1st Time AW buyer, any tips?

Just looking for any general advise on buying my first AW 17 system.

I'm a UK student, so looking for any deals i can haggle with Dell on this with £2k+ budget, but i want to get the most for my money. Should i try and phone an agent and get a deal with the or any other suggestions?

Thanks for any help

 

Not sure if you noticed, but Maxwell is like...weeks, maybe days away. Alienware will be launching two new systems that we know of, and probably "refreshing" the current systems. What I'm saying, if anything at all, is that you should wait!

To answer your questions: YES! Talk to representatives - plural, multiple, several. Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate. If you're a smooth talker, call! If not, go online and chat with dozens of representatives. Waiting for Black Friday might also be a good idea, if your budget is really tight.

 

Yeah i seen that, it's what i've been waiting on.. When do you think the new AW17 range will be available, i'm patient but having to wait till November will be painful to say the least.. But thanks on the advice with the reps, tbh the website is flawed with illogical price jumps on the AW17s just now anyways.

 

Should be next month sometime.

 

You can get student discount with your e-mail address (assume you are a university student), I bought my M11xR3 with student discount and contact the representative through e-mail, she's very helpful.

That been said, this is not the best time to buying a high end laptop, given that 970m and 980m models are to be expect very soon. Unless you are buying already-built models, AW usually takes a week or two before it's ready to send to you, by then the newer models will probably be available, and specs of them on paper are a massive improvements especially for gaming laptops.

Edit: unless you want to have AMD's GPU, then the R9 m290x (I think this is the one for AW 17) is as good as you can get. The "next-gen" CPU is only incrementally improved and shouldn't effect your usage in most ways.

I'm personally waiting for the new MSI GT72 model equip with 980m, then my 3 years old M11 (with 540m) will be given to my little brother to play Minecraft.

Regards.

 

I suppose the price will correspondingly go up with the new GPU models?
I'm buying a laptop through my friend who's leaving the USA for his hols - laptops are bloody cheap there!
He's leaving by Nov 21st so I'll have to have it shipped to his place before the first week of November, get it tested and If I find problems return it.
The online chat is offering me a 2% discount and a 5% gift card - they seem tight. Will keep trying.
I've asked them about the launch with the new GPUs, they didn't know (or they won't tell me).

Maybe I can take advantage of the new GPU systems or get a discount. It looks like I'll lose out on both because I just have a month to buy them.
Bugger!

 

wait for the new stuff to come out and buy the best spec!

 

Another thing is to avoid is the ram and HDD's upgrade options as they are quite a bit more expensive most of the time compared to just doing the upgrades yourself. But yeah wait for the new stuff to come out as others have said.

 

But, do get the best screen possible as that's a great way to enjoy gaming a lot more.

 

i'd definitely get a 1080p screen and the highest GPU available....or the R9 M290X if the 880M is too much!

 

What about the 3D screen is that worth the extra few £££

 

The 3D screens looks better according to most people... I don't like 3D so if I had the choice I would get it but not use 3D and only use it in 120Hz mode...

 

Best advice I could give with regards to new system/spec launches is to WAIT until the platform has been proved solid with NO issues.....people who jumped on 880m's simply because they had just been released by Dell might attest to the same method of thinking now.......remember, just because it is the latest, it does not automatically mean that it is the greatest......

 

Random question, but whatever happened to the thread with the reps who would help you get a better price that used to be floating around here ages ago? Did they stop doing that or something?