Alienware Alpha vs. PS3

[Poetic Chaos]

So with a gaming dry spell coming up, I've been looking at other 2 other platforms to keep me busy until summer. The recent Steam holiday sale made me very curious about finally dipping my toes into PC gaming.

The Alienware Alpha in particular seems like a good entry point. The upper end model is $900 but I saw it for $200 off if bought used on Amazon, plus I have a $100 Amazon gift card so it would really be only be $600 if I waited for another used one to go on sale. Having looked at the reviews, it looks like it can play most current gen games at 1080p/30 fps+ on High/Ultra settings and 60+ fps on Medium which I hear is comparable to XB1/PS4 graphics anyway. So it definitely seems to be more powerful machine that would last me til at least the end of the generation (though I'm sure I'd have to start turning settings down in 3 or so years).

However, when I looked at the games that I was looking at purchasing on Steam, I realized they were almost all last gen games that I could play on a PS3. South Park, Just Cause 2, Arkham City, Splinter Cell Blacklist, Far Cry 3. Not to mention I could also play the great PS3 exclusives I missed out on from Naughty Dog and MGS4. The upside is I could get a PS3 and all those games for less than the total of the Alpha. The downside is they would look/perform worse and they're really only a temporary solution that I'd sell off after I beat the last game.

So do I go for the Alpha for the long term multiplatform compliment to my Xbox One, or a PS3 to just get me through until summer?

(on a sidenote, I really wanna play Witcher 2 before Witcher 3 comes out and it's not available on PS3. Also, No Man's Sky and SF5 would be on Alpha this year).

 

[Quasimod0]

Get the PC, because you can play some of those older titles on it, plus a whole lot more.

 

[Thundercrack85]

You do miss out on the exclusives though, which kind of sucks. But right now the PS3 is rather overpriced, and most of those exclusives will get rereleased on the PS4, or be available through PS Now. I really can't advise buying a PS3 for it current price (even Gamestop says they should get a price cut).

Witcher 2 will be free for Xbox 360 later this month (provided you have Gold for your Xbone).

Not sure if I would be recommend the Alpha.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

I'm leaning towards the Alpha right now because it would be nice to have that visual/performance upgrade along with the modding. I just wish I'd moved on one during the Steam Winter Sale. Now I feel like I have to wait until the Summer sale to invest in a PC. Plus if the Oculus Rift comes out this year, I'd be set.

 

[Iceman]

You could get a 2nd hand ps3 and play all the exclusives you want one after the other and then resell straightaway and then get the Alienware, if you still want it. If you buy and resell a PS3 that's already used you might get back a lot of what you paid for it.

 

[Benstamania]

If you don't have one.. I'd recommend a WiiU.. Smash alone is enough to keep someone busy for months. I too am looking into the Alpha though. I was grabbing some blurays at Walmart the other day and it caught my eye.. Looks pretty awesome.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

I actually bought the Alpha...then canceled it a few minutes later lol. Then I came real close to getting a PS3...and ended up subscribing to Gamefly tonight. I figure renting games will hold me over until the good stuff comes out. But if the games take too long deliver, I can see myself canceling after my 2 months are up. I do still see myself picking up the Alpha during the Steam summer sale. That's when I'll be at my weakest.

 

[Benstamania]

Alpha looks good, IMHO. I don't feel like building and spending te money on a gaming rig more so when I do pretty much all my game time in the bedroom late at night. Alpha seems right up my ally.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

I really need to punch myself for missing out on some of the deals I've seen for the i7 Alpha. So there was the used one for $200 off and now I've just missed out on a refurbished one that was going for $370. I'm weary of buying refurbs but with an amazon guarantee there was really no risk in picking it up. Dumb dumb dumb!