Upgrade desktop or get a new laptop

So i just a $2000 scholarship from Dell, basically i got a $2000 gift certificate from them... So i have a desktop (i7 3930, 64gb of ram, 512gb RAID 0 SSD, GTX 680, and 2 dell u2410) and i have a Sony Z3 (it has a i7 3612QM, 8 GB of ram, and 256 (RAID 0 128x2 SSD) and intel 4k graphics)

1 - So i can either buy anything from dell and resell it, and get around $1700 back and with that money upgrade the video card and monitors of my computers..

or

2- Get an Alienware 14 laptop, sell my laptop and get good SSD for it with the money.


So basically im currently playing League of Legends and WoW... My degree is Computer Engineering so i do alot of programming, and run few VMs, with testing environments (mostly linuxs VM(Virtual Machines))


Im aware i dont really need to upgrade anything but if just buy anything and dont spend the $1700 ill probably waste it in shoes and cloths.. so i rather spend it quick...


I take my laptop to school monday to friday, and use it all day, mostly programming...


Soooo what to do?

 

Congrats and good situation to be in!

I would agree that an upgrade to any of your systems is not required at this point except maybe considering to upgrade the notebook's RAM to above 8GB and/or getting an extra battery for the system (if they are of the removable type).

Can you not get the upgraded monitor's directly from Dell? That would also be one of my first line choices.



Other than the above, I would also be looking at fleshing out the remainder of your 'digital office':

A backup drive (at least two duplicates) or even a file server/NAS with spare drives (NAS duplicated, of course).

An AIO laser printer/copier/scanner/fax (with all the toner/consumables for a couple of years or more) - if you really need it, of course.

A router or two or three (and switches if required) - can't have enough redundancy in your network gear.


Along with the monitors and/or RAM upgrade, the above will 'eat' your $2K gift certificate pretty quickly.


The best would be to find someone needing a complete Dell setup and offer them up to a $150 discount (so you get closer to $1,850 cash) - this will allow you to buy/upgrade items as you need them without being tied into the Dell brand.

Getting a Dell notebook based on Haswell would be great for extending your battery life while at school - but there are no systems that jump out at me from Dell except the workstation class Precision line - and those start above the value of the gift certificate to begin with anyways.

Anyways, just some random ideas for you to consider, hope others can give you more specific (models/etc.) advice.

Good luck.

 

Good idea... So i saw this site online: https://www.cardcash.com they give me $1800 amazon credit for my $2000... ummmm wonder if they arent fake

 

As long as this is legit, you shop at amazon and there is no expiry for the amazon credits - this is what I would be pursuing (you would have your money 'now').

Won't hurt to ask a few friends/acquaintances directly if they could help you out with cash... but otherwise, this may be the best thing for you without needing to buy needlessly now.


Good luck.

 

Alienware 14 is a nice laptop with 1080p screen will be nice for desktop work, and can game quite well too. I'd say take the $2k and get the AW 14 and call it a day. Otherwise getting and selling and all that can be a complicated mess.

 

That new sager looks bad as well the 7330 not sure how it compares with an alienware

 

1. Buy the Alienware 14.
2. Send the VAIO Z to me (and throw in a few gigs of RAM if you've got some extra on your gift card and don't know what to do with it).

Problem solved !

Really though, you'd trade a VAIO Z for an Alienware 14 when you already have a powerful desktop? Are you sure about that? I know the graphics are better, and that would be more convenient for LANs and such, but the VAIO Z is a very nice mobile computer. I'd personally favor the VAIO Z, though it is a shame that their last-gen didn't include built-in dedicated graphics as previous ones did.

I like the idea of finding someone already looking to buy a Dell and offering them a discount. Then put at least part of the money in a Certificate of Deposit so you can't waste it all quickly. Backup hard drives are a good idea, too, if you don't already have them - SSDs aren't impervious to failing, either.