what would my first Alienware be

need help making a decision in choosing my first Alienwear laptop with a budget of 1000$ which model should i go with

 

For 1000$ you really cant get anything more than a M11x or a M14x. Out of those two, the M14x will give more value because of the bigger screen.

 

Yeah what simplified said, with that said i think you should try and save up a little more to get some more impressive specs. You will appreciate that in the long run. I of course dont know if you can save up more money, im just sayin.

 

M14x stock with upgraded screen 1175$ without tax and haggling

 

I agree with you there. For 1k I would really consider other options. Dell studio/xps, hp, acer, asus will give you something usable for 1k. An alienware for 1k will be merely a barebone. To get an entry level Alienware of the higher models (m17x/m18x) is already 2k+ for an acceptable starter spec. With extra warranty, even more spec a standard m17/18x will be about 3-4k.

If you do not live in USA the prices will be about double. I paid 40k Swedish KR (about 6.5k $) for the m17x in my sig for 4.5 monthes ago. In USA it would have cost half of that or less. I really do not understand Dells pricing outside USA. Its unfair that we who live in EU have to pay more than double for our machines.

Proof: Dell - Officiell Sida | Dell Sverige divide all prices with 6.2 to convert to USD. Base price is insane and the upgrade prices are outrageous.

 

Yup, i would agree once again : ) Getting a XPS instead, since i paid 3k for mine (i got all that was available except the i7 920XM since that was double the price of the 820QM) and i have to say that i am satisfied, where as if i were to get the barebone model the weight wouldent have been worth it. I bought mine in the US, that why its so cheap. Here in EU its sooooo expensive that you really have to consider if its worth it. So if you "only" have 1k i would go for something less expensive as simplified said. Alienware is only worth it if you can but some more cash into it!

 

For $1000 you could also consider an R1 or an R2

 

Check out some refurbbed M14x laptops if you're ok with that or perhaps a refurbed m11x.

 

I'll be selling my M17x, but after my vacation as I built a desktop and will be keeping the R2.
Pm me if you wish.

 

You can find something in the Dell Outlet for that price. There are some M15x and M17x there that fall in that price range. It's not current tech, but it fits your budget.

 

Try purchasing from the Dell Outlet, you will get more for your money with a few cosmetic scratches but nothing big. Also, the M11X or M14X is your best bet.

 

Even if they are scratched or anything Dell will fix it, they come with one year standard warranty

 

unless you HAVE to have an alienware... becuase im not biased on computers im going to suggest you look at a asus G73 jh/jw/sw or the newer G74 although im not entirely sure what it retails for. but the G73JH is going for about $1000 and has some pretty darn good specs considering its price

 

Go for the Dell Outlet all of mine started that way and 2 got upgraded to new builds because of problems. The m17xR2 was a new upgrade build and the Aurora ALX started out as a Aurora. The m11x has never given a problem and was 540.00 thru the Outlet. Good Luck.

 

Hi guys. didnt want to start a whole new thread for just some quick questions i have. Was hoping you guys could help.

I was wondering if alienwares ran hot and loud? i currently have a macbook pro that runs whisper quiet and barely gets warm after hours of continues use. compared to a toshiba i had that sounded like it was a catagory 5 hurricane and could set the house on fire if left unattended.

Also what kind of cold boot up times can i expect and shut down times. Granted my mac isnt used for gaming but it turns on and off in just a few seconds.

I have about 2k to spend and in the interest of saving i was wondering if it would be better to just stick with the 4gs of ram and the 320 hdd the m17x comes with and just upgrade those myself at a later date. I was hoping with the money i would save in those areas i could put towards a better processor and video card.

If anyone has any other cost cutting recommendations that could be upgraded easily by me please share them.

Any advice would be very helpful and appreciated. Thanks

 

depending on the task when browsing the web they are silent
but when gaming well ... have you ever heard a jet taking off?

on the heat side your macbook pro will look to you like an oven

boot time of windows and apple machines are identical unless one has a SSD

as for cost cut go for best gpu and screen all the rest can be upgraded after market for less (sometime cpu is recomanded to cause some of them are hard to find)

 

It depends on what model, and how powerful it is. My M17x R2 has peak temps on 88C on both graphic cards duing heavy load, when stressed it sounds like a "sportscar".

It depends if you have a SSD, Hybrid HDD or a regular HDD as a boot drive. I have a Hybrid HDD (Momentus XT) as my boot drive, my boot time is about 25-30 secs.

Stick with the standard RAM and HDD. You will save a lot by upgrading these yourself + you will get a choice of what brands you want these parts to be.

 

Thanks for the informative responses granyte and simplified. You guys are awesome. I took a look at the student deal they offer. what do you guys think of these specs on the m14x?

My Accessories
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1 Year Basic Plan edit
SECURITY SOFTWARE McAfee® Security Center – 15-Months
ONLINE DATA BACKUP DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEm
Accessories Promotional Xbox 360 - $199 value (discount included with computer)
ACCIDENT AND THEFT PROTECTION 1 Year Accidental Damage Service
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.9GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
MEMORY 6GB DDR3 at 1600MHz
VIDEO CARD 1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus™ technology
HARD DRIVE 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
LCD PANEL 14.0" High Def+ (900p/1600x900) with WLED backlight
WIRELESS CARDS Intel® Wireless-N WiFi Link 1000 a/g/n 1x2
WIRELESSHD None
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE 8x SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Slot Load Optical Drive
SOUND OPTIONS Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
MOBILE BROADBAND None
BLUETOOTH Internal Bluetooth 3.0
SYSTEM COLOR Stealth Black with Soft Touch Finish
OS CUSTOMIZATION Alienhead Glow
PRE-INSTALLED GAMES Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
PRE-INSTALLED GAMES Eve Online, Factory Installed
MOUSE POINTERS Alienware M14X 150W A/C Adapter
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat X Reader
AVATAR Hinge Up WLAN -BLACK
NAMEPLATE Standard Nameplate
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service and Support

It comes out to 1,399.99 before taxes and all that good stuff. It seems like theres no real student discount except for the xbox which they throw in for free. Which i would end up selling for like 150. Im not entirely sure but i doubt they would let me customize any of it.

 

i would let the 6GB out stick with the 4GB and pick an after market kingston HyperX 8GB kit for the same amount

there Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3K2/8GX

and enjoy the 2 more gb for the same price as well as the better timing and the free usb key

or stick to 4gb till you feel the need for more cause right now there is no real need for more then 4GB

 

I would downgrade the Ram to 4GB and the HDD to the smallest available. I would upgrade these parts myself to save some cash + know what brands I put in.

I would also upgrade the warranty to 3-4 years basic warranty.

 

M14X is what I would choose over the M11X. Better screen size and better specs.