Why did you choose your Alienware?

Build quality, performance and the features I need. There's little else that compares with the performance and connectivity I require to do my job and stay mobile.

The only really comparable "power" notebooks come from Apple and Clevo.

Clevo makes very comparable laptops, but I find them bland to look at. The price is good, and they cram in a lot of features, but they're bulky and bland. I don't necessarily /need/ a laptop that looks glitzy, but if I'm spending the money, I want a laptop I can customize and something I feel represents "me". Clevo's laptops just don't fit that bill.

Apple's laptops equally look generic. I like the metal casings (a plus) but they seem to strive to make them look as featureless and as sterile as possible. Their unending strive for thinness is a perk, from my experiences with them it comes off with huge tradeoff for heat... which is not my thing. I do not need a laptop that is uncomfortable to use for long periods of time. That, and I personally loathe OSX. Doesn't help my apps aren't cross compatible, and there's little reason to get a Mac just to put Win7 on it.

So that pretty much just leaves Alienware as the only choice, and it's not a bad one at all. Alienware's current design style with their industrial, sharp edges really speaks to me. And the M11X mostly fits my needs, though I'm looking forward to an M14X.

 

Had enough of my old 15.6" Precision, so I wanted the best GPU I could buy, in the smallest package I could buy, and still have somewhat decent battery life. M11x meets that need, so I couldn't be happeier.

 

It'd be much cheaper to actually build ones own computer with the same specs as an alienware (if you know where to look), but i love the alienware look, and the build quality inside is magnificent and clean. it also looks awesome pulling it out in an airport and people watching with eyes wide open.

i havent had any dell CS problems thus far as well. so alienware all the way.

thats why i choose AW!

 

at the time it was

1200p
quad core
dual gfx

 

I chose my R3 because of the look I have a Sager 8850 and it is nice and fast but it just looks so plain and boring. The Alienware have the market on style.

 

Needed (limited) portability so wanted to get a gaming notebook. And simply put, at the time, the M17 offered excellent performance for the money. It's the same today; Alienware is priced very competitively (provided you're in America, at least...they do mark prices up in other countries) and the quality is excellent.

Oh, and the looks also play a factor in it. What's the point of having an overpowered notebook if it's made of the same boring cheap plastics as every other notebook out there? That'd be like having a supercar (like a Ferrari) that looks like an ordinary car (like, say, a Ford)

 

Cool!! Can you really purchase a generic laptop case and find your own laptop motherboard that fits that case and choose whatever laptop screen you want and install that separately?

I would love to build a laptop from random casings/screens/keyboards and make a completely custom laptop. That would be very interesting.

 

It would be a much more daunting task than building a regular desktop tower, that's for sure. For a tower, all you'd need to do is screw in the mobo, PSU, and the rest you just plug into the appropriate slots, with plenty of space to spare. You can pretty much say that towers these days are all standardized and "cookie-cutter". There's not much difference between towers in general.

But for laptops, not all laptops are built the same. You have to worry about much more in terms of space/compatibility/heat management. Obviously, the design of the chassis is possibly the most important factor. For example, things like making sure components' form factors match the chassis, and making sure your laptop can handle the heat under stress. Without a good pre-built chassis, you'd have to do all of the heat-management and airflow design by yourself.

Bottom line, building a laptop from scratch is a lot more work than building a tower from scratch, which is probably why there's still a booming market for laptop manufacturers like Dell/Sager/HP/Sony. They have teams of engineers who do months and months of research, and go through many revisions, just to end up with the final products that you see on their front pages. That's what differentiates a good laptop brand (think Sager or Alienware) from a bad laptop brand (think HP and their heating issues). You don't see the same kind of competition for towers, because any 12 year old kid can build one by buying from Newegg and reading an instruction manual.

Even if you do end up building a laptop from scratch by yourself, it would be near impossible to beat the quality that big name brands offer in their laptops. However, if you did happen to build one that exceeds that of those sold on the market today, you should seriously consider starting a laptop brand yourself

 

Warranty and cooling.

Was honestly put off by all the lights everywhere, was let down by the quality.

Not going to lie, though... It looks AMAZING just sitting wireless on a table or something closed, I love the design.

 

Design, wow factor, pretty lights, a touchpad I liked (own an m11x r1) and performance. First experience with Dell and AW and was pleasantly surprised with the service, considering I've had to have four services. Can't say they were painless, but Dell as a company did their best. For a while it performed better than my desktop until I did an upgrade!

 

The aesthetics, I really didn't want another generic looking clevo-esque laptop.

 

lol, i meant a desktop dude. desktop. im not sure about building a custom lappy.

 

Because they are awesome. My m11x R1 was the best deal for the size/performance ratio I could find at the time. And I like the spiffy LED effects. Besides, telling someone I own an Alienware has the same effect as when I say I own a DeLorean. (only the laptop currently works lol)

 

lol, ok. I automatically thought M17xR2 (laptop) when I read your sig.

 

For the looks of course I don't think there's a single laptop out there that beats AW in terms of laptop design. However, desktop is another story. I'm just in love with the NZXT Phantom (white) xD

 

1. Didn't want another 17" gaming laptop and found it at the right price. The specs were great for the price compared to other brands unless I wanted refurbished with 90 day warranty which I didn't.

2. Got it on sale at Newegg for $1200. Spec'd out at Dell it was $1900. i7/5850/6gigsmem

3. Warranty, I had a DOA hard drive. Dell had support guy out next day replacing it. Other companies have been known to keep your laptop for weeks including ASUS and MSI.

4. Liked the idea of the cooling setup. My last 2 17" died early due to heat

5. and changing the colors of your lighting is kinda neat.

Negative, could use a couple more ports usb and HDMI. Don't like the power connector or the verticle usb on left side. They just look easy to damage to me. Just a personal pet peeve and most likely fine.

 

the M11x looks so cute!

LOL

 

I go back to the 'old days' of Alienware- I bought my M5500 when they were still their own company before the buyout. Back then, they were a unique force in the computing world as there were not many 'boutique' computer companies, and the combination of performance + styling won me over. Also, the system is rock solid. I've had it for over 5 years now and it still is 'kicking it' as my deployment computer. Since then, I've become a repeat customer by getting the first edition M11X when it came out last year, and then getting the M15X. I'm going to sell my M15X and probably get the M14X to go in it's place, as I've started to put together a list of components for a desktop build of my own to be my 'hard line' system. The M14X would then be used in the bedroom hooked up to my 32" HDTV and serve as my BluRay/media system while I get ready call it a day.

Anyway, out of all of that drivel I want to say that performance, styling & reliability won me over from a long time ago and that is why I have continued to buy Alienware.

 

You screw with Alienware and you are DONE , so alienware is the best , like Speedy Gonzalez posted.

 

I've had my M15x for a few months now. Hands down the best build quality of any laptop (or computer component for that matter) I've ever touched.

The design is excellent, the individual lighting is a really cool feature. The outer chassis is comprised primarily of brushed aluminum (which is why the thing weighs 9 pounds ) which is just amazing.

The cooling is among the best in the business. The expandability is also amazing. You can truly buy one of these things and slap in a new videocard in a year or two if you really want to - try doing that with an Asus without having to bend over backwards for it.

And it's an ALIENWARE! I've always wanted one, ever since I was a kid. Now that I have one, I don't think I could ever buy another brand of laptop, at least not in the forseeable future. They do cost a bit more compared to an Asus and some other brands, but you get what you pay for.

 

1.Brand Name[reputation]
2.wanted a gaming machine XD
3.Design
4.COOL in both factor.... outside and inside
5.Performance
6.ALIENFX!

 

The end

 

I chose it for its small size (m11x) yet having the ability to play some games if I want. I am also surprised at the decent battery life on my laptop, little things been over 5 hours when just web browsing / word processing (perfect for school)

Granted the m14x would do a better job now, because I used to find the m15x too cumbersome. Looks like time to find a buyer for my m11x R1 so I can pick up the m14

 

1. Warranty
2. Build quality

I got sick of the clevo chiclet keyboards.

 

Appearance wise, nothing else on the market touches Alienware. I'm a geek, I need shiny toys.

 

Pst. Your Sager looks like every other laptop. Name a single laptop that is even close to the AW's coolness factor. Not to mention no one goes "oh he has a Sager!", they'll probably be more awed at the m11x than your cranked up Sager.

Most of the people here most likely buy it more for the brand/looks than for the actual components. It's like dating a hot chick; does it matter if she's rich? No, but it would be a bonus for sure. Hot chick = AW laptop. Her income = components.

That's my standpoint anyway.

 

1. wanted a high quality portable machine
2. i hate apple (OMG lolz)
3. LOVE the look of alienware's notebooks, always have, specially the color customization
4. needed something i could game on, but not spend a fortune getting
5. i honestly think alienware makes some of the high quality, and longest lasting machines for your money. people love to say that apple products last longer than pc's, well yah maybe if you got the $400 HP. my area-51 from 2004 is still going strong (although its use has significantly decreased). i plan on my r3 lasting just as long

 

This is why I bought an Alienware.

Coz it makes perps like him post silly messages on forums out of jealousy.

By the way, congratulations on your mediocre build quality and boring design.

 

I paid a little bit more than you, but I'll sleep well at night knowing that my m17x doesn't look like everything else on the market.

 

I chose it because of the specs, first and foremost, and secondly, most definitely the looks. I have always loved the styling of Alienware machines (the M17x will be my first Alienware- EDD is 5/11 and I'm super excited!!)