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.

Putting 2 Hybrid drives together in Raid 0 is stupid for a couple reasons. 1) you now have twice the chance of hard drive failure 2) A pure SSD drive would probably be faster and cheaper than setting up a raid anyway.

I would have used a 128 GB SSD for the OS ($70 after rebate OCZ) and a 750GB 5400 rpm drive for additional storage- this is about the same cost as 2 hydrid seagate 500GB. What this accomplishes is performance at least equal to the 2 hybrid striped, less chance of HD failure, less headaches because you don't have to deal with RAID.

The whole idea about less battery is kind of a funny concept, because I'm sure post people that use this would only be using the battery side until they find their next power outlet.

Gaming laptops to me are a difficult sell. They are big, run hot, much harder than a tower to deal with if you need to replace parts/upgrade, use a lot of power. I guess there is a niche market for this if you don't have the room and you need desktop gaming performance.

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

So... YOU'RE the one who caused all that ruckus in the park the other day.

Sorry to be negative but...

I had nothing but problems with my Alienware laptop. They barely qualify as laptops since they weigh 12 pounds and pretty much require power. Updatability was also pretty poor. Its hard to justify 1600 bucks on something that will be outdated for gaming and need to be completely replaced within 2 years.

Schlingfo wrote:
1)They will never compare to desktops.

Perhaps you should avoid absolutes.

Schlingfo wrote:
2)Alienware is horribly overpriced. This is also true.

It really depends on where you place your value. Yes, you can get "better parts" from a cheaper manufacturer, but keep in mind, they cut their costs somewhere (e.g., Build quality). A $1300-$1500 laptop is useless if the glass fractures from the lightest knock or twist. This happened to my Asus on a trip on vacation. I grabbed the frame and went to turn the laptop towards causing a fracture in the LCD. A move I've done countless times on my older Dell.

As for Alienware...to be honest, that keyboard is cool. Sure it's not worth an additional $200 cost, but it's still cool. The 12 cell battery is nothing to sneeze at. Especially if you are watching a movie on a long flight. My cheap Asus came with a 6 cell which wouldn't last long enough for a single 2 hr movie. Although an 8-cell might.

Furthermore, someone stated that you have a huge loss in performance in not having the RAID on an Asus model. You really don't recognize a significant improvement with RAID 0 if you are only using 2 HDD. Losing the hybrid, however, might be a significant loss in performance.

I've had the 13 for 2 years.
Great Machine. Hinges break though.

gak0090 wrote:Putting 2 Hybrid drives together in Raid 0 ...
I would have used a 128 GB SSD for the OS ($70 after rebate OCZ) and a 750GB 5400 rpm drive for additional storage- ...

Yep, agree, I would maybe RAID 1 them (fast access plus data integrity) or use a SATA/HDD pair. Although, I would go with a nice, fast 240GB SSD.
The whole idea behind RAID 0 is really to get faster performance from a HDD. With a dedicated SSD, it's not really necessary. Sure, you can cut your disk access and data transfer times in half, but you're already at 30 seconds for a Windows 7 boot on a fast SSD (maybe a little more for a hybrid), but half that is POST.

I just bought the m14x Alienware laptop (with i7 Ivy Bridge, 1600x900 display, 2GB 650M) two months ago and am pretty satisfied. The new Kepler-based GPU flies and can take on all current games at High to Ultra-High.

Obviously the 14" has a few less pixels than this 17", but I would expect similarly impressive performance.

Alienware builds a good gaming rig, but as a daily laptop, the Alienware design is clunky, heavy, and feels cheap. The screen has a cheap unforgivably glossy finish that reflects everything.

To make this more universally relatable, do not expect the build quality of a MacBook, which by comparison has a ridiculously better screen, keyboard, and hinge.

This machine is gross. Obese. Full of bacon fat. A porker.

Weighing in at 12 pounds it makes birth weight for babies an obsolete concept for a lap top.

There's always someone willing to spend 2000$ on Alienware, and 6 months later struggling to get 1000$ for it on Kijiji (or craigslist or w/e else) and eventually getting desperate enough to drop their price down to 500-700$. They're really cool looking but nothing to justify the price. I have to agree with most of the comments here saying you could shop around and find something much better for cheap. Real gamers build their own rigs, if you NEED a laptop, find something with better specs for less money, if you like the smell of your farts, get an Alienware. They make good, nice looking computers, but really, unless you need that alien face or you're the kind of person that will make sure everyone in your vicinity KNOWS you've bought an Alienware, save your money and shop around. Or at the very least, buy one for cheap from the last sucker who bought an Alienware.

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.

I agree.... once upon a time when Alienware was a standalone company they made some really great machines compared to the rest of the world... but once Alienware was abducted by the space ship Dell... well they were harvested for their name and followers... Nothing really special about them now, just a glorified Dell with disco lights.

The hyper-threading supported by i7 processors is for complex rendering and calculation, and doesn't offer any better performance in games. It can actually inhibit performance in some cases. One is just as well off by going with a cheaper i5.

In any case, the thought of dropping this much cash for a laptop makes me light-headed. It can't be denied that Alienware performs well, but one pays significantly for the name. There are those who prefer or else require a laptop, but for gaming, the price/performance ratio of a custom-built desktop is unbeatable.

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.

I agree. I have this laptop (just with 2 video cards). The performance is fantastic. I was worried about the Dell Dropoff in quality, but was plesantly suprised with the quality. THe case has a slight "rubberized" feel to it, and does tend to pick up dust / fuz and is harder to keep clean, and you definately want a laptop cooling fan to sit it on for better ventilation (it will run hot). I would not hesitate to buy another.

linkboy286 wrote:Well all alienware laptops are great, however they overcharge you by a lot. Frankly this computer is way underpowered for the hefty price.

What's hi-larious is that I still remember paying $3000+ for a STATE OF THE FREAKING ART Pentium-90 rig, completely tricked out with almost a gigabyte hard drive and EIGHT FREAKING MEGS OF RAM.

Thought it would last me forever.

19" CRT monitor, too. I'm shocked the desk could hold that sucker.

got the Alienware m11x - which they don't make anymore - and I've been using it for doing computer animation, running demos in multiple virtual machines, and of course playing games. There's nothing that you can't throw at an Alienware laptop.
The two graphics cards are awesome and the battery life, when not doing anything intense, is amazing.

Some coworkers of mine opted for the Asus gaming laptops and while they run alright aesthetically there's a lot left to be desired. They also ran into problems with homework crashing on them while my little computer is chugging along like a beast.

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 desktop I bought from them about 16 months ago is still an absolute beast, I haven't even considered upgrading anything on it yet. The fan on the video card is starting to grind, but can't really blame AW for that.

I was looking at laptops on their site yesterday, and unless I am missing something huge, this same laptop was well over $2000 direct from AW.

edit: although, I also put together a laptop at CyberpowerPC that had a 17.3" screen, the i7 3720QM processor, 16GB RAM, and a 60 GB SSD boot drive + 750 GB 7200 RPM data drive for about $1750. It pretty obvious the Cyberpower machine is far superior to the current offering, for not much more $$$.

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.

I just splurged and bought my first alienware about a year ago. Hands down the best I've ever owned.

1600 clams and no Blu-ray???

wolfwood316 wrote:The desktop I bought from them about 16 months ago is still an absolute beast, I haven't even considered upgrading anything on it yet. The fan on the video card is starting to grind, but can't really blame AW for that.

I was looking at laptops on their site yesterday, and unless I am missing something huge, this same laptop was well over $2000 direct from AW.

This laptop is not worth it at all... (yes you can blame alienware, they chose the parts for that machine)

It's 18.4", 12 lbs, and doesn't have that great of a GPU. The ONLY time I recommend ppl buy alienware is when they have there outlet desktops on ridiculous sales. I got one of there desktops for $920 w/ 2-6870's and a 2600K under water. Now that was worth the price I paid.

(If you're looking for a gaming laptop, check sager laptops out!)

More specifically, this one

*670M GPU
*i7-3610QM (@2.3ghz)
*16GB ram
*750GB 7200rpm (you could get the hybrid drive.. I don't recommend them though)

Total = $1249

Can you really upgrade the graphics card... "SNAP"?

Really?

I would expect that to be a more highly touted feature as this is the primary reason laptops become obsolete for games so quickly.

My Core 2 Duo Dell has a beautiful 16" 1920x1080 RGB-backlit LED screen but I never game on it because the AMD 4670 it's carrying around can barely handle L4D2.

wolfwood316 wrote:The desktop I bought from them about 16 months ago is still an absolute beast, I haven't even considered upgrading anything on it yet. The fan on the video card is starting to grind, but can't really blame AW for that.

I was looking at laptops on their site yesterday, and unless I am missing something huge, this same laptop was well over $2000 direct from AW.

edit: although, I also put together a laptop at CyberpowerPC that had a 17.3" screen, the i7 3720QM processor, 16GB RAM, and a 60 GB SSD boot drive + 750 GB 7200 RPM data drive for about $1750. It pretty obvious the Cyberpower machine is far superior to the current offering, for not much more $$$.

lol.. reading through this, you forgot to mention the most important thing in a gaming laptop... What's the gpu?

drizzo4shizzo wrote:Can you really upgrade the graphics card... "SNAP"?

Really?

I would expect that to be a more highly touted feature as this is the primary reason laptops become obsolete for games so quickly.

My Core 2 Duo Dell has a beautiful 16" 1920x1080 RGB-backlit LED screen but I never game on it because the AMD 4670 it's carrying around can barely handle L4D2.

No. Upgrading gpu's in a laptop is a pain in the butt. Not to mention.. Good luck finding the gpu ur looking for at a decent price.

very loud, very heavy, very hot, very bulky

horrorfreakshow wrote:very loud, very heavy, very hot, very bulky

Well said! But you forgot "very expensive"

I have to agree with everyone that said that Alienware computer's are just too expensive for what they offer. "OOOO, look at my lighted keyboard, and flashing alien signal lighting, and wait! an Alien respawn(i.e. standard recovery disc...)disc! If you want to blow some money on something, but get a piece of quality hardware to boot, go buy a Falcon Northwest machine.

berdmanfx wrote:lol.. reading through this, you forgot to mention the most important thing in a gaming laptop... What's the gpu?

Oops. Nvidia GTX 675 2 GB

Schlingfo wrote:You're paying for more than you get. Take any Alienware specs, price it out at another builder, and you'll always come out cheaper.

There is absolutely no reason to buy an Alienware unless you just want the name and don't mind paying hundreds of dollars extra for the name.

I disagree, I've had 3 Alienware's and they've all been incredible. I've never had a problem with any of them (M11x, M17x and M15x)and while they are expensive I feel there is real value there. The build, the keyboards (which are fantastic) and look/feel are all fantastic. You can't just compare specs, things like how it cools and reliability are considerations.

The hinge on my m11x was going bad and they replaced it without a problem, even out of warranty.

OH MAAAANN Im not rich enough.

complaining about price? so WOOT doesnt have a good discount on this one?

PriNT wrote:I see that is comes with a cloth bag, but does anyone know of a better computer bag in which this thing will fit? Preferably something with a shoulder strap.

I worked for a company once that bought these laptops for their developers. The laptop bag was more like carry-on luggage sized. The power brick alone weighed 9 pounds. Not something you want to lug around often.

ChefRAZ wrote:and all you have to do is name one... waiting...

The Lenovo ideapad Y580, to name one. Better graphics card, larger hard drive, 32gb SSD, bluray player, and doesn't weigh 12 pounds.

lbmouse wrote:1600 clams and no Blu-ray???

I love clams but 1,600? They would go bad before I could eat 1,600 of them. If you've ever had one that has "turned" it's like the death penalty but in slow motion.I suggest a medium box of golden fried,with a little tartar sauce,now that's heaven.

scottdr36 wrote:complaining about price? so WOOT doesnt have a good discount on this one?

This is no longer about WOOT's price on the computer. Their price is actually fantastic, comparitively. But Alienware's prices are so outrageous, that even after WOOT works their magic, the machine is still higher priced than any other laptop in it's performance league.

This is a terrible desktop computer. I mean, who decided to put laptop parts in what is clearly a desktop? And they're charging about 3x as much as any normal computer would take to build with these specs. I'm including LED fans and a few alien stickers in that price. Would not buy.

Attention wooters who always ask if the $300 laptop is gaming capable. Note price of gaming laptop.

I attempted to buy a laptop similar to this but completely maxed out on the specs. It came to me broken. It would not start up on the battery alone. It had to be plugged in to start up or it would shut off by itself. This was with multiple batteries that I had. It also got tons of blue screens without me doing or installing a thing. I called up a dell rep and they sent a repair tech to "fix" it. The repair tech replaced some parts and it didn't fix the problems at all. After this they were giving me grief on returning the product. After spending $4000 on a laptop I thought I deserved a little respect. Even though alienware is it's own thing it is now owned by dell and dell is known for selling broken computers. I would not recommend that anybody buy this product or any of their products. They don't care about their customers or their products. Nothing against woot because they are just selling the product. This is just a warning to consumers. If it doesn't come to you broken it may break soon after purchase. I've had a maxed out hp for years after this and it has worked awesome with no problems. It has also been able to run the demanding programs that I run without problem. Alienware is an overpriced machine that is a waste of money.

For an extra $200 you can get this laptop (new) & an X-box 360 with free shipping here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.948033

This IS a good deal on an Alienware machine. Those that say the same can be had for less either didn't read the specs or don't understand them. An 18-inch screen is unheard of in a laptop... DUAL 500 GB hybrid drives = FAST 1 TB storage! Plus, it just LOOKS cool! That's gotta be worth something! Sure, there's good systems that can be had for less, but NOT comparable! Wish I could afford it.

tljx wrote: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.

Don't underrate the performance increases you can get from running of SSDs, Platter Hard Drives are the biggest speed bottleneck in the vast majority of computers, switch to an SSD and EVERYTHING moves faster. Hybrid drives like the Alienware has offer most of the performance of standard SSDs (They're basically a normal platter drive with a tiny SSD slapped on, the SSD portion gets used to store your most commonly used files, and the HD portion handles the rest), but for a laptop of this price those should be 256gb SSDs.

Will this keep my boat from drifting in the wind?

I've had my Alienware for over a year now and love it. I'm not sure if I would ever buy an Alienware Desktop because of being able to custom build one, but definitely another laptop. Most arguments are saying Alieware is overpriced, however I would disagree.

I believe you get what you pay for on both ends of the spectrum. Yes, you may could purchase an iBuyPower or Asus that is very similar for a bit cheaper but it's missing a few things. Most non-Alienware laptops do not come from the factory with:

- Full HD Screen (not 1600x900)
- HDMI IN and OUT <-- yes, you can use an Alienware as a TV, which I've done on multiple occasions and it works great.
- Awesome keyboard which may be overrated, but no one else offers it.
- Longer battery life. My m17x lasts upwards of 8 hours.
- The larger laptops 17/18" are a tank! They are desktop replacements and not meant to be as mobile as other brands. Don't know about you, but I don't want my laptop to break into 1000 pieces when it falls 2 ft , which I've seen an Asus/Toshiba do.
- Great Hardware (the RAM is the same used in Macs by the way - Hynix)

Customer service is one of those things where each user may have a different experience. I've never had a single issue with Alienware nor a MAJOR issue with Dell, but know people who have. I have had issues with HP, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, etc, etc. On a side note, Emachines has the best service I've ever dealt with.

So you can't listen to Johnny's bad experience and not take in the other great experiences - which goes for any company. Look at the bad reviews for Woot even!


Lastly, Alienware and Dell have sales ALL the time. I bought min for almost 40% off. It had 1 HD and 4 GB. I have since then upgraded the HD and RAM for a fraction of the costs.

Not only that, those of you arguing about HD speeds and amount of RAM is technically useless for gaming. Once the game is loaded into ram, which MOST games are designed for computers that only have 4GB anyway, HD speeds are pointless and any more than 4GB is useless (unless you for some reason need tons of programs open in the background...?). Yes a SSD/RAID will load it faster, but not necessarily run it faster. That's when the video card kicks in - which is upgradable on an Alienware, don't think it is on the others...

My original message was deleted I think or I cant find it. But what do you guys think about this one I was planing on getting?

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/Valkyrie_CZ-17_BTS