Can this thing run solitaire?

Anything Alienware is a great deal... especially if you compare it to other makes and models!!

Great deal but I dont have this kind of money , i really want it though

Has anyone had any experience with Alienware since Dell bought them out?

I am kind of weary of Dell...

Though, I don't have the money for this, so... kinda off-topic.

well... this looks like all sorts of awesome.

Sweet!! Can I trade in my car??

Does this play minesweeper?

Fountain3586 wrote:Anything Alienware is a great deal... especially if you compare it to other makes and models!!

I have to disagree. With Alienware computers, you're paying for a name. There are usually much cheaper options that offer the same or better performance. For example, the ASUS G75VW-AS71 has hardware superior in most aspects to the laptop being offered here and can be found new on Amazon for $1,349.

I WANT IT but same here I'm spent... wasted all my money on bacon.

Fountain3586 wrote:Anything Alienware is a great deal... especially if you compare it to other makes and models!!

Well, the only problem with alienware is that they charge you four times the amount for the parts that they used in the computer (but for a laptop its different). You could build a computer with the same specs that a alienware has for at least half of the price. FYI.

2.2Ghz is rather low for a gaming rig. I know it's an i7 with hyperthreading so it's like (4x2)cores at 2.2Ghz, but still.

grimskull89 wrote:Has anyone had any experience with Alienware since Dell bought them out?

I am kind of weary of Dell...

Though, I don't have the money for this, so... kinda off-topic.

The quality in the Dell version Alienware laptops is still outstanding. I gave up my Apple laptops due to not being able to afford an upgrade every year and a half or so. Since then I've owned both a m11x and m14x because I prefer a smaller laptop and they are great. I use them mainly for mobile gaming but I did use the m14x for about 4 months as my only computer.

Well all alienware laptops are great, however they overcharge you by a lot. Frankly this computer is way underpowered for the hefty price.

tljx wrote:I have to disagree. With Alienware computers, you're paying for a name. There are usually much cheaper options that offer the same or better performance. For example, the ASUS G75VW-AS71 has hardware superior in most aspects to the laptop being offered here and can be found new on Amazon for $1,349.

Have to disagree with you - that Asus you found is a smaller screen, less battery, and - MOST IMPORTANT - no RAID for the HDDs! Huge performance hit. And they're Hybrid (part SSD) drives at that.

Is this the most expensive item ever sold on woot?

This is going to be fun reading all the gamer comments.I will be back in the morning for all the opinions. By the way I don't know a thing about gaming but I love when people argue

This is a bad deal. My ASUS has basically the same hardware, minus a little on the screen size and only one hard disk, for half the cost and what appears to be half the size of this laptop. This is literally a desktop replacement lol. They also typically rank higher than Dell, which as I understand it owns Alienware, in customer satisfaction, etc.

This isn't an advert for said computer manufacturer, just saying that in my experience and opinion, this isn't a deal. Your paying for shiny LED lights and that little alien logo.

EDIT: I take that back, this is a deal, relative to Alienware; but you can get a computer with similar performance for much, much less.

corysterrett wrote:2.2Ghz is rather low for a gaming rig. I know it's an i7 with hyperthreading so it's like (4x2)cores at 2.2Ghz, but still.

The number behind the Ghz doesn't mean a whole lot. It scores HIGHER than the universally recommended i5-2500k. More then enough for gaming. Please don't mislead people who might think of buying this laptop. Thanks.

Will the battery last long enough for Windows to boot up?

These are very good quality and this model will play any game that's out currently on at least "Medium" or "High" graphical presets.

This thing runs hotter than hades though.. don't plan on actually having it on your lap unless you have a tray.

corysterrett wrote:2.2Ghz is rather low for a gaming rig. I know it's an i7 with hyperthreading so it's like (4x2)cores at 2.2Ghz, but still.

This CPU turbo boosts up to 3.10GHz. It'll handle pretty much any game on any settings you throw at it (with the exception of newer console emulation like running Wii games).

It's the graphics card that will be the limiting factor. It will run most games at pretty high settings (in fact, it will pretty much max out 99% of games from around 2010 and earlier, excluding Crysis of course) but you'd have to lower your settings a bit or live with a lower frame rate when playing some of the latest, most demanding games, especially those that use DX11 features.

Here are CPU Benchmarks Keep in mind these are up against Processors for PC too. Pretty good.

bahudspeth wrote:Have to disagree with you - that Asus you found is a smaller screen, less battery, and - MOST IMPORTANT - no RAID for the HDDs! Huge performance hit. And they're Hybrid (part SSD) drives at that.

There are still better deals out there, even at this discounted price, such as the Lenovo ideapad Y580

tljx wrote:I have to disagree. With Alienware computers, you're paying for a name. There are usually much cheaper options that offer the same or better performance. For example, the ASUS G75VW-AS71 has hardware superior in most aspects to the laptop being offered here and can be found new on Amazon for $1,349.

Agreed. Not only is it last generation (sandy bridge), but it is even massive by gaming laptop standard. My Asus G75vw from Amazon is faster, much much quieter, and semi-mobile. Try carry this monster and the power-brick and I guarantee it will give you a herniated disc in no time.

tljx wrote:This CPU turbo boosts up to 3.10GHz. It'll handle pretty much any game on any settings you throw at it (with the exception of newer console emulation like running Wii games).

It's the graphics card that will be the limiting factor. It will run most games at pretty high settings (in fact, it will pretty much max out 99% of games from around 2010 and earlier, excluding Crysis of course) but you'd have to lower your settings a bit or live with a lower frame rate when playing some of the latest, most demanding games, especially those that use DX11 features.

lol a $1600 so-called 'gaming laptop' that can't play 2012 games on high detail.

PC Mag review of a sister model.

They got 1:38 battery life ... not that you'd want to stray far from an outlet. For it's size and weight, you probably don't want this on your lap.

Why would you put such a 'meh' GPU in such an expensive laptop?

Go Sager and not snake oil dressed up in LEDs.

bahudspeth wrote:Have to disagree with you - that Asus you found is a smaller screen, less battery, and - MOST IMPORTANT - no RAID for the HDDs! Huge performance hit. And they're Hybrid (part SSD) drives at that.

The smaller screen is a subjective con. Personally, I find this to be a positive as it makes the laptop smaller and images will look sharper (given the same resolution).

The battery life is shorter yes but that's hardly a huge concern with a gaming laptop as you won't be leaving the wall for too long with it anyway.

RAID? Meh, throw a cheaper 60GB solid state to load the OS on and you're golden. At the end of the day, hard drive speed won't significantly affect your gaming performance, short of load times.

What you do get with the ASUS is a better graphics card, a better CPU, more RAM, and a blu-ray player. Not to mention a $250 price break. Loss of RAID, some battery life, and some screen real estate is a small price to pay for better gaming performance and a significantly weaker punch to your wallet. At least, that's my opinion.

my 2011 ( bought in Jan.16.2011) verison of Alienware M17x R2 with Dual ATI 5870 and 2 512GB SSD with 4 yrs complete care costs more than twice the most expensive Apple MBP today(i meant "retina" Edition MBP),and the performance is not that impressive compare to its huge price tag.However the dell's tech support was sufficient ( at least on my experience),trackpad on my M17x R2 will be a huge letdown if an apple MBP user.As for Gaming,i have 2 additional battery ( $170 each) and with total of 3 batteries i was unable to keep it running with external power source ( 3 batteries total run time,Estimate 4 hrs or less).Even at 2k it's still not a good option for everyday use,oh did i mentioned it weighted morn than 13lb with AC adapter??

tljx wrote:This CPU turbo boosts up to 3.10GHz. It'll handle pretty much any game on any settings you throw at it (with the exception of newer console emulation like running Wii games).

It's the graphics card that will be the limiting factor. It will run most games at pretty high settings (in fact, it will pretty much max out 99% of games from around 2010 and earlier, excluding Crysis of course) but you'd have to lower your settings a bit or live with a lower frame rate when playing some of the latest, most demanding games, especially those that use DX11 features.

I have basically the same laptop, in a different brand, and I can say that I enjoy playing games on it. My gaming rig is also the HTPC, so when my wife is watching Tv and I want to play a game, I have to turn to my laptop.
It plays BF3 well-enough on medium/custom settings, so good that it was comparable with my gaming desktop up until a few days ago (upgraded from a gtx260 to a 660ti sc).
I've played Skyrim on it too. Obviously, it isn't going to be as great as a desktop gaming machine, but if anyone were expecting it to they would be ridiculous.
So...if anyone is wondering if it plays games decently, yes. But look elsewhere and save yourself hundreds of dollars.

wonbadan wrote:Agreed. Not only is it last generation (sandy bridge), but it is even massive by gaming laptop standard. My Asus G75vw from Amazon is faster, much much quieter, and semi-mobile. Try carry this monster and the power-brick and I guarantee it will give you a herniated disc in no time.

You have to lump this laptop into a total different category. You can't judge the 18in laptop on portability. No one in their right mind buys it for that. This is great for the college student or deploying soldier who will have this laptop sitting on a desk 95% of the time to play games but still want to be able to take it home every once in a while. Plus as the screen is one of the most expensive component anyone comparing this to a smaller laptop screen competitor is a little off the mark IMHO. That being said I don't think anyone needs a huge screened laptop but I find a lot of people still want and get 17+ inches.

I used to have an Alienware m17x. Got it on craigslist for $500. The thing was a monster. Could do almost anything and play any game on the highest settings. Truely is a desktop replacement though. Pain in the ass to move around the house let alone bring it places with you. Dell customer service was also awesome for me. They gave me the extended warranty for cheap. Good thing I got it. Getting it fixed when my roommate broke it was simple and no hassle. Going back to school so I sold it. Loved it and alienware so much I replaced it with the m11x for more portability for college but still able to play most games on high res. ASUS does have comparable gaming laptops for slightly less money at the 17" size but m11x crushes anything ASUS has in that size.

if i were to spend that much on a laptop, it would be for the new ivy bridges, not the sandy bridges

Horrible deal unless you're completely and utterly unable to find some way to discount current-gen products.

For instance, if you're a student, Lenovo probably has deals for you that can slash 40-50% off their ThinkPad W series notebooks, which beat what you're seeing here and are far more sturdy both for work and play. Ditto for the Dell U program, and let's be honest, you can probably score the student discount if you're considering an Alienware laptop.

I see no justifiable reason to spend over 1500 bucks on a last-gen product when I can configure (for the same price) an Ivy Bridge i7 3820m paired with 16GB ram and a Quadro K2000M for the same price.

I haven't had an M18x but I can say that my M15x is built like a tank. Plus a ton of airflow at still reasonably volume levels. I also have an m14x which isn't at powerful but is sure nice for how portable and light it is (for a gaming laptop).

The problem is that the two hybrid drives are an unnecessary cost for most. I'd much rather stick a 240-256gb SSD in (for around $150-200 now). It's a gaming laptop not a media storage vault. The 560m is probably upgradeable I would assume but is decent for many things.

I've had both alienware and Asus gaming laptops and I'd take Alienware any day. I have not been impressed with Asus build quality, they aren't nearly as upgradeable as Alienware, and dealing with Asus support for repair service is just about the most horrid experience I've ever had. I suppose it's not so bad if you don't mind waiting a couple of months for them to finally get you a laptop back.

Although I'd probably rather look at the current M17x model with 3rd gen i7 and 660m GPU for a roughly similar price as this.

conhopper wrote:For instance, if you're a student, Lenovo probably has deals for you that can slash 40-50% off their ThinkPad W series notebooks, which beat what you're seeing here and are far more sturdy both for work and play.

I work for IBM and use a less than a year old lenovo thinkpad practically everyday for business. They are two very different beasts. My thinkpad could never do what my alienware does in terms of gaming.

tljx wrote:I have to disagree. With Alienware computers, you're paying for a name. There are usually much cheaper options that offer the same or better performance. For example, the ASUS G75VW-AS71 has hardware superior in most aspects to the laptop being offered here and can be found new on Amazon for $1,349.

Sorry, you are thinking of Apple. Alienware makes great gaming laptops, hands down.

jawnnypoo wrote:Sorry, you are thinking of Apple. Alienware makes great gaming laptops, hands down.

Indeed they do but they're rarely the best bang for your buck and this particular laptop is no exception at this price. I'm not saying Alienware doesn't make good computers but, in most cases, you can find equal or superior performance for less.

doc362 wrote:Does this play minesweeper?

Maybe on medium settings but the frame rate takes a hit on high settings