Alienware Aurora pre-built, right value?

[RickDW]

Hey guys, 

 

I've been looking for a desktop since I will be doing machine learning next semester (I'm a student, with a relatively large student budget), and I think I found a system that fits my needs for a reasonable price. I actually wanted to build something myself, because I've got a feeling it might be cheaper than buying pre-built, but since it would be my first ever build (I just started learning about it) and I need the system to be reliable, I've opted for pre-built. 

 

So, the system I'm looking at is a custom alienware aurora (r7 I think?), https://www.dell.com/nl-nl/shop/desktop-alles-in-één-pcs/new-alienware-aurora/spd/alienware-aurora-r7-desktop/d00awr724?selectionState=eyJGUHJpY2UiOjE2NjguNiwiT0MiOiJkMDBhd3I3MjQiLCJRdHkiOjEsIk1vZHMiOlt7IklkIjo2LCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6IkdUMTA4MCJ9XX0seyJJZCI6OCwiT3B0cyI6W3siSWQiOiIyNTYxVEIifV19LHsiSWQiOjExNiwiT3B0cyI6W3siSWQiOiI4NTBMQ09EIn1dfSx7IklkIjoxMDA1LCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6Ijg1MFcifV19LHsiSWQiOjc0OSwiT3B0cyI6W3siSWQiOiJYN0hLMiJ9XX0seyJJZCI6NTcyLCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6IkNUT0ZHQSJ9XX1dfQ%3D%3D. It has 

• i7 8700 (non-k)
• GTX 1080 GPU
• 16 GB DDR4 2666 Hz RAM
• 256 GB PCIe SSD & 1 TB 7200 rpm SATA 6 Gb/s

 

As for the PSU, I think the 850 W EPA chassis, air cooled with ODD would be better than the 460 W version, or a liquid cooled version. I would prefer air cooling, since maintenance is easier, but is air cooling actually a good choice for this CPU? And would 460 W be enough to support one GTX 1080? 

 

Otherwise, would these parts be a good value at about €1700? And also, I'm thinking of keeping this system for 5 years, with maybe some minor upgrades along the way. Considering all this, do you think this system is worth it?

 

--edit--

If anything I said here is wrong, please correct me. I'm new to this kind of stuff and I would love to learn more!

[genexis_x]

7 minutes ago, RickDW said:

but since it would be my first ever build (I just started learning about it) and I need the system to be reliable, I've opted for pre-built.

Build it yourself since it's cheaper. Everyone learn to build their own PC. Most prebuilt uses cheaper parts so they are usually less reliable.

[NelizMastr]

The 8700 + a single 1080 will run fine on a 460W PSU if decent quality, and it likely is. Air cooling is also just fine. For €1700-2000 this isn't particularly good value, though.

[Peskanova]

I've just made a pc for 1700 euros with a 1080 gigabyte (1800 if its strixx + strixx mobo) +  gigabyte z370 k3(rgb) + evga 650w gq + 8700k + nhd15 + gskill rgb 16gb 3200 + 240gb ssd + 2 tb hdd 

So for 1700-1900 euros 1080 its ok but for sure they are cheaping you on psu mobo and cooling 

For 1700 best budget on europe its a 1070ti/1080 with that mobo that psu and the rest its at you

[RickDW]

9 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

so they are usually less reliable.

I actually meant being able to bring it in and have someone else fix it, warranties etc. Cheaper parts would be a good thing to keep in mind, although this build seems to have good parts, at least to me it does. But as NelizMastr said, I could probably build it a lot cheaper, so I'll look into it!

 

11 minutes ago, NelizMastr said:

The 8700 + a single 1080 will run fine on a 460W PSU if decent quality, and it likely is. Air cooling is also just fine. For €1700-2000 this isn't particularly good value, though.

That's good to know, thanks! About the value, could you give a guesstimate for the cost of a self-built with roughly the same parts this build has?

[Peskanova]

Look at this

https://www.coolmod.com/newcoolpc-gamer-viii-i7-8700k-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11gb-16gb-ddr4-240gb-ssd-plus-1tb-hdd-precio 1080ti --> 2000 euros (with good parts)
https://www.coolmod.com/coolpc-gamer-vii-i7-8700k-geforce-gtx1080-8gb-16gb-ddr4-120gb-ssd-plus-1tb-hdd-precio 1080 ---> not so good psu but decent(guess better than that dell)

 

Prebuilt and tested (you can save almost 0-100euros with same parts if you build yourself , but the trick to build yourself is to cheap with some things and put the money on another)

[Peskanova]

https://www.pcmontajes.com/ofertas-unicas/1725-overdose-intel-socket-2066-i5-7640x-40ghz-16gb-ssd-hdd-gtx-1080.html

Like km0 cars , this is brand new with warranty 1215 euros with a 1080 and a 7640x(  )

cpu	Intel Core I5-7640X 4Ghz
cooler	Enermax ETS-T50-AXE
mobo	MSI X299 Sli Plus
SSD + HDD	SSD 120GB WD Green + 1TB HDD WD 7200Rpm
ATX	Lc-Power 991B RGB cristal templado
PSU	Corsair VS650 80+
Ram	16GB de RAM DDR4 2133Mhz
GPU	Nvidia Gigabyte GTX1080 8GB GDDR5
os	Windows 10 64bits

 

[RickDW]

5 minutes ago, Peskanova said:

I've just made a pc for 1700 euros with a 1080 gigabyte (1800 if its strixx + strixx mobo) +  gigabyte z370 k3(rgb) + evga 650w gq + 8700k + nhd15 + gskill rgb 16gb 3200 + 240gb ssd + 2 tb hdd 

It seems like it has about the same specifications, or are the cooler and PSU significantly better? Also, a case would add another 50 euros (I think?)

 

5 minutes ago, Peskanova said:

https://www.coolmod.com/newcoolpc-gamer-viii-i7-8700k-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-11gb-16gb-ddr4-240gb-ssd-plus-1tb-hdd-precio 1080ti --> 2000 euros (with good parts)
https://www.coolmod.com/coolpc-gamer-vii-i7-8700k-geforce-gtx1080-8gb-16gb-ddr4-120gb-ssd-plus-1tb-hdd-precio 1080 ---> not so good psu but decent(guess better than that dell)

Thanks man! That looks like it would fit my needs

[Peskanova]

Quote

It seems like it has about the same specifications, or are the cooler and PSU significantly better? Also, a case would add another 50 euros (I think?)

I will made one for you, give me 5 min, its spanish web but in nl will be same price....

[RickDW]

3 minutes ago, Peskanova said:

https://www.pcmontajes.com/ofertas-unicas/1725-overdose-intel-socket-2066-i5-7640x-40ghz-16gb-ssd-hdd-gtx-1080.html

Woow. That is a great price! It would save me so much money, but I'm afraid an i5 with just 4 cores is too little for me. If that weren't a problem I might have taken this one

[RickDW]

3 minutes ago, Peskanova said:

I will made one for you, give me 5 min, its spanish web but in nl will be same price....

Thanks man! Take your time, I'm not in a hurry

[Peskanova]

https://www.pccomponentes.com/configurador/883343F1E

Here you have , a cryorig h7 is a better cooler but this shop cant put on configurator( same price)

awesome cpu
you can swift to a better 1070ti
Fucking nice

[Peskanova]

That psu is one of the greatest quality/price in europe (look for a seasonic focus+ for 10 euros more if so but that is top tier psu) 

That mobo is rgb and has metalic pci-e and its gigabyte mobo + gigabyte gpu for aesthetics and price

almost all ram have life warranty , that box is 167mm cpu(wide box noctua compatible, all coolers compatible) and if you have a 3 fan cpu rad you can put on the front (vents included on the tower front and side tempered glass)

you can switch cpu but thats like the dell and better quality

[RickDW]

15 minutes ago, Peskanova said:

Fucking nice

Just what I thought. Thanks a bunch man! I didn't know I could shave off €300 euros by going pre-built by building it myself 0.o

[Peskanova]

And look this 1080ti

https://www.coolmod.com/zotac-geforce-gtx-1080-ti-amp-extreme-core-edition-11gb-gddr5x-tarjeta-grafica-precio
 

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, Peskanova said:

cpu	Intel Core I5-7640X 4Ghz
PSU	Corsair VS650 80+

WTF.

[Peskanova]

 

7 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

WTF.

Yeah but on that page i bought my computer about 400 euros cheaper with omfg parts , its a web that buys computers from shows or from shop expo's , change a few parts and then sell with warranty , you can tell him to change a part, 1 friend give it at lowest price possible (kingstom-crucial 2400mhz ram) a gskill trident z 3200 . and when I bought mine i told them to swap a kfa2 gpu for a gigabyte one, they are nice and kind but they dont have now good stock  

[NelizMastr]

11 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

WTF.

Indeed. The VS650 is a pile of junk and so is the 7640X.

 

3 minutes ago, Peskanova said:

 

Yeah but on that page i bought my computer about 400 euros cheaper with omfg parts 

The OMFG in this case is the poor parts selection and poor choices overall. X299 with a crippling 4-core CPU and a shit quality power supply. Yeah I can build a cheap system by that logic too.

[Peskanova]

well I said when I bought 2 years ago look my profile.
 

[NelizMastr]

1 hour ago, RickDW said:

That's good to know, thanks! About the value, could you give a guesstimate for the cost of a self-built with roughly the same parts this build has?

I'd say around €1400.

 

I parted out a similar rig here:

 

https://www.alternate.nl/html/configurator/builder/loadSharedConfiguration.html?kind=pcBuilder&id=e3f593c2a73b277877ed4f4986681111

 

 

total: €1370

[RickDW]

5 minutes ago, NelizMastr said:

I parted out a similar rig here:

 

That looks like a really nice setup! For €1370 I've even got some room to add some better parts. Since I'm a complete newbie when it comes to choosing parts that fit together, do you know a website where they teach you the ins and outs of it? I wouldn't like to screw up and potentially pour money down the drain. 

[Jrasero]

8 hours ago, RickDW said:

Hey guys, 

 

I've been looking for a desktop since I will be doing machine learning next semester (I'm a student, with a relatively large student budget), and I think I found a system that fits my needs for a reasonable price. I actually wanted to build something myself, because I've got a feeling it might be cheaper than buying pre-built, but since it would be my first ever build (I just started learning about it) and I need the system to be reliable, I've opted for pre-built. 

 

So, the system I'm looking at is a custom alienware aurora (r7 I think?), https://www.dell.com/nl-nl/shop/desktop-alles-in-één-pcs/new-alienware-aurora/spd/alienware-aurora-r7-desktop/d00awr724?selectionState=eyJGUHJpY2UiOjE2NjguNiwiT0MiOiJkMDBhd3I3MjQiLCJRdHkiOjEsIk1vZHMiOlt7IklkIjo2LCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6IkdUMTA4MCJ9XX0seyJJZCI6OCwiT3B0cyI6W3siSWQiOiIyNTYxVEIifV19LHsiSWQiOjExNiwiT3B0cyI6W3siSWQiOiI4NTBMQ09EIn1dfSx7IklkIjoxMDA1LCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6Ijg1MFcifV19LHsiSWQiOjc0OSwiT3B0cyI6W3siSWQiOiJYN0hLMiJ9XX0seyJJZCI6NTcyLCJPcHRzIjpbeyJJZCI6IkNUT0ZHQSJ9XX1dfQ%3D%3D. It has 

• i7 8700 (non-k)
• GTX 1080 GPU
• 16 GB DDR4 2666 Hz RAM
• 256 GB PCIe SSD & 1 TB 7200 rpm SATA 6 Gb/s

 

As for the PSU, I think the 850 W EPA chassis, air cooled with ODD would be better than the 460 W version, or a liquid cooled version. I would prefer air cooling, since maintenance is easier, but is air cooling actually a good choice for this CPU? And would 460 W be enough to support one GTX 1080? 

 

Otherwise, would these parts be a good value at about €1700? And also, I'm thinking of keeping this system for 5 years, with maybe some minor upgrades along the way. Considering all this, do you think this system is worth it?

 

--edit--

If anything I said here is wrong, please correct me. I'm new to this kind of stuff and I would love to learn more!

hard to say since I know parts can vary so much in price in Europe compared to the US, but if it was $1700 USD and you where in America I would say without a doubt build it.  For $1700 you can build a computer plus have enough money for a half decent monitor in some cases