Is this PC a good value?

[Pc_Newbie671]

Is this PC a good value?

Alienware Alpha ASM100-1580 Console (2.9 GHz Intel Core i3-4130T...
$439.99

I have been considering buying this PC I have never owned a gaming PC just a simple desktop PC is this PC good for gaming will it play future games at 720 p
I don't mind the resolution of games that much because I am only a casual gamer. The only hardcore game I play is nba 2k. How long will this PC last before I can no longer play games like nba at 720 p resolution I have seen videos on YouTube of the Alienware alpha running the witcher 3 at playable frame rates. I'm a bit hesitant of buying this PC because of its non upgradable gpu and low price. But in terms of value and performance will this be a good buy. I can't build a PC because parts are too expensive where I live
8 gigs of ram cost an absurd amount of money and so are other parts.

 

[MarkW]

That is going to be very difficult to answer because they are not stating which Nvidia model the video card is. Just that it is a "NVIDIA Maxwell GTX GPU 2GB GDDR5".

I think you need to read some reviews on this thing. I just went out and looked at the very first review that my search found. I will link it here so you can read up on what they have to say about this thing.

http://www.cnet.com/products/alienware-alpha/

 

[Vice93]

I'm pretty sure the only maxwell card with 2GB is the GTX 960. Unless there are other cards running maxwell than the 900-series and titan x.

Lets assume it is and compare the Alienware to building your own version. - Now we don't know the motherboard either so we'll compare to a cheap, well rated one.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($113.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($43.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.69 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 2.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.50 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 960 2GB Video Card ($197.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($34.00 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($87.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $582.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-05-30 11:19 EDT-0400

If you can get it for 439.99 I would say it's pretty good value, and yes, it can play games in 720p in ultra graphics.
Whats holding it back the most is probably the CPU and RAM, but for current games it will play just fine, though it might have some issues running everything at max in The Witcher 3 & GTA V.

 

[MarkW]

There is the possibility that it is a mobile version, and those in my opinion are always underpowered.

I did come digging. Maxwell mobile models GTX 820M to GTX 850M. GTX 860M has both a Kepler or Maxwell part. So probably a mix of whatever leftover parts were left between Kepler and Maxwell to get a GTX 860M out the door is my guess.

But I go back to what I said earlier. We do not know which GTX it is. We don't even know if it is a desktop board or a mobile chip.

 

[Pc_Newbie671]

I did some research and it comes with a laptop gpu gtx 860m

 

[MarkW]

Take a look at the page on the link below. You will need to scroll down to the 2 graphs to see what I would like you to look at.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu.php?gpu=GeForce+GTX+860M