Calling All Computer Geeks

For tech wizards and n00bs alike. Questions, answers, or just general hoo-haa.

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Ketzal
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Re: Calling All Computer Geeks

#1 Post by Ketzal »

I've never heard a lot of positives about Alienware. They work well enough, but apparently they're pretty overpriced.

What I'm wondering is, would you be willing to just get a desktop computer? It would give you more options at a cheaper cost if you know where to look

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Re: Calling All Computer Geeks

#2 Post by Vintage »

I think one of the most important aspects is the price range you're looking at, and if you'd want a laptop or a desktop (desktops being the cheapest in the long-run, especially if you build one yourself). Then it'd be time to look into hardware.
Fubar de Lizzy wrote:I've never heard a lot of positives about Alienware. They work well enough, but apparently they're pretty overpriced

What I'm wondering is, would you be willing to just get a desktop computer? It would give you more options at a cheaper cost if you know where to look
I agree with that. I always thought they were a little too bulky as well. After trying out a 17.3" laptop for around a year, I found that I liked 15.6" much better due to more mobility and being more lightweight. Of course, unless you're getting a desktop replacement type then 17.3" or above is probably alright.

I'm probably going to be slightly biased since I've been buying ASUS products for a couple of years now, but I really do recommend that brand. They seem to have everything I looked for in a laptop. Which I should probably mention, I've used this laptop here for nearly two years until I built a desktop of my own, albeit my version had a 1TB HDD.

I'd also recommend 2GB or more of VRAM in the graphics card you end up choosing, since newer games that are coming out are becoming rather graphics intensive. That being said, I know there are newer versions of the laptop I mentioned above, but the one I used did have a little trouble playing JC3 at medium-high settings.
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Re: Calling All Computer Geeks

#3 Post by musicgeek »

For the purpose you described, I'd get something with a recent multi core processor like a 6th gen Intel i5 or i7, at least 8GB of memory and a graphics processor with a minimum of 2GB of video memory, something like an Nvidia GT(X) 950 at the very least, if you can splash out on better graphics, then do so as lower end laptop graphics generally perform worse and get older faster then their desktop equivalents. As for the storage, a solid state drive isn't an absolute essential and costs a lot more per gigabyte of storage than a hard drive, as long as you get a decent high capacity hard drive you should have good enough boot up and program/game load times.

From what I've heard of Alienware, their laptops generally perform well but aren't the most portable, especially the 17 inch ones. Also like Fubar de Lizzy said, they tend to be overpriced. I would recommend looking at either Asus or MSI for a 14/15" laptop with the components I mentioned above.
Dunno about the states, but here in the UK there are several custom PC builders who also configure laptops, if you can find one then that may be an even better option, as you can control exactly what goes into your laptop.
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Re: Calling All Computer Geeks

#4 Post by musicgeek »

To be completely honest, from looking at it the Alienware seems to have really nice solid specs and would do well for the purpose you described, but you could potentially get the same thing considerably cheaper from MSI, Asus or a custom builder, or maybe something even better for the same price.
But if you're set on getting the Alienware, it's still a pretty good laptop.
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Re: Calling All Computer Geeks

#5 Post by Zylver »

Thanks for this thread, I just wanted to ask the same question :P

I also plan to buy a new laptop for gaming, but I really want to get something with [censored] performance (sorry, but desktop is not optional at this moment :? )
Alienware would be nice, but I want to check if there are other laptops that have the same performance and cost less a bit. :roll:
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Re: Calling All Computer Geeks

#6 Post by musicgeek »

Zylver wrote:Thanks for this thread, I just wanted to ask the same question :P

I also plan to buy a new laptop for gaming, but I really want to get something with [censored] performance (sorry, but desktop is not optional at this moment :? )
Alienware would be nice, but I want to check if there are other laptops that have the same performance and cost less a bit. :roll:
I'd recommend looking at Asus or MSI for something cheaper but with the same or even better performance than an Alienware. If you need any help with choosing components, I'd be happy to help out.
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Re: Calling All Computer Geeks

#7 Post by puredeathly »

If money is not a problem, get a Lenovo Thinkpad workstation (P-series).
It has next-day-warranty that even covers damage done by you (a technician comes to you on the next day and fixes it where ever you are for free!), thunderbolt3 (external GPU :D) and integrated nvidia quadro M2000M an i7 and even xeon options are available :mrgreen:
costs a little fortune though (>2000$ if I recall correctly).

Edit: http://shop.lenovo.com/de/de/laptops/th ... eries/p50/

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