Help for a gaming computer: Mac or PC?

[Erasculio]

Hello, this is my first post in these forums. I have asked this question in a different forum, and was directed here. It's a somewhat complex situation, so I apologize for not being able to put it succinctly (and I also apologize for my less than stellar English).

I would like a new computer for gaming. I'm aiming at a high grade gaming computer, not something to play Crysis 2 at maximum specs but something that would confortably play Mass Effect 3, Assassin's Creed 3 and similar upcoming games at maximum specs (or something very close to maximum specs), with a good resolution (1280x1024 would be enough for me).

The thing, though, is that I'm not in the USA (I'm in Brazil). Which means, I would rather not build the computer myself (parts are either too expensive or unreliable, I would rather have something that is guaranteed to work). So I would like to buy a brand computer... And the brands here are extremely limited. HP, Sony, Toshiba and most big brands in the USA don't sell customized computers here, only things that are not really fit for gaming.

The two brands that sell customized computers are Dell... And Apple. The computer I'm currently using is a Dell, and it has given me a lot of very big headaches (Dell's Support isn't the best thing in the world, the computer has died twice, it took longer than expected to arrive, when it did arrive it was missing some things I had ordered and Dell found a legal loophole to avoid actually giving me those things, and so on). I would rather avoid a Dell, unless it's the only sane option.

And, while I may get some limited customization on those computers, I can't really customize everything. I'm still stuck at some of the limitations that Dell and Apple have built in their offers.

So I mostly have two options, and I have no idea which one is the best. My options are (at most; I could get something less, but those two are likely the best Apple and Dell are offering here):

iMac with the following configuration:

• 27 inch display
• Intel Core i7, four core, 3,4GHz
• 16GB SDRAM DDR3, 1333MHz
• Hard Disk ATA 1TB + solid state drive 256GB
• A single AMD Radeon HD 6970M with 2GB GDDR5

I have read the review on this site for the iMac, and I'm very much worried about the graphic card. I'm not sure it's robust enough to play demanding games, especially considering how I would likely have to use BootCamp for many of them. I'm also not sure about how sound works for an iMac; I know PCs have sound cards of varying quality, but does the native iMac speak work well enough for games?


Alienware Aurora (sold through Dell) with the following configuration:

• Intel® Core™ i7-2600K (8MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz
• Windows 7
• 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 1600MHz
• 256 Gb SSD - SATA 3Gb/s + hard disk SATA with 1TB (1024GB) 7200 RPM 3.0Gb/s
• Alienware display with 21.5 inches Full HD OPTX™ Widescreen

...And, the issue here are the PCI slots. The computer does not come with many PCI slots - it can only take two things there. Ideally, I would like to have two graphic cards plus a sound card (and a wireless card), but apparently it's not possible. So I would have to choose:

• Sound card Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium (or Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Xtreme Audio)
• With a 4GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon HD 6990 graphic card

Or two graphic cards, either two NVIDIA GeForce GTX460 1GB GDDR5 each SLI® or two ATI Radeon HD 6950 2GB each c/ CrossFireX™, but no extra sound card (only the integrated one, and I don't really trust that one).

I'm somewhat troubled to see that I can't have both the sound card and the two graphic cards. While I realize this computer is a bit more powerful than the iMac I mentioned above (I don't really know how much more powerful, though), it's sold from Dell, and I would rather avoid making business with them for now.

I'm not sure of which of those two options would be the best for me. Any ideas? For the records, giving up and buying a console isn't an option (long story). As mentioned above, I would really rather not build a computer myself.

Thanks for any advice,
Erasculio

 

[DaveSimmons]

Both probably have a similar analog 5.1 Realtek sound chip on the motherboard. That's actually pretty good for Windows games if you are using regular computer speakers instead of a home theater receiver.

The iMac uses laptop parts, so the i7 CPU is a slower mobile version. 2.3 GHz instead of 3.4 GHz.

8 GB of RAM is enough for gaming for several more years. Even 4 GB is fine for games right now.

USB is fine for the wireless, no need to use a card slot.

I would get the Dell. Do they offer the 560 ti yet? Two of those in SLI would give you very strong graphics.

 

[Zap]

Hello Erasculio, and welcome to AnandTech Forums.

I'm not sure of which of those two options would be the best for me.

Hands down the Dell/Alienware would be the better system out of the two for your stated purpose of gaming.

It would be up to you whether you want to do business again with them. I do know that at least here in the USA the Alienware brand is higher end than normal Dell desktops, so it has "better" tech support, FWIW.

The Radeon Mobility 6970M in the iMac would probably be near the desktop Radeon 6850 in performance. Thus, the Alienware has the capability of an overwhelming advantage in gaming performance. End of story.

 

[Gooberlx2]

The iMac uses laptop parts, so the i7 CPU is a slower mobile version. 2.3 GHz instead of 3.4 GHz.

Mobile GPU and so-dimms, but it does use desktop CPUs (i7-2600 in this case)

Nonetheless, I agree the Dell would be better due to better GPU options, much less future upgradability.

 

[mfenn]

I agree with the others here that the Dell is a better option, but I would not recommend getting a 6990! (Unless you are made of money or something). Given your indicated usage, the single 6950 2GB is more than sufficient.