I'm looking at an Alienware R11 gaming desktop priced at $450 CAD. Here's the breakdown of its specs: it's got an Intel i3-10100F processor, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, an RTX 2060 GPU, a 512GB SSD, and it comes with Windows 11 installed. Just a heads-up, the RAM, CPU, and GPU were swapped out and aren't the original components from Dell. It also includes the factory box. Is it worth the price?
3 Answers
For 450 CAD in today's market, I wouldn't support this purchase. The Alienware brand has its quirks and the motherboard restrictions can be limiting if you want to upgrade later on. You could either look for a decent pre-built or better yet, build your own with better specs for a comparable price.
I'd stay away from it, honestly. Alienware systems have some proprietary components that can be a hassle if you want to upgrade anything. Plus, considering the specs, it’s not really keeping up with today’s gaming demands. You could probably piece together a better rig for about the same price if you look at used parts.
Honestly, I wouldn't say this is a solid deal. That price seems high for what's essentially a dated system. The i3-10100F is pretty basic and you might hit a wall if you ever want to upgrade components. The RTX 2060 is decent, but used ones are often sold for under 200 CAD on their own. If you're just interested in the GPU and RAM, you might want to consider looking for a different setup or independent parts that could give you better performance for the money.
Totally agree! A test run would definitely be a good idea to check how everything runs, but I still feel like there are better bangs for your buck out there.
Right? I’d rather spend that cash on components that actually give you some room to grow. This seems like a decent price on paper, but you’re better off investing elsewhere.