Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg

Started by Gusington, November 19, 2020, 02:49:30 PM

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Gusington

Ok so we all know JH is sick and he needs help. I embrace my disease by picking the brains of you fine peeps here to get your opinions.

With Black Friday cracking early this year, I have received clearance to purchase my new rig a few days early. Building my own is no longer an option with the whole family home - I just don't have the time. So I have just built a Falcon Northwest Talon online, and yesterday built an Alienware Aurora.

Both come out to a pretty penny for the builds I want, more than I have ever spent on a rig. The components include an NVidia 3080, extra memory, dual drives, liquid cooling, etc. With monitor and shipping the total cost would be ~4500.00 on both.

Warranty/insurance - which I usually waive on most things but would get here because of the cost of these machines - is 'standard' with Falcon Northwest for three years. It would be several hundred dollars with Alienware.

So I come to you all - I need the opinions of peeps here before I spend that kind of money. Falcon Northwest or Alienware?

Or do I go to NewEgg and build something there? Haven't tried that yet.


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We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

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Gusington

Also have found the Falcon NW Tiki - configured how I want it - is about 1000 less than the Talon. That seems like a no-brainer, unless someone here has a FalconNW Tiki and stands up to scream 'IT'S CRAP'


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

jamus34

Hey Gus,

Couple of thoughts for ya

1) Strictly Falcon vs Alienware, if costs are anywhere close, I would go for the Falcon every time.

2) There are a number of boutique system builders out there, that I've heard good things about (Maingear, Cyberpower, Origin, Ibuypower). I would at least peruse some other sites if you really are interested in buying just for comparisons sake.

3) Costco has a deal with Cyberpower for building PC's - 90 day return policy and 2 year warranty.

Again, none of these may suit you and back to your original question if the price was anywhere comparable I would go Falcon NW 10 out of 10 times; just heard way too many good things and no negatives out of them.
Insert witty comment here.

Gusington

#3
^Thanks man. I've been on Falcon's site for an hour and get that they are definitely the better choice than Alienware. If I price out even their smaller systems like a Fragbox or a Tiki (which I forgot existed), I am heavily leaning that way.

I have iBuyPower/Cyberpower systems still running in my house right now and never had any complaints. One is 10 years old and still boots up without issue every single time for my older daughter. I just wanted the gold standard this time, since until now I have always settled. I don't splurge often on very many things and am pretty frugal, because I have to be.

But right now, I agree with you that Falcon looks great and is worth the price - not just for the machine but for the expertise they appear to have and the support they offer on everything.

I just don't want to be foolish with this kind of money and drop it when I can save potentially thousands at NewEgg...another vendor I trust.

So now it looks like the choice is between Falcon NW and assembling one @ NewEgg...God help me NewEgg is having a big Black Friday sale...


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Gusington

#4
Perusing NewEgg and found this  :o

https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali454/p/N82E16883360038?Item=N82E16883360038

NewEgg has some insane deals - I may have to go with them.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

airboy

Go with Falcon over Alienware every time.  Had both, never going back to Alienware.

My Falcon Talon with Monitor, mouse, surge protector was a little over $4,000 delivered.  Got more stuff because this machine is in a rural area and your electronics store is either a 90 minute drive or Wal-Mart.

Newegg - you can get a lower price but you will not get the support or the reliability that Falcon does as a matter of routine.  The Falcon will be quiet.  Newegg - who knows?

I'm keeping a machine for 6+ years now.

Gusington

^Thanks AB. It's almost like you're sitting next to me. I have a 'work meeting' running in the background as I peruse NewEgg. It's hard to resist those NewEgg prices.

Am I being silly with the NVidia 3080? I think I might be. I've read articles saying that the older NVidia 2080 cards are almost as good as the 3080s.

Getting a 2080 would save some cash.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

jamus34

So from what I heard the 2nd gen RTX cards are MUCH better with Ray Tracing support than the 20XX cards.

Do you need it, nope.

Do you want it, well, seeing some of the stuff that ray tracing can do is really cool, but there not a whole lot of games out there that is supporting the tech yet.

Also note the 2080ti will be about equivalent to the 3070 (not quite but close enough) at about a $600 cost difference.

The 3080 is better than the 2080ti and significantly cheaper.

Also, if you have no interest in ray tracing the new AMD video cards seem to smoke the nvidia cards on pure performance from early reviews.
Insert witty comment here.

Gusington

^Thank you. Now I'm going deep into the weeds.

I will probably lose my mind before I actually purchase  :nerd:


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

JasonPratt

#9
Did you rebuild your specs with the Fragbox? Just curious. I'm glad to see the Tiki came out cheaper, though I'm not sure why since usually equivalent performance in a smaller form factor tends to increase the price somewhat. Maybe the difference is that the Talon still leaves room for expansion later, and you're paying extra for that?

That ABS system at Newegg does look very crisp! -- of course you'll have to add a monitor to it, but still should be under the Falcon pricing. (As an aside, I don't know that I'd buy a monitor or speakers or mouse or anything else in accessories like that from Falcon. They aren't going to offer something that they haven't tested extensively, to protect their rep, but it isn't like they're putting those things together and wiring them intelligently and running the bios etc. I recommend using their accessories as recommendations, and shopping for them somewhere else. Like at Newegg for example. This is how I shopped a sound system for my Dad's den, by the way: computer speaker/amp systems are just as awesome if not moreso, at some cost savings, and I worked off Falcon's recommendations at the time.)

I just don't know how reliable to expect it to be. When you buy Falcon, you're buying a very long-term well-earned reputation, sort of like buying a Volvo if Volvo made Ferraris. They're going to put your computer through a rigorous test of dozens of points before it leaves, including extensive software and hardware tests: that computer will be chugging steadily hard at work for forty-eight hours, for example, if I recall correctly.

I also don't know if the ABS system will be bloated or not. Often systems with suspiciously low prices will come with bloatware on your software: the software publishers partially subsidize your cost that way, by shoveling demos and other things they'll hope will convince (or annoy) you into buying them eventually. FNW comes with Windows, and the software needed to run your hardware, and whatever extra software you ordered from them (like Office365), and that's all. They also send an emergency reinstall kit; and an entire set of extra (high quality) cabling for everything on your computer; and instruction manuals for all your hardware. (They used to send the original install discs, too, including for anything Windows you bought; not sure how they send licensed software installs now, but I bet it's still policy somehow. Office is now only a one year license, of course, FNW can't do anything about that.)

This is a big selling point on doing your own whitebox build, too, of course: you can be sure you're only getting the system footprint you want, and minimize the extra stuff eating up your cycles and hectoring you about buying the full version or whatever. I've managed to stay away from having to do tech work on friends and family the past few years, so I don't know how prevalent that sort of thing still is.
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Gusington

^Yeah I've dealt with bloatware before. My ASUS has some but not a ridiculous amount. It's definitely irriating. I've got the monitor chosen already:

https://www.newegg.com/black-acer-predator-z35-z35-bmiphz-35/p/N82E16824009874?Item=9SIAFVF7MY4993

I did price out a Falcon Fragbox too and it's easy to get any Falcon machine to ring in over 4000. But if I tweak memory, video cards, etc., obviously I can bring that down a bit.

You own a Falcon, Pratt?


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

endfire79

Hi Gus,

Time is money for people, and a good system builder (Falcon, Alienware etc) with a good reputation is worth it.  There'll be mark up on the prices for sure, but as already mentioned, you're paying for their reputation and ability to get you something ready quickly and in good order, so you don't have too spend time. Not everyone has the spare time to shop for components, and then put everything together themselves, especially during this pandemic.

If the pc is for mostly for gaming and not being used for heavy video editing, my personal recommendation would be to save a bit on the CPU if you can (mid range vs higher), and put the extra cash on the display, graphics card and other things.

I prefer air cooling vs water cooling (I like my air cooled MG's instead of heavy water cooled tripods  ;)   - and I've still managed to keep my towers pretty and with good airflow/noise balance.

I would recommend getting a NVME SSD drive if your motherboard supports it.  This is basically what they have on laptops for a while now (looks like a memory stick, interfaces with PCIE on the motherboard instead of SATA like SATA ssd's.  Booting into windows is even way more faster than with the SATA SSD.  I still use SATA SSD though since their prices are pretty good now, and still use a mechanical HDD for stuff that I consider essential (work, pictures, documents etc, backups). 

Most importantly, have fun and enjoy it!
"I will return before you can say 'antidisestablishmentarianism'."

"A man may fight for many things. His country, his principles, his friends. The glistening tear on the cheek of a golden child. But personally, I'd mud-wrestle my own mother for a ton of cash, an amusing clock and a sack of French porn."

Gusington

Thanks! After sleeping on it, I am honing in on a Falcon NW model...just not sure which one yet. And I agree on the CPU/GPU and am going to do that - have done that for the last few rigs.

I would really like to save some desktop space so I am very seriously considering a Tiki or a Fragbox - both can be tricked out as much as Falcon's Talon desktop model.

Also think I am leaning more towards the NVidia 2080ti instead of the 3000 series.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd

Jarhead0331

Quote from: Gusington on November 20, 2020, 12:15:21 PM
Thanks! After sleeping on it, I am honing in on a Falcon NW model...just not sure which one yet. And I agree on the CPU/GPU and am going to do that - have done that for the last few rigs.

I would really like to save some desktop space so I am very seriously considering a Tiki or a Fragbox - both can be tricked out as much as Falcon's Talon desktop model.

Also think I am leaning more towards the NVidia 2080ti instead of the 3000 series.

You would be crazy to get a 2080ti over a 3080. The 3080 is about 20% faster and about $600 cheaper. Its part of the reason why 2080ti owners are so pissed off.
Grogheads Uber Alles
Semper Grog
"No beast is more alpha than JH." Gusington, 10/23/18


Gusington

Is it? Haven't done a build yet today - didn't know the 3080 was that much less. Maybe the builds I was doing yesterday included a regular 2080 vs a 3080, not a 2080ti.


слава Україна!

We can't live under the threat of a c*nt because he's threatening nuclear Armageddon.

-JudgeDredd