# Laptop dilemma



## Uncensored2008 (Nov 30, 2011)

So, I'm going to get an Alienware laptop.

Two basic choices, 1st is the 14" A little smaller than I like, but in the range. A 250GB SSD BUT no 1080P. The other is the 17" - bigger than I really want, but everything else is perfect, including a RAID 0 on hybrid drives

Option 1.
PROCESSOR	Intel® Core i7 2760QM 2.4GHz (3.5GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)	

OPERATING SYSTEM	Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit, English	

WIRELESS CARDS	Intel® Wireless-N WiFi Link 1000 a/g/n 1x2	

MEMORY	8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz	edit

VIDEO CARD	1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus technology	

HARD DRIVE	256GB Solid State Drive SATA 3Gb/s	

LCD PANEL	14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight	

SYSTEM COLOR	Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish	

ALIENFX COLOR	Mars Red	

PRE-INSTALLED SOFTWARE	Steam and Portal Factory Installed	

$2,174


Option 2

Processor
	Intel® Core i7 2760QM 2.4GHz (3.5GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)	
Operating System
	Genuine Windows® 7 Ultimate, 64bit	
Memory
	8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz (4DIMMS)	edit
Video Card
	1.5GB GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M	edit
Hard Drive
	1TB Raid 0 (2x 500GB Hybrid Solid State Drives)	edit
Display Panel
	17.3-inch WideFHD 1920 x 1080 60Hz WLED	edit
Wireless
	Intel Centrino Wireless-N 1000	edit
WirelessHD
	None	edit
Optical Drives
	Slot-Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+-RW, CD-RW)	edit
  PERSONALIZE
System Color
	Alienware M17x, Soft Touch Nebula Red	edit
Nameplate
	Personalized Plate [XXXXXX]	edit
AlienFX
	Quasar Blue	edit
Alien Wallpaper
	Alienhead 3D	edit
Pre-Installed Software
	Steam and Portal Factory Installed	edit

$2,573

Any opinions?


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## Ringel05 (Nov 30, 2011)

LAPTOP Magazine - Product reviews, tech news, buying guides, and more

Alienware M17x Gaming Laptop Computer Review - Laptops - CNET Reviews

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAM1Ja7rQQ]Alienware M17x Video Review - YouTube[/ame]


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## Trajan (Nov 30, 2011)

as long as you get it without vista, you're ahead of the game so to speak.


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## Uncensored2008 (Nov 30, 2011)

Thanks, the newer review is inline with my research, it's about the best machine on the market. The 17" is pretty damned big though, still as raw power goes...


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## Uncensored2008 (Nov 30, 2011)

Trajan said:


> as long as you get it without vista, you're ahead of the game so to speak.



I am getting it with Vista - Vista R2, AKA Windows 7.

I'll set it for dual boot to some flavor of Linux, I always do.  With a terabyte of disk on the big one, it isn't a problem to carve out a partition for Mint or Kubuntu.  Gnome has gotten so Mac like that it turns me off, I like KDE better. I always considered the Windows GUI to vastly superior to Mac. Gnome is cloning the Mac look and (sluggish) feel these days.


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## MeBelle (Nov 30, 2011)

*The digital age has left men's nether parts in a squeeze, if you believe the latest science on semen, laptops and wireless connections. *
In a report in the venerable medical journal Fertility and Sterility, Argentinian scientists describe how they got semen samples from 29 healthy men, placed a few drops under a laptop connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi and then hit download.

Four hours later, the semen was, eh, well-done.  

Wifi-enabled laptops may be nuking sperm - Health - Men's health - msnbc.com


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## Uncensored2008 (Nov 30, 2011)

MeBelle60 said:


> *The digital age has left men's nether parts in a squeeze, if you believe the latest science on semen, laptops and wireless connections. *
> In a report in the venerable medical journal Fertility and Sterility, Argentinian scientists describe how they got semen samples from 29 healthy men, placed a few drops under a laptop connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi and then hit download.
> 
> Four hours later, the semen was, eh, well-done.
> ...



LOL

I'm an old man, I have 5 grand children - not real worried about sperm count.


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## PeteEU (Dec 1, 2011)

Uncensored2008 said:


> So, I'm going to get an Alienware laptop.
> 
> Two basic choices, 1st is the 14" A little smaller than I like, but in the range. A 250GB SSD BUT no 1080P. The other is the 17" - bigger than I really want, but everything else is perfect, including a RAID 0 on hybrid drives
> 
> ...



Yea I hate you !!! 

Sniff I want the 17 inch one but am too cheapass to pay that much for a computer hehe.. 

But go 17inch ... it is an alienware, it has to be big and powerful. If you want small, thin and light then go for one of the many ultra books coming out (just stay clear of Mac Book Airs). Lenovo, Asus and Acer have some nice looking ultrabooks.. pricey but good.

Good luck on your choice


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## Sallow (Dec 1, 2011)

Option 2.


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## Douger (Dec 1, 2011)

#2 pero.......Option Douger is mo bettah. Load it with Linux Mint 10 ( Julia).
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyCETOfy0eI]Panasonic Toughbook CF-30 vs Dell Latitude E6400 XFR - YouTube[/ame]


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## sitarro (Dec 1, 2011)

More Apple bashing, what a surprise from gamer kids. I'm stuck with windows at work..... what a pathetic joke it is.


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## Ringel05 (Dec 1, 2011)

Personally I wouldn't buy an Alienware when Dell (The maker of Alienware)  has comparable systems for much less, but that's just me.


XPS 17 - L702X


http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?rn=3201&c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22&PLikeId=1_950016_1_493005_1_953008_1_207565_1_475016_1_425891_1_953007_&Flag=1

XPS 15 - L502X


http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/SecondaryInventorySearch.aspx?rn=6548&c=us&l=en&s=dfh&cs=22&PLikeId=1_906007_1_491999_1_933008_1_211364_1_475016_1_425891_1_933007_&Flag=1


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## Mr. H. (Dec 1, 2011)

I've got the Studio XPS 1645 and have been quite happy with it, especially after working out a couple of annoying bugs (Thanks R05) 

i7 CPU Q720 @ 1.60Ghz

It's a couple of years old. I'm sure they're cheaper now

Ringle those links don't seem to work


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## iamwhatiseem (Dec 1, 2011)

You can build your own for half the cost.


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## Ringel05 (Dec 1, 2011)

Mr. H. said:


> I've got the Studio XPS 1645 and have been quite happy with it, especially after working out a couple of annoying bugs (Thanks R05)
> 
> i7 CPU Q720 @ 1.60Ghz
> 
> ...



They did before but the items might have sold already.
Here's another to the main page.

XPS & Studio XPS Laptops | Dell


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## Ringel05 (Dec 1, 2011)

iamwhatiseem said:


> You can build your own for half the cost.



Laptop?


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## PeteEU (Dec 1, 2011)

Ringel05 said:


> iamwhatiseem said:
> 
> 
> > You can build your own for half the cost.
> ...



Technically he is correct... Dell lets you set up your laptop as you want it.. Apple does too up to a point


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## Ringel05 (Dec 1, 2011)

PeteEU said:


> Ringel05 said:
> 
> 
> > iamwhatiseem said:
> ...



I know that but when I think "build your own" I envision buying the parts and constructing it at home like a desktop as apposed to "designing your own" via the retailer and that's still not really cheap.


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## Uncensored2008 (Dec 1, 2011)

sitarro said:


> More Apple bashing, what a surprise from gamer kids. I'm stuck with windows at work..... what a pathetic joke it is.



What Apple bashing?

I'll bash them now that you brought it up, Apple sucks as a company, Sergy Brin of Google is right - Apple defines evil. 

That said, I don't do the fanboy thing. I like to play with lot's of OS's. I'll probably go with Mint as the secondary OS this time, just because I haven't used it and it gets good press. I know Kubuntu is good, but I should learn something new.


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## Uncensored2008 (Dec 1, 2011)

Ringel05 said:


> Personally I wouldn't buy an Alienware when Dell (The maker of Alienware)  has comparable systems for much less, but that's just me.
> 
> 
> XPS 17 - L702X
> ...



I did that last year, my current laptop is an XPS 16 - but this time the price difference isn't that much.


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## Uncensored2008 (Dec 1, 2011)

Mr. H. said:


> I've got the Studio XPS 1645 and have been quite happy with it, especially after working out a couple of annoying bugs (Thanks R05)
> 
> i7 CPU Q720 @ 1.60Ghz
> 
> ...



That is actually my current laptop, with the 250gb SSD.

It's a good machine, but I have an engineer who needs a new computer, so he'll get the XPS and I'll get a new one.


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## Uncensored2008 (Dec 1, 2011)

iamwhatiseem said:


> You can build your own for half the cost.



For desktops, but laptops could be a challenge.


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## Mr. H. (Dec 1, 2011)

Uncensored2008 said:


> Mr. H. said:
> 
> 
> > I've got the Studio XPS 1645 and have been quite happy with it, especially after working out a couple of annoying bugs (Thanks R05)
> ...


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## PeteEU (Dec 1, 2011)

sitarro said:


> More Apple bashing, what a surprise from gamer kids. I'm stuck with windows at work..... what a pathetic joke it is.



Not my fault Apple overcharges for average products and is a company that are control freaks.. My bashing is solely based on these facts.


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## Navy1960 (Dec 1, 2011)

Besides the  the cool look of the Alienware can tell you that my brother has a M17X and  it's a really great looking computer, but a word of warning, unless you want to end up with a laptop scar on your legs don't put that thing in your lap after using it for a while, *laughs*  or you might cook some of your skin off. Just food for thought here, as Dell makes  the Alienware as  has been pointed out, you might want to look into the XPS17 configured the same way, it might save you some money.


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## Uncensored2008 (Dec 1, 2011)

Yeah, the heat is a known problem, as is short battery life.

You can't configure an XPS the same as the AW. I tried with my rep - the XPS doesn't offer the hybrid drives, the I7 2760 CPU, or the 560M video card. 

With everything maxed out on the XPS, it's within $200 in price to the AW, so may as well go for the gusto.


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## Navy1960 (Dec 1, 2011)

Uncensored2008 said:


> Yeah, the heat is a known problem, as is short battery life.
> 
> You can't configure an XPS the same as the AW. I tried with my rep - the XPS doesn't offer the hybrid drives, the I7 2760 CPU, or the 560M video card.
> 
> With everything maxed out on the XPS, it's within $200 in price to the AW, so may as well go for the gusto.



In for a penny in for a pound, I hear you,  but  from what I gather most  AW buyers the first thing  that comes to mind is not the battery life.  I have a Precision M6400 laptop that  is pretty well maxed out and its a heat monster too, so I got a  nice cooling  fan pad to put under it.  Good luck with the AW ,  I know  many people who have them and  for the most part  they love them.


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## Uncensored2008 (Dec 1, 2011)

Navy1960 said:


> In for a penny in for a pound, I hear you,  but  from what I gather most  AW buyers the first thing  that comes to mind is not the battery life.  I have a Precision M6400 laptop that  is pretty well maxed out and its a heat monster too, so I got a  nice cooling  fan pad to put under it.  Good luck with the AW ,  I know  many people who have them and  for the most part  they love them.



I love those Precisions. I assume you have Quadro in it for Solidworks or other CAD use. 

Thanks for the post.


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## Navy1960 (Dec 1, 2011)

Uncensored2008 said:


> Navy1960 said:
> 
> 
> > In for a penny in for a pound, I hear you,  but  from what I gather most  AW buyers the first thing  that comes to mind is not the battery life.  I have a Precision M6400 laptop that  is pretty well maxed out and its a heat monster too, so I got a  nice cooling  fan pad to put under it.  Good luck with the AW ,  I know  many people who have them and  for the most part  they love them.
> ...



I do actually,  I also have VMWare Workstation8 on it  with Ubuntu running on it. The one thing  about it that has always been a little  frustrating  was the bio-metric  thumb reader as it seems with each update for  Win7 Ultimate it got less and less compatible. Doesn't matter though, it's a great draggable (notice calling it a laptop is being kind) LOL.  Even though I appreciate the look of the AW it's features  were not  what would  work well for me. I am an old retired  tinkerer of technology but am of the opinion that when you get into the realm of  systems like  AW which are  more geared for a  high end gamer, then how mobile does it have to be?  Then again  I will be the first to admit  my experience in that realm is very limited  so would have to let those with much more experience  lend their expertise as to what would be a better bang for the buck a desktop or laptop in the gaming  realm.  Again, good luck with the AW, as I said before from those  I know that have them, they say nothing but good things about them.


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## Ringel05 (Aug 20, 2019)

Nora Lily said:


> Both are amazing collections but if i have to select then i will go with option 2.


WTF?


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