Only? You could buy a 970 for £200 and sell the 960 for over £100 easily.

I want it to play games, and other random tasks. I have a monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.

I'm not sure I'll get it, but I'd like to be ready for virtual reality devices.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Well if they could afford to knock £300 off it for a week, it was overpriced in the first place.

Expired?

So why is it £1128.99 at the Dell site ?

I agree about VR. The Vive does look good but I'll hold out until the tech matures a bit - and the graphics card get more powerful to make it even more immersive.

My wife has also warned me about getting Vive or Occulus, and she normally doesn't comment on suspicious packages turning up at home!!!

I should have went with this instead of building myself, **** too expensive what was I thinking :disappointed:

nearly &1000 PC with GTX 970
why you want to pay this money for PC ?? gaming £1000 ???? + extra for monitor you want than 144 hz monitor as well

This mistake I was making long time ago where remember need better card new GPU + need more memory These days PC they not so intensive for Upgrades + but say if you have GTX 480 o man it is old card do not say you have ..... man you need GTX 980 + 144 Hz monitor + mouse for £50 + gaming keyboard for £80 and etc o case with 10 fans hydro fans , SLI GTX 980


Just get xbox or PS4 and enjoy These FPS counters is total money making machine

I do think that AMD or Nvidia pay for reviewing new card and comparing these FPS to old card

Game consule developer do not have choice they need to optimize games what they have so They will run ok

Example witcher 3 when it was relesed it does not work good on PC radeon card as game was optimized for nvidia -
radeon fans wait for month before radeon released patch for hair works etc....

on PS4 and Xbox there amd chip radeon and game runs all ok with all hairs enabled etc ... SO

I have one from the outlet with 512+2tb drive.
Purchased as a "work" machine, they are fine, but somewhat noisier than expected, they appear every now and again, at this price probably worth it at full price they are not.

​this could not handle oculus well

Having owned one of these systems since 2012 (when it cost upwards of £1200), I would advise against getting one. Although it has served me well there are a few reasons for this;
- It needs upgrading and I can't because of its small form factor, which means I am stuck with a GTX660 that struggles with newer games.
- I am no longer able to use any form of headphones or the system crashes, and I have not been able to find any fix, just seems to be aging hardware.
- The fans are loud, especially since I have had to install MSI Afterburner to boost them up when I am gaming, otherwise the system overheats and blue screens.
- The PSU is poor.
- One of the HDMI ports suddenly started making my system crash, just after my warranty expired.

I will probably now end up spending about the same amount on a much higher spec rig, and retiring this as a blu-ray player and basic PC.

Did the same my self two years ago. Mine is the minimum spec. If i had the money i wouldn't go for VR as its still very early days. Maybe in five years time there will be more of a reason to go for it. Until the tech has panned out more I wouldn't be interested / believe there is enough reason to spend so much on something like VR.

Only console peasants use discs.

Doesn't appear to have the option of an optical drive either, so maybe worth pointing out for people who still have physical discs that they wont be able to use them on this.

Buying a pre-built with a 6700k and a 960 gtx is questionable logic.

A decent GPU can make up for a lot of shortfalls in your rig, where as having a really good CPU will only carry you so far if your GPU is dragging its heels.

You're talking a 40-50% performance boost from the 970 over the 960 where as a 10-20% boost from the 6700k vs 6600k.

Get the 970 and overclock the 6600k and don't look back.

I wouldn't reccomend this. The GPU is not good enough. especially for a gaming desktop and at this price. I agree with others that you need at least GTX970 to make it worth the money

What do you need it for, is the first question to ask? Do you already have a monitor/keyboard/mouse or are you starting from scratch? If you provide a few details then it will be easier to advise.

Well, first you need to figure out what you need it for, and why you want to spend a grand on it.

I would get a 4k monitor or TV, a GTX960 to drive it, an i3 CPU, 16 GB of RAM, 480GB SSD, maybe a 4TB HDD. But you may want to do something different.

The 960 isn't even mediocre. R9 380 is mediocre.

​probably not good enough for an oculus but I'd say that if you're trying to use an oculus adrift you have bigger issues, perhaps you should be looking for a paddle?

That is a strange system: powerful CPU, mediocre graphics card, and all in a compromising ITX casing. The price is good, but it would take at least a GTX970 to make it a really convincing bundle.

If I'm looking to spend a grand or so on a good PC, what's the best advice on where to look?

COLD - I got this 2014: lienware X51 R2 Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 1 544.99£
Alienware X51 R2
Info Mod
Power Supply : 330W AC Adapter
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-4790 processor (8MB Cache, up to 4.0GHz)
Label
Speakers : Not Included
Software Drivers (No Media)
Shipping Material
Information SKU - Remanufacturing Order
No external monitor included
Software Drivers (No Media)
English Genuine Windows 7 SP1 Home Premium (64Bit OS)
Thermal Heatsink
Matte Stealth Black Chassis
2 GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon R9 270 Graphics
Dell Support Center Software 3.0
Hard Drive Bracket
16 GB Memory (2X8GB) 1600 MHz DDR3 Non-ECC
Optical USB Black Mouse
Shipping Material
Dell USB Keyboard
Software Drivers (No Media)
Info Mod
Shipping Material
Service Software
AlienFX Colour : Mars Red
Software Drivers (No Media)
Service Software
Info Mod
Info Mod
Info Mod
Info Mod
Info Mod
Scratch and Dent: Refurbished and factory tested. Great at performance with possible considerable cosmetic blemishes
Info Mod
Documentation
Back Up Media Not Included
Info Mod
8x DVD+/- RW Drive
Service Software
Misc
Power Supply: 250V AC Adapter
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium
Label
Hard Drive : 256 GB Serial ATA Solid State Drive
1 TB SATA 2.5inch (5,400 Rpm) Hard Drive
Wireless : Dell Wireless 1506 Card
Screw
Info Mod
Scratch and Dent


Arrived perfect - has not missed a beat... - Wait for a Refurb

I've just sold my Alienware alpha i7 and with the money built a skylake i5 K series processor with Asus z170 gaming board, EVGA platinum PSU and 16GB of ram in a nice In-Win 901 case and now awaiting the new graphics cards later in the year. Most items were bought from Amazon warehouse but came like new, worth keeping an eye on what's been added to Amazon, I've seen some cracking deals. I seen a Asus R9 290X for £138 a few weeks back when I did my build and I didn't buy because it wouldn't fit my case. Wish I had just changed my case instead now though lol.

I've had a X51 before and a m11x and it's the worry of hardware failure after the warranty has expired that gets me. Dell wanted just shy of £200 to extend my alpha warranty!!! Granted the X51 is more upgradable but still a risk if the PSU or motherboard goes. I would just build or buy a prebuilt system rather than one of this modified machines however nice they are.

You're paying for it being an Alienware, if you don't need it then be sensible and wait to see what AMD Polaris and Nvidia Pascal brings us later in the year.

If you're thinking of buying a PC for gaming I'd reccommend holding off for a few months.
Pascal is rumoured to be announced at an event coming shortly and so it'll likely follow in retail before the summer.
Save some money and by that time you'll get an even better system with a brand new GPU architecture that's going to be better than Maxwell (The 900 series)

This is a decent price though for a custom ITX form factor. But unless you absolutely need a tiny PC, I'd wait and build something like a Pascal+6700K mini ATX

i7 and a GTX 960? Alienware really do take the **** ****! An i3 and a GTX 960 is a much more balanced pairing.

Unbranded motherboard, RAM and iffy PSU. I would be very concerned about putting a 970 on a 16.9A 12V Rail PSU.

Still, that we be why you only get a years warranty. Much better options out there.

I asked on Chat if you can get this but with the 970 which is definitely worth it for £150 extra. Sadly, they told me it's not possible and is an error on the site. The very best you can get with the X51 R3 is the 960.

However, you can add a 970 (blower style) yourself as seen on a few YouTube videos.

A friend of mine bought this one recently.

http://www.ebuyer.com/735888-zoostorm-gaming-desktop-pc-7260-5186

Has a i7 6700 (none K). GTX 970 (good for VR) 8GB RAM, 2TB HDD, 120GB SSD £870 delivered.

@spence1115

yes, if you have the time, reselling the card in the machine to get part of your money back is an option, which of course helps offset the price.

For me though, I don't have the time, so me me paying the 150 is a better option, though I would be interested to know where you are getting GTX 970's for just £200 and most seem to be £250 - 270

960. Don't do it.

I like small form factor PCs a lot and this one seems to be not substantially larger than a gaming console. Dislikes for me are the proprietary motherboard and the large and not desperately attractive power brick. Apparently the water-cooling keeps the i7 6700K running fairly quietly. It would have been nice if they offered a GTX-980 option for a good Oculus experience. I can't find it cheaper and though I prefer to build my own, I like system builders that go that extra mile. In that it is small and quiet, it ticks the right checkboxes, for me and I can't find it cheaper. Nice find!

does this have any future proofing? I mean, it seems perfect to me, but if I need to swap the gfx I can only do it with single width cards etc.

Yep, its under the configuration options for video card, select the drop down and there it is.
As pointed out earlier you could get it with the gtx 960 and buy whatever card you wanted and the resell the 960 and fit the new card. But for me I prefer an easy life, I honestly don't think this is a bad deal at all, which is why I am so tempted. But I won't be gaming for the next 6 month due to work commitments, so it doesn't make sense for me at the moment.

Paid £586 for exactly the same processor and gpu, but minus the ssd card and half the memory (ie 8gb) from the outlet store. It was a scratch and dent, no original box but the chassis was unmarked. Worth monitoring if you don't need in a hurry, they can have some good deals. I'm struggling to get details of how to add a ssd to the R3 model, if anyone knows it would be appreciated passing on the details.

I've been fighting the urge to buy this all weekend as its a want rather than a need at present, but with one slight change, its only an extra £150 to upgrade it to the gtx 970.

Additionally, if you go to the site , you may not have noticed that there are 6 area 51 models available, there is a 'Next' button that will scroll the screen right for the other two deals one of which is worth noting i5 6400 16gb 256ssd + gtx 970 though not liquid cooled in this instance @ £818.99

I am still sorely tempted!!

BTW @nosbod, can't find it, but did find an article a while back about the build inside the x51.
The M2.ssd was mounted on the cradle that houses the graphics card, on the back if I recall.
May be worth looking.

I don't NEED it, but I waaants it, precioussssss!

As always with alienware, it's pricey. You really want a 970 at that price.

The system requirements were published on the Oculus website. The recommended settings for using the Rift are as follows:
NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD 290 equivalent or greater
Intel i5-4590 equivalent or greater
8GB+ RAM
Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
2x USB 3.0 ports
Windows 7 SP1 or newer

I would say the graphics card would struggle. Very least a 970

Can Any PC gamers comment on wether this is a decent gaming rig and would it handle Oculus adrift well?