Falcon Northwest vs. Alienware vs. NewEgg

[GibbyG]

I've had a couple of Falcons and both were great.  Also had a Digital Storm and liked it as well.

My current one I got from NZXT BLD.  Great system for me.

https://www.letsbld.com/

[Jarhead0331]

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.

Probably. The 2080 and 2080 Super are substantially cheaper than the 2080ti. Still, I think you would be penny wise and pound foolish to go with anything in the 2000 series. They've already been surpassed and the 3080 is very affordable.

FWIW, I also would not go with an i7. Those are also starting to show their age. i9, Ryzen 9 3rd gen or just go home.

This is why I would never get a system from Falcon or Alienware. You either get current tech and take out a second mortgage on your home, or you need to buy a system with last generation components. I don't get it.

[Gusington]

Thanks challerain.

JH I was thinking of an i9.

Balancing everything here - price vs. tech - is the real thing that keeps me staring at the screen for hours.

But my goal for each new rig is to always try to keep it for 6-7 years. So to do that you lean towards NewEgg? You don't subscribe to the premium price of a Falcon or an Alienware because of the security the brand has?

[Jarhead0331]

Thanks challerain.

JH I was thinking of an i9.

Balancing everything here - price vs. tech - is the real thing that keeps me staring at the screen for hours.

But my goal for each new rig is to always try to keep it for 6-7 years. So to do that you lean towards NewEgg? You don't subscribe to the premium price of a Falcon or an Alienware because of the security the brand has?

I've been buying computers since 1992 and I have always purchased the most current tech for the best possible price. I have never paid a premium simply because of name brand, warranty or service. In nearly 30 years of buying PCs I've never received a lemon. Perhaps I've just been lucky? Still, I get a new car every three years. I feel the same way about PCs. So for me, it makes more sense to get the most power for the cheapest price, since I will be buying a new one within 2 - 3 years tops, anyway.

I could never justify paying $5000 - $6000 for a PC that contains last generation tech, when I could get one that is at the top of the food chain for half the price. Keep in mind, the price I'm judging from does NOT include a monitor or peripherals. I'm talking only about the rig.

Finally, my last 4 PCs have been purchased from Newegg. Up until my recent debacle, I've never had a complaint. If the rigs I've purchased from Newegg have one problem it is that they all seemed underpowered, but it never really gave me an issue. However, now that I'm looking at 3090s, a 750-850w PSU seems dangerously underpowered, so I'm taking a much closer look.

As far as the i9 goes, I've always been an intel guy too...but I'm looking very seriously at the AMD Ryzen 9 3rd gen processors. They seem to have the i9 beat with 12 cores, instead of 10 and they only cost about $15 more.

[Gusington]

I think similarly but over a longer period of time and I could never get a $6000 rig. Looking for between 3k-4k, and if I can, I will cram a monitor in with that deal, along with a modest subwoofer and speakers (most likely Creative), a mechanical keyboard and a nice new mouse.

My last two rigs have been from NewEgg. I would just like to feel the warmth of a splurge, eventually. But NewEgg prices are just too good to argue with. I also have not had a problem with them. I have never ordered a liquid cooled machine from them either, but I have no reason to doubt them.

I'm back at square one now, almost. But I do know that I am not getting an Alienware.

[Jarhead0331]

I think similarly but over a longer period of time and I could never get a $6000 rig. Looking for between 3k-4k, and if I can, I will cram a monitor in with that deal, along with a modest subwoofer and speakers (most likely Creative), a mechanical keyboard and a nice new mouse.

My last two rigs have been from NewEgg. I would just like to feel the warmth of a splurge, eventually. But NewEgg prices are just too good to argue with. I also have not had a problem with them. I have never ordered a liquid cooled machine from them either, but I have no reason to doubt them.

I'm back at square one now, almost. But I do know that I am not getting an Alienware.

Go to the CLX gaming website. Talk to the chat bot that shows up. Tell him you want to build a rig and tell him your price range. He'll build one for you that you can then customize. It's what I've been doing to find the most bang for the least buck. Tweaking the parts is almost a game in and of itself.

https://www.clxgaming.com/

[Gusington]

You've purchased from CLX?

[Jarhead0331]

You've purchased from CLX?

Never, but I'm considering it now.

[Gusington]

Can't wait for work to end so I can play the design a rig game. Thanks for posting that. My wallet and household will be pleased.

[jamus34]

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.

Yeah. It’s about $1100 (2080ti) vs 700 (For the 3080, I think).

Problem is you can’t find the 3080 in the wild right now.

Going through a builder those costs will be increased but they should have access to the part if they are offering it in the build.

[Gusington]

^Yeah that I noticed. Another wrench in the works. The struggle (shortage) is real! It should be the worst problem I face this year.

[trek]

Gus, Like I previously mentioned in JH's thread I'm on my 2nd liquid-cooled Falcon Tiki. My previous model was five years old. I've had the new one exactly one-year now. My PC Gaming area is in my den between wall-to-wall bookshelves on the left and a full-size component stereo rack on the right. Because of the fact I have a compact area and desk 48"x20" I like the Tiki because of the small form factor. In over five years I've not had a single problem with this model. The damn thing is so quiet you hardly know it's running. I've located mine on the floor under the left side of the desk. But it is compact enough to place on top of your desk if you prefer.

One thing about Falcon is that they really match their components well with each other. Every so often I read on a forum about someone having some problem with running a game due to some tech issue with their rig. I've yet to experience any problem with any game I've ever purchased. And I can run every game with everything maxed out as well.

As I also mentioned before I just went from a 27" monitor to a 32" curved one. To get my seat position back more from the larger monitor I found a gadget called a "Vaydeer Desk Extender" on Amazon. Now my keyboard and mouse sit on the extender and give me that extra distance from the monitor. The extender also folds down when you don't need it. Holds a joystick well too. Thought I'd put this up for any of you that have a compact desk and want more room. Tried a mountable keyboard sliding drawer but it sat too low below the desk to be useable and wasn't rigid and stable like the desk extender.

Anyway. I'll echo what many here have posted and put in my vote for a Falcon too. Once you buy one you will never buy any other brand. They are that outstanding.

[Gusington]

Thank you Trek!

[Gusington]

Gotta say JH, that CLX site you posted above it really good. I put together a rig with 32GB of memory, i9, 750w power supply, 1TB SSD, Creative sound card, liquid cooled + fans, and an NVidia 3080 card for ~3300 to be built in about two weeks. I may go with that. Not sure how I couldn't...it would be almost criminal not to. Little nervous though because I have never used them before.

[Millipede]

I'm with Trek. As I've mentioned previously, in other threads, I'm on my 5th FNW system and doubt that I'll ever go anywhere else for my computers.

There was a time when I considered building my own because it seems like something I'd enjoy and it would save me some bucks. I finally rejected the idea because I knew that, even with identical components, I wouldn't end up with a system as good as a Falcon. FNW has decades of experience matching components that work well together and decades of experience assembling those systems with all the best/correct settings so that it works flawlessly for years. Sure I could have saved some money but I can always make more money and I never have to fiddle with my Falcon to get some game to run without a hitch.

There was also a time when I wondered if I was being too much of a FNW fanboy and perhaps I should explore some other manufacturers of boutique gaming systems. After some research it seemed that Alienware was the only outfit in the same league and cost was about the same. After diving into Alienware a bit more I discovered that there were some of their customers that were not completely happy with their purchase and were even less happy with the tech/customer support department. If anyone knows of complaints about Falcon Northwest's customer service or tech department, please speak up because I'm completely unaware of any. On the contrary, my experience with their tech guys (3 or 4 times in ~25 yrs.) has always been fantastic. The first time I had to call them was for a problem that they couldn't diagnose over the phone but it was narrowed down to 2 or 3 possibilities so they shipped me the parts necessary to correct each of the problems (no charge). The package showed up the next day and within an hour I had the same tech on the phone and he led me through various processes until the problem was located and resolved (as I recall, it was a faulty cable) and then I took the remaining parts to UPS and shipped them back to Falcon with no charge to me. They care about each system that they ship and they care about their customers. That's why I'm on my 5th Falcon and won't be looking anywhere else. Why would I?

The big problem with buying a Falcon is that, like me, you'll never go anywhere else and end up giving them lots of your hard earned cash.