Sigh…
I’ve been having second thoughts on the Alienware due to the case noise / cooling complaints, along with non-standard components. Anyone know if the noise and cooling complaints apply to the liquid cooled model?
In my experience the power supply is the most likely component to need replacing, and it looked like I could replace the power supply in the R10 even if all the screw holes don’t line up perfectly.
I guess my thoughts are hopefully this PC can get me 3-5 years and then maybe there won’t be video card shortage. Can anyone talk me off the ledge from canceling this order and ordering something with ‘standard’ parts? I do think the price ($2500) was pretty good for the specs. Here is a reminder:
- AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600X (6-Core, 35MB Total Cache, Max Boost Clock of 4.6GHz)
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 10Gb GDDR6X
- 32GB, 2x16GB, DDR4, 3466MHz, XMP
- 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
- High-Performance CPU Liquid Cooling
- 1000W Power Supply
- Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2x2) 802.11ax Wireless LAN and Bluetooth 5.1
Am I just being paranoid or should I consider canceling and getting something like an ABS from Newegg? For $2600 I could get, which has less memory and smaller NVMe SSD, and no secondary storage:
CPU: Intel Core i7-10700KF Comet Lake 3.8GHz (5.1GHz Turbo) 8-Core 16-Thread
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10GB (Brand May Vary)
Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z490-P (WIFI) ATX Motherboard
RAM: G.Skill TridentZ RGB 16GB DDR4 3200MHz (2x8GB)
SSD: 1TB Intel 670P M.2 NVMe SSD
CPU Cooler: RGB AIO 240MM Liquid Cooling (Brand May Vary)
PSU: 750W 80 Plus Gold PSU (Brand May Vary)
Case: Rosewill SPECTRA D100 ATX Mid Tower With Tempered Glass Case
A secure power supply only really needs 1 screw. :)
An 120mm AIO with limited airflow is still not amazing, but the simple truth is a 5600X doesn’t need amazing. It will be entirely fine - I haven’t heard any complaints about noise from the liquid cooler.
This really makes the Dell value proposition clear. It’s just a superior spec. The ABS machine has a better motherboard, more RGB, and more overkill cooling - which are all things that do not matter at all. The Dell has a faster single thread processor (with the intel advantage on multicore being marginal at best), more memory, and more storage. Which are all things that actually matter.
I’d say for the Alienware system, the CPU and hard drive space config are a bit off. If you got a 3080 you may as well get a 5800x for a faster 8 cores, and reduce the boot nvme ssd to 1TB or even 500 gb and skip the 2tb hdd completely.
I have a Alenware R5 (a popular model 4-5 years ago) and the inside hasn’t changed (also checkout the Gamers Nexus teardown of an recent Alienware Zen 3 system, the biggest red flag is poor contact of CPU cooler with CPU, but that is for aircooler so YMMV for your liquid cooler).
Alienware mobo has only one slot for nvme ssd even in the new system IIRC, so you want a bigish one from the start. It is very easy to install a 2.5 inch sata ssd there for storage, and sata ssd is very cheap these days, so no need to go for hdd. (You also need a sata cable but it isn’t expensive even if you don’t have an old cable you can use).
PS: In light of possibly better use of nvme ssd with Direct Storage, perhaps 2 TB nvme is a better choice. But Dell’s nvme is a bit meh (mine is hynix and it is not the fastest). You can clone the boot drive and move to a better/bigger NVME ssd like those from Samsung but you will still have no place to put your old NVME, since the dell mobo only has one slot for NVME. Better double check the Gamers Nexus teardown to confirm.
If the mobo can take two NVME ssd then it doesn’t matter what size the initial boot drive is, you can always add more later.
Thanks. I guess I’ll stick with it and if I have issues down the road, I can just buy new components and move the video card over.
I already ordered the Alienware system a couple weeks ago, so the configuration is set. I was just trying to figure out of I should cancel the order and go with something else. Thanks for the input though. I got the big NVME because I’ll put games on there too. I wanted as much space as possible. Later I’ll add another SSD drive if I need more.
This looks like an amazing deal, if it actually ships. Might only be good for the next 45 minutes though. Edit: oh, required .edu email address. Oh well.
No comments on the Alienware, but looking it, it doesn’t seem like it has enough airflow for a 3080. Those things run so hot. Unless it’s a blower GPU 3080 that exhausts air out of the slot?
I have an air cooled new Alienware. It’s absolutely fine. I’ve streamed with it if you absolutely can’t believe that a PC that Dell sells actually works…
Just look for the videos marked for PC. You can easily tell with Warzone since the stats are running at the top left.
Also…
More there too.
Looks good!
Your CPU doesn’t get loud? Did you opt for Intel? I went with the 5600X for my Alienware, it’s really loud when playing any games. I really should have gotten the liquid cooling for AMD.
Of course the fans throttle up while gaming, same as they have for the last ten years I’ve been playing high end computer games on PCs. The 3080s have two or three fans on them. It’s going to make some noise.
I have a headset on. It’s no big deal.
Actually my GPU is not a problem. The 3060Ti is whisper quiet. It’s only the AMD CPU that’s loud.
And my previous computer was Intel, and the i5-750 I had before this computer was also quiet. So this is actually my first experience with a loud CPU fan. Basically it’s like someone is using a vacuum cleaner in the same room below your feet. You can try to drown it out by listening to games even louder, but it’s not a pleasant experience.
Also remember folks, the Alienware systems look cooler due to the led lighting. ;)
I mean, honestly
Just wait, don’t buy a new PC now if yours works. A 1070 is perfectly fine for playing games at 1080p. Unless you are looking at pushing VR, or something crazy.
The 6600 and 30 series have been such an awful disappointment price/performance wise, and I feel like the 1500 bucks on a PC you spend this year might be less value/money next year.
In many benchmarks the 1070 beats that new RX6600 released today.
You’re nuts. Running games at 120fps or more on a 144Hz monitor at 1440p is incredible. If all you’re doing is playing indies at 1080p, then sure. Stick on your old stuff. If you are doing anything with high end games right now, upgrading (at as close to MSRP as you can get) is absolutely worth the price.