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puzzlezaddict's avatar
puzzlezaddict
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6 years ago

Re: Need help on alienware specs

@sassyfrashnash  This would have been a beast of a laptop, stronger even than most gaming desktops, when it was new.  It would certainly have run the current version of TS4, including all packs, on ultra settings, with plenty of room to spare.  But its hardware is six years old now, and whoever owned it may have pushed the laptop a lot in those years.

Most of the components should have held up okay, barring any problems with excess heat or physical damage (this is a laptop, after all).  But I'd be worried about the graphics cards, and I'd want to see some benchmarks before buying it.  The power supply concept is different in a laptop—you would always want to plug the computer in while you play anyway, and the question is whether the power brick can draw enough wattage to run the hardware at full strength.  I'd think it might need to be replaced soon enough anyway, but there are ways to test this too.

So I guess the important questions are, how much would you be paying for this laptop, is it worth the risk, and can you get any information from the seller about how well it runs now?  General descriptions like "good condition" aren't so helpful; it would be better to see the results of some formal tests.  I can recommend a couple, if you want, but if the seller isn't interested in providing the data, you'll need to decide whether the risk is worth it to you.

Just for comparison's sake, at the moment, you could get a new laptop that would run all of Sims 4, now and through the entire development of the game, for under $1000 U.S.  (Prices will be higher in other countries, and current sales don't always last.)  I don't know which other games you'd be playing, but I can check their specs too, if you want.

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  • sassyfrashnash's avatar
    sassyfrashnash
    6 years ago

    I'm looking on eBay so it's current bid price is $465 with $50 shipping but since there's a lot of bids and 8 days left I'm sure it'll go up a bit more. Would you be able to recommend gaming laptops? I want to make sure I get something beast if I'm going to be spending a lot of money on it. Also when cyberpunk comes out I'll probably be playing that on it with a VR system and possibly Skyrim, stuff like that. I figured buying used would save me a lot of money but if I can get something new just as good or better for a good price I'd probably rather do that so I don't have to risk it having any problems. Ideally I'd like to spend less than $1000. I could always get something more on credit but idk I dont want to do that if I don't have to lol. I just want something that can handle the Sims 3 and 4 with a ton of expansions/cc REALLY well and a few games with VR. I'm beyond sick and tired of the lag/crashing on my cheap laptop. 

    Also I live in the US if that helps with sale stuff.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @sassyfrashnash  If you're looking to play Cyberpunk on anything resembling high settings, you'd need a lot more graphics power than the Alienware would have had to offer even new.  The recommended specs are an Nvidia 1070; a 2060 is about equal or a bit better, depending on the benchmark.  But I can't find any laptop with either card for under $1,000.  (The processors in the laptops listed below all exceed the recommendations for Cyberpunk.)  Skyrim's recommended specs are lower; any of these laptops would be fine.

    This Alienware, on clearance from Best Buy, is the cheapest option.  But its solid state drive is so small (128 GB) that you'd need to install all your games on the larger mechanical drive.  That wouldn't make a difference to Sims 4, but it would to Sims 3, and almost certainly to a game like Cyberpunk.

    https://www.bestbuy.com/site/alienware-15-6-gaming-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-solid-state-drive-silver/5713021.p?skuId=5713021

    I'm not actually sure whether you could swap out the mechanical drive for a second SSD, although it should be possible in theory.  (It might void the warranty though.)  If not, to get a large solid state, the next cheapest option would be this MSI, with a single 256 GB SSD and room for a 2.5" drive of your choice.  Its processor is a bit stronger than the one above, and it has a 2060 rather than a 1070.

    https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GL63-8SE-209-Performance-i5-8300H/dp/B07MNWTRRJ

    If you really want to stay under $1000, this Asus is the best option I could find right now, although it's supposedly only on sale for another couple of hours.  Its processor is a bit weaker than the ones above, and it only has an Nvidia 1660 ti, which is the next card down from the 1070.  It's still a very fast card though, more than strong enough to run all Sims 4 packs on ultra settings.  This laptop has a 512 GB SSD, so you could fit a few games on it comfortably.  You'd definitely want to add more RAM though; a matching 8 GB stick might cost you $40.

    https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16834235244?Item=N82E16834235244

    For $1050, with an additional $50 rebate, this MSI also has a 1660 ti, and a much stronger processor than any of the others listed.  It does only have a 256 GB SSD though, so you'd still need to add a second drive.

    https://www.newegg.com/black-msi-gl-series-gl73-9sd-409-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834155241?Item=N82E16834155241

    This MSI has a 512 GB SSD for $50 more, and a processor that's slightly slower than the one above but still significantly better than the others. 

    https://www.newegg.com/black-msi-gl-series-gl63-8sd-889-gaming-entertainment/p/N82E16834155232?Item=N82E16834155232

    If you're comfortable with Ebay, you'd probably find the same specs in a 2 or 3 year laptop for cheaper.  But of course it's a risk buying there.  Still, you might find something for around $1000 with a 2060 or 1070 and a big enough SSD to fit your games.  There are too many options (and the site is so disorganized) for me to go through them, but you'd want at least a 6700HQ for a processor.  Whether you could add or swap a hard drive would depend on the make and model of the laptop—the manufacturer's manual should make it clear whether this is possible.  Adding RAM should always be easy in a gaming laptop.

    If you do see something you're considering, feel free to link it for a second opinion.

  • sassyfrashnash's avatar
    sassyfrashnash
    6 years ago

    I really like the 2060 msi you posted from Amazon I was wondering if you could compare that with this alienware I found on Amazon. It says theres one used like new for $999. Do you think it would be better to just get the msi or the used alien? Thank you!

    2019 Premium Alienware R3 Flagship 15.6 Inch FHD Gaming Laptop (Intel Core i7 2.8GHz up to 3.80GHz, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB, Backlit Keyboard, WiFi, Windows 10) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T8GY73Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JcrADb3RF276F

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @sassyfrashnash  The seller offering the used Alienware gets generally good reviews, with most of the bad ones sounding like the customers were being difficult.  It always has to be a consideration when buying used, but there don't seem to be the typical red flags.  Anyway, I'd still contact the seller to see the return policy if the laptop doesn't perform up to "like new" standards.  If the policy is reasonable, you could run some benchmarks and a stress test, then decide whether the hardware seems to be holding up.

    If in fact this laptop is as advertised, it would be an excellent deal for its components.  The SSD is large enough for a dozen games, it has an extra HDD for overflow, and its processor, while a couple of years old, was the usual choice for gaming laptops in 2017.  (The 8300H is a bit stronger, but the difference isn't worth avoiding the 7700HQ altogether.)  The 32 GB RAM is nice but likely unnecessary.

    Given how laptops can sometimes be treated harshly by their previous owners, I usually don't recommend getting a used model unless a new one is out of the buyer's price range.  On that note, the MSI is a great price, but it would need a second 2.5" hard drive in addition to the small one already installed.  The advantage is that you could buy exactly the SSD that you wanted, and install all your games on it without worrying about running out of space.  But of course you'd need to buy that drive as well, and while not exorbitantly expensive, an SSD will drive up the total price.  This is a decent option:

    https://www.newegg.com/adata-ultimate-su650-960gb/p/N82E16820215327?Description=su650&cm_re=su650-_-20-215-327-_-Product

    The other thing to keep in mind is that an Nvidia 2060, while not much stronger than a 1070, does support a few newer features, like DLSS, that older cards don't.  Whether this makes a difference to you probably comes down to whether Cyberpunk supports the newer features, which isn't clear.  (Raytracing: yes; DLSS: maybe)  It won't make a difference to the other games you want to play.

    So I guess the question is whether the extra money is worth it to you.  Given that you'd prefer to stay under $1000, the Alienware might be the better choice.  If money isn't as much of an issue, the MSI is a slightly better option overall once you add in the second hard drive.

  • puzzlezaddict's avatar
    puzzlezaddict
    Hero+
    6 years ago

    @sassyfrashnash  I'm sorry I somehow missed your most recent post; it wasn't my intention to leave you hanging.

    Whether the Asus is a better deal depends on how much storage you need.  The graphics card is significantly better, and the processor is the same; these are the two components you really can't switch out.  However, its low storage might be an issue for you.  Normally, it's pretty simple to add a second hard drive to a high-end gaming laptop, but this particular model only comes with a single M.2 slot, and no 2.5" drive bays for a larger SATA SSD or HDD.

    So if you wanted more storage, your only option would be to replace the 512 GB SSD with a larger one, and reinstall Windows as well.  The drive is enough for Windows and the games you've mentioned, but not a whole lot more (maybe another game or two, but that would depend on expansion packs and what else you wanted on the computer).  While movies and music will run just fine off an external drive, most games' performance will suffer.

    1 TB NVMe SSDs (form factor 2280) start just under $100, if you don't need the high-end models.  (Those start around $120.)  Most 2 TB versions are close to $300.  So even if you were willing to upgrade, it would drive the price up significantly.

    If you're fine only having a few games installed at any one time, and switching them out if necessary, then sure, get this Asus.  But if you want more storage, then you'll need to pick a different option.

  • sassyfrashnash's avatar
    sassyfrashnash
    6 years ago

    Thank you I wound up going with the Asus. Everything seems good so far 👍

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