Currently, a new Aurora R6 via Dell.com w/ $50 promo has the lowest spec version new for $749.99: 7th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-7400 Processor Windows 10 Home 64-bit English 8GB DDR4 at 2400MHz; up to 64GB AMD Radeon™ RX 460 with 2GB GDDR5

Yes you're overpaying compared to DIY, but I get it. I think everyone should buy Alienware at least once. The Aurora is easy, no tool access, and you can change out the GPU inevitably, where as you cannot w/ the Alpha.

If set on Alpha, I saw a Alpha R1 for approximately $300, new, shipped / purchased via Amazon, but sold by Dell. The 960 is a poor GPU these days (As is the AMD 460 mentioned above) so the R1 would be the better value for hundreds less, and not too far off performance. It's essentially a PS4.

EDIT: Take that back, it's a Steam machine: https://www.amazon.com/Alienware-Machine-Console-NVIDIA-GeForce/dp/B016IH067A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492625307&sr=8-1&keywords=alienware+steam+machine but it's the same thing without windows 10, which you should get a free copy via your School (*I did). Add 4GB DDR3, SSD, and Best value right there. Give me rep people