This Laptop worth it?

[stille_nacht]

For the system specs, is this laptop worth 1300$?

intel core i7 2.0GHz (2.9GHz w/ Turbo Boost, 6mb cache)
Windows home premium 64bit
6gb ddr3 at 1600MHz
500GB 7200RPM SATA 3gb/s
14" High Def (720p/1366x768) with WLED backlight
Intel WirelessN WiFi Link 1000 a/g/n 1x2
8xSuperMulti DVD R/RW Slot Load Optical Drive
Internal High Definition 5.1 Surround sound
3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus

basically its the alienware 14x "moderate" option.

[Esserbe]

Alienwares are overpriced and undercooled. Look at ASUSes, and with a higher screen res - 1366x768 will equal quite a small amount of screen real estate for DDO.

[le_goat]

not worth it, for that price you could get at least a 17" screen.

[Milfeulle]

Alienwares are overpriced and undercooled. Look at ASUSes, and with a higher screen res - 1366x768 will equal quite a small amount of screen real estate for DDO.

I bought a gaming laptop G73JH from ASUS last year and the price and performance are outstanding.

http://www.buy.com/prod/asus-g73jh-a...213725108.html

This is the laptop I bought, only for $1600 with shipping. Just look at the specs:

ASUS G73JH-A1 17.3" Laptop (1920x1080) , Intel Quad Core i7-720QM (1.60GHz), 8GB, 1TB HDD, ATI Radeon 5870 1GB DDR5 Graphics, Blu-ray Combo, 802.11n, Webcam, Bluetooth, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-...ist.844.0.html

You might want to check out this site, will give you a ranking and performance for all notebook/laptop video card.

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/prod...roduct_id=3016
If you're gonna use the laptop to play high performance games, You might want to check this cooling pad out.

[Truga]

You want an ATi/AMD graphics card, so you can mine bitcoins while you're not playing.

https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Why_a_GPU...n_Nvidia_GPUs?

Edit: 1366x768 on a 14" is appalling. My dated laptop has 1600x900 on a 13". Please, go for a real screen, you'll thank me later.

[MsEricka]

Alienware is nothing more than an overpriced Dell. Alienware used to have an excellent name but when Dell bought them out they went downhill.

Asus makes great laptops for gaming, I love mine.

One thing you need to ensure is that whatever you look at, it needs to have what is called discrete video. Discrete video is nothing more than a video card in the laptop rather than using a video processor and shared memory.

[Yaga_Nub]

Make sure you get a second generation iX processor. I just got one of the thin Dell XPS laptop models with the second gen i5 and it runs faster than my first gen i7 laptop.

[sebastianosmith]

I agree with the other posters that Alienware is a tad on the pricey side for what is offered. Three, four years ago they made some of the best gaming notebooks on the market with a premium price to match. Since their acquisition by Dell the price had remained high but the quality has suffered. Look for an Asus G-Series model. They cost less, have the same feature set and often more screen resolution.

[madmaxhunter]

Alienware is nothing more than an overpriced Dell. Alienware used to have an excellent name but when Dell bought them out they went downhill.

Asus makes great laptops for gaming, I love mine.

One thing you need to ensure is that whatever you look at, it needs to have what is called discrete video. Discrete video is nothing more than a video card in the laptop rather than using a video processor and shared memory.

Agreed, sad times. I have and still use a 7-year-old liquid cooled maxed out Area-51. Purchased it before Alienware was bought out by Arraetrikos's minions.

[Phemt81]

Windows home premium 64bit

Which version?

Anyway i 'd say no. For 800 bucks you can get almost same performances (if not better)

[stille_nacht]

thanks for all the advice, is a shiny, cool looking computer tho :/ (i especially like the nameplate thing :P)

(btw for 75 more dollars, it upgrades to 1600x900, does it really matter that much?)

im not actually too knowlegeable for computers themselves, can someone recommend a good 14 or 15"? i want max performance, but i also want to be able to carry it places

[emptysands]

For the system specs, is this laptop worth 1300$?

intel core i7 2.0GHz (2.9GHz w/ Turbo Boost, 6mb cache)
Windows home premium 64bit
6gb ddr3 at 1600MHz
500GB 7200RPM SATA 3gb/s
14" High Def (720p/1366x768) with WLED backlight
Intel WirelessN WiFi Link 1000 a/g/n 1x2
8xSuperMulti DVD R/RW Slot Load Optical Drive
Internal High Definition 5.1 Surround sound
3GB DDR3 NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus

basically its the alienware 14x "moderate" option.

Just picked up an Asus N53SV with a 15" 1080p/GT540, but havent had a chance to test it with DDO. However, it should handle DDO.

GT550 is faster than the GT540, but you'll want better screen resolution. Even if you run DDO at a low resolution. Get 8GBs as well.

[stille_nacht]

Just picked up an Asus N53SV with a 15" 1080p/GT540, but havent had a chance to test it with DDO. However, it should handle DDO.

GT550 is faster than the GT540, but you'll want better screen resolution. Even if you run DDO at a low resolution. Get 8GBs as well.

lol, ddo is not the goal here, crysis 2 smooth on medium maybe

asus g73 17.3 inch seems cool, but... seems a bit big to carry around, are there any 14 or 15 inches that have core i7/ good graphics card besides alienware?

[sebastianosmith]

lare there any 14 or 15 inches that have core i7/ good graphics card besides alienware

Asus G53SW-XN1 15" with i7 2gHz and GeForce GTX 460M. Around $1200US. Good performer.

Asus G53SW-XT1 is practically the same only with more of everything for about $1300US.

Asus G53JW-3DE is the fully loaded and tweeked version for about $1900US.

And if you can find any notebook that will play Crysis II at full res with high settings, send me a postcard from the future.

[Der_Incubo]

Id agree with the others that have said Asus G73... tis what i use. It is kind of large, but not too bad if ya get one of them Targus backpack laptop bags (im only home about 5-6 days a month, so i carry it everywhere just fine).

You really really dont want to watch/play highdef stuff on a small screen.

[Asketes]

I like Asus laptops, solid quality and you pay quite a bit less than alienware's "pay for the name" laptops.


that and Dell owns alienware now, so idk how their current quality stacks with the competition.

[stille_nacht]

Asus G53SW-XN1 15" with i7 2gHz and GeForce GTX 460M. Around $1200US. Good performer.

Asus G53SW-XT1 is practically the same only with more of everything for about $1300US.

Asus G53JW-3DE is the fully loaded and tweeked version for about $1900US.

And if you can find any notebook that will play Crysis II at full res with high settings, send me a postcard from the future.

thanks, ill check those out. i assume the $1300 one is better than alienware's 14x?

[Esserbe]

Same processor, better graphics card (460M is faster than 555M), higher screen resolution, larger HDD, more RAM, Blu-Ray drive and most likely runs cooler, quieter and better.

For the same price.

Welcome to the world of Alienwares!

[sebastianosmith]

i assume the $1300 one is better than alienware's 14x?

"Better" is really a subjective term.

I've not had personal experience with Alienware kit since Dell bought them but a few people I know in RL and several internet acquaintances have come to regret their purchases of post-Dell Alenware boxes.

That said, I have extensive experience with Asus G-Series notebooks and can attest to their speed and reliability (other than the whole 8600M fiasco that was not really Asus' fault). All six of the G-Series models I've purchased over the last four years are still running well. I've upgraded them extensively (HD, CPU, RAM, WiFi, TV Turner, TM modules) and other than having to deal with a pile of tiny screws that would choke an elephant, they have all been relatively easy to work with.

So, is the G53SW-XT better than the Alienware box you described? Other than less VRAM, I'm going to have to go with "yes" as my answer based on reliability and ease of service.

[Esserbe]

Pretty sure the VRAM amount is due to the 555 sharing half of that with the system RAM, whereas the 460M is purely discrete and has its own VRAM, not sharing anything with the system.

The difference is inconsequential anyways, no game uses that much.