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[xDarkz]

I've got a pretty simple question in the midst of a quite complicated situation.

So, I bought this crap of a computer on Black Friday and well... It's crap. About a month and couple weeks later, an acquaintance asked me if I knew someone who was willing to buy his Alienware desktop for an AMAZINGLY cheap price of $250. I know almost nothing about computers but I know that anything branded Alienware is pretty... high-ended. I told him I'll take it off his hands and I can get him the money pretty quick too, seeing how he emphasized the need for quick cash. Pretty simple right?

Thing is, I'm still perplexed at why anyone in their right mind would sell a desktop nonetheless Alienware for $250. I asked him the desktop model and specified name so I can look up it's original retail price and what-not, for the sake of curiosity.  He'd said it didn't have a name and that it was just "Alienware" with the model number located probably on or next to the power supply. I went to Alienware's website and looked up some gaming desktops. I saw some Auroras and some Area 51s, but that was about it. That struck me as a little odd.

So here comes the part I need help with. I've known the guy since highschool started. In fact, he'd dated my cousin throughout highschool and has been to my house a couple of times to fix my brother's computer, a couple of times FREE OF CHARGE. Thing is, my cousin and I aren't all too fond of each other anymore because of some issues related to our individual parents. He remains a pretty trusted, albeit incredibly distant acquaintance these days. My question to you is whether I should trust him or not? $250 to my knowledge is a STEAL but him not knowing the "desktop name" strikes me as a little weird, especially for the incredibly high retail prices for Alienware. He says it can run Dota2, Crysis 2, Modern Warfare 3, and Starcraft 2 at max with decent frame rates. I'm just thinking to myself... $250 for a machine that can run ANY game at MAX nonetheless RECENT ones is just too good to be true. The computer I have right now was dirt cheap on Black Friday for the amount of $300, and it can't even run League of Legends at MAX. It's too bad I can't return it (15 day policy). I don't need the ULTIMATE gaming computer, I just want one that can run ARMA 2. Been DYING to play it...

It might just be my ignorance or my pessimistic nature but... I don't know. What do you guys think? Any input positive or negative would be appreciated. Should I trust the guy?

[lordcooper]

Couldn't you just pop over their house and check the specs yourself?

[xDarkz]

I know literally nothing about computers ._.
Big gamer, bigger dumbass.

I usually go to "www.canyourunit.com" for any spec related gaming references. He said he already reformatted in anticipation of a quick buy.

[Haschel]

Alienware is more or less just a brand name, kind of like a Dyson vacuum is a just a kind of vacuum. Some people say they are good for the price, others disagree. Luckily it's much easier to understand a computer's value by getting some of it's specs as unlike some industries, these specs are a pretty darn good estimate of it's worth. The Alienware brand specifically adds virtually nothing to the quality of the PC itself- the most notable things they do are fancy casing/lighting/nice laptop shells. Other then that you're just paying a premium for the brand name despite the guts of the system being the same as a cheaper PC you found elsewhere.

To put it simpler, Alienware means nothing and you cannot know if this is a good deal until you get a list of parts. Useful things to know are processor model and GPU model or at least specs of it. I would say those are the only two major things you need to know about, as everything else can be upgraded quite cheaply and easily in comparison. Did he tell you how old the PC is? That'd also give a good idea of how new the components may be. $250 is pretty cheap for most computers, but it sounds a bit too good to be true in this scenario. It's very possibly that he took out all the original parts of the PC and loaded with cheap stuff, and is selling it off as Alienware.

[Muz]

Heh, not sure why the trust issue comes in. A lot of people sell good computers at dirt cheap prices. My father bought a rather high end macbook for cheap from a friend who was an Apple fanatic and always bought the latest products. Computers go obsolete so damn fast, I'd be lucky to dump my comp on someone for $250!

But it depends. How old is it? Old computers (> 3-5 years old) tend to start breaking down. Plus, a computer that's top of the line 4 years ago is only average these days. In fact, I bought my current gaming computer for around $350 (not including monitor, keyboard, etc) and it runs just about everything very well.

If you want a computer that can just run games, sounds like a decent deal.

If you're still not sure, just bring over some games, and ask him if you could install and run them for a bit. If he's being honest, he shouldn't mind. If he's being dodgy and trying to push you for a quick buy, then you can just be skeptical and decide not to buy it.


EDIT:

I usually go to "www.canyourunit.com" for any spec related gaming references. He said he already reformatted in anticipation of a quick buy.

That site is horribly inaccurate. It says I can run Sims 3, Napoleon Total War, etc on this computer, all lies.

[DJ]

Is that 250$ for a computer and screen, or just a computer? If it's the latter it's not all that cheap.

[Cthulhu]

Ask him to write down the specs and then post the specs here.

[sneakey pete]

A high end PC from 8 years ago is still crap. So yeah, you need to check the specs on it before you buy. Need.

[xDarkz]

CPU: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+.
CPU Speed: 2.4 GHz.
Ram: 4.5 GB.
OS: Windows 7, 64 Bit.
Video Card: GeForce GTS 450.
He said he'd like to keep the monitor unless I absolutely needed it.

Those are some of the specs he'd given to me. I'm not looking to play extremely intensive games on MAX settings. I'm just hoping to actually be able to play things like Arma 2: Operation Arrowhead, Shogun 2, and Dota 2. For $250, is that worth it? I apologize for being completely oblivious to computers ._.

[ChairmanPoo]

Cpu looks kind of bad, I think.

[Mullet Master]

Might be able to meet your objectives but just barely. Shogun 2 is a pretty CPU intensive game, and even toned way down it may be intolerable. I think it would do Arma 2 OK on low settings.

[nenjin]

CPU is the bottleneck there. Ask him what the board specs are, and we can tell you whether or not it'll be upgradable. If it is, that's a good deal. If it's not, it's still an OK deal. It's just a dead end in terms of future upgrades.

[Thief^]

It's a bit dated but still ok for a gaming pc. The graphics card is much newer than the CPU, which I find odd... It's possibly been upgraded.

[xDarkz]

Yes sirs. He openly admitted that it's a little old, but he'd tossed in a couple things he'd bought over the time he's had it. He mentioned rigging up the machine with a new GeForce GTS 450 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130679&cm_re=graphics_card_pci_express-_-14-130-679-_-Product), a 750 power supply, and whatever this is, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227704.

He said it's to compensate for the outdated CPU on his computer. I've got the cash now and I asked him to meet up with me sometime this week. I decided to bring a more knowledgeable friend with me in light of everything you guys had said. Christian (the seller) said that if I wanted to upgrade the CPU, all I needed to do was to buy the parts and he'd do it for free. I've got an Emachine desktop at home with a crappy everything but it's CPU is a little newer than the Christian's. I was wondering if I could take my machine over to him and make a CPU swap if it's possible. I'll outlay the specs of both and see if you guys think an "upgrade" is possible or not.

My machine has got: Athlon II X2 220 (http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/index.php?pid=518&cpu=Athlon%20II%20X2%20220)
He's got a: Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 4600+ (http://www.game-debate.com/hardware/index.php?pid=78&cpu=Athlon%2064%20X2%20Dual%20Core%204600+)

Everything's quite similar except for an increased CPU speed (2.8 GHz from 2.4), lithography (a change from 90nm to 45nm), and sockets. It says the 220 has a AM2+ / AM3 socket while the 4600+'s got a AM2. Not sure if they're compatible or not and I'm really hoping you guys can help.

The machine I've got at home is this: http://www.walmart.com/ip/eMachines-1TB-PT.NCV02.001/16608490

Do you guys think it's do-able or if it's even going to provide any improvement whatsoever compared to just keeping the 4600+ intact?

[Thief^]

You might be better taking the alienware's graphics card and putting it in your emachine if you can. Maybe moving over the power supply too.

Because the old motherboard won't take your cpu, but your pc should be able to take the 450 with no trouble.