Alienware M11x

[The lone wanderer]

It seems like a pro gaming laptop. Is it really worth the $700?

 

[Sub-Human]

First of all specify the M11x you're talking about. There's one for $899, one for $600 something, etc.

Second of all, no. I know for sure Alienware's don't go out that cheap if they're pro-gaming, as you say.

Third of all, laptops aren't for gaming. Unless you want a heavy, low-battery, clunky and dark-screen piece of crap, don't buy a laptop that's advertised as the lead of all gaming. It's not mobile and that's the only thing that makes it better than a desktop.

And speaking about desktops - get that instead, pal. That's extremely cheap, affordable, and can run anything. Hell, you might as well build the thing yourself because it requires little less than half a brain.

 

[Xellos]

In the "small gaming laptop" business there is one king now, LG P330, very difficult to get however and quite pricey. If you don't need portability over all else than desktop is the way to go.

 

[aenemic]

Third of all, laptops aren't for gaming. Unless you want a heavy, low-battery, clunky and dark-screen piece of crap, don't buy a laptop that's advertised as the lead of all gaming. It's not mobile and that's the only thing that makes it better than a desktop.

while you do have a point, I don't agree entirely. in the end, it depends on what you need. as he's looking at "pro gaming" computers, we can assume he wants to play the latest and greatest, and if that's the case a laptop might be a bad idea. but if he's actually very dependant on the computer being mobile, a laptop can certainly get the job done. I have a 15" laptop a few years old that can still run new games decently, and it's been of much use to me as there have been extended periods of time where I haven't been at home. as long as you use the laptop as a stationary computer, battery life doesn't matter. and size and weight is a much smaller issue if you barely move it around. it's still easier to bring with you than a desktop, screen, keyboard etc.

just sayin'

edit: that said, I'd never buy an Alienware computer (unless I was stinking rich) because you pay quite a bit for the brand alone.

 

[Sub-Human]

as long as you use the laptop as a stationary computer, battery life doesn't matter. and size and weight is a much smaller issue if you barely move it around.

Exactly, so why spend your money buying mobility and sacrificing quality when you aren't going to use the mobility option anyways? I remember I was very keen to buying laptops, and laptops only, but then I asked myself this question and I realized that if I bought a desktop, I'd not suffer anything, outside gaining high resolution, extreme detail and getting all that cheaper than what a sub-par laptop would have costed me.

If you want mobility, then get a cheap laptop running on an integrated graphic chip set and a pre-Sandy Bridge CPU (even a single core), or a netbook if you want extreme slowness, then run around your park or airport and do whatever you want.

Come on, who would be gaming seriously in a park? You need a mouse, headphones, a decent, but not too bright lightning source, some sort of silence etc. You get nothing like that in a park. Same goes for cafe, airport, train, camping trip etc.

And if you're moving houses, then computers don't wiegh a lot, pack it up in a box (should weigh ~10-15 kg, that's a joke) and put it in your car/take it with you. Very mobile in terms of carrying around, and there you go, you've got your PC at your new house.

 

[maximaz]

I'm all for gaming laptops as I move relatively often and find it very convenient, however, I can't imagine enjoying many games on 11 inches. Also, the specs don't look very impressive for the price, to be honest.

I got a Dell XPS 16 about a year ago for 1k. It should be a couple of hundred less now and it has much better specs, great screen resolution and size, looks sexy and is not very bulky. The battery life is crap but I'm happy with everything else. Look into it.

 

[Alphadrop]

I had an early model Alienware laptop (well 2004), cooling blew after a year and tech support had no clue how to fix it, had to jury rig an Nvidia card with an ATI fan on it and lots of cooling so it didn't blow yet another graphics card.

XPS has a pretty good rep apart from sometimes setting on fire, which they fixed and the battery thing, but hey it's a gaming laptop and the batteries never last more than 15 minutes.

 

[Richwizard]

Laptops are for portability. If you really need to be able to move it around, get one. However, don't be stuck on Alienware. Do a LOT of shopping around. Check pro reviews and customer/buyer ratings. Compare features and make an informed and carefully considered decision.

If you don't need portability, f^<k Alienware. I have played with their configurations on their website, then added up the cost of the parts I would need if I built the same system. You can build a desktop as good as anything they offer for about 60% of what they charge.

 

[Ausdoerrt]

Not to mention, Alienware is sold through Dell, and they have some of the highest brand surcharges. Laptops with similar configurations from other companies tend to be about 1.5 times cheaper.

Exactly, so why spend your money buying mobility and sacrificing quality when you aren't going to use the mobility option anyways? I remember I was very keen to buying laptops, and laptops only, but then I asked myself this question and I realized that if I bought a desktop, I'd not suffer anything, outside gaining high resolution, extreme detail and getting all that cheaper than what a sub-par laptop would have costed me.

Well, some people don't stay permanently in one place, or travel a lot, so they don't want to lug a desktop around. I know that I rarely stay put in one place for longer than a year, so I can't buy a desktop. Yet I rarely use my laptop on battery either. It's not like wanting portability automatically means you play games while jogging or something, that's silly.

 

[maximaz]

...

Yep. The setup that was somewhat close to what I wanted totaled up to close to 2k on their site. I could get the same setup at Best Buy for much less.

 

[iii]

Not to mention, Alienware is sold through Dell, and they have some of the highest brand surcharges. Laptops with similar configurations from other companies tend to be about 1.5 times cheaper.

And the quality tends to be 3 times worse.

 

[Sub-Human]

I know that I rarely stay put in one place for longer than a year, so I can't buy a desktop. Yet I rarely use my laptop on battery either.

That's the problem I'm talking about here. A desktop, essentially, is easy to move around from one house to another if you're going for a new place - it's just another peice of furniture, albeit you can easily carry it in one hand, and it's no problem if you have a car. Unless you throw away your furniture every year, I hardly see a reason as to how it's a problem.

And then again, yes, if you use your laptop plugged in the whole time, the battery dies really quickly, so you can't use it anywhere outside your home (it won't last for longer than two minutes, if it will turn on anyhow). And if you're talking about gaming laptops, that's just as short as a 100m sprint.

So what makes a laptop appealing then? Being able to put it in a fancy bag over your shoulder to proudly carry it over to your new home, and paying about 1.5-~2 times the price for this crap? Or would you rather grab your desktop in a box, fix in a handle, and put it on the back seat of your car, amongst your table, pair of chairs and TV, while paying a low price, and getting much more from games (which is essentially what the OP's laptop is supposed to do)?

I see little more here than a built up stereotype. Yes, I myself once wanted a laptop only, and 'specialists' would call it nothing more than 'dust collectors' (because they stand in one place and collect dust, just as much as a laptop does, by the way), up until I got myself a brand new laptop which could not run Crysis as I expected, or in fact, any '10-'11 game (also GTA IV and a few other titles) at max settings, and I spent 32,5k rubles on it (at about ~$1200 at time of purchase). Yes, laptops are a fine thing for working and studying (docs, web, easy to carry to school/university/office etc), but for gaming, they're simply a waste.