Time for a change

Hello All!
I have had my M9700 for 4 years now and it is time for an upgrade. I have been really pleased with my current system but want to get something faster and up to date op system .

Not been following the laptop trends so I would like advice on what to buy? Got a budget of about £1,800 (€2,000 , $2,700) and whilst am thinking about another Alienware I am not opposed to buying another brand if it offers better value.

CPU and GPU performance is important, would like approx 500gb in hard drive space and a 1900 x 1200 screen like I have now, don't need bluray but need wifi and bluetooth.

So over to you guys, your the experts so I'd value your opinions!

 

Yiasou Dan! For that budget I would look into an M17x R2 with the RGB LED display. You should definitely be able to pick one up with the 1900x1200 RGB LED display and crossfire 5870s with that budget. That's a beast of a laptop. Btw, I had an m9700 too. I loved that laptop.

 

Unfortunately, he's in the UK (I presume he is, seeming as he put his budget in £ first) and Alienware systems in the UK right now are extremely overpriced.

You'd still be able to pick up an M17x, R2 or R3, for £1,800 or below but with few upgrades. If you stretched a little over £2,000 you might be able to get an R2 with RGBLED and Crossfire 5870s.

Actually, you might be able to get a well spec'd R2 down to below £1,800 if you call Dell and haggle with the reps. Get the right rep on the line and they'll be able to knock a couple of hundred pounds off the price. There are a number of haggling 'guides' around the forum that you should be able to find, they might come in handy.

 

Thanks for the replies so far Guys! I am based in Greece and go back to the UK every once in a while. I would expect to make my purchase in the UK though, hence the reason for quoting pounds stirling first!

I will have a look into the laptops you have suggested and your tip regarding haggling sounds like a great idea so I will research that too!

My old Aurora still performs well enough for internet browsing and office work but is left a bit gasping with simulators (ship and flight).

I am not up to speed with the LED displays and I have been very happy with my existing lcd so are these new LED displays really worth the extra money?

 

From what I hear, the jump to RGBLED is massive. As with many things, it's probably a case of you don't actually realise how big a difference until you experience it; just like when going to an SSD, you'll never want to go back to a regular hard drive because it's that much better. Same case with the screens.

I mean, I've seen my friend's M15x's WLED display, and that absolutely blows the screen on my M17 out of the water. And that WLED display was supposedly nowhere near as good as an RGBLED display.

Half of the reason I actually want to get a new notebook at this point is because of the display. Whenever I've got my iPad next to my laptop, the difference in display quality is actually amazing. That big of a difference that I want a better notebook display, and I'm prepared to pay a lot for that.

After all, we've got these super-notebooks with insane graphics power, why not have a suitable display to match? It seems pointless to have those high-res frames rendered, and then displayed on an inferior display.

 

Yes I tend to agree, no point having all that power if the display is not up to scratch1 Bit like having a high powered sports car and fitting cheap tyres - kind of misses the point of having all those expensive pieces of hardware inside!

So having looked at the Alienware offerings from the uk I see they only offer a 1440 x 900 lcd screen on the m17's so that is no good for starters! Looks like I gonna have some researching to do to get the spec. I want!

 

Try giving them a ring. They might just not be displaying it on their website. They've still got it on the US site.

 

I suppose there is no reason, apart from freight and import taxes, why I should not buy from the US, if the spec is exactly what I want?

But then again if that starts getting too expensive I may be better off getting a laptop from another manufacturer if the spec offered is what I want?!