Why Alienware, Alienware fanatics?

Hey fans of Alienware. I have been pondering this question for quite some time now and I still can't pick it out.

-Take an M14x vs an Msi Ge60 (the one with 8gb ram and gtx 660m) for example. If you customize the m14x to bump up to the i7 3610 processor (the ge60 has it in as stock) and 8gb ram. As is they are same hardware levels (processor and ram) EXCEPT the m14x's video card is worse and the screen is smaller than the Msi, and the Msi is 300 dollars cheaper!!! And its not like Msi is just a cheap brand, as you can find Asus and other gaming laptops at around $1200 with the Ge60's specs.

This overpricing is obvious with pretty much all of they're laptops and products. So what in GOD'S name are you paying that much extra money for? The pretty customizable lights? No offense intended to anybody but is it just ignorance? PLEASE enlighten me of what makes paying 100's of dollars more for something justified?

 

A couple of things I can tell you... One you are getting a much better warranty with an Alienware then what you are going to get with the MSI. If you have an issue with the MSI laptop you are going to have to send it in and be without your laptop for 2 to 3 weeks. If something is wrong with your Alienware they send a repair guy out to your house/work the next business day to fix the issue.

Also I personally like the way the Alienware laptops look like compared to the other brands. I also like how much easier they are to take apart then other laptops I have had in the past. Also Dell does not throw a fit if you take it apart while other manufacturers don't like you doing this. I have owned a MSI and Asus branded gaming laptop and I do not think their quality is on par as my Alienware, but that is only my opinion.

Comparing the price from just going to the Alienware site is not really fair. If you are willing to go to Alienware.com site and pay the price that they give you then that is on you. I would suggest getting in touch with a Dell representative and seeing what kinds of deals they can get you. Dell runs all kinds of deals and specials on their laptops and you must shop those deals to make sure you getting the best price. You may find out that the Alienware is the same price as that MSI or very close.

 

Well for a couple of reasons

1.pricing isnt 300$ more ...cause after discounts it usually boils down to a 150$ difference
2.NBD REPAIRS or even replacements in a lot of cases
3.Build quality and head turning design
4.5 year warranty option with dell
5.Alien lighting and customized nameplate still can't be matched
6.Easier to take apart and upgrade

Well ...I think ...these are good enough points to get an AW
Not saying the others arent capable machines ...but I still prefer the alien

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

I was actually going to get a Sager over an Alienware m17x r4 because the whole bang for your buck. And after pricing both out the aw was cheaper! I did have to call and negotiate but it wasn't even much to get it cheaper because the student discounts they offer as well. But even so a lot of people have gotten their systems hundreds of dollars cheaper than mine. So over priced I think not. If, like others have said, you just check the site then yeah but if you do any research at all you'll come across this site and there are a lot of easy to find threads that say how to get one for a good deal.

And the in home repair is awesome. Period. Lol

 

In my honest opinion, the M14x isn't that good anyway compared to similarly sized gaming laptops. Even so, you'd remove that $300 difference by calling in to order and playing your cards right, and you get the awesome warranty that AW provides. If you ever had to use the return-to-depot warranty that most manufacturers provide, you may well find yourself wishing you'd gone for the AW instead.

Still, when it comes to the high end heavyweights...the AW machines are some of the best on the market, no doubt about it. I went for my M18x because at the time there was nothing that provided XFire 7970Ms (or SLi 680Ms). Even if there was, I'd go for the AW because of the exceptional build quality, great cooling, great screen, and the warranty.

Oh, and yes, the looks play a part in it. What's the point of a gaming notebook that looks like an ordinary, boring, dull, everyday office notebook?

 

As everyone has pretty much already said. It's not overpriced. I ordered my M14x a few days for $1200 after tax. Upgraded to the i7, 900p screen and 1yr advanced warranty. I did a lot of research on what laptop to buy. After all the videos I watched and the reviews I read, the alienware stood out the most. All the others just looked cheap to me compared to the alienware. The others are great machines don't get me wrong, but if I'm spending over $1000 for a laptop I want something with great build quality. The look, portability, performance, and warranty made my decision.

 

Its got lights and sexy as hell. Simples.

People who's sanity does need to be questioned is Mac users..

 

In a way no, because MacBook build quality is very high, unlike Alienware's offerings. This is just from my experience. I have always been a huge hater of Apple devices, but unfortunately that is simply the way it is.

There are quite a lot of sheepy people or gamers, who don't have half a braincell, which buy Alienware products simply because they think they "are the most powerful" or because they "look awesome." I know quite a few off the top of my head.

I am sorry, but Alienware is in many ways quite a brand name cult just like Apple is.

 

Besides the warranty outside US, I would say given the possible discounts, it's really not that pricey in the higher-end market when compared to Clevo/Sager. As a hardcore Sager fan myself, I must say I am truly impressed with my first Alienware. If anything, Dell did justice to this brand.

 

Well this is very interesting... I might just consider Alienware now... Three brands I have in mind are Sager, Msi, maybe Asus, and now Alienware, and $1200 is my budget. I still think the Alienware would be too flashy though especially during class (not that I'd only use it for school).

 

With that budget, you'd best opt for a decent Clevo!

 

Not going to get much in a brand new system suitable for hardcore gaming and decent build quality at $1,200. Probably should look at buying one of yesterday's high-spec'd gaming laptops that still runs current games well. Something with at least a 2760QM and 6990M or 580M probably can be had second hand in that price range if you look hard enough.

 

A 660m and 3610 i7 for $1200 would do just fine for me, I'd mostly play DayZ with good settings, Skyrim on high and other games a lot but I'm not looking for the most hardcore setup to play any game coming for 3 years on its highest settings.

On that note, any models in mind for maybe up to $1600?

 

Sure... this is in that price range (with exactly those specs) and will do what you need it to. An extra $500 to $600 goes a long ways. New! Alienware M17x Full HD 3D Gaming Laptop Details | Dell

Don't buy it online... build what you want in specs, save it to a shopping cart, then go to this thread and get a quote and negotiate. You may land a little closer to the $1,200 mark. http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/669327-alienware-sales-assistance-thread-redux.html

 

For that price range, you should opt for a Sager NP9150 w/ AMD 7970M in half a heart beat.

 

...and hope it works well, LOL. Anyone getting a 7970M GPU needs Dell's superior warranty and hardware support.

 

I like the HDMI input

 

No need to overstate the matter. I've got a 7970M working perfectly well on my end and no extended or accidental damage warranty from Dell. If you take a closer look at both Clevo and Alienware forums, both of which I closely follow, you'll notice the nVidia 680M issues are slowly beginning to creep up. In the end, they're both good cards, and like any other technology susceptible to faults and human error. It's just that AMD got a head start in this case. Finally, let's not forget that the issue reporting users are in minority while the vast majority is off the forums and gaming happily!

 

Admittedly, I was being a little bit sarcastic. However, it is only an overstatement to those that have properly functioning cards. The 7970M can be awesome, as my benchmark scores and gaming videos demonstrate. But, for some it is a pathetic GPU. To be completely fair, it seems to usually be a good option for a system equipped with only one GPU (which is what the interested party in this thread is after). Chances are pretty good that it will be a decent experience.

In CrossFire, whether in a mobile or desktop platform, 7970 is prone to have usability issues... This is primarily because of inadequate AMD driver support. Slightly over one-third of the 7970M CrossFire owners polled in the M18x sub-forum are dissatisfied with their GPU purchase. I don't see that as something to be trivialized. It leaves many owners of multi-GPU system having to either put up with issues or avoid purchasing AMD video cards. We need to see AMD producing high quality products so the force of competition can help keep costs down for consumers. I used to always say that I was not a fan boy for either brand, but it is getting harder for me to say that any more.

 

I completely agree with you about the multi-GPU configurations. But then again, I have never bought anything at any point in time except a single top-of-the-shelf GPU. Considering the flagship GPU performs extremely well in all current offerings, and that you could easily upgrade in a year or two, I never thought CrossfireX/SLI made sense.. When in 1.5 years the upcoming GPU could be twice as powerful as modern 680M GPU configurations, all the hassle and additional expense is best left averted. Singly speaking however, the 7970M is surely a wonderful card.. atleast for me, it certainly is.

 

There are pros and cons of multi-GPU systems. For those that plan to stretch as many years as they can between purchases, it allows them the temporary glory of having the most performance available when they are new and not needing to upgrade as soon to keep up with the demands of current games. My M17x R2 with 4870M CrossFire still plays most things pretty decently. If it had only one 4870M GPU, that would not be the case.

 

Agreed, but I take it you would have been in the position to upgrade to the next powerful single GPU today if that was your original configuration? You'd have saved cash yesterday, spent it today, still dominating top games, with a newer cooler architecture while leaving out the multi-GPU hassle, non?

 

Well, that is where our tastes and views are different. I love multi-GPU systems and find single GPU systems to be a little bit boring. People that make a point of saying they are a hassle are frequently those that never owned them, or they maybe owned one that did not work correctly and gave up. CrossFire and SLI is all I have owned for the last 5 years (for gaming systems) and find the experience to be superior overall. The last single-GPU system I purchased was a Compal HEL80/Sager NP2080 with Core2 Duo and Go 7600 GPU and it is still in use by one of my sons to this today.

I have had problems with AMD 6970M/6990M in CrossFire, and now AMD 7970M CrossFire... thanks to AMD's crappy drivers and their hardware defects. (In 5 years, 10 out of 14 AMD mobile GPUs I have owned were defective... plus two defective AMD desktop video cards.) I have loved the daylights out of 8800M SLI, 9800M SLI ATI 4870M CF, ATI 5870M CF and 580M SLI. I have bolded ATI because I loved their products and don't regard AMD as being the same company with the same high standards for quality. But, I would still choose a CrossFire system over a single NVIDIA card because I prefer multi-GPU. Give me 2 NVIDIA GPUs and I'll never look back, LOL.

Plus, using the M17x R2 as an example, I could choose to update the 4870M CrossFire setup it has with newer GPU performance without having to buy a newer system. Dual 6990M or 580M have the performance to match one 7970M. I could even drop in 7970M CrossFire without buying a new system. I probably will not, but I will definitely be looking to buy the next generation (assuming there will be an R3) Alienware M18x with SLI.

 

ANYWAYS I think I really like the Sager np9150. Conservative yet epic looks, backlit keyboard and pleny of gpu power to choose from. Either way I think I'd gladly settle for a np9150 with a gtx 670m and anti glare screen- over my budget but not too outrageously.

 

You would probably like that system, TastyChevelle. Be sure not to limit yourself to the Sager label. It's a Clevo system sold under multiple brand names. Shop around and get a bidding war started so you don't spend more than necessary. Never pay the price from the web page. It's jacked up. There can be a huge variance in pricing between resellers, and the good ones will negotiate on price like Dell/Alienware does. Lower profit is better than no profit, LOL. If you cannot get them down on the price, one will be willing to upgrade some components like CPU, GPU or RAM or give you an extended warranty rather than allow another vendor to capture your business. Any vendor that will not negotiate with you should be scratched off of your list.

I know of a forum member that, just this past week, negotiated 23% off of the web pricing on a new system with the highest end components available.

 

I didn't read all the posts here but I'm always very impressed with build quality. Awesome laptops that feel quite solid.

 

That lucky dog. Must be a real smooth talker

 

Too bad Alienware discounted M11x r3, now my only choice is Clevo W110ER or I could wait. I picked Alienware because they always have high end GPUs and the advanced plan is top notch. Clevo/Sager will always be my second pick most of the time.

 

How do you feel about xotic pc?

 

Well, he probably opted for max ram and SSD option, 23%off is probably still more than street price.

 

I'm not familier with the Msi Ge60, but besides what's already been mentioned, the M14x has a metal frame and a very good speaker system (for a small laptop) which are both big pluses for me. The best thing about Alienware is the quality of the keyboards including the variable color back lighting.

And, I buy them used from the outlet with an additional 20 to 25% off, and my outlet laptop has the same warranty as a brand new one. Who else does that?

 

did you ever watched a 1080p 60mbit blueray video on a m17 r2?
or anime's like "another" on this screen?
i bought this baby a year ago(i preferred it over r3 cause of screen and crossfire) with 5870m and now im getting a 7970m or 2 in it.
without buying a new system and guess what the cooling is good enough.my babys a 5,5 kg heavy tank try trowing it at your laptop lol

it looks especially with my rainbow like key colours and my blue-led notebook cooler "maddahakkin" great and if you turn out the lights in your room---just "wow"

i can jump every year to new graphic cards witout changing my sytem and!! still have my rgb-led
if something goes wrong you just call and someone repairs it or replaces it. does it sound like a bad deal to you?

how many dollars is someone saving who just changes the graphic card/s once a year?

is my i7 920xm a bottleneck in games@1920*1200 with ubersampling?
thats how 7970m user roll btw
i get 20500 cpu vantage @stock 3,2ghz
i7 3610qm gets around that or 21000

i would suggest anyone still getting a good old r2 4 cheap or alitle used r2 for around 1000 $ or lower installing a
+920xm+7970m

and your looking at 1200p with a 7970m and hope for next years 8970m

 

What about 680 sli in a m17x r2?

 

Well, I see your point and I haven't ever used a multi-GPU config myself, only heard my friend's complaints about them and steered away. But the 8800M GTX experience was GOOD for you? There were critical soldering issues with that model (poor engineering @ nVidia) and nearly 50% of all units sold globally failed exactly after two years because the GPU was, ironically enough, kept too cool. Both my friend's and mine failed simultaneously as we had ordered the Sager NP5793 together. nVidia lost a lot of money from the law suits circulating that ONE single product. Unfortunately, I'm not in the US and couldn't do jack squat about it! I only had to knuckle under and deal with not having a laptop for a year before I could buy one, while swearing away at nVidia the whole time! It's been 3 years since then and I've once again got a gaming computer with me, this Alienware.

XoticPC is really good, by the way.

 

With my Dell systems it turned out fine. I did have issues with the 8800M GTX failing, but they worked extremely well as a multi-GPU system until they failed and Dell replaced them under warranty. The NVIDIA-based HP systems I had with the NVIDIA defect were a nightmare and HP never took care of it. I was part of the class action and the consolation prizes were junky Compaq CQ56 notebooks, but that is way off topic now, LOL. You'll find my story about that in other places here at NBR if you Google for it. I had sworn off NVIDIA at the time, but that was before the string of multiple defective AMD GPUs started. NVIDIA has a long way to go to catch up to that record.

No reason to be sorry... everyone is entitled to an opinion. Remember that you are posting in an Alienware forum and your opinions might not be regarded as factual by a large audience. Alienware build quality, especially the M17x R1, M17x R2 and M18x R1 and R2 is excellent. I cannot speak for the plastic models because I have not, nor do I intend to, own one of them. It's not Apple's build quality that makes guys like us dislike them. And, yes, I'm part of the Alienware cult and loving every minute of it. There is nothing wrong with being excited about and devoted to a brand, even if it's Apple... different strokes. In many cases the Alienware offering is, in fact, the most powerful because of the components specs offered, plus Alienware often hasn't locked things down as much to prevent overclocking or cripple performance, or to compensate for an inadequate cooling system. I would save Clevo's offerings are often the only thing that come close to matching them in terms of performance because of similar specs. And, if you like the look of Alienware, it's a huge selling point. They definitely turn heads in public. In most cases, the other brands are so ordinary looking (including Apple) they normally don't even get a second glance unless they are so huge that the size cannot be overlooked. The exception to the bland appearance is the Asus G-series, which has a similar awesome look to it. Unfortunately, in terms of performance they often don't compete with a Clevo or Alienware with top notch specs. And, heaven forbid that you need to get an Asus repaired under warranty... buckle up for a bumpy ride and break out a big bottle of patience.

That would be pretty sweet, but it would be out of the price range stated stated. Just the GPU parts alone would break his piggy bank.

 

i think 7970m has the bandwidth advantage either 7970m vross or 680m sli is too good to be true

imagine 330watt psu working in r2
and we overclock the a out of 680m sli looking at rgb-led quality

the screen is really the main reason why i dont jump to newer systems
i wanna work with it or watch games on it why should i look on lower screen quality.r2 i7 920xm+7970xfire or 680sli has enough power for many years of extreme gaming.
for ex. i play d3 or starcraft 2 @1920*1200 with 8ssgaa and 8msaa
with a single 5870m
i play skyrim with 4*sgaa ultra details really
i get 2400 gpu in 3dmark 2011
7970m cross would get around 10k
thats more than 4 times faster yu knaw mean

 

As far as your budget of $1200, I'd have to agree with you on the other 14-15" brands offering more bang for your buck than the M14x.

In my case, I was in contact with several boutiques and of course Alienware. I had a basic configuration I wanted, and priced several brands. When Dell/AW offered the 15% off promo along with the other discounts offered to me, I bit. I was able to get a better configuration for my needs and wants on a 17" than anyone else.

 

But what MSI doesn't tell you is their ridiculous warranty policy.

They made me pay out of my own pocket around 60$ to sent it to their repair depot, kept it for 5 weeks and every time I called for an update, it would take 45 minutes+ to people who barely spoke English properly. They had this obnoxious recording, "a service representative will be with you momentarily", followed by someone slamming the phone as hard as they could - this was looped every minute or so for 45 minutes every time.

This is the #1 reason I went AW and I'm now an "AW fanatic"

If you wish to read more on my AW experience, here it is:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/677004-alienware-support-post-your-experience.html

^ No other gaming laptop manufacturer comes close to that type of support.

The reason competitors may be cheaper is because they 'cut-corners' in the warranty department.

 

What I am really curious about is, what are you going to send your laptop into repair for? The only thing i can think of is a physical defect/broken part that would cause a problem. Anything else i can think of is easily fixed... at home... in under 2 hours without needing a "Dell branded employee" to come and do that for you. Hell, if you do have a broken part issue, you can get dell to send you a new part (or buy it off ebay for very cheap if you are out of warranty) and do it yourself in 30 minutes, i have completely stripped my m15x apart many times and it doesn't take over 40 minutes. Usually, the rule i follow by is that if you don't have anything malfunctioning within the first "free" year of warranty, nothing is going to malfunction in the next 4 and paying for 5 years is a waste of money. for $500, you can just save it and use it if anything ever breaks in a few years.

 

I bought my m17x for one the looks aka the keybored lights and two I read alot about it and how good the warranty is and all the other suff but the main reason is that I always wanted one just to show off and to play games on being my first gaming computer I love it best computer I have ever used with the exception of one gaming rig of my friends

Sent From My Rooted E3D

 

Wear and tear and malfunctioning parts. For example, my fans were malfunctioning (resulting in severe heat issues) so I called Dell. The guy came within 2 business days and he not only replaced the fans, but gave me new motherboard CPU/GPU free because of the potential damages from overheating due to the malfunctioning fans. Other companies would NEVER give you pretty much a brand new computer (well, the 'guts' at least) out of generosity to prevent future issues.

You can also get the parts sent to you (like you did) if you feel comfortable installing them, but if you mess up, it's on you. I'd only feel comfortable with ram, hard drives and maybe keyboards.

I don't think it's a waste of money for additional warranty - it's to protect your investment, but we all think differently about it, so to each our own.

 

So, lots and lots of great reasons to buy Alienware instead of something else. Are we all still as crazy as you thought when you started this thread?

Like most things worth owning, you get what you pay for, and Alienware is no exception. There's a model for every level of enthusiast with a price structure that can accommodate almost every budget. If we haven't changed your mind, I trust we have entertained you with our passion for a superior product.

If this has been an enlightening experience, feel free to visit http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/669327-alienware-sales-assistance-thread-redux.html and join in the fun.

 

Haha no you really haven't changed my mind... Alienware still just seems like a cult to me, not because of ignorance anymore but because people like to be flashy lol... Don't get me wrong, its ok to be flashy sometimes! Just not for me. Give me a sleek Sager any day ;D

 

well I haven't read the rest of the thread, but I'll respond to original post:
I am by no means an Alienware fanatic (and I'm one of their very deriders due to their pricing schemes), but I did end up buying a M14x.

Yes, I considered the GE60, GT60-0NE, G75, G55, Clevo-based machines, etc., but in the end settled down on Alienware for several reasons;

• Build quality - I have had the pleasure of hefting a few - they're bricks, but they also feel as tough as them.
• Support - next business day on-site is simply not offered by majority of the competition, and I managed to get a three year, global premium plan with accidental coverage tacked on for free. My previous G73Jh's warranty is two years global, but its service centre is centralized and extremely slow and somewhat unprofessional. MSI's centre isn't much better.
• Availability - In my part of the world, high performance computing fanatics are a minority. Yes, people have heard of Alienware, but they don't know what it means to have, say, a GTX680M with GDDR5 over a HD5450 with 2GB of GDDR3. They might even assume the equal VRAM means they're equal. That aside, the availability of custom notebook builders is nigh on zero. I would have had to import a machine from XoticPC or Origin etc. to get my desired specifications. Which would also have limited my after-sales warranty, especially if it was a Clevo.
• Audio - While I haven't had the chance to see and hear a M18x in person, the M17x isn't particularly impressive in the internal-speaker department. The M14x, however, I'm told, is class-leading in this regard and I'll have to review it for myself once I receive it tomorrow, but I'm quite the audio person so this influenced my decision strongly. I know, I know, the GT60 has fantastic Dynaudio speakers with gilded audio jacks and an internal amplifier, but it was also just as expensive as the M17x. My taste for sound quality also influenced my decision in the ASUS G73Jh I have, and I am extremely disappointed in its successors' speakers. And the Clevo P150EM/P170EM? I hear too many disapproving comments about its Onkyo branded speakers from non-audiophiles and audiophiles alike.
• Design - I've always liked the faceted appearance of Alienware machines. They're sleek, aggressive, yet exude some level of class. They definitely would sit right into the known 'gamer aesthetic', but I like it nontheless. It's like a Lamborghini Aventador in a way, that thing may be loud, angry and fearsome, but at the same time it just maintains a high-end classy exterior. I personally find the MSI GT60 to be gaudy and ugly, its use of lighting being far too exuberantly loud. ASUS' G-series does it better, and I do like faceted 'stealth-fighter' designs. I do also of course like AlienFX - I'm the sort to like lighting, customizable lighting more so, but I'm not going to put mine in a rainbow - a two-tone unified look most likely. I like a mix of professionalism and extravagance.

 

I'm considering buying Alienware... I'm having a lot of trouble deciding between the M17x and the the Asus G75. The more I look at the radeon 7970m's benchmark numbers the more I'm impressed. I know I want a machine that is easy on the eyes. For me, both machines have that going for them. There's nothing wrong with having both style and function. The HDMI-in on the M17x would be nice too. I just read that the display reflects a lot of light. Even looking at pictures of it with the keyboard backlights on I can see them reflected in the screen. Isn't it difficult to use because of that?

 

Let me chime in on why Alienware is by far the best notebook gaming brand and at this point some of it may be repetitive thanks to some excellent points brought up by other members:

1. Next business day service (I'll expand on this more below)
2. Excellent build quality
3. Top of the line cooling (will discuss this further)
4. Bios Overclocking (M17x + M18x)
5. Design Appeal
6. Extras (e.g. alienfx, wireless hdmi, msata drive, hdmi in)

NBD Service
As far as NBD service I'll give you an example of how Dell recently helped me out: My palm rest's touchpad was malfunctioning, I e-mailed one of the several excellent AW reps that are available on the NBR and T|I forums, told him my problem and the next day my new palm rest was waiting for me at home. Few days later, I noticed my media panel lights were having issues and again, Dell overnighted a new media panel cover. However, it turns out the panel was perfectly fine, the ribbon cable was the culprit, so again I e-mailed the Dell rep and the next day a replacement ribbon cable was there and my system is good as new.

That's one story, another is that I previously had AMD 6990M Xfire in my M18x and was extremely frustrated with the AMD drivers. I pinged a Dell rep. about it and 2 weeks later had a brand new M18x + 580M SLI delivered to my doorstep WITH a return label to send back the other system.

I have a challenge for everyone out there: Find me a gaming notebook maker that can match this level of service. I can back up my claims with screenshots of the work orders so if you claim you got the same service from another gaming notebook maker, back it up. I'm sure there's tons of other Alienware users that have similar stories as mine.

Cooling
As I mentioned, Alienware has exceedingly good cooling design built into their notebooks. While some other brand notebook owners are seeing high temperatures on their GPUs and resorting to modding their systems, Alienware owners don't have to bother. As another personal anecdote, I have a 4 GB 680M in my system and can run it at 1200+ core and 2500+ mhz memory and the hottest it gets is 84C at 100% utilization and that's in super hot Phoenix, AZ weather!


As with any brand, Alienware also has its down sides and the biggest one is their GPU throttling scheme. With their recent 680M release, they have an algorithm built in that throttles the GPU after a certain power/temp threshold is crossed and thus overclocking is limited with the Dell 680M. IMO this sort of aggressive throttling is unnecessary given the excellent cooling built into their systems. But with everything taken into account, I'd still pick an Alienware system over any of its competitors.

 

Alienware's current generation has been frequently criticized for their over-reflective glossy displays, and while I can't testify for the M14x till mine arrives, I have been to the M17x in stores and its display is certifiably mirror-like. It reflects everything around it. But when it is actually on, it is still usable, but you can likely still see yourself if the image displayed is dark. Outside, though, I reckon, it'd be nigh on useless without the brightness on full.

 

I was browsing the dell outlet and happened across a few M17x R4's under "certified used". Most with the 7970m gpu, a few with blu-ray drives, and a couple with a small ram upgrade. I'm not sure how reliable that is, but with a good warranty that $1600 price tag sounds pretty darn good. So close... but so far.

 

My M17 R3 does have an extremely reflective display, but it's not bad enough for me to dislike the system. Alienware definitely has their problems, but the majority of them seem to fall into the "uneducated customer service reps and poor quality control" categories. Once you speak to someone that knows what they're doing, as a rule the company will bend over backwards to take care of you.

Digiops, I just ordered an M18 R2 from the outlet, piced up a $3200 computer for $2500 with the same warranty I'd have gotten if I purchased new. It's on the truck and will be delivered to my home in PA tomorrow. That's less than a week from order to delivery. (of course being in Afghanistan I'm still trying to figure out how to get the battery shipped out here while I have the computer mailed out) I'm quite certain that it will be worth what I paid for it, or more. I wouldn't worry at all about buying from the outlet.

 

I can understand the OP's skepticism of the brand. I too was on the fence between Alienware and their competitor's brands Clevo, Sager, Origin, Malibal, Mythlogic (all the same thing by the way). I don't consider ASUS and MSI to be on the same level because of the lack of modern AMD GPU options, They're still great laptops though.
I am younger than the average Alienware owner but I wouldn't consider myself ignorant to computing. However the oblivious gamer who has money to burn, and spoiled kid who got it for the lights, stereotypes which are often associated with the brand do nothing but help reinforce people's poor opinions of Alienware owners. However people who know they can haggle and get better prices without it being socially acceptable are the real ignorant ones.

I got my M17x for cheaper than a Clevo with the power of haggling and so I was really happy with it. Every time I see it sitting on my desk I find it exciting it's amazing. The M17x and Clevo P170EM are both good looking laptops (I like the plain look of the Clevos but I also like the sports car style of the Alienwares). The visual aesthetics are all a matter of opinion. Alienware looks Alien and Sporty, while the Clevo is professional, and the ASUS G series looks like a stealth bomber. The only brand aesthetic I don't like is MSI, but like I said, that's my opinion.

The accidental warranty is nice but the default North American phone support that Clevo re-sellers give you is also very nice.
I don't care what brand someone gets. In the end they will get what they paid for, good or bad.

Just my two cents.