Why Alienware, Alienware fanatics?

Well, you may get the best quality, but I decided a while ago on a Sager np9150 with a 680m, so I now have the best performance.

 

yeah, that is a bit of a sore spot. For those that want 17 inch power, but in a 15 inch chassis, AW falls short. The m14x is nice and sort of fills the niche left by the m11x, but doesn't even come close to what the m15x could do, or what the 15 inchers provided by sager, msi, and asus can do.

Really wish they would give the m15x another go. I can't figure out why they discontinued it, they lost all the market share in that area by doing that.

 

This is a somewhat objective statement, I'm afraid. As a guy in the market for an absolute killer gaming laptop, I've done a LOT of research into Sager/Clevo vs. Alienware... and it seems to me that which one is better depends solely on who you ask and personal experiences.

I will add, tho, that I was looking at the 9370 with dual 680's in SLI - so I don't think you can say you even have the best performance in the Sager family....

Personally, after the research, I'm pretty well decided on a M18x; decided I liked the aluminum construction and the 18" form factor.

 

It absolutely depends on who you ask. If you want the most outrageously bright and killer looking laptop and you are just getting it for gaming, go right ahead. The reason I got that Sager is because I personally don't like drawing attention to myself, especially in college, so I love the sleek nothingness that is Sager.

 

There's no question, there's no argument, there's no tie for best performance. It's AW hands down, whether you like it or not. M18x has the best cooling combined with unlock BIOS/vBIOS/etc. Try OC'ing your Sager to 4.5GHz stable across the board on the CPU, or hitting 50K GPU in Vantage. Yes, everyone is entitled to have an opinion but it doesn't change the facts. And the facts are here . So, unless you can prove that you can run your CPU @5Ghz+ and hit those scores on your Sager, the crown will belong to the flashy lights and glowing heads

 

Yeah, AW will get you that extra 0.2 ghz, but a sager with the same specs will still cost 500-1000+ less : /

Still love AW more though.

 

If you are smart enough not to order RAM/HDD upgrades from Dell directly, the price won't be higher. In fact, you can negotiate it down. With Sager, the price is fixed except for 2-3% military/student discount, which is nothing to run home about.
Also, the extra features: macro keys, 2 headphone jacks, HDMI IN&OUT, 5 hard drives, better sound, better battery life, etc...
Also, the Next Business Day support: can't beat Dell on that one.

 

No sales tax on sagers if you buy from a reseller, so thats still several hundred less.
Sagers also have far better screen options than the m18x has unfortunately. Matte, 90% color gamut glossy, 120 Hz 3-d matte, etc...
And the whole next day buisness support is really only good if you have techs in your area who are not utterly incompetent (which as you can see from several threads on this forum, happens with some regularity).

Both have their strong and weak points.
AW is typically more expensive, and more powerful (more powerful only if your talking about the m18x).
Sager is usually cheaper and offers more customization.

I would still recommend the M18x r2 over the Sager np9370 though. As said before, it can be OC'd more than the competition and thus its internals will still be good longer, its durable aluminum chassis is something that all gaming laptops other than the Razer Blade should envy, the expansive and wonderfully color customizable non chicklet keyboard is to die for, and if your looking for a laptop with desktop performance, which the M18x does offer, you really shouldn't be put off by its size. Having a laptop with a screen larger than 17 inches also really helps with game immersion (although I REALLY wish they would do something about the freaking glare). I could go on, but you probably get the point.
Both have their strengths and weaknesses, no need to hate on the other guy when your own champion isn't necessarily perfect.

 

No hate towards Clevo's, owned a bunch in the past. Great machines. Just comparing the flagships. You are correct about screens but overall, M18x has more features, more power, better cooling, support. Yes, third party techs suck but you have the option to DIY and just order the replacement parts, which is superb for enthusiasts who would do a far better job themselves, with skills, love and passion. With Clevo, you have to ship the system to the reseller or in most cases, Sager, which takes anywhere between 1 to 3 weeks which is a serious bummer, especially if your machine is also your main workhorse.

 

just curious but can you put unlocked processor's in sager's single GPU competitor to the m17x r3/r4. Didn't know if it is possible to overclock them or not.

 

That is going to depend on the BIOS, I don't see a reason why it couldn't handle it though.

 

Yes, and there are people doing it but the main problem is the cooling limitation. To push a 3940xm to 4.5ghz stable on all cores, you would require a 100W+ heatsink while the Sager is limited to a 60W one. So even if you unlock the BIOS and set the multipliers/amp/flex to achieve the goal, the system would throttle down every time there's a serious load.

 

same case with the 2920xm and a machine like my m17x. Guess when I benchmark I'll have to go outside if I snag one to play with. Gets rather cold up here.

 

Alaska gets cold?

 

If you have time to tinker with it, you could try modding the HS to increase its efficiency. It's doable but not trivial. I'm trying to do the same with my M18x but it's taking forever researching available technologies, talking to thermal engineers, testing new ideas, etc. It's fun though, every little gain leaves more headroom for the CPU.

 

just slightly gets up to -40F for a while in December-February.

still on the fence about buying one of not. decisions decisions.

 

If you are not in a rush, wait. First, there's a decent chance of a mild GPU refresh in Dec. Second, Haswell isn't too far away together with DDR4 and other cool features. I'm not expecting a big increase in CPU power but together with 4 sata III ports, DDR4, Maxwell graphics, things look promising.

 

yea I hear ya. I'm not looking at buying another machine till next June/July or so (M17x r5 with nvidia flagship), so this would probably be my last substantial upgrade to my r3. Depending on my money situation after Christmas I think I might try to snag one then, got to many other things to worry about right now.

 

It also depends on what price you buy the processor for as well, but I guess you could always sell it for near the same price if it doesn't work out. I notice that the 2920xm could be bought for around $350 on Ebay and there is another one that is OEM just at $.99 right now with no reserve.

Well the one for $350 is now gone...did you buy it?

 

nah that wasn't me.

 

Because they are beautiful, well designed and easily upgradable! And most important, that one is simply able to say: "I have an Alienware!"

 

I think it's good to have a choice, some people like the design, others don't, some people like the balance of features/performance/price, other like it from else where.

Keep in mind notebooks are very personal devices so there is no one machine fits all even within specific size classes.

 

Hello there, I have an Alienware for a year already and recently bought higher spec Sager.
I would say I am disappoint by the Sager.
The Alienware is just way better in everything, better design, build better, ports are in better place, more beautiful.
The only downside is the price is higher, but I think it's worth it, next buy will be Alienware again

 

It's really difficult to accept less once you've owned the best. The M17x R2 and M18x R1 have pretty much ruined the chances of me being happy with anything else, LOL. The look, feel and performance of any other laptop is big disappointment in comparison. It's unrealistic to expect for anyone that hasn't had this experience to comprehend it.

 

I admint prior to buying my m17x R4 I wasn't sure the price premium for Alienware was worth it.

I have to say after having it for 3 months I wish I would have bought one sooner. The build quality is fantastic, I wasn't sure if I'd like al the lighting effects but have to say it's pretty cool and a lot of people comment on it when I'm out around town. I also wanted to spec a machine that could handle the top games at high/ultra settings. Alienware provided a lot of HW choices like dual SSD's, Nvidia 680m, etc that while not cheap certainly provided the experience I was looking for. It also provided me the opportunity to connect the laptop to my 55" LCD and gaming on the big screen has been awesome, that's where I game 90% of the time now - it's a different experience playing BF3 on a 55" screen with full size surround speakers - it's pretty awesome!!

So that's my $.02, I don't regret my purchase and look forward to see what Alienware releases next year when Haswell is out

 

The price is well worth it for sure, especially if you can do all upgrades on your own. I'd normally get the most basic config and install my own ram/hdds/wifi/etc.

We have mentioned everything, features, power, OC'ing potential, cooling system, great warranty, great community. One thing I personally like about AW (the flagship models) is the versatility. It's not just a desktop replacement for me, it's way more than that. I use it as a workhorse mobile server running complex virtualization projects (main OS: Server 2012 Datacenter transformed into a workstation with all the eye candies of W8). At the same time, it completely replaces our cable TV when I'm home, by simply streaming everything via WirelessHD to our plasma. In addition, I like to watch movies with my wife when the kids are asleep and having 2 headphone jacks is another very handy feature when you want to keep it quiet while sharing the experience. And last but not least comes the battery life. Many of you may say, who cares, it's a desktop replacement and too heavy to be used in public places. Yes and no. Very often I take my beast to starbucks and restaurants and fully enjoy the luxury of its great big screen (anti glare modded ) and 5 hours of battery life. But even at home, I'd often use it on my lap while sitting on a cozy sofa (like now, lol). And YES, it is a laptop and CAN be used on one's lap. I feel no discomfort of its size and weight. If anything, it's the exact opposite, You get the full sized keyboard and super clear and big screen on your lap and have no need to strain your eyes or bend your shoulders while doing light office work or browsing. There's no sacrifice or compromise. It's not that heavy really, most 15-17" laptops are in the 3-4kg range anyways and I really can't tell the difference whether it's a 6kg AW flagship or 15" Lenovo thinkpad sitting on my knees. And for a 18.4' machine it's got superb ergonomics!

I wouldn't mind a few changes however. At this size, Dell could
a) make it more DIY friendly, so it wouldn't take 30 screws and 10 connectors to repaste a GPU.
b) Offer a more robust cooling with more and beefier pipes, as well as bigger radiators.
c) Make the E2E concept an option like in their Precision series.

But even as is, it's nearly perfect.

 

There are so many options at the same price as an alienware with better specs, build quality and aren't 2 inches thick. Why do people buy these hulking monstrosities? Is it the shiny lights? The logo?

 

Brand loyalty, in many cases the overclocking and enthusiast factor and also the support ... no one else will ship you parts for them or send a service tech out to you unless its an AW or a business class unit from the major 3.

 

The only brand that offers the same build quality is probably the rog series from Asus and the Razer blade but that's about it, and don't think those are cheaper then Alienware because they aren't

As said for cheaper options from brands like Lenovo, Msi, Clevo and so on aren't bad laptops but in terms of build quality they don't even come close to Alienware. I've got a Lenovo y500 as well and aside from the horrible clickpad, cheap plastic with mediocre build quality and TN screen it's not a bad thing considering how much cheaper it was. But when compared to my Alienware 14 the only thing that's better on the y500 is the speakers and that's it.

But why I own the 14 is mostly because I got it extremely cheap second hand, but considering the build quality, excellent keyboard ,touch pad with decent buttons (no clickpad or nasty cheap tactile switches), I would have no problem buying it brand new when compared to a MSI ge40, lenovo y410p/y40 or Clevo w230st and so on.

Yes you can get the same performance for less but it will always be a tradeoff in terms of build quality.

 

It's difficult to fathom for someone that has never owned one. I think it must be tied directly to Alienware owner's having higher IQ and EQ than the average PC enthusiast. For example, we don't troll in the treads for other brands and ask loaded questions that might spark controversy. But, believe it or not, there are people that actually do stuff like that. We peacefully coexist and find common ground with fellow enthusiasts.

You're wrong about the highlighted part... dead wrong... there is nothing offered in another brand with better specs (unless you cut corners and order dumbed-down specs or a "budget" model, but I don't count those) and the #1 differentiation is build quality. When you have the baddest CPU and GPU there's nowhere left to turn for another product. Unless you get something really goofy... which can be cool. For an example of goofy one-off, I want a P570WM because is has a 4930K desktop CPU. I don't want a pointy-cornered box that's made of plastic with glossy black surfaces that scratch whenever wind blows dust across it. But, yeah... I do want that CPU in laptop, and I'm willing to put up with cheap plastic and sharp edges if I have to. But, it's far from inexpensive and that won't appeal to people that like to whine and moan about thick, because that beast is real thick, LOL.

Alienware totally skunks the rest on build quality. Unless you don't like metal for some reason.

Service and support is also second to none. This is one of the most compelling reasons. The service delivery and support for most of their competitors really sucks, except for a couple that offer similar service only on their business class products. I won't mention brand names, but I have had warranty experiences with some of their competitors that I use in my career as examples of "how to suck at your job" scenarios... they're great for lectures, but not for the customer that had to live it.

Oh, and don't forget... Alienware owners are secretly members of an elite extraterrestrial master race that is here to dominate.

It's really simple when you break it down. Just a few things that make all the difference in the world unless your looking for something that looks, acts and performs like a "second fiddle" product for less money. At the end of the day, there's nothing perfect. None of them are even close... not even Alienware. They're just a little bit closer than anyone else. Based on specs, most are competitively priced. You get a little extra for a little extra with Alienware, and those extras you can't get elsewhere. If you do not want want the little extras, choosing another brand with identical core components for less money is certainly a way of saving a few bucks... nothing wrong with that if that's what matters most.

 

Find me another 18" screen system....

 

Let's say you go for a thin machine like a Razor. The GPU temps reportedly hit 85-90 degrees. That's all kinds of stupid for gaming sessions. Then there is upgradabilty.. these overweight tablets have their GPU's soldered onto the motherboard to get them that thin. So good luck if you ever want to upgrade, you're looking at basically flushing decent hardware down the toilet or finding a poor noob to buy an aging machine with zero upgrade paths.
Sure AW's have some heft, but the build quality is remarkable, it runs cool, and is totally different beast. Even dispite its weight , I'm also sure you'd find that the power/weight ratio to favor an Alienware.

 

I had asus, that in my country is the competitor of alienware, there is no competition between alienware and asus, in all ways I tested alienware wins, the price of resell, check the asus forum rog, and you will see there hundred of problemes, here almoust all the problemes ar caused by nvidia, I was surprized iven that my psu is 240w that iven at 780m asus doesnt has it . The only probleme that I had with my alienware is with th performance of drivers from gpu....after that will be fix alienware the best. Thank you

 

Unless you post a peer reviewed article published in a reputable journal to support your claim about IQ, I'm going to assume you are mad because i criticized your precious alienware.

For $1100, what do I get from Alienware? A laptop with a ton of shiny lights, a core i5 processor and a GT 750m. For $1000 what do I get from sager? A well built laptop with an i7 quad core, GTX 860m. How can you even compare them? Even if I spend $2.1k on an alienware 14, I'm still only getting a GTX 765m. I don't know why people buy these. What do I get if I spend $2.1k on an Aorus X7? Excellent build quality, 2 GTX 765m's in a form factor that is 0.8 inches thick.

 

- :thumbsup: you don't know me very well... I am not angry. I was merely testing for the presence of troll meat in this thread. Trolls often get really upset when their intelligence is questioned. Intelligent people frequently do not care if their opinions are accepted by others, but they don't mind expressing them.

For $1,100 you don't get anything worth buying from any brand. Nothing in your quote offers anything of value in my mind. The specs are lame in all of your examples. Alienware offers lower grade specs like that, but those are not options I would be willing to entertain. Good luck ever trying to get that 0.8" turd to run cool with a mid-range GPU (not to mention what might happen if you try to overclock it) and good luck trying to upgrade it with a soldered-on CPU and GPU... the Aorus is a one-shot wonder. Is it fancy? Yes. Is it nice? I suppose so. Is it an enthusiast-grade high performance system? Nope. It's an Ultrabook that is more capable of playing games than most Ultrabooks are.

 

Intelligent people don't bring IQ into question because firstly it does not correlate well with success in life and secondly, it has nothing to do with the issue at hand. It's ironic that you are calling me the troll when you are the one making wild claims and I am backing up my statements with facts.

 

A loaded Question?

I have a mega water cooled machine with 3 screens to game, and an itsy bitsy 13.3" Asus for work.I think that Alienware fills needs. An, no I don't own one. But I respect those that do.

I even own a 16xps and the close structure drives me nuts, yet it works well, can even game with it. Would I buy another Dell? No, I don't think so, but things change.

I drive a Toyota, and you might drive a Ford. Am I happier with my car than you? I bet not.

 

The only conclusion I've come to, from the very existence of this thread, is the fact that you must be looking for a heated argument of some sort. You posted in an Alienware forum, questioning Alienware and it's quality... What did you expect? I wouldn't be surprised if you were a deranged individual of whom was previously banished from these very forums, considering you are a new member.

Having never owned one, you could not be more wrong, and have nothing but "hearsay" to back your claims. Everything Mr. Fox said above is fact - not opinion. I could not agree more with his post. Even ASUS ROG has a weak, plastic chassis in comparison to Alienware. There are absolutely no other manufactured gaming laptops on the market that match both quality and performance of Alienware (with the exception of recent news in light of the Alienware 18 and the 880M).

This is honestly a dumb question, to a certain extent. About ten to fifteen minutes searching the web and these forums would answer your question.

 

Because at the time most people bought the 14 the competition didn't offer a gtx860m as well. No one will buy a new 14 now because they all are still waiting for it to be updated with the 860m. And this is the only stupid thing from Alienware I will agree with you since they should have already updated the 14 4 months ago.

 

Conclusions from this thread:

Alienware owners fall into two categories:

1. People who blindly buy it because of the brand and shiny lights then get angry when you point out how much more they paid for the same specs.

2. People who think the build quality and support are worth the price premium.


I made this thread because I was genuinely curious why people would pay 30-50% more for the same specs.

 

One hungry troll right here..

Reflect.. seriously go buy that Razor you've been enquiring about. Anyway.. they are way more powerful than Alienwares, thinner, run cooler, and best of all upgradable. You'll be so happy you had your fingers in your ears and didn't listen to any of us once you enjoying all the spoils at a buttery smooth 30fps .. show them Alienware fella's how its done my hungry friend

 

Oh soo mad. Your anger sustains me

 

Ah, nice. So, it looks like you got what you came here looking for. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?

There was another thread that had all the answers you needed. I merged it for you.

These are all personal decisions. Price, specs, everything else. I would hate a machine like you're looking for and you would hate the kind of machines I like. Nothing wrong with that... different strokes, right?

The best option is to do whatever makes you happy and not worry about what other people are doing. It really shouldn't make any difference. If it turns out great you can take pride in having made a good decision for yourself. If it doesn't turn out right, the only entities you can ascribe fault to are yourself and the brand that screwed you over.

 

I must disagree, that's just wrong. When you buy an Alienware laptop, you don't just buy the brand, or the shiny lights, you buy the after service, if any issue happens with your laptop, they replace it or send a tech to your house, no questions asked, you buy the build quality, Alienware laptops come with an outstanding cooling system, which is the main reason I buy these, they also come with a decent screen (better than most the competitors) and a really good sound system (with speakers + sub-woofer from Klipsch on the AW18), yes the fancy lights and the brand are a plus, but personally I couldn't care less what brand gets crafted on it
At least it's much better than Apple, on Alienware you do pay a hefty price but you get great components, on Apple, you get a nice and fancy design, the Apple brand, the servicing which is also pretty good, and that's it.

 

In all fairness though, Alienware probably isn't the best choice if you're only looking for a mid-range system. It would be like buying a Corvette with a 4 cylinder if such a thing existed -- completely pointless. You buy a Corvette for the performance, not for some empty shell which only has the appearance of performance but is 100% underwhelming under the hood. So in that sense, probably no point getting an Alienware if you're only going to put in mid-range components.

I wonder if that skews perspectives a little bit...

 

If you can name me another company that offers a system that is upgradable with a free unsoldered CPU socket and a GPU slot with at least 3 generations of GPU upgradability support, plus warranty and support that will send a technician to your door as opposed to you sending your system to them, then I will bow down to your superior intellect.

 

Im sitting here wondering if i should laugh or entertain the thought of giving an answer because if might take a second to do lol..

 

who is this guy?

 

I'll sum this up for the entire thread. My clevo breaks down, I'm shipping it back and using my 18 exclusively for a few weeks. My Alienware breaks down, I'm using my clevo on my couch while I wait for my next day tech courier to come. It will be on the table taken apart before they get here. Have a seat and have a drink, while I fix my beast.

 

Excellent summary! In fact, one of the best I have seen yet. +1 Rep. The mental picture that is conjured in just a few words is very compelling.