a secret-boss
Banned
I was like you a year ago. it looked challenging but gave it a shot. its pretty easy. its like Lego. putting things where they fit
there are youtube videos now which makes it easier
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Alienware Alpha first impressions and benchmarks
- Thread starter outunderthestars
- Start date
I was like you a year ago. it looked challenging but gave it a shot. its pretty easy. its like Lego. putting things where they fit
there are youtube videos now which makes it easier
Again, this doesn't need to be the answer for everyone. As far as these machines go, they do offer a first step into the PC platform for gaming and will likely drive users that enjoy the experience to either investigate and build there own or continue buying pre-built further down the line
You don't get my point. The equipment is not worth the money. It is overpriced for what it offers in terms of performance, not in terms of overall hardware prices.
Also, in this case, you can easily exchange the GPU as well as the CPU, you may also overclock it and you could easily lengthen the lifespan of your system for a year or two and get better performance for a longer time for less money. Sorry, but I really don't see how that is not a MUCH better deal than the alienware thingy.
Not considering the fact that many people have a chance to get 8.1 at a discounted price or for free (f.e. university).
Imo you are just better off buying a console than a PC when you are going for a plug & play experience. It's cheaper and you get exclusive games. If you do not care about customizing your experience, if you don't care about framerate or image quality...then there is no need to get into PC gaming. And if you do, you definitly do not want such a pre build custom PC.
outunderthestars
Banned
Not sure how a console could be considered cheaper when you have to pay $50 a year for online and no access to humble bundles and Steam sales. There are also 100 PC exclusive titles for every console exclusive.
itchyass86
Member
In that case - the Alpha asked me if I wanted to make a USB backup image of itself after the initial setup. I don't understand why Dell doesn't include backup recovery media either, however I did have a spare USB drive around. It only took 8 minutes to write the recovery media onto the USB drive. So I suppose this method would work for a new SSD. I'm actually in the market for an SSD so maybe I'll try this myself as well.
If this method fails, my Plan B would be to
abort the baby!!!!
Also, I have quite the number of games on Steam and have access to some of my friends' Steam accounts as well. Tell me which games you want me benchmark, and if I can access it, then I will fire it up.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Can the backup be made to a partition on an external HDD instead of a stick? Sticks are so slow and in my experience die so quickly.
So the serial will still work? I actually used to have a bootable Windows stick for 7 a while ago. Probably reformatted it since then. All I want is quick recovery. How about cloning? I'm so used to OS X where I can create a clone of my drive and it's completely exact and bootable and I can restore right from it by cloning back into a new drive. Then again Apple doesn't put serial number restrictions on their OS like Microsoft.
And thanks. I will give a list tonight. I have a few in my library and some in my wish list I might want in the future. I rarely get anything brand new but when I do I like to know about their performance too.
There are more PC exclusives in a month than console exclusives in a year.
Absolute nonsense. Just stop, man.
Denton
Member
It's like you are stuck in a very rigid way of thinking and completely unable to understand other people's viewpoint.
On top of that, there is far greater breadth of these exclusive titles and often entire genres that do not exist anywhere else. The platform frequently being the place where games experiment with entirely unique concepts for gameplay modalities and funding & development; as well as unfettered access to multiplayer, sales and mods, there are a lot of reasons to choose one over a console
In fact, that has been one of the driving forces behind this movement
I take my exclusive commentary back. That said, I stand to my opinion that the alienware Box is just a bad deal. For the money or a little more, you can build way more powerful and future proof machines. And pc gaming is still not plug n play compatible enough for such an interface. Besides that, you could always just boot into steam bug picture anyway.
itchyass86
Member
I shall answer your questions individually instead of making you parse through paragraphs of writing.
1) I'm not sure if the backup data can be written onto a partition of an external hard drive. The reason being is that the backup software (Alienware Respawn or something) formats the drive that it's writing the backup to. In fact, the software actually reformatted my USB drive into a FAT32 format. The total data of thebackup image was 6.1 GB.
However, it certainly IS possible to write the backup data onto an external hard drive itself, that is - if you don't mind dedicating the whole drive to the sole purpose of being a backup recovery drive of the original image (or an arbitrary image of any point in time). That means, Alienware Respawn will reformat the external hard drive into FAT32 format and the hard drive will only contain the necessary data required to boot up and recover using the hard drive itself.
If you want to use this route, it's certainly possible. Just know that the external hard drive would be sitting in storage until it's needed for recovery, if it's even needed. I did look up prices for external hard drives and they're not too expensive. Just a little more than USB flash drives. I'll let you decide if it's worth it or not.
2) Yes, the serial or authentication / product key will work after installing Windows. I've never had any issues activating any previous version of Windows after installing a new hard drive.
However, I haven't done this with Windows 8. If the key doesn't work then you'll probably need to deactivate Windows in order to make the same key usable again. Still, I HIGHLY doubt you'll even need to do any sort of deactivation / activation based on what I've read on Windows 8.
3) The act of cloning the original drive onto an external drive is certainly doable. However...
The one thing I'm sketchy on is the fact that there is no BIOS splash screen for the Alienware Alpha. It just boots straight into Windows. So I don't know how to make the system boot onto an external hard drive before it boots into the internal hard drive.
(End of Question-Answers)
=======================
Yes, take your time with the list. So far I have been playing Dark Souls and Valkyria Chronicles on the Alpha. It also has Dirt 3 and Metro 2033. All are played using the maximum possible settings at 1080p. I haven't used FRAPS or any kind of FPS counter for anything. However, I shall use at least one FPS counter for the purpose of benchmarking the games that you're interested in seeing.
crazy monkey
Banned
I would have bought this if i have not already spent money on laptop. this is cheap and gives you good enough pc. i never built pc, i don't think i am going to try. with prepackage deal this is good one. looks nice as well.
I agree completley. They should have made something steam compatible with the accessibility of a console. Add their exclusives to that and I don't see how you could lose. Excel in to different niches.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Yeah I've always hated building Legos too. Just not my thing. At all.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Here is a quick list of games I own that I would be interested in testing on this thing. I've gathered them from various sales and bundles and would love to be able to play them.
DOOM 3: BFG (Almost 10 years old but won't even run at all in Parallels on Windows 7 at all)
Mirror's Edge (Runs in Parallels but is kind of janky and not good enough to actually try playing through.)
RAGE (Got it on sale. Would really like to try it. But like D3 it just won't launch at all.)
Quantum Conundrum (This one runs well in Parallels too but you know. I'd like to play it natively.)
Alan Wake + Nightmare
Beyond Good and Evil (Yeah it's old and it runs fine in Parallels, but I'd be interested in seeing if it runs on Windows 8)
Fable III (It was cheap. But I never even bothered to try it because of the GFWL stuff. Wondering if it's just hopeless at this point)
Just Cause 2
L.A. Noire
Max Payne 3
Rise of the Triad (Newer one. I forgot I owned this.)
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit (Newer one. It runs fine in Parallels too but you know.)
Wishlist:
Wolfenstein: New Order (One day I will probably end up pick it up for $5)
Future:
Grand Theft Auto V (I know, it doesn't come out until January. Looking forward to seeing if this one will run well with settings better than the XBO/PS4 version.)
I plan on getting something for TV gaming around the same time I replace my aging 32" 2006 720p LCD.
itchyass86
Member
I suppose any Haswell with a Socket 1150 will fit just fine.
I'd be pretty worried bout inserting something above the 35 watt thermal dissipation envelope into the Alpha. Even the highest trim Alpha contains an i7-4765T, which still falls under the 35 watt TDP.
Also, since the power supply is only rated at 130 watts, we can probably make some assumptions that 80 percent nominal rating for potential is probably all that the PSU should be giving (possibly less possibly more). So 104 watts would be dangerous territory. The Maxwell GTX graphics card is estimated to be using 60 watts TDP. That leaves 44 watts leftover for the CPU and board. 35 watts is used for the Intel Haswell CPU means 9 watts left for the board and well... that is already pretty tight...
If I were to upgrade the CPU myself, I would not stick anything that doesn't have a T-suffix in it, meaning a lower 35 watt rating.
If you were to successfully install and run a 85 watt CPU into that little box, then I would be amazed. I would also be pretty happy for you too. Cuz that would be pretty damn awesome.
itchyass86
Member
I apologize for the double-post.
These are the ones I have access to in bold. I will buy LA Noire to benchmark because it seems to be the most demanding out of your list.
Not sure how long it'll take to complete the benchmark, but I shall run tests on the games I have access to. Might provide results tomorrow hopefully.
These are the ones I have access to in bold. I will buy LA Noire to benchmark because it seems to be the most demanding out of your list.
Not sure how long it'll take to complete the benchmark, but I shall run tests on the games I have access to. Might provide results tomorrow hopefully.
Beerman462
Member
If you want to do PC gaming right, don't buy this thing. Non upgradable GPU is a huge downside. Spend the extra money and build your own machine.
AngmarsKing701
Member
Thanks for the reply. I have asked the question officially and have already ordered the i5-4690 CPU. You reply makes sense, might have to return the CPU and grab a 35W i5 equivalent.
Beerman462
Member
Riveting
outunderthestars
Banned
Beerman462
Member
TO be fair, your post that he was replying to was equally riveting.
Ok maybe not riveting, but at least has more substance than a three year olds answer to eat your dinner.
itchyass86
Member
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/75023/4th-Generation-Intel-Core-i7-Processors#@Desktop
I believe this page lists many i7 quad-core Haswell CPUs with Socket 1150. 2 cpu's are listed with 35 watt TDP, and there are also a couple listed with 45 watt TDP.
http://ark.intel.com/products/family/75024/4th-Generation-Intel-Core-i5-Processors#@Desktop
This page contains i5 quad-core Haswell CPUs with Socket 1150. There are again a couple of 35 watt quad-cores and then a couple of 45 watt quad-cores.
As for sale and availability, I have no idea where to find these. I hope I'm not stepping out-of-bounds by showing you these resources. I'm not trying to tell you what to buy, or anything. That is for you to decide. Just trying to help.
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
Dude, just give it up... it's clear you came in wanting to downplay this thing because it's Alienware.
It's a great entry level tv-ready gaming PC.
Sure you can build something better... but for $549 with Windows (and stop with the BS about it not costing much.. if you're a legit student it's $69).
It's a good deal, get over it.. at this point you're basically just thread shitting.
...btw I was going to get one of these but my wife ended up trading in my old iPhone 4 and my old iPhone5s for like $400 in BB credit and bought the kids an Asus M11... which now I'm going to toss a 750ti into.. since it's the only thing that won't overload the power supply. The 750ti is such an efficient entry level card.
Kind of mad my wife went that route.. would have rather done this.. it was a better deal.
I still might be down for one later though for my bedroom.
Who are you even posting this towards? Who the fuck here thinks you can't build a better PC. That completely misses the point of what this is.
finalflame
Member
I agree with everything you said, except Windows can be had by a lot of college students for free. I got license for Windows 7, Office 2013, and Windows 8 for $0 as part of 4-year college degree.
I'm sure many other colleges are the same.
Beerman462
Member
Well, since no one was quoted it's a general sentiment. I believe PCs are about being able to upgrade all components and get a better experience with full backwards compatibility. Some people will like this machine and that's great for them, but in my opinion it defeats the purpose.
My current situation. I have an i5/7870XT it plays current games at or above PS4 levels. In a year or two I can upgrade my GPU to play games above that level. You can't do this with the Alienware.
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
How much was your tuition again for that 4-year college degree? Nothing's free.
Well, good for you?
You think you're not just saying what others have already said?
Find me a better value in an off-the-shelf gaming PC. Go ahead, find me one.
Beerman462
Member
If you don't like it, don't respond to me.
finalflame
Member
Obviously, about $5k a year for my state school. With that said I had the privilege of a full-ride scholarship and never paid a penny of that, or my cost of living, for all 4 years.
Of course I realize not everyone is as fortunate, but students are already attending school and paying tuition. So it's not unfeasible that they can get a Windows license at no additional cost to what they are already paying.
Just saying, it's not true that "if you're a legit student it's $69". Not true at all.
Yes the issue is finding one of those "T" processors as not too many stores stock them. Wish I had picked up on this before ordering the i5-4690. Will need to either onward sell on ebay or return to shop as the 85W will be a problem.
I wish they were a little clearer on the messaging around CPU upgrades. I read on their FAQ and i quote:
"Is the system upgradable?
Memory- can be upgraded to 16GB DDR3L
Processor- Desktop Haswell Processors
Hard Drive- 2.5 inch Notebook HDDs, Solid State Drives, Sata 3 1.5 inch Slim drives "
https://www.alienwarearena.com/forums/thread/76638/hardware-software/alienware-alpha-faq
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
I get that, but the basic student price is $69.99. I'm just tired of the argument coming up how people want to say Windows is free.. that comes with some pretty big caveats.
The people saying that it's free are just trying to make building a PC seem even less expensive than it really is. It's just pretty misleading, as most people don't have access to that.
finalflame
Member
Yah, that's true. I guess a lot of people just focus on that demographic because it's (probably?) a large chunk of people investing money into gaming hardware.
I think this is a great entry into the gaming market as a "midway"
point between consoles and PCs. Of course, as an enthusiast I'd much rather just build my own PC and get more bang for my buck, but this isn't targeted at people like me. Not at all.
The more options the better. While I am not particularly fond of Alienware's stuff, I am happy they exist and put out a product like this to get people into PC gaming. I agree some of their other shit is ridiculously overpriced, but this actually seems fine and reasonable for what you get, in a small, quiet package, with a nice custom UI. They are clearly trying to appeal to the generally non-tech-savvy consumers that would usually just go buy a console.
I can't wait to see sales numbers for these.
NervousXtian
Thought Emoji Movie was good. Take that as you will.
They kind of had to go the way they did for multiple reasons.. only way to keep it that small, that easy to cool and that quiet. There's a reason they used the mobile version of the 750ti... it's super efficient. Also doing so allowed an external power supply keeping sound and size down.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
You can take as much time as you want. I don't plan on buying it for a while at least so this is a long term project. I'll have probably more games by then, but hopefully it'll also be at the point a game can come out and people can ask "But does it run on the Alpha?". I don't play newer games all that often since I usually wait for big deep sales instead of paying full $60 price right on day one unless it's a Nintendo first party game. I'll probably get performance impressions from numerous places by then.
I'm going to wait for the second gen with a better GPU and hopefully lower price (due to SteamOS and not having to pay for a license). Alienware did a great job with this, looking forward to the 2015 edition.
This thing may make me take PC gaming seriously for the first time.
This thing may make me take PC gaming seriously for the first time.
itchyass86
Member
Understandable. Nintendo games seem to be the only games I'd pay full price for, as well.
Anyways, benchmarks for your list of games that I was able to get my hands on - are finished. However, L.A. Noire was not able to run because of Rockstar Social. I signed up, confirmed via email, and then input all of the credentials. It still says my username or password is invalid. So that was the only game that couldn't run, and it's because of some DRM software.
Every game that was tested was running at 1080p. In-game settings for every game was set to the highest possible including AA and all of the effects. Every game for some reason was capped at 60 FPS except for Mirror's edge which was capped at 62 FPS.
Just Cause 2 came with 3 of its own benchmarks straight from the developers. And also, Beyond Good and Evil could not detect a gamepad either by D-Input or X-Input.
Beyond Good and Evil: 56.40
Doom 3 BFG Edition: 59.93
Mirror's Edge: 61.90
Rage: 60.00
Wolfenstein The New Order: 58.53
Just Cause 2:
The Dark Tower - 34.91
Desert Sunrise - 39.72
Concrete Jungle - 33.71
AngmarsKing701
Member
Sorry, I was being snarky.TO be fair, your post that he was replying to was equally riveting.
Bottom line, it's been discussed in this thread several times already that several of us have absolutely zero desire to build our own PCs. I don't want to go online and find the parts. I don't want to learn how to do it myself. I don't want to install Windows. I don't care how easy everyone else thinks it is. I suck at DIY projects, and I already have enough of them around my house.
I get the same thing every time I post a question in the PC thread.
So Beerman you were the third or fourth drive by with the "build it yourself" advice and I didn't feel like going through all this again. At least not last night.
What would be valuable is someone saying "if you are absolutely set on buying a pre-built machine and you're willing to toss ~$600 around, you should consider xxxx instead of the Alpha"
Otherwise I'd love it if this thread was about the Alpha experience.
itchyass86
Member
I believe that I understand you.
Obviously I am somewhat of a supporter of this device - I bought it, use it, and do enjoy it as a Gamestream device for when I want to play PC games remotely away from home. It does its job, and it does it well without bringing much noise or using much energy. That is all I can say while trying to hold a neutral conversation. Otherwise, I can present quantitative data by reporting my own observed benchmarks
I won't tell anyone what to buy with their money though. I can only speak for myself, and I hope others who read this will practice some restraint on the subject of personal preference - especially when it comes to expensive devices such as this one.
icecold1983
Member
Weaker than ps4 and almost 50% more expensive. Fail
alexandros
Banned
There is undoubtedly a lot of fail in your post, but it is not the Alpha's.
Not at all.
icecold1983
Member
My 2 facts are indisputable
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
Ah, but you see, there are people disputing them. At least the first one.
icecold1983
Member
They should probably read up on the 860m
frontieruk
Member
You should probably read about jaguar cpu vs i3 the consoles are more cpu limited than the Alpha is gpu limited
icecold1983
Member
developers will get better at multi-threaded code and games will be designed around the ps4s limitations. the i3 wont actually bring any benefit to that 860m. hf playing with low textures and lots of stuttering and hitching with that 4gb/2gb ram setup. even cards substantially more powerful are already offering poor experiences with that lousy 2gb of vram.