Looking to buy a used Alienware 14

Basically I'm looking to save a few dollars and grab myself a used laptop off of ebay. I was originally looking at brand new W230SS and W350SS Clevo, but if I can save $300 or more then I'd rather go the Alienware route as my last laptop that I'm replacing was an M11x r1 that I recently held a funeral for.

The clevos I was speccing came in at around 1200-1250, if I can snag a 14 for less than 1000, or even 900, I think it'll be worth it... but I have a few questions.

Is there a specific revision or born on date I should look for, or more importantly, avoid?

Is it worth saving the few dollars at this point in the life span or should I instead get something with an 800 series GPU like the clevo or even a newer alienware? A side note is I've never purchased a used computer before, but I have sold them and my expectations are higher because of the quality of the ones that I sold were in.

Realistically I can afford the 1200$ I was originally looking to spend and this change of heart is spontaneous, but I was just trying to be a little more frugal any adult about it for once and not go overboard. I really do miss the size and weight of my m11x though and would like to have something like that again.

Thanks in advance!

 

I wouldn't say 'avoid', but earlier models of the 14 that shipped with a GT750m gpu actually came with only 1gb vRam on board, then, later on , Dell upped that to 2gb vRam. Of course, the GTX765m is a much better option - if you can stretch to it. I pretty much did what you are planning to do recently....I bagged a 14 off Ebay that came with a 1gb vRam GT750m. The price was too good to turn down, even though it had the lesser gpu option....it still played games nicely enough, but I felt that I should have waited a bit maybe, possibly for a GTX765m bargain to come along.

Saying that, I then went on the look out for a new motherboard with the GTX765m soldered on it, found one and swapped my boards - involves a complete teardown of the machine, but it's not overly complex. All in all, my 14 and a new board was still cheaper than other Ebay machines that were already equipped with a GTX765m, so it worked out really well for me and I was prepared to get my hands dirty and open up/strip down my machine - you might not want to entertain that, so if gpu power is a must, don't settle for anything other than GTX765m.

Another thing to consider is the display - don't settle for anything less than the IPS panel. It's beautiful and it will serve you well. It would probably be cost prohibitive to upgrade it afterwards.

As for the other things such as HDD configuration, memory etc....you can upgrade or change those at a later date, if desired. Nothing in particular that you MUST have there....

If you can, try and look for a machine with a bit of warranty on it - mine had 6 mths, still got three left and can be upgraded if desired before it expires.

I don't know if refurbs bother you? - brown boxes generally mean refurbished. I was lucky - not a refurb and came with all original AW branded packaging - you might want to ask the seller to give you the service tag so you can check the machines history with Dell.

Once you've bought a machine, get the service tag transferred into your own name etc by visiting the Dell website.

Hope that helps!

 

Try the Dell's outlet machines you'll get a warranty with them and will acquire them at a great price.