Alienware x51 vs Vortex

[DanielEvans]

What would be better, a vortex from Specialist with the following specs:

Case
STYLISH PIANO BLACK ENIGMA CASE + 2 FRONT USB
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770 (3.4GHz) 8MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8H77-M: M-ATX, DDR3, USB 3.0, SATA 6.0Gb/s, CrossFireX™
Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 560 - 2 DVI,HDMI,VGA - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 32MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
600W Quiet 80 PLUS Quad Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan (£59)
Processor Cooling
INTEL SOCKET LGA1155 STANDARD CPU COOLER
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
NORTON ANTI-VIRUS 2012 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£14)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days

or an Alienware x51 with the following specs:

Processor
Intel® Core™ i5-2320 Processor (3.00GHz, 6MB L3 Cache, 4C)
Operating System
English Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
Monitor
Display Not Included
Memory4
8GB4 Dual Channel at 1333MHz
Hard Drive
1TB Serial ATA (7,200 rpm)
Video Card
1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 555
Optical Drive
DVD+/-RW (Read/Write)
Keyboard
Alienware Multimedia Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY)
Wireless
Integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Wireless LAN
Security Software
No Security/Anti-Virus Protection
Services and Support
1 yr Next Day In-Home Hardware Support
Advertised System Weight
5.49 kg.
Recommended Upgrade


Purely in specs ignoring all the anti-virus protection and warranty etc.
Please help as i am new to buying computers

P.S would the top one be able to play games like ARMA 3, Skyrim, BF3 etc?

[ThomasM]

The Vortex will always win, although you could edit a couple of things to make it even better.
Yes it will play those games

[Wolvo7]

Yeah pretty much every component in the Vortex is better. But as Thomas said you'd be better off customizing this spec to make it even better. Just post your budget and I'm sure someone can come up with a great spec for you.

It's always better to have the choice for every component, like that you can be sure that you don't skimp on quality.

[Teaz]

Certainly the pc by pcs. As already said by Wolvo, do provide a budget and use which would be helpful to come up with a better spec.

[DanielEvans]

My budget is £800, although i am willing to stretch slightly further if it would make a world of difference. I would really appreciate if someone could post a good spec for playing those games in particular (and other games of that quality and required standard.

P.S, would the vortex be able to play those games at a good graphical setting?

[F3AR]

The alienware has unbranded components, and are probably terrible because of it.

[Teaz]

Yes, it would be fine to play games from mid to high settings but nothing overly bizarre.

A spec I recommend going for with your budget. Takes you to the end of your budget but worth considering. Good all rounder and better graphics which should turn things up a notch:

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3550 (3.3GHz) 6MB Cache

Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LX: USB 3.0, SATA 6GBs, ATI®CrossFireX

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)

Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6850 - 2 DVI,HDMI, DP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 3 Capable

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
1TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD1002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)

1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM

Power Supply
CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)

Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)

Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence

Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)

Total: 797

Configure it here

[DanielEvans]

cheers

[tom_gr7]

One thing I cant stand about the major brands you see in pc world/currys/comet/ maybe alienware too, is

1. That they dont provide the windows installation disk! it causes massive problems if you require a fresh install, I had this problem with my naf netbook (win 7 32bit) wanted to reinstall fresh on a small ssd, to put it simply I couldnt as I they dont provide a installation disk, when I asked HP they said it would cost 50-60 quid for a backup cd. (lol which may not even have allowed me to do a fresh install) My only other option was to buy a fresh copy of win 7. No thanks.
2. You get a load of naf HP/whatever brand you bought software that you dont need or want, that pops up everything single time you turn on the pc -.-
3. the cheapest components going, with the highest prices.
4. I could keep going, but you get the picture.

I'm sure this would apply to alienware as they are dell's.

[DanielEvans]

also what would be better, the above listed Vortex 500 or a vortex 750 with the same graphics card and intel i7 processor?