ESO on Alienware 14?

ebonyheart97 · September 2014

Sorry if this has been asked before but I am going to be buying an Alienware 14 and I am wondering if I will be able to run the game on high/ultra with the £899 one specs are as follows:
4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4210M processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.2GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M with 2GB GDDR5
8GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
500GB 5400RPM-SSD Hybrid Drive

I hope thats the right info I am new to this whole thing but any feedback would be appreciated

WraithAzraiel · September 2014

Yea you should be fine, granted you have a solid interweb connection.

ebonyheart97 · September 2014

Awesome thank you

PSLAnimal · September 2014

Mrs. Animal has an Alienware 14 (not sure of what exact specs) and it runs ESO just dandy.

EJRose83 · September 2014

Considering hybrid drives only offer an advantage with commonly used cached data & the fact that it's a 5400rpm HHD, you may run into some texture loading issues, depending on how much flash memory is available. Granted, I don't have any personal experience with hybrid drives, but my rig is pretty much the same as yours:

4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4210M processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.2GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 550M with 2GB GDDR5
4GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
500GB 5400RPM-HHD

I'm constantly waiting for textures to load in-game and don't ever bother using a horse because I'm usually immediately hit with a load screen if I run too fast throughout the world. That or I'll be ambushed by enemies that seemingly haven't spawn yet =/

If this does occur, you can always opt to clone your current hard drive onto an SSD, which you can get reasonably cheap here:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412028784&sr=8-1&keywords=solid+state+drive

Nestor · September 2014

ebonyheart97 wrote: »

500GB 5400RPM-SSD Hybrid Drive

Gaming on a 5400 RPM drive is painful, even with an SSD Cache (which is not big enough to mask the slowness of the drive). Get a 7200 RPM or a Full SSD

Junkogen · September 2014

Atreus wrote: »

Considering hybrid drives only offer an advantage with commonly used cached data & the fact that it's a 5400rpm HHD, you may run into some texture loading issues, depending on how much flash memory is available. Granted, I don't have any personal experience with hybrid drives, but my rig is pretty much the same as yours:

4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4210M processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.2GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 550M with 2GB GDDR5
4GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
500GB 5400RPM-HHD

I'm constantly waiting for textures to load in-game and don't ever bother using a horse because I'm usually immediately hit with a load screen if I run too fast throughout the world. That or I'll be ambushed by enemies that seemingly haven't spawn yet =/

If this does occur, you can always opt to clone your current hard drive onto an SSD, which you can get reasonably cheap here:

http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Electronics-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7TE250BW/dp/B00E3W1726/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412028784&sr=8-1&keywords=solid+state+drive

How hard is it to clone and replace a hybrid drive for a laptop? How does one do it?

EJRose83 · September 2014

@‌Junkogen This is from a review of that samsung SSD on amazon:

"I used the included Samsung Disk Migration software to perform the disk clone (using the SSD in an external USB SATA adapter). When it was finished I simply swapped the hard drive installed in the laptop with the SSD and Windows booted as usual. Note that you need to have a functional Windows installation for the Disk Migration tool to work - you install the tool under Windows like any other app (the tool is NOT a bootable CD with its own OS)."

The only thing extra you would need to buy would be a USB SATA adapter/case, which can be found here for $10. http://www.amazon.com/SABRENT-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-US25/dp/B00E363R02/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412044749&sr=8-1&keywords=usb+sata+case

It's as easy as installing the software, putting the SSD in the USB SATA case and then running the software to start the cloning process. Once that's complete, all you have to do is physical switch out the drives and start up your computer as normal.

I haven't done this yet myself, debating on buying a new SSD or an xbox one, but it sounds super easy.

Mountain_Dewed · September 2014

You all should really save your money and build one yourself. It's the most satisfying feeling you'll get and can build it exactly the way you want for almost half if not, half the price of AW or any other computer companies build.

Rosveen · September 2014

Mountain_Dewed wrote: »

You all should really save your money and build one yourself. It's the most satisfying feeling you'll get and can build it exactly the way you want for almost half if not, half the price of AW or any other computer companies build.

Some of us need laptops though, and you can't exactly build one on your own.

Audigy · September 2014

ebonyheart97 wrote: »

Sorry if this has been asked before but I am going to be buying an Alienware 14 and I am wondering if I will be able to run the game on high/ultra with the £899 one specs are as follows:
4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4210M processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.2GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M with 2GB GDDR5
8GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
500GB 5400RPM-SSD Hybrid Drive

I hope thats the right info I am new to this whole thing but any feedback would be appreciated

You are better of investing your money in a self made PC. Alienware is way to expensive for way to little performance.

You can easily build a stronger PC for 200 bucks less.

Martinus72 · September 2014

I'm playing ESO on slightly weaker laptop which is MSI GX740 with i5 430M at 2.53Ghz, Radeon HD 5780 1Gb VRAM and 4Gb of DDR3 RAM.
I'm playing on high settings (only shadows and reflections on medium) and in pve I have 30+ fps outdoors and 45+ fps in dungeons, the only dips are when I'm coming back to crowded Rawl'kha, especially when people are spamming aoe spells than fps can drop to low teens so definitely it's not enough power to even try pvp with zergs in Cyrodiil.
Because that and this laptop is 4 years old already I'm planning to buy more powerful PC around Christmas but have dilemma if to go for more powerful desktop or super comfortable lappy while playing in bed using laptop stand.
To be honest it would be hard for me to get used again to sitting in the chair at the desk...

Khami · September 2014

Audigy wrote: »

ebonyheart97 wrote: »

Sorry if this has been asked before but I am going to be buying an Alienware 14 and I am wondering if I will be able to run the game on high/ultra with the £899 one specs are as follows:
4th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-4210M processor (3MB Cache, up to 3.2GHz)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 750M with 2GB GDDR5
8GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz
500GB 5400RPM-SSD Hybrid Drive

I hope thats the right info I am new to this whole thing but any feedback would be appreciated

You are better of investing your money in a self made PC. Alienware is way to expensive for way to little performance.

You can easily build a stronger PC for 200 bucks less.

Alienware is owned by Dell, I wouldn't have one in my house if someone gave it to me.

Most GPUs are over $200, so where are these cheap PC parts.

Nestor · September 2014

Khami wrote: »

Most GPUs are over $200, so where are these cheap PC parts.

If you think of the Bleeding Edge in performance from last year, that means mid range today. That is how you game on the cheap. The first machine in the following link will run this game just fine. Most games really. $710

http://www.maximumpc.com/build_pc_recommended_builds_september_2014

AngryNord · September 2014

Khami wrote: »

Alienware is owned by Dell, I wouldn't have one in my house if someone gave it to me.

I'd rather have a Dell than a Hewlett Crappard...

mark.markandb16_ESO · September 2014

[/quote]

You are better of investing your money in a self made PC. Alienware is way to expensive for way to little performance.

You can easily build a stronger PC for 200 bucks less.[/quote]

I agree entirely....a few years back I spent $2000 dollars on an Alienware PC.
Very disappointed in many different ways. 6 months later I plucked up the courage to try and built one. managed it with very few problems and built a better rig for less than half the cost of the Alienware plop.

Khami · September 2014

AngryNord wrote: »

Khami wrote: »

Alienware is owned by Dell, I wouldn't have one in my house if someone gave it to me.

I'd rather have a Dell than a Hewlett Crappard...

I'll build my PC before buying any pre-made one.

snorlockb16_ESO · September 2014

Works if you have a decent monitor already. If you have been living with just a laptop, you will be spending the $200 you saved on a good monitor. The monitor will last you through several PC rebuilds, but the initial outlay for PC + monitor is equivalent to a high end laptop.

Khami · September 2014

Nestor wrote: »

Khami wrote: »

Most GPUs are over $200, so where are these cheap PC parts.

If you think of the Bleeding Edge in performance from last year, that means mid range today. That is how you game on the cheap. The first machine in the following link will run this game just fine. Most games really. $710

http://www.maximumpc.com/build_pc_recommended_builds_september_2014

Intel does a better job with games than AMD. That's a CPU I wouldn't use. Same with the GPU, not using it. Last PC I had with an AMD CPU and a Readeon GPU ran like crap.

I'll stick with Intel and Nivedia for my CPU/GPU needs.

The build you posted cost more than $200.

GreySix · September 2014

Got my wife an ASUS G-series machine around three years ago, and it runs pretty much anything on it without effort.

Of course, the thing weighs a ton.

SantieClaws · September 2014

I got my alienware for about £750 in April (no idea what sort it is) and it runs ESO just grand.

guybrushtb16_ESO · September 2014

Despite being horribly overpriced for being both alienware and a laptop, it will probably do. That doesn't mean you wouldn't do better with a real pc.

Nestor · September 2014

Khami wrote: »

Intel does a better job with games than AMD.

The build you posted cost more than $200.

I never said it was a $200 Build. No one in their right mind would ever say that you could build a gaming PC for $200. That's just silly.

However for a $700 Gaming Build, you have to go AMD. If you want Intel, that will cost more.

guybrushtb16_ESO · September 2014

Khami wrote: »

Nestor wrote: »

Khami wrote: »

Most GPUs are over $200, so where are these cheap PC parts.

If you think of the Bleeding Edge in performance from last year, that means mid range today. That is how you game on the cheap. The first machine in the following link will run this game just fine. Most games really. $710

http://www.maximumpc.com/build_pc_recommended_builds_september_2014

Intel does a better job with games than AMD. That's a CPU I wouldn't use. Same with the GPU, not using it. Last PC I had with an AMD CPU and a Readeon GPU ran like crap.

I'll stick with Intel and Nivedia for my CPU/GPU needs.

The build you posted cost more than $200.

The original statement was $200 less then £899, which is still around 1300$. You can definitely build a more then viable gaming machine for that.

RianaTheBosmer · September 2014

I play on an M14X and love it. I have it hooked up to a 147.00 24" IPS monitor and it is awesome and I can travel with it too. Like to see some of these desktop owners breaking down their rigs to take them on the road.

kitsinni · September 2014

I would think it would play the game but not spectacular. I honestly would expect more out of an alienware those are pretty low end specs for a gaming machine. The processor in that laptop is the only really good part. The graphics card is about the minimum you would want, the RAM isn't very fast and the Hard Drive is downright slow. I'm assuming that is the $1100 model? If you post your price budget you may be able to get better recommendations for the dollar unless you are married to the idea of alienware.

Gaëloup · September 2014

hehe, I like the guys explaining it's cheaper to build your own PC.
Alienware 14 is a LAPTOP, not a desktop PC...

Nestor · September 2014

Gaëloup wrote: »

hehe, I like the guys explaining it's cheaper to build your own PC.
Alienware 14 is a LAPTOP, not a desktop PC...

Well, we are trying to get the OP a better gaming experience for the money, that means PC.

In fact, it would be better to build a nice PC, and then buy a cheap laptop for the things you need a laptop for. Makes more sense to do that than to buy a heavy laptop that you have to lug around that is a compromised gaming machine and it can't be upgraded as needed.

GreySix · September 2014

Some folks are on the go a lot due to the job. For them, a gaming laptop is really the only viable option.

ebonyheart97 · September 2014

Thanks for all your help

My budget is basically the cheapest gaming laptop I can get my hands on for a good performance haha. I had thought about building but I am going to need to be on the go quite a bit so it is unfortunately not going to work for me. It doesn't help living in England there is hardly any choice and its all overpriced...

TehMagnus · September 2014

Alienware are crap products in all honesty (don't have anything against the brand there are many others like it). You can get a near top noch pc for 900 bucks as long as you don't waste too much money on a fancy case and buy all the pieces by separate (there are hundreds of youtube videos on how to build your PC and you must have a friend who can help you with it).

Will run the games 10x better than any Alienware pc you could buy.