[SOLVED] How much to build a system like AlienWare Aurora Gaming Desktop

Macenstein

Reputable
Nov 19, 2015
74
0
4,630
You guys helped me build my son a great gaming PC maybe 4-5 years ago that has served him well, but he's looking to upgrade so I'm back hoping to pick your brains.

I've started looking at pre-built gaming PC's to get an idea of what's current, but there are some things they don't list, like Motherboards/power supplies, cooling etc that I just am not familiar enough with so I am looking for advice.

If I wanted to build my own gaming PC with specs similar to the Alienware New Aurora Gaming desktop, how much would I be likely to save?
I know they charge a bit for their style, and I don't need a monitor, keyboard or mouse.

This is what they claim is in the $1,434.99 model

  • 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7 9700 (8-Core, 12MB Cache, up to 4.7GHz with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology)
  • Windows 10 Home 64bit English
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 6GB GDDR6 (OC Ready)
  • 16GB Dual Channel HyperX™ FURY DDR4 XMP at 2933MHz
  • 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD (Boot) + 1TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s (Storage)
  • Lunar Light chassis with Low-Profile Smart Cooling CPU Heatsink and 850W Power Supply
  • 802.11ac 2x2 Wireless, WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
  • Multi-Media Keyboard
  • Optical Mouse MS116AW

Would any of you be able to suggest comparable parts that would work together? Or if there's anything better at a similar price?
For instance, they list that for an extra $50 you can get the NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 SUPER™ 8GB GDDR6 (OC Ready)

Is that worth it?

I'd love to stay around $1000 or under... Is that crazy?

He mainly plays Overwatch/CSGO/Minecraft and uses an elgato capture card.
Thanks for any help!
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
Save would be, IMHO, a subjective topic since you're actually paying for a brand's image, logo and their support team. DIY'ing would mean you're doing all the troubleshooting yourself.

Inf act, I'd like to ask you what your absolute budget is...? Perhaps we can work off of that angle? $1,500 is not a bad idea to build a capable system for about 3-4 years usage without performing any upgrades. Include the model for the Elgato capture card, possible to have an mitx or matx build with the system performing streaming and gaming duties simultaneously.
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
It is a bit crazy, but you can still get a lot of performance for $1000.

What does he have now so we can make sure it is worth getting. It could be that the current system offers more than you think and just needs a few upgrades.


This it?
"
Intel - Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Gigabyte - GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
MSI - GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card
G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Dell 27 LED QHD GSync Monitor Black
"

If so, your earlier posts about getting a 7700k and just upgrading the GPU are still valid. Basically what I am running.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Macenstein

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
Alienware system isn't entirely out of the realm of crazy. Maybe paying a $150 premium for assembly and aesthetics. Would depend a little on the exact parts (and their margin is higher, since they bought in bulk)

A few minor changes to this to make it more cost effective, but you would still end up around the same price point, just higher quality components. (Though of late, Alienware hasn't been skimping on much, just the usual locked CPUs and cheaper motherboards)

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-9700 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($335.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B360 AORUS Gaming 3 WIFI ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($42.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8 GB SC ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($399.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Walmart)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.89 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1384.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-16 15:55 EDT-0400
 

Macenstein

Reputable
Nov 19, 2015
74
0
4,630
It is a bit crazy, but you can still get a lot of performance for $1000.

What does he have now so we can make sure it is worth getting. It could be that the current system offers more than you think and just needs a few upgrades.


This it?
"
Intel - Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Gigabyte - GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
MSI - GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card
G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Dell 27 LED QHD GSync Monitor Black
"

If so, your earlier posts about getting a 7700k and just upgrading the GPU are still valid. Basically what I am running.
yup, that's his current setup still.
 

Macenstein

Reputable
Nov 19, 2015
74
0
4,630
It is a bit crazy, but you can still get a lot of performance for $1000.

What does he have now so we can make sure it is worth getting. It could be that the current system offers more than you think and just needs a few upgrades.


This it?
"
Intel - Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor
Gigabyte - GA-Z170-HD3P ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
MSI - GeForce GTX 970 4GB Twin Frozr V Video Card
G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory
Dell 27 LED QHD GSync Monitor Black
"

If so, your earlier posts about getting a 7700k and just upgrading the GPU are still valid. Basically what I am running.

would he need a new motherboard and RAM to be able to use that processor?
I think he wants a 2060...
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
This gets you the most GPU, just upgrade the existing system. You can take it back down to an RTX2070 Super, or even the RT2060, if you want to add some storage.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($344.51 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 2 57.9 CFM Fluid Dynamic Bearing CPU Cooler ($47.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB AORUS Video Card ($679.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1072.49
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-16 16:09 EDT-0400
 

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
Whoops, posted on your old thread.

$1500 budget:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($327.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX AM4 Motherboard ($149.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card ($499.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($73.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($107.62 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1484.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-16 16:03 EDT-0400


About $1000, using your existing storage devices, less if you re-use the power supply.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($117.90 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($89.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC 3X Video Card ($499.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400 ATX Mid Tower Case ($73.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($107.62 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($99.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1059.25
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-16 16:05 EDT-0400
 
Solution

Eximo

Titan
Ambassador
would he need a new motherboard and RAM to be able to use that processor?
I think he wants a 2060...

DDR4 is still basically the same. Should work with Ryzen and Intel's latest if you wanted to go down that route.

That wasn't a build suggestion, just a price comparison to the Alienware. I have posted a few complete builds and the upgrade option above.

Intel is really not the way forward if you want to save any money.

On the other hand, if you take anything off the old system, then you don't have a complete system you can use for something else.