51 and it appears you can't customize the performance at all with this model? What gives with that, maybe another sign that the future all points to wireless handheld devices??? sad.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

My logic before going to Dell site was save a hundred bucks and get a k series i5 then spend that saved money on a better GPU. Later you can pull the stock cooling and add sealed water and overclock the i5 a bit. All this was a waste of time as I'm not seeing that you can customize the PC spec's......hope I'm wrong.

 

[logicearth]

Later you can pull the stock cooling and add sealed water and overclock the i5 a bit. All this was a waste of time as I'm not seeing that you can customize the PC spec's......hope I'm wrong.

The x51 is a small form factor computer, just a little bigger then an Xbox 360. A liquid cooling solution will not work. Everything in this case is already tightly packed together. The best GPU you can put into it is a GTX 670, aftermarket upgrade.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

Later you can pull the stock cooling and add sealed water and overclock the i5 a bit. All this was a waste of time as I'm not seeing that you can customize the PC spec's......hope I'm wrong.

The x51 is a small form factor computer, just a little bigger then an Xbox 360. A liquid cooling solution will not work. Everything in this case is already tightly packed together. The best GPU you can put into it is a GTX 670, aftermarket upgrade.

You don't think a 120mm sealed water could fit? It does say it has higher performance air solution installed, wish I knew what that meant? Please max the ram and PSU for your build. I'm I missing how to build a custom Dell rig?

 

[logicearth]

A pre-filled-pre-packaged water cooling solution will not fit in the x51. It uses an ITX board in a very small enclosure.

 

[sygnus21]

Sealed systems are built to basically NOT be upgraded by the user. So you can't say buy it and replace this and that. It's a sealed system.

That said, I'm not sure if there are different packages, but if the OP is serious about gaming, go with an i7. I'm sure an i5 is nice, but it ain't no i7

My two cents.

 

[BomberAF]

Sealed systems are built to basically NOT be upgraded by the user. So you can't say buy it and replace this and that. It's a sealed system.

That said, I'm not sure if there are different packages, but if the OP is serious about gaming, go with an i7. I'm sure an i5 is nice, but it ain't no i7

My two cents.

I am buying it with only the basic Ram an hdd and am going to upgrade them later to save money on the initial cost. You are able to upgrade these Dells later on aren't you?

 

[logicearth]

You can upgrade the Alienware x51, lots of videos on youtube showing how.

 

[BomberAF]

You can upgrade the Alienware x51, lots of videos on youtube showing how.

Are they just like upgrading every other pc, or because they are sealed they are slightly different?

 

[linnemeyerhere]

You can upgrade the Alienware x51, lots of videos on youtube showing how.

Are they just like upgrading every other pc, or because they are sealed they are slightly different?

No it will open up just fine but it may be a little tight working inside so what would take 5 minutes could take 10, no biggie. I would suggest buying all matching sticks and just removing the Dell provided stick and you may want to look carefully for clearance issues. If it's tight above the ram then look to low-profile sticks like these:

Corsair Vengeance 8GB Desktop Memory Module Kit - Low Profile, DDR3, 2x4GB, DIMM, 1.5V, 240 Pin, 1866MHz, XMP Ready, Blue (CML8GX3M2A1866C9B) at TigerDirect.com

 

[BomberAF]

You can upgrade the Alienware x51, lots of videos on youtube showing how.

Are they just like upgrading every other pc, or because they are sealed they are slightly different?

No it will open up just fine but it may be a little tight working inside so what would take 5 minutes could take 10, no biggie. I would suggest buying all matching sticks and just removing the Dell provided stick and you may want to look carefully for clearance issues. If it's tight above the ram then look to low-profile sticks like these:

Corsair Vengeance 8GB Desktop Memory Module Kit - Low Profile, DDR3, 2x4GB, DIMM, 1.5V, 240 Pin, 1866MHz, XMP Ready, Blue (CML8GX3M2A1866C9B) at TigerDirect.com

Was planning on doing that upping it to16GB RAM and an SSD from crucial will be cheaper than buying from Dell.

Can you tell me how many hdd's it will hold and what the dimensions of the case are. I was also told by someone that they are much better than both XBOX and play stations in their graphics and games, is this the case? I was planning on getting an Aura from Dell, but was told it would be a waste of money, but in the end I couldn't afford anyway.