Want a gaming laptop but confused by brand hate..?

[Tahapenes]

Brand hate exists everywhere. Like Furiex said above me: it's because people have to justify their purchases to protect their sense of self. Here's an excellent article on the subject: http://youarenotsosmart.com/2010/05/...brand-loyalty/

However, there is some legitimacy to the Alienware (which is who I assume you're referring to when you say "Alien") hate. The issue with almost any brand-name laptop or desktop is that they often charge inflated prices for subpar hardware. This is especially true of Alienware, in a side-by-side comparison with other laptop manufacturers, an Alienware laptop will almost always be more expensive for the exact same hardware.

I normally recommend MSI or Sager for laptops that people want to game on.

To expound on Noteworthy's comment about Alienware and the legitmacy of hate I can assure you is true. Alienware laptops are known for having heating issues. I bought one back in late 2007 (yes, I know this is 5 1/2 years ago, but it illustrates the issue). The system ran well for a year, but it always ran hot. I even bought a cooling pad for it. About one week after the laptop hit the one year anniversary mark, it overheated and died. I called Alienware technical support and they refused to help because I didn't purchase an extended warranty (warranty was only one year) and they would not allow me to purchase an extended warranty after the fact (you bought it when you go the laptop or you didn't get it). So, basically after one year's use, I had a $2000 doorstop. After that experience, I will never, ever, buy another Alienware laptop again.

As it stand, I pretty much stick to Asus laptops now, they're fairly well made and Asus believes in giving their gaming laptops adequate cooling (I have a G74). Asus gaming laptops are a bit more pricey, but IMO, it's worth it.

[yurano]

Alienware laptops are known for having heating issues.

Most brands of laptops have heat problems.

[Tahapenes]

Most brands of laptops have heat problems.

Not to the level that Alienware is known for them. Also, the Asus G series laptops stay pretty cool for systems that have so many high power parts stuff in them.

[Zyzzyx]

As far as I remember, Alienware had a fairly efficient cooling system compared to some. Sager has/had several models with heat issues due to the terrible placement of the vents on the bottom.

That being said, I do like my Sager, although the stock keyboards have also had issues with being terrible, and the radeon 7970m switched graphics drivers suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. Emphasis on the suck part.

[juazlee]

I'd recommend going for a custom build, something like XoticPC has to offer - lots of different brands, and you can mix and match parts to fit your pocket size.

My personal favourites are ASUS laptops. Decent bang for your buck, good durability and customer service. They look pretty good too, if that's your thing. Sagers are alright, but my brother-in-law had trouble with the hinges twice (on two different Sager laptops), so I kinda ruled them out.

I have a Lenovo Y580 right now, but not getting another one any time soon due to the build quality. It's been 9 months and it's squeaking all over the place.

Probably my next one will be an Alienware. Since I never owned one, I wanna see what the fuss is all about. Though people bash on Dell pretty hard, they do have pretty decent customer support, and it's one of the things I prize the most. (Also, my friend who owned one previously said they're built like trucks)

[vesseblah]

Probably my next one will be an Alienware. Since I never owned one, I wanna see what the fuss is all about. Though people bash on Dell pretty hard, they do have pretty decent customer support, and it's one of the things I prize the most. (Also, my friend who owned one previously said they're built like trucks)

There is nothing wrong with Dell or Alienware hardware or software or customer support. Where it goes wrong is the same thing as with Apple.

You pay for the brand, and you pay a lot for any options beyond the very basic model.


Dell/Alienware and Apple both have very basic models as the lowest starting point in configurator that look quite affordable, and they are affordable. But once you start stacking some minimum improvements (last year Alienware shipped gaming laptops with 2GB of RAM, no kidding) like RAM upgrade suddenly the cheap system skyrockets way past cheap and straight into expensive or very expensive territory. It's deceptively easy to overpay by 30-50% using Dell configurator especially since they have all kinds of tempting payment plans. That's their business model, and that's what's wrong with Alienware when you ask from enthusiast gamer forums.

[Deleted]

If you go for the alienware. You should check for coupons and the like. I know that in holland there are different sites that offer coupons and the like, which could save up to 100-200 euro. Im not sure if there are sites like that in the US, but you could check for coupons. And the only real upgrade you should do is for instance the cpu/gpu, other stuff is most likely cheaper to just do it yourself (HDD/SSD/Ram)

[Rukentuts]

I have an M17xr4 and I love it. While expensive it is also very beast.

I also went with it because in my experience Dell's support is very top notch.

[Dizey]

I was refering to more of a Desktop or atleast i havnt seen a laptop building site that will let you test your parts! If there is, Link away, thatd be interesting since I need one anyway!

Building your own laptop can be done, and usually entails starting with a barebone unit because there isn't a thorough standardization of parts like there is for desktops when it comes to most of the system. You can pick up a Clevo or MSI barebone laptop from various vendors online that typically come with the enclosure, LCD, the mainboard, CPU cooler, GPU, and usually an optical drive. You are left to buy your own CPU, Ram, and HDD/SSD. That's about as close as you're typically going to get to a DIY gaming laptop, and unfortunately, it's just not worth it.