[help] alienware laptop

[Wipeout]

i want to buy myself a alienware ( i know there overpriced ) but i still want 1 coz i like them lol but i cant decide which laptop to buy from the with spec's shown below & the M17x spec's shown below

M14x Specs / cost (£1000)

• PROCESSOR - Intel® Core™ i5 3210M (3MB Cache, up to 3.1GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0)
• OPERATING SYSTEM - English Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
• GRAPHICS CARD - 1GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M
• MEMORY - 6144MB (1x2GB + 1x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
• HARD DRIVE - 500GB 7,200rpm SATA 3Gb/s HDD
• LCD - 14.1" WideHD (1366x768) WLED with TrueLife
• OPTICAL DRIVE - DVD+/-RW (DVD, CD read and write)
• WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY - intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 with Bluetooth 4.0

M17x Specs / Cost (£1300)

• PROCESSOR - 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
• OPERATING SYSTEM - English Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
• GRAPHICS CARD - 2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660M
• MEMORY - 6144MB (1x2GB + 1x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
• HARD DRIVE - 500GB 7,200rpm SATA 3Gb/s HDD
• LCD - 17.3" WideHD+ (1600 x 900 ) WLED LCD
• OPTICAL DRIVE - DVD+/-RW (Read/Write)
• WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY - Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 with Bluetooth 4.0

from what i can see from the 2 lists id be paying a extra £300 for a better processor and a bigger display

anyone's input on which laptop i should go for please dont post anything about how overprcied alienwares are

[ArchType]

From an Alienware user, I would get an M14x and spend an extra 300 making it better (GPU,then Processor if you can), you already are paying 1200 just for the M17x.

[Milkshake86]

From an Alienware user, I would get an M14x and spend an extra 300 making it better (GPU,then Processor if you can), you already are paying 1200 just for the M17x.

Im wondering if your dead set on alienware? Outside of the M18 the reviews begin to dwindle because the m18 just has insane stuff inside it. Now I can offer some ideas but firstly If alienware I'd go w/ atleast the M17x its not a bad lappy and its got better internals off the top. Also 14 is a bit small 15" is the smallest Id even consider, this is a gaming laptop not your net browser so screen matters. However if your open to other suggestions check this out, rated against the M17x in terms of cooling, not so much on style but performance wise nothing beats it @ the price point currently. Anything that does equal it for the dollar is usually near identical so it wouldn't be a problem whichever but this I know of for sure has good reviews and is an MSI OEM, basically meaning its made by MSI w/o their logo.

Take a peak at this and let me see your reaction.

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Batta..._Gaming_Laptop

[DeltrusDisc]

Try a real manufacturer.

www.sagernotebook.com

Friend of mine IRL got one and just looking at it and touching it, I was like, holy shit this is amazing build quality. Plus it has decent enough feet that actually lift it high enough to get airflow underneath. Also you'll get higher level CPUs and GPUs for the same cost.

[inux94]

Yeah I've got the Sager laptop, 3610QM/GTX 670M/256GB Samsung 830 SSD, amazing laptop.

[BicycleMafioso]

I would go with the M17x, but upgrade the GPU to the HD7970M. It is much faster than the other two alternatives (yes, even the more expensive alternative).

The CPU is fine in the M14x, but the GPU is not. I'd also personally choose the 1920x1080 display (the less expensive one), but the one you got is fine.

[Deleted]

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?S...rCategoryID=48
so you can atleast pick a 1080p screen

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/ConfigureSystem.asp?SystemID=1464
just pick the first QM cpu 3630 one and swap GPU for the 7970M one and you got yourself a brilliant gaming laptop and saved +-125 pounds

[BicycleMafioso]

http://3xs.scan.co.uk/Category.asp?S...rCategoryID=48
so you can atleast pick a 1080p screen

For what it's worth, the LG10 is a much, much better deal than the Alienware (when both configured with the HD7970M).
If you still want the Alienware, I provided you with the most reasonable setup. Costs more, lasts longer and plays games better.

[Wipeout]

im defo dead set on a alienware, i only have a £1300 limit which is why i didnt make any modifications to the set up

[inux94]

Care to elaborate on why you are dead set on Alienware?

[Wipeout]

Care to elaborate on why you are dead set on Alienware?

just because ive wanted 1 for as long as i can remmeber, also i love the design off them

[Keller]

just because ive wanted 1 for as long as i can remmeber, also i love the design off them

Fair enough, just make sure you know what you're getting yourself into.
As far as components go, i'd go for the 7970M if possible.

[inux94]

just because ive wanted 1 for as long as i can remmeber, also i love the design off them

They use refurbished HDD's & other shoddy components, as you wish.

Go for a 7970M if you can, but I doubt it's within your budget.

[BicycleMafioso]

They use refurbished HDD's & other shoddy components, as you wish.

Care to back that up?

[inux94]

Care to back that up?

I've opened up 2 Alienware laptops for my friends, both of them had a REFURB sticker on the top, aswell as serveral scratches.

[BicycleMafioso]

I've opened up 2 Alienware laptops for my friends, both of them had a REFURB sticker on the top, aswell as serveral scratches.

I don't see the problem with refurbished hard drives. Care to back up the claim as far as shoddy components goes, and I should say, in relation to other OEM manufacturers?

[Silorn]

iBuyPower is unfortunately unavailable in the UK, and i'm not sure if their US site ships to the UK. Alienware, being part of Dell, are available, but there's numerous e-tailers that could provide something non-Alienware, but we'd then be talking similar prices unless you start to forego some of the "extra goodies". I also don't know of any custom laptop builder service or business in the UK so i can't recommend anything on that front.

PC Specialists allow builds in the UK, for a lot better value than alienware in my opinion, I built my desktop from there and am extremely happy with it.

[inux94]

I don't see the problem with refurbished hard drives. Care to back up the claim as far as shoddy components goes, and I should say, in relation to other OEM manufacturers?

Maybe you don't, but I'd expect completely new harddrives when you pay such a premium price.

The HDD were the cause on the first RMA, on the second was poorly implemented thermal grease resulting in overheating and shutting down.

[PizzaSHARK]

im defo dead set on a alienware, i only have a £1300 limit which is why i didnt make any modifications to the set up

No offense man, but that's a horrible reason to justify spending more for lower quality parts. Like the guys above linked, Sager's really good and you'll get more for your money. You might also check eBay or other sites, you may find a method of getting a US company's computer's through a round-about way.

We're talkin about computers here man, not cars - the appearance of the case should really be taking a back seat to what's inside the case. Especially with your kind of budget, you can get pretty close a bleeding-edge system if you don't pay extra to have the Alienware name on top of it.

---------- Post added 2012-11-29 at 05:28 AM ----------

I don't see the problem with refurbished hard drives.

Hard drives are already pretty tempermental in my experience, and then you're adding in the potential for catastrophic failure inherent to refurbs on top of that. I guess it wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't that many refurbs have much more limited warranties than new products, and when you're talking about the only drive on the computer, you're also factoring in a lot of potential data loss.

You get what you pay for, basically.