1_legged_sheep
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2010
- Messages
- 397
So I decided to come back to the world of PC gaming but the kids arent much older than when I left so I needed something childproof. I caught the Alienware Alpha on sale via a place with easy returns and figured Id give it a shot. Ive had it for 2 or so weeks now and so far Im pretty impressed.
First things first, the base configuration is kinda meh.. i3, 500gb slow platter drive, and only 4gb of memory. Dell is pretty cool though and opening the case and upgrading your system does NOT void your warranty. I actually had a 4gb stick of laptop DDR3-1600 memory laying around the house and the 2nd slot was empty so I popped it in. In all of 5 minutes I was up and running with 8gb of dual-channel DDR3-1600 (on my desktops I normally run 2133 but its an i3 so.. yeah).
The hard drive was just as easy. Pop the cover off (4 screws) unscrew the HD cage (1 screw) and then remove the actual drive screws (4 screws), slap the SSD in and put all the screws back in. Took in total about 5 minutes. Im still semi-new to Windows 8 but I discovered a cool trick. With the Windows key stored in BIOS all you need to do is make sure you install the exact same version of Windows that was on it originally and you are good to go. I download the Windows 8.1 (non-N) USB installer, installed Windows, and blammo its working fine and shows as genuine Windows 8.1.
I was not impressed with the Hivemind interface and didnt actually put it back on after the SSD reload. The drivers for everything else are on Dells site and they even give you the correct order to install them in. Happily running Skyrim with the high-res pack at 1080p on medium-high settings. Only thing that sucks is I cant use the HDMI pass through without Hivemind but my TV has 4 or 5 HDMI ports so no loss.
I use a wireless Logitech KB/trackpad and wireless headset those along with the 360 controller and I can safely game without having to worry about one of the kids pulling on a cord. I am now once again a happily gaming father.
First things first, the base configuration is kinda meh.. i3, 500gb slow platter drive, and only 4gb of memory. Dell is pretty cool though and opening the case and upgrading your system does NOT void your warranty. I actually had a 4gb stick of laptop DDR3-1600 memory laying around the house and the 2nd slot was empty so I popped it in. In all of 5 minutes I was up and running with 8gb of dual-channel DDR3-1600 (on my desktops I normally run 2133 but its an i3 so.. yeah).
The hard drive was just as easy. Pop the cover off (4 screws) unscrew the HD cage (1 screw) and then remove the actual drive screws (4 screws), slap the SSD in and put all the screws back in. Took in total about 5 minutes. Im still semi-new to Windows 8 but I discovered a cool trick. With the Windows key stored in BIOS all you need to do is make sure you install the exact same version of Windows that was on it originally and you are good to go. I download the Windows 8.1 (non-N) USB installer, installed Windows, and blammo its working fine and shows as genuine Windows 8.1.
I was not impressed with the Hivemind interface and didnt actually put it back on after the SSD reload. The drivers for everything else are on Dells site and they even give you the correct order to install them in. Happily running Skyrim with the high-res pack at 1080p on medium-high settings. Only thing that sucks is I cant use the HDMI pass through without Hivemind but my TV has 4 or 5 HDMI ports so no loss.
I use a wireless Logitech KB/trackpad and wireless headset those along with the 360 controller and I can safely game without having to worry about one of the kids pulling on a cord. I am now once again a happily gaming father.