Buying future proof pc (alienware)

[PurrfectMeow]

I have researched computers a bunch and finally decided to purchase an alienware desktop, However I am undecided what specs to go with.

I would like it to be "future proof" lasting me as many years as possible. Needs to be able to run 2 versions of world of warcraft at once with no lag and run on ultra when only 1 version is running, and run firefox during all this as well, possibly vlc media player as well. (I multitask alot lol)

The alienware computers I am considering are the alienware x51 with specs:

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 760 Ti with 2GB GDDR5
i7-4770 processor (8M Cache, up to 3.9 GHz
1 terrabyte harddrive
16 gb ram
price is 1400

The other alienware I am considering is the alienware aurora with:

NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770 with 2GB GDDR5
Intel® Core™ i7-4820K Processor (10M Cache, up to 3.90 GHz
3 terrerbytes harddrive
16 gb ram
price is 2024

I can also get the aurora with a AMD Radeon R9 290X with 4GB GDDR5 graphics card instead of the 770 for 200 dollars more. Wish they had that option for the x51.

Am curious if the alienware aurora would offer me way more years in it do to the better graphics card and processor. If so should I go with the 290 card over the 770 or would the 770 be just about as long lasting as the 290?

Or should I just go with the x51 and save a couple hundred bucks. Also the extra two terrabytes in the aurora wouldn't be that useful to me as I've only just been starting to have space issues on my 5 year old computer with half a terrabyte.

Ideally I would like the computer to be still useful for gaming at least on the lowest settings in another 7 or 8 years, more then that is even better.

 

[StarBG]

Better build your own system and the GTX 760 or 770 are not that "future proof" and the CPU is a non K version.

 

[vince232]

better go build your own. Alienware desktops are overpriced

 

[aanart28]

ho with alienware x51
it will serve u a minimum of 3 years of gaming and as so u can always upgrade ur ram if u feel it is less(in the future i hope)
Hope this Helps !

 

[PurrfectMeow]

I'm not interested in building my own. Not sure what cpu being a non k version means, it's better then my current cpu though according to cpuboss.com. The graphics cards aren't future proof at all? Because when I compare them on game-debate.com it says "Both GPUs exhibit very powerful performance, so it probably isn't worth upgrading from one to the other, as both are capable of running even the most demanding games at the highest settings." Is it just the lower memory on them that makes them not future proof? Also I'd like it to last a minimum of 5 years, not 3.

I suppose a better question would've been which graphics card do I need to be future proof? .

 

[aanart28]

Mostly yes
To make ur system future friendly keep upgrading ur ram and hdd(As and when NEEDED)
it basically depends on ur usage if ure gamer u can never b satisfied with ur configuration
if ure a computer professional yes it will be future friendly.
Hope this Helps !

 

[vmN]

I wont recommend going with a prebuild.
A build as this will be far better:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($122.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($122.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($145.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($699.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1930.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-12 07:11 EST-0500)

 

[PurrfectMeow]

I just want to know if the first specs I linked will be good enough to last years and years or if I need to go with the aurora, not interested in building my own.

 

[rymu2000]

If you can't build one go with orgin PC one of the best out there.

 

[StarBG]

I wont recommend going with a prebuild.
A build as this will be far better:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i7-4770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($319.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 65.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($74.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD4H ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($144.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($122.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Crucial M500 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($122.99 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($145.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB Video Card ($699.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (Black Pearl) ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Hive 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1930.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-12 07:11 EST-0500)

this will bow the alienware systems away and the GPU is a lot better than the others, SSD for fast loading times - 1 would be enough - and unlocked CPU if you want to overclock later. This would last you some years.

 

[vince232]

I'm not interested in building my own. Not sure what cpu being a non k version means, it's better then my current cpu though according to cpuboss.com. The graphics cards aren't future proof at all? Because when I compare them on game-debate.com it says "Both GPUs exhibit very powerful performance, so it probably isn't worth upgrading from one to the other, as both are capable of running even the most demanding games at the highest settings." Is it just the lower memory on them that makes them not future proof? Also I'd like it to last a minimum of 5 years, not 3.

I suppose a better question would've been which graphics card do I need to be future proof? .

dont listen to that other guy. very wrong. if you want a future pc you should keep upgrading the video card. your 4770 is a top procy. it will be good for 3-4 years. even your video card will last 2 years on high settings dont know about how many years on low. but if you want to upgrade, always go for video card first then procy. other than anything. your ram is very future friendly. only 1 game need 8gb of ram. only battlefield 4. but dont expect every game to need an 8gb ram just yet. 16gb is very future friendly. maybe 5-6 years. hard drive the only thing you can upgrade is to an ssd. faster than an hdd but nonsense at all. it will only help with loading time and boot up. but when you are already on game doesnt help at all

 

[PurrfectMeow]

I'm not interested in building my own. Not sure what cpu being a non k version means, it's better then my current cpu though according to cpuboss.com. The graphics cards aren't future proof at all? Because when I compare them on game-debate.com it says "Both GPUs exhibit very powerful performance, so it probably isn't worth upgrading from one to the other, as both are capable of running even the most demanding games at the highest settings." Is it just the lower memory on them that makes them not future proof? Also I'd like it to last a minimum of 5 years, not 3.

I suppose a better question would've been which graphics card do I need to be future proof? .

dont listen to that other guy. very wrong. if you want a future pc you should keep upgrading the video card. your 4770 is a top procy. it will be good for 3-4 years. even your video card will last 2 years on high settings dont know about how many years on low. but if you want to upgrade, always go for video card first then procy. other than anything. your ram is very future friendly. only 1 game need 8gb of ram. only battlefield 4. but dont expect every game to need an 8gb ram just yet. 16gb is very future friendly. maybe 5-6 years. hard drive the only thing you can upgrade is to an ssd. faster than an hdd but nonsense at all. it will only help with loading time and boot up. but when you are already on game doesnt help at all

Thank you for the info, which graphics card do you mean will last 2 years on high setting though, or do you mean all of them?

 

[vince232]

I'm not interested in building my own. Not sure what cpu being a non k version means, it's better then my current cpu though according to cpuboss.com. The graphics cards aren't future proof at all? Because when I compare them on game-debate.com it says "Both GPUs exhibit very powerful performance, so it probably isn't worth upgrading from one to the other, as both are capable of running even the most demanding games at the highest settings." Is it just the lower memory on them that makes them not future proof? Also I'd like it to last a minimum of 5 years, not 3.

I suppose a better question would've been which graphics card do I need to be future proof? .

dont listen to that other guy. very wrong. if you want a future pc you should keep upgrading the video card. your 4770 is a top procy. it will be good for 3-4 years. even your video card will last 2 years on high settings dont know about how many years on low. but if you want to upgrade, always go for video card first then procy. other than anything. your ram is very future friendly. only 1 game need 8gb of ram. only battlefield 4. but dont expect every game to need an 8gb ram just yet. 16gb is very future friendly. maybe 5-6 years. hard drive the only thing you can upgrade is to an ssd. faster than an hdd but nonsense at all. it will only help with loading time and boot up. but when you are already on game doesnt help at all

Thank you for the info, which graphics card do you mean will last 2 years on high setting though, or do you mean all of them?

on high settings i believe it can last for 2 years for low settings very long.. cause even a 6950 which is released i think late 2010- early 2011 still runs great on medium to high and would be much better if you turn Anti aliasing off. on low settings it will kick any game's ass right now. so if you buy a 760ti it will last very long

 

[aanart28]

@PurrfectMeow: get the first one no need for the aurora.
after about 2 years u might want to change ur video card(graphic card(whatever)) to keep ur system up to date.
it is not necessary u change the video card.
mostly i wont be needed as i have configured my system its been a year and i got a medium video card and was sure enough bf 4 wont work
but to my surprise bf4 works like a badass. i will have to change the video card but now i would mostly change at bf 5
Hope This Helps !

 

[Grogar123]

Please do everyone a favor and do not buy an alien-ware computer.
First off they are overpriced, they overheat a lot, they are definitely NOT future proof they have at least 2 years until they need an upgrade (thats if its still working).

Alieware is just an overpriced computer.
Your best bet is to custom build one.