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[Greggy]

Looking at Trustpilot, Alienware has one of the worst customer service performances you will come across: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.alienware.co.uk
That being said, they are owned by Dell so I'm wondering if I should seriously consider the following deal which seems to have magnificent specs (it is just slightly above my budget of 2000£):

Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop with AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Processors | Dell UK

High-performance gaming desktop with up to 16-core, overclockable AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors designed for gamers who create.

www.dell.com

Should I go for it or can I find better elsewhere or should I stay away from alienware out of principle?

Thanks Gafers

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Don't
Buy
Prebuilt

Ever.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

It's your money but Alienware is overpriced shit most of the time. Don't take my word for it though:

 

[R6Rider]

can I find better elsewhere or should I stay away from alienware out of principle?

Both.

 

[lils]

don't buy a prebuilt. and if you do buy a prebuilt, don't buy anything from the scammers that are dell.

 

[Topher]

I would not waste my money on Alienware. Typically I'd stay away from prebuilts but that isn't necessarily ideal under the current climate. Look for more reputable options.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Nothing that has Alienware in its name with the exception of the Dell-Alienware monitors, is worth purchasing. They are overpriced. Also while the general rule is never to buy prebuilt PC's, nowadays with how the gpu prices are, I think you'd find better deals going pre-built. Looking at how the chip industry is going I dont think you'll get lower gpu prices in the near future. Really tough time to get into PC gaming tbh. Still, if you wanna go this way, avoid Alienware products. They are overpriced as is.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Don't
Buy
Prebuilt

Ever.

You can. The ones that use actual components from trusted brands are pretty good. Sometimes they even come out ahead price-wise. Especially these days.

 

[Buggy Loop]

It’s never worth it to buy a pre-built, especially not something that is touched by Dell

 

[MidGenRefresh]

You can.

Yes, you can. Should you? Nope.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Yes, you can. Should you? Nope.

I disagree. I've had several myself. They can be a good jumping-off point.

 

[Greggy]

Ok, so if I was to take the leap of faith despite everybody's recommendation and go for a pre-built PC, may be because I have no experience building PCs or little knowledge of good component brands, what other name should I consider if not Alienware/Dell?

 

[StateofMajora]

Don't
Buy
Prebuilt

Ever.

Unless it has a good motherboard i.e. x570 z590 and it’s not much markup vs. buying the parts yourself.

 

[CeeJay]

Don't
Buy
Prebuilt

Ever.

Not great advice IMO. If the OP has never had a PC before they will have little knowledge of the general layout of the mobo and wiring. Building your first PC can be daunting and way more so if you've never owned one previously. Once you've owned one and done various upgrades you get a feel for how they are built and gain the confidence to tinker with them. Also the GPU prices as previously mentioned has thrown things up in the air somewhat from the cost angle, self builds are not necessarily the cheapest option on a like for like build.

 

[Spaceman292]

Don't
Buy
Prebuilt

Ever.

This is a myth

 

[Turk1993]

Keep away from Alienware, there are much much beter pre builds at that price range. Look for Lenovo legion 7 or custom pre builds from IT stores. Alienware has cheap internals and bad cooling that makes lots of noise and overheats pretty quickly like the HP OMEN GT series. I was also tempted to buy one few months ago because i couln't find a GPU but i avoided thanks to people that have experienced those shitty desktops.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

Don't get Alienware unless you like getting ripped off.

 

[elliot5]

Ok, so if I was to take the leap of faith despite everybody's recommendation and go for a pre-built PC, may be because I have no experience building PCs or little knowledge of good component brands, what other name should I consider if not Alienware/Dell?

There's nothing wrong with pre-built PCs, or at least the "build it for me" types. Yes, there's usually a premium but there's piece of mind and likely a warranty/customer service and given how shit the current market it it can be easier to just buy.

I have built all my PCs, but I'm not gonna look down on someone for buying from iBuyPower or whatever the fuck. I sadly don't have any recommendations, but there are some good brands out there that can build something for you.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

Don't
Buy
Prebuilt

Ever.

The only time I would buy pre-built is from Microcenter's own line of desktops. They use completely off the shelf parts and not no name power supplies/motherboards/ram/etc.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Ok, so if I was to take the leap of faith despite everybody's recommendation and go for a pre-built PC, may be because I have no experience building PCs or little knowledge of good component brands, what other name should I consider if not Alienware/Dell?

I've had good experiences with Cyberpower PC's. You can select the components you want and they put them together. That's what I did with my first one then I was able to change things out when I learned more and eventually built my own after that one.

 

[The Fartist]

Great timing for jumping in. I strongly advise doing your best at building it yourself.

 

[Xyphie]

Spec-wise it's not terrible for the price. Prebuilts suck, but they are also one of the only avenues for getting a GPU at a reasonable price, having a junky prebuilt is better than no computer at all. Expect it to have to have the absolute bare minimum in terms of motherboard, power supply and cooling, so you won't be able to recycle those in a future build.

Ideally, opt for something like this: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/3xs...6gb-ddr4-10gb-evga-rtx-3080-1tb-m2-ssd-win-11 instead. Built with off-the-shelf components so you'll have more flexibility going forward.

 

[Kuranghi]

Building your own PC these days is like following Lego kit instructions, you'll be fine. There are plenty of websites where you can put in your components and it will tell you about incompatibilities and such, the hardest part is making sure your fans face the right way and connecting the extra motherboard headers for USB and such.

You can save some money and then use it to buy a gift to distract your partner while you play games or if no partner then get hire a prostitute to come over and celebrate first POST with you. Maybe give her/him some RGB clothes to wear and have them grind on the case while you play for ultra gaming opulence.

PC Specialist, Scan and Dino-PC in the UK seem good.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Not great advice IMO. If the OP has never had a PC before they will have little knowledge of the general layout of the mobo and wiring. Building your first PC can be daunting and way more so if you've never owned one previously. Once you've owned one and done various upgrades you get a feel for how they are built and gain the confidence to tinker with them. Also the GPU prices as previously mentioned has thrown things up in the air somewhat from the cost angle, self builds are not necessarily the cheapest option on a like for like build.

There are thousands of videos on YouTube that go over the process of assembling a PC. It's not rocket science.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

Spec-wise it's not terrible for the price. Prebuilts suck, but they are also one of the only avenues for getting a GPU at a reasonable price, having a junky prebuilt is better than no computer at all. Expect it to have to have the absolute bare minimum in terms of motherboard, power supply and cooling, so you won't be able to recycle those in a future build.

Ideally, opt for something like this: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/3xs...6gb-ddr4-10gb-evga-rtx-3080-1tb-m2-ssd-win-11 instead. Built with off-the-shelf components so you'll have more flexibility going forward.

That's why you pick a builder that uses name-brand components that you can choose. Honestly, most of them do. Dell/Alienware don't which is why I would never recommend them.

 

[eNT1TY]

Nothing wrong with a pre-built if you research your options, hell; its probably the only way to get a decent gpu at relatively close to msrp now a days. Try looking into a boutique pc from like origin, ,maingear, or digital storm. Their pre-builts aren't composed of complete garbage components and if you spend more you can customize each individual component from a list from each catagory down to braided colored cables if you want to. They often have slight mark ups per component (compared to sale prices on newegg or amazon) but nothing too severe.

 

[Edgelord79]

Looking at Trustpilot, Alienware has one of the worst customer service performances you will come across: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.alienware.co.uk
That being said, they are owned by Dell so I'm wondering if I should seriously consider the following deal which seems to have magnificent specs (it is just slightly above my budget of 2000£):

Alienware Aurora Gaming Desktop with AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Processors | Dell UK

High-performance gaming desktop with up to 16-core, overclockable AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors designed for gamers who create.

www.dell.com

Should I go for it or can I find better elsewhere or should I stay away from alienware out of principle?

Thanks Gafers

Unfortunately for the foreseeable future a prebuilt is most likely the only way you are going to find a good GPU. Alienware is generally terrible value. They use OEM parts and its put together really poorly for the price you are paying.


I've heard decent things from ABS. The Gladiator on Newegg seems like a good deal considering the price per parts as well as the fact that they seem to do a decent job with building it and they also use decent parts (some do seem to have poor fans and PSU's) and have minimal maintenance upon receiving relative to other prebuilts. Based on the specs of the computer you are looking at (if its for gaming, 32 gb RAM is most likely overkill), if I was buying a computer today I would probably get something along these lines:

https://www.newegg.ca/abs-ala268/p/N82E16883360202?Description=abs gladiator&cm_re=abs_gladiator-_-83-360-202-_-Product

 

[Kacho]

Prebuilts are fine for your first foray into PC gaming. Obviously building your own is better but don’t others convince you that it’s the worst thing ever. You just generally pay a lot more. Prebuilts are kinda ideal now with the GPU market being an absolute shitshow.

Stay away from Alienware though. Mega overpriced.

 

[Woody Nvincible]

After two decades of building my own, last week I finally ordered my first pre-built. It was an ABS from Newegg. With graphics cards priced currently, you'll come out ahead if you research.

 

[elliot5]

PCSPECIALIST - Configure the Fusion Ultimate to your ideal requirements.

This looks to be around your budget and pretty good specs wise, though it has a weaker CPU, less RAM and storage than the Alienware for a similar pricetag.

Guess it depends on how much you value customer support or thermals (?) over raw specs

 

[Syphon Filter]

Not great advice IMO. If the OP has never had a PC before they will have little knowledge of the general layout of the mobo and wiring. Building your first PC can be daunting and way more so if you've never owned one previously. Once you've owned one and done various upgrades you get a feel for how they are built and gain the confidence to tinker with them. Also the GPU prices as previously mentioned has thrown things up in the air somewhat from the cost angle, self builds are not necessarily the cheapest option on a like for like build.

Everyone that knows how to build a PC build their first at some point too. It's really easy, most of the time people are paranoid for no reason.

 

[crozier]

I disagree with most of the people here. Given the difficulty of acquiring a 30xx card, prebuilt isn’t a bad way to go nor a bad bargain.

 

[OmegaSupreme]

There are thousands of videos on YouTube that go over the process of assembling a PC. It's not rocket science.

No, but pre builts have other benefits as well outlined by others in this thread. You can admit to being wrong. It's okay.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Honestly with the cost of prices going up and everything, you'd almost be better purchasing from one of those "build it online and we ship it to you" websites. It ends up becoming cheaper or almost at cost with normal pricing in the long run. Plus they can get covered with warranties, etc.

I personally don't have a problem with prebuilt, especially for your first go ahead at a PC. But I think the above would be a better route personally instead of going that route.

I'd say continue to do research regardless. Alienware, even after all these years, is still usually bloated and overpriced.

 

[Hezekiah]

Buying a pre-build is a waste of money.

And Alienwares are terrible, except for the monitors - this is the one I have. And this newer 38 inch version looks awesome.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

No, but pre builts have other benefits as well outlined by others in this thread. You can admit to being wrong. It's okay.

I never said that pre-builts don't have benefits. They surely do. I just said that buying one over building PC yourself is never a good idea.

I know. I speak from my own experience.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Everyone that knows how to build a PC build their first at some point too. It's really easy, most of the time people are paranoid for no reason.

I definitely think it's easy, but I understand folks being "paranoid" to an extent. I mean, people hear about how "easy" it is to brick components that aren't cheap, or break something, and suddenly it's super concerning, haha.

 

[jshackles]

I've been building my own PCs since I was 8 years old. However, I've been using a pre-built Dell (not Alienware) since 2017 - it's got an RX 580 in it which is getting pretty long in the tooth. It's been a fine PC. But it's not compatible with Windows 11 because the CPU is too old and it doesn't have TPM. My son bought an HP Omen 25L desktop, he's had it for about a year now and he's been very happy with it.

I just ordered an HP Pavilion with a 3060 in it for $800. It's got a Ryzen 5 CPU, 16GB of RAM, 3060 (12GB), 256GB SSD. It was a price mistake with a coupon that applied, but I've been in the market for a new graphics card for the better part of a year and this one just happens to have a full fledge PC attached to it. Worst case scenario, I shuck the card and build a new PC around it, but I think it'll be a fine machine.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that pre-builts these days are more or less fine, most of the big manufactures use off the shelf components anyway, and if you get a good deal it can even be cheaper than putting it together yourself.

 

[CeeJay]

Pre-builts tend to highlight the strong components and hide the cheaper parts such as power supplies that have only just enough juice to power what's already in there or their habit for an 8GB memory build for example that uses 2x4GB sticks instead of putting 1x8GB in there. The 2x4GB example means you are limiting the total amount of ram you can get without throwing out the memory you have and buying all new (most motherboards have 4 memory slots). The 256GB storage in your OP is also nowhere near enough for a single drive system. It's fine if that is just your OS drive and you have a second one for your games and maybe a third spinning disk HDD for other various cold storage or files that don't need to be super fast. But, start adding more drives and other cards and you may not have a strong enough power supply to drive it all. The cheaper pre-builds are almost always false economy and mean you end up spending more in the long run.

The best way to buy pre-builds is from somewhere you can choose each component individually so you know exactly what you are getting and can tailor it to your own requirements. The best shops will give a reasonable starting system that you can then customise.

 

[Rentahamster]

The only prebuilds from Dell that are worth it are their outlet deals (for the deals) and their XPS laptops (for the high quality).

 

[Bruno_Arrais85]

run from alienware

 

[Kuranghi]

My flatmate has been on the fence about a new build for ages now but I really really want to see some of these recent RTX games in their full glory and this thread has given me the impetus to pressure him into buying one.

He was going to spend 2.1 big ones on a 3070 + i5 combo a month or so back and the PC Specialist build posted above is so much better value compared to that.

 

[hououinkyouma00]

Building your own PC these days is like following Lego kit instructions, you'll be fine. There are plenty of websites where you can put in your components and it will tell you about incompatibilities and such, the hardest part is making sure your fans face the right way and connecting the extra motherboard headers for USB and such.

You can save some money and then use it to buy a gift to distract your partner while you play games or if no partner then get hire a prostitute to come over and celebrate first POST with you. Maybe give her/him some RGB clothes to wear and have them grind on the case while you play for ultra gaming opulence.

PC Specialist, Scan and Dino-PC in the UK seem good.

That's not the problem right now though. People are buying pre-builts because GPUs are like impossible to find outside of pre-builts.

 

[CeeJay]

There are thousands of videos on YouTube that go over the process of assembling a PC. It's not rocket science.

Yeah its easy, i have built my own PC for years but I certainly didn't build my first one. I wonder how many of the people saying to "build it yourself" built their very first one...

Sure its really easy nowadays with the resources such as PC Part Picker (amazing site) and YouTube but if you do come up against a weird compatibility/driver problem or the PC doesn't boot and you have never owned one before then it can be miserable.

 

[Graciaus]

Not great advice IMO. If the OP has never had a PC before they will have little knowledge of the general layout of the mobo and wiring. Building your first PC can be daunting and way more so if you've never owned one previously. Once you've owned one and done various upgrades you get a feel for how they are built and gain the confidence to tinker with them. Also the GPU prices as previously mentioned has thrown things up in the air somewhat from the cost angle, self builds are not necessarily the cheapest option on a like for like build.

You can find a ton of videos on YouTube walking you through every single step of putting a PC together. No knowledge is required these days.

 

[Catphish]

Don't
Buy
Prebuilt

Ever.

Unless it's from Microcenter.

 

[Flutta]

 

[tmlDan]

I used to build my own PC's but ever since i started making good money i just buy prebuilt cause im lazy AF.

IDK i found my NZXT comp to be great, and the markup is only $100 for labour. I checked prices online and the prices were pretty optimal, then again this is coming from a very expensive PC.

EDIT: just saw you're in the UK, i dont think shipping/border fee's are worth it for NZXT - my point is that prebuilt is not a bad choice

 

[Hezekiah]

£2,000 would get you this at Overclockers if you do what a pre-build.

I would want a 3080, but it comes with a 3070ti, an 11900F, 16GB RAM at 3200mhz, and 1tb SSD. Only thing is I'm not sure what the power supply is.

 

[Sakura]

Normally I would say build it yourself, but considering the price of a 3080 prebuilt probably isn't a bad idea.