Going to college next Fall... which Alienware would best suit my needs?

Well, I just came from the Razer forums as I've decided I'm going to put the consideration of purchasing a Razer Blade on hold due to it's $2000 price tag and its sub-par screen and I've started to look at some Alienware devices that may better suit my needs for college and housing in a dorm.

This may be an odd choice of devices, but I think I'm currently deciding between an Alienware M14x or an Alienware x51 with the addition of a tablet. I love the portability that I could have with the M14x, but I love the extra power I could get with the x51, as it would probably last me a longer period of time. Either device would have to last me four years at least.

As of right now, the games I'm most interest in playing are CS:GO, WoW, and the occasional MineCraft when/if I don't have access to the internet. And the occasional GW2, I suppose. Actually, lets just say for this current generation of games, I would like to run BF4 on a fairly high setting while still being playable. I'd like to have at least above 30fps (but the more the merrier) at all times playing whatever game I may be playing.

My specs for the M14x:
Processor
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4700MQ
RAM
8GB DDR3L at 1600MHz
Storage
750GB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s + 80GB mSATA SSD Caching
Vid Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 765M with 2GB GDDR5
Price w/o support and accidental damage: $1,499.00

Specs for the x51:
Processor
4th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-4770
RAM
8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600Mhz
Storage
1TB SATA 6Gb/s (7,200RPM) 64MB Cache
Vid Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 760 Ti with 2GB GDDR5
+ [insert tablet here]...feel free to direct me to a good tablet that is under or near $500
Price w/o support and accidental damage and tablet: $1,399.00

I will most likely be purchasing the four year services and such with these, as I would rather have some insurance if some idiot were to break something at college.

P.S. Please do not say it would be better to purchase something else/build my own computer. I know it may be better for the price, but I want to see what would be better between my two choices. I doubt that would happen as I'm in the Alienware forum, but you never know.

Thanks!

 

The x51 will perform better than the AW 14. I'd skip the AW 14 and go for the base Alienware 17, with the upgraded screen. Sub-total comes to $1549.99 before taxes (not including student discounts). I guarantee you'll be able to negotiate at least $100 off.

EDIT: I'm a student and own the AW 17. :thumbsup:

 

My largest problem with a 17" screen is the portability. If I purchase a notebook I will most likely be carrying it around all day long, and I feel like any screen above 14" or 15" will be too much of a size burden. I'll be attending West Virginia University, so I'll certainly be doing my fair share of walking across the campus.
Also, I know the x51 will out perform the 14, quite a bit. I just don't know if I'd benefit more from an x51 with more performance that will move between my dorm and home some weekends, with a tablet that will go everywhere with me, or if I'd benefit more from a notebook that doesn't have as good of specs, but is still solid enough for decent gaming that I could take everywhere.

Ahh, I wrote that last reply before the edit.
How is the portability of that 17"? Is it a burden to carry about, and do people give you funky looks when you pull out a rather large notebook?

EDIT: But I do agree--the considerably larger screen is a fantastic price at only $50 more than the 14. It's just a matter of whether or not I could deal with carrying it around daily. I feel as if I would need to carry one around for a day before I could really make that decision.

 

I wouldn't care about the funky looks. The people that give funky looks toward people that own a large laptop that is powerful enough to rip their head off wouldn't recognize the difference between good and bad if their life depended on it. Take the funky looks with a grain of salt, knowing that some conceal their jealousy behind a facade of criticism.

The bigger question would be whether or not you would struggle with the size and weight, and nobody can answer that except you. I have been traveling with huge machines like the XPS M1730, Alienware M17xR2 and M18xR1/R2 for more than 7 years and would not want it any other way. But, not everyone feels the same about it. Some people whine and struggle with the size and weight of ordinary 15" laptops and want an Ultrabook for school in spite of the performance sacrifices necessarily associated with thin and light portables. This is a personal thing and you would need to decide what is best based on your preferences.

 

You'll probably want the AW 14. It's a much smaller form factor, and weighs a few pounds less than the AW 17. The only thing I dislike about the 14 is its cooling capabilities. It only has one fan and one heat sink for both the CPU and GPU. I've heard it keeps pretty cool, but it can get pretty hot.

The AW 17 weighs about 10 pounds without the adapter. You can try putting a 10 pound weight in your backpack and wearing it. Sounds dumb, but it'll give you an idea of what it will be like. Once the AW 17 is on a desk, it's going to be preferable to the AW 14. The screen is much larger and the system keeps much cooler, as it has its own fan and heat sink for both the CPU and GPU. Believe it or not, you'll see equal to or better battery life with the AW 17 as you would with the AW 14. The AW 17 with the standard 60Hz 1080p screen sees up to 4 hours with average use.

As for the "funny looks" and "comments" -- I've only had a few people mention something. One kid was like, "What's that?!" with a shocking look on his face when I pulled it out of my backpack, and a couple girls in my class think the lights are "pretty." You know, it's definitely distracting, but no other laptop offers that level of performance. You're going to have those comments and looks with ANY Alienware laptop in this lineup, no matter the size.

In the end, it's up to you. I'd think long and hard. A fellow member recently bought the AW 14 for school and decided it wasn't good because of the heat (and fan noise). I'd hate for that to happen to you.

EDIT: You could always get a cheap laptop for class (i.e. Dell Inspiron) and the x51 for your dorm room.

 

The most important factor is what you intend to do with the system aside from gaming. If this is going to be your only system and you want it to last you a minimum of four years, I don't think that I would settle for anything less than an m18x-R2 / AW-18 or a desktop (preferably custom-built as opposed to proprietary) for maximum upgrade potential. Today's hardware far exceeds general software programs, but if you intend to do any rendering/editing/intensive gaming then you don't want to limit yourself from the start. Future intentions are critical to not waste your money.

 

Embrace the funky looks. They're all jealous. Honestly, I don't recall ever getting any negative looks.

I'm a student myself, but my M18x R2 lives on the desk most of the time. When I do travel with it, I certainly don't mind the extra weight. In my opinion, if you have a good backpack to haul it in it's negligible. It depends on your build, more than anything. I have a somewhat tough time recommending the 14 line due to limited capabilities. As J. Dre alluded to, you can grab a 17 for not much more. With the 17's MXM slot, you can swap the GPU. This can't be done in the 14 without a whole new motherboard.

It's worth noting that if you do order a 17, and you find it absolutely unbearable, I do believe Alienware offers a 30 day return policy.

By the way, try not to freeze when you're treading the hills in Morgantown. It's cold enough here in Charleston.

 

Thank you everyone for all of those speedy and helpful replies. The more research I do on the Alienware 17, the more enticing it is. I'll definitely heavily consider one of these, as I don't think I've heard anyone on the internet complain about it at all aside from the battery life. By the way, how is the battery life? Would it last me a day if I needed to take it out and about? By day I mean no gaming, just whatever projects school may throw my way that would be more convenient if I could work on them on the go.

Yes, I have read that the backpack you choose makes quite the difference in hauling around what is essentially a desktop replacement.
Ahaha, and it's nice to see a fellow West Virginian! I shall try not to, I'm up in the Northern Panhandle so I'm a tad use to the cooler weather. Then again, we haven't have any extremely bad/cold Winters over the past few years. Nontheless, my 13+ years of playing hockey in an outdoors ice rink and my occasional snowboarding should be enough to prepare me for the cold.

 

Answered this in my long post above.

 

Oh, shoot. You did. Sorry about that.
Thanks!

 

If you absolutely need it to last 4 years at least, and you want to play new games 3-4 years from now at decent levels, then honestly, I would go for the x51.

I am currently at college and and using an Asus 75vx. A monster of a laptop (17 inches), with specs a little better than that m14 (at 300 dollars less I might add). I carry it around in an Everki Beakon backpack. I walk everywhere on campus, and at first it was a bit of a burden, but now I hardly notice it.
(gonna go off on a bit of a tangent about this bag for a second)
If you do go the laptop rout, I can't recommend this backpack enough. Its fantastic. I can lug around the laptop in the supper cushioned part, and have room for the giant power brick, gaming mouse, mouse pad, heaphones, and THREE classes worth of of textbooks, notebooks, and folders + a water bottle. And it doesn't feel bulky or that heavy at all. It also has a zipper pouch concealed on the bottom outside that has a waterproof shield for the backpack. Honestly, even if you don't get a laptop/gaming laptop its still a great backpack for school.

Now back to the topic... The M14 is a great little beast. Its got some cooling hiccups, and even the upgraded screen doesn't have a great gamut, but other than that its great for what it is. A truly portable gaming laptop, and an all around great machine for other pc tasks too. Awesome for a student. Here is the deal though. The processor? Quad core haswell i7 will be good for years. 8GB of ram? Plenty for years, Large hard drive? Plenty for years. For normal stuff like word and browsing you could easily get more than 5 years out of it. However the GPU... dat 765...

Thats a weak spot. And while it will do well in any current game, and fantastic in older games, its not going to be able to weather new games in 4 years on anything but low settings, and possibly at 720p. The X51 will have a lot more longevity, and is more upgradable too. The X51 is also literally perfect for a dorm setting.

I have nice chunk of change stored away so I will be able to upgrade in three years, as I think that will be the limit on when I will be getting medium-high performance in new games. Not sure if I will go with a laptop again though. Going to have to wait and see what the tech world is like when that time comes.

 

Reading through some more replies, it seems the OP is now looking at the m17. Here are my thoughts on that.

With the same, or better processor, ram, etc.. that the m14 has, but with the GPU bumped to a 770 (or higher), I would actually lean back towards the laptop side. with a 770/780 you will get a lot better performance for a longer period of time. If you do go the 17 inch rout, I would again recommend the Everki Beakon. Its a godsend for the back if your carrying 12lbs of hardware and 10+ lbs of books and supplies constantly.

Also don't forget to look around the market a bit (look at the different machines at Xotic pc). If the AW with the specs you want is out of your price range, you can probably find a competitors machine from Sager/Asus/MSI with equivalent specs for less.

 

I can vouch for Everki on this. I love my Everki Titan, it has been a great backpack.

 

Well I bought my M17 R1 because I was going to collage, of course I have an Alienware backpack, 5 years later I'm still using my M17 R1. I take it every day with me to collage and I don't even feel its weight.

So if you want an Alienware go for it! You wont regret!

 

I actually looked at the everki titan first, but it was a little expensive for me, and so I decided to check out the beakon. Its a great fit. I think the Titan would actually be way to big for my needs. However if I had the m18x it would be a different story lol.

 

The AW 17 fits perfectly in the Titan.

 

Haha I know your going to IUB, and I IUS. When I take my 17 out of my backpack I get the exact same reaction. Girls are like oh can you make those Christmas colors <3. Guys are like wow it's so bulky is that thing old -_-. Then the ones who know it's an alienware say did you spend like 1200 on that?! No more like double that... XD anyway it's the life of us Alienware 17 owners.

 

I have no doubt about that, its just unless you need to carry a TON of other stuff, I think the beakon is great.