# I want an uber laptop!....



## Arch (Sep 10, 2006)

with all the health issues and crap iv delt with over the last few months i'v decided to treat myself  

I'v always wanted a laptop that i can do everything on..... if someone lends me a game, it wont get memory or graphics issues...... if i wanna convert an image in ps..... it should do it in seconds..... an uber laptop.

I'v decided to get a laptop because of the amount of hours i gotta spend on a computer in the avarage day..... and my back cant take it anymore!!.... i just wanna sit back on the couch and relax, whilst processing an image or playing a game. But im aware of the problems of getting correct colours etc..... but im not worried about that.... i can always check the images on my other comp before posting or ordering prints. So im about to press the purchase button on this bad boy....

http://www.alienware.co.uk/Configurator_Pages/area-51_m5550.aspx?SysCode=PC-EU-LT-A51M5550&SubCode=SKU-DEFAULT

But does anyone else have experience of owning an Alienware laptop?.... im considering the Dell XPS instead cuz i know the battery life is better as well as a few other things..... but it wont quite be the same as owning an Alienware.

What dja reckon?....... any other recommendations?

Edit: it wont save the configeration but basically i put the following in it.....
core 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0GHz
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
256MB NVidia® GeForce&#8482; Go 7600
DVD-Burner: 8x Dual Layer DVD+/-RW 

which takes the price up to around 1'100 british....... which is around $2051.50


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## DeepSpring (Sep 10, 2006)

it looks like a pretty sweet computer to me. I personally never used alienware but I have some gamming buddies who swear by them

and you get a free t-shirt cant beat that lol


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## runninglance (Sep 10, 2006)

I don't have any experience with an Alienware. But I do have a Macbook Pro and its amazing. It might be worth your time to look into one if you hav'nt already.
-Lance


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## astrostu (Sep 10, 2006)

I also recommend a MacBook Pro.  Try to find an Apple Store near you and visit and ask 'em specific questions about what you want to do, and see what they say.


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## usayit (Sep 10, 2006)

For a high end laptop (or even a desktop), I wouldn't settle for anything less than 2gb of memory.


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## kelox (Sep 10, 2006)

dude, awesome choice(although i am also riding theMacbook Pro bandwagon, after taking everyone's advice you gotta pick your own "treat" that's what makes it special). the only thing you didn't show was the size of the hard drive. i say the bigger the better(i sometimes end up buying a larger one and replacing a year or so later). 1GB of RAM is good, but again get as much as you can. if your handy with a screw driver and can follow complicated directions(if the RAM is in some hard to reach place rather than on the bottom) the go ahead and start off with the 1GB. you will like this laptop, no doubt. gotta take some shots when it shows up(esp. in the dark with the logo lit up!!!!).


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## Arch (Sep 11, 2006)

Thanks guys.....

Theres no way i can get/want a Macbook Pro..... even the minumum spec one is 1400 quid which is out of my price range and is a lower spec than the alienware.

Also i'v made a decision not to go back to apple..... they annoyed me in the past for 'not looking after thier customers'....... ie. support (which was rubbish and expensive) and software updates (stuff like quicktime 7, which is not compatable with os9.... so whilst i couldn't view any more movie trailers from the *apple* site, my buddy had no problem using quicktime 7 on his pc!!).... so the apple philosophy seems to be spend more money with us or you loose out.

Not that i dislike macs, im sure alot of you are big fans of apple..... but they arn't in my budget range. I only wanted to spend 1'000 quid max, but i'll except the 100 quid over for the Alienware.... but anymore is too much, so although i titled this an 'Uber' laptop..... it certainly wont be 'THE' uber laptop!!
As for RAM..... yea id like 2G but again, it takes the price out of my budget (especially if you buy the RAM from Alienware)...... so 1G will have to be enough for now.

Unless i go for the Dell XPS M1710...... which is technically better (i think), with 2G RAM, but is a bit boring..... i wanna get excited about getting it you know.... Dell are practical but saying to someone 'yea i got a dell laptop' doesnt sound very exciting does it?!!

Besides they had Alienware laptops in season 4 of 24..... i just though 'they are kisk ass..... i want one!'........ what can i say im a sucker for branding. :mrgreen:


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## Rob (Sep 11, 2006)

Alien is the ub3r choice mate... 

Rob


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## thebeginning (Sep 11, 2006)

awesome! i wish i could treat myself like that 

i've heard some very bad things about alienware unfortunately (i wanted to get one until I read many bad reviews and experiences).  the problem with getting laptops is that you really can't custom build them (either by yourself or at least where you can choose the specific parts/brands.  big companies tend to take advantage of you there, because they use cheap parts and sell it to you at high prices.  i believe the xps series from dell and the alienwares both do this, but dell doesnt overcharge you quite as badly.  The problem with the alienwares is also performance, as their cooling is terrible and they often crash and get screen blur because of the heat overload if you dont run it in a cool place (definitely not something you'll want to worry about).  that might not seem important, but if you do gaming or heavy photo editing for an hour or so, it could be a huge pain.  Dell did buy out alienware a few months ago believe it or not, so that might have improved, i just don't know.   at this point i'd say go dell.  i'm on a pc tech/gaming forum also, and there are quite a few happy dell users there.  Questions like this pop up fairly often over there, and alienware is pretty much never recommended.  they do look sweet though, that's for sure! 

sorry for the long post, i'm not even sure if it helped.  like someone else said, get 2gb of RAM if you can, the performance jump is pretty large for gaming.


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## Arch (Sep 11, 2006)

thanks for your imput guys  

I'v just press the order button!...... but not the alienware....

on THIS!

I dont think mine has the red top, its black.... but look at the lights! wohooo!

But this wasnt just for looks, the spec i ended up with is far superior to the alienware..... at a bigger cost..... but i thought in the end its worth it.

The reason i switched was because i'v just spent hours searching sites and forums about alienware v's dell xps..... and yea, alienware has got heat problems as well as a huuuuggeeee waiting period (over a month i think) with dodgy customer service too...

Also another main reason was the graphics card... the best i could get with the alienware was the GeForce Go 7600 which compared to the Dells GeForce Go 7900 came out around 30% slower.
So with the XPS even with a top game like F.E.A.R at maximum settings it still gets around 72 fps!!...... the alienwares would be around 30 fps.

So to say the least im effing happy right now..... the problem is tomorow when i check my bank account!

This the spec i ordered... a guy on a gaming laptop forum convinced me by saying, this shouldn't have any problems playing the new games of next year, and maybe the year after.... let alone this year......

(Btw that forum i was on SUCKED!..... the members were cocky and annoying... is so good to be back  )

XPS M1710

Intel ® Core 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0 GHz
DDR3 nVidia GeForce Go 7900 graphics card
17" UltraSharp&#8482; Wide Screen WUXGA (1920x1200) 
2048MB 667MHz Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
80GB (5,400rpm) Hard Drive 

...... and it cost me £1,234 ($2300) because they had £100 off and free double memory, which is why i ordered it now.... tomorrow it will be about £200 more


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## thebeginning (Sep 11, 2006)

very nice choice, that'll be a killer fun machine!  it looks awesome, i actually like the black version better too.  

pm me if you want to know some good games to try


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## kelox (Sep 11, 2006)

good choice dude, i work with a guy who has one and it is a pretty good performer(plus the cool/wow factor is pretty sweet as well).


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## JohnMF (Sep 16, 2006)

looks like a top choice Archi.

I dont know if the core 2 duo on a PC will have the same problem as the Mac Core 2 Duo does running PS, like mine does  Hurry up CS3


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## Soocom1 (Sep 17, 2006)

As I write this on a XPS M140, though I am also not the biggest fan of Dell, I none the less enjoy the use of this computer because of the upgradability of it. I was just recently able to upgrade it with a Bluetooth adapter, and all I had to do was unscrew two screws, lift a panel, plug in, and load the driver..Whala.. Bluetooth enabled. 

You will enjoy it. Again, as I stated in an earlier post, I run CS2 Suite, Microsoft Office Suite 2003, Landdesktop and ESRI on it without a hitch. 
Just need more memory. 
Enjoy it.


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## jack lumber (Sep 25, 2006)

I don't have any experience with Alienware,
But I did stay at a Holiday inn.grins.


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## voodoo_child (Sep 26, 2006)

nice buy 
Generally the people on computer tech forums are like that! all being sarcastic and witty, its so hard to get a straight answer for a genuine question


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