Yes. Another Laptop thread. This time with more stats.

[Korietsu]

At the moment I've been looking at a few builds on laptops for college. I'm looking for something that will of course, run FFXI, but will also run some higher end games like Tiberium Wars / Crysis / whatever. Plus it needs to be able to run cad/photshop/videoediting as well, without too much lag.

At the moment I'm looking at a Dell XPS vs Alienware m9750. My price range is max ~2300 before taxes / shipping. Desktop is out of the question as I cannot lug it around. I WILL NOT be running Vistashit on my pc.

Dell XPS: $2,324
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7200 (2.00GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 667 MHz FSB)
1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM
80GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
17Inch Widescreen WXGA LCD
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 7900 GS
Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition
1Yr LoJack for Laptops Theft Protection (CD Shipped Separately) (Extra not seen in Alienware)

VS

Alienware Area-51® m9750:$2,249.00
512MB NVidia® GeForce™ Go 7950 GTX
17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD - Stealth Black
Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB (Or the T5500 1.6Gig, -150 to total price)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 512MB
80GB Serial ATA 1.5Gb/s 5,400 RPM w/ NCQ & 8MB Cache
24x DVD-ROM/CD-RW Burner
Internal Intel® PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
High-Definition Audio with surround sound (standard vs Dell)

Now, I'd like to ask for any feedback on the two systems, people who have owned from each company, and ease of use ect + Any systems that might match these at a lesser price. I was shocked when alienware was the cheaper system for more, as well as the fact that the alienware looks much sharper, and offers onsite servicing.

Also, any other websites would be appreciated on good laptop deals. Thanks.

[Shuemue]

I'd buy the Alienware personally, much better grfx card in there.

They'll honestly be pretty similar though, consider Dell now owns Alienware.

edit: Is there a better HD option available on the Alienware? 5400 rpm seems kinda slowish.

[Cephius]

Also, with only an 80 gig hard drive, you're going to run out of hard drive space real fast. Considering FFXI alone takes up about a quarter of that, along with photoshop and AutoCad or whatever CAD/CAM software you use, you're not leaving yourself much room for anything. Honestly, if you want to be able to support games like Crysis that are going to have next-gen graphics and therefore insane specs, you're going to need either a desktop or a $3000+ laptop. I've owned both a Dell XPS Desktop and Laptop and they're both fine machines and I haven't had a single problem with either of them. However my current XPS Desktop Rig already has a faster processor, more RAM, and the same video card as the XPS Laptop you listed. It runs things like FFXI and HL2 just fine, but when I get into newer games like Supreme Commander, GRAW2, and others it tends to lag a bit already. It may not be a fair comparison, but just pointing it out FYI. I can't really comment on how the Alienware matches up as I have never owned one. Still though, I think you're going to cry with only 80 gigs of space to work with.

In conclusion, I'd pay the extra bucks for a bigger harddrive and an extra stick of RAM maybe if you're willing. Unfortunately, the (dell) laptops that are going to run new titles at decent settings are going to put you out $3000-$4000. I know you said no desktops, but if you're serious about gaming you could get a -much- better system for the same amount of money. I went through college with a desktop and just used a shitty laptop for taking notes in class and for transferring files. It wasn't all that bad.

[Shuemue]

What the fuck is in your POL folder to make it 20GB? Mine is 7.7GB

[Cephius]

Er you're right, its not that big. But still, 10% of your HDD dedicated to one game is still a lot and my point remains that an 80 gig hard drive is incredibly small these days.

[Shuemue]

It's enough for a laptop, assuming you have either a desktop at home and/or an external storage device.

But yeah, you're right, if it's your only storage you'll struggle.

[izembo]

i'd go ahead and up the ram to 2gigs instead of the 1gig on that. especially if you're going to be running a lot of newer applications, you'll notice the difference and won't have to worry about the lackthereof down the road.

[Korietsu]

I have another storage option on my home computer and I can convert the HDD in it to a storage drive for about $30. Im just concerned about overheating killing the processor, and at the moment, I dont have the money to spend on the 2gig upgrade. However, I'm sure I can send it back in npok later for an upgrade.

[Furtwangler]

I don't know if you're open to suggestions for other laptops but I just bought a Sager SAGER NP5790 and it has about the same specs you are getting with those for less of a price, unless I'm missing something.

Also, in regards to the site itself (http://www.Xoticpc.com) Reviews about them on other mainstream review sites are phenomenal, I don't remember which site I heard it from specifically but apparently they had to delay shipping for some guys laptop for like a week? So they upgraded his processor in it. When I placed my order it had processed and they called my house, the day after( I placed it on a sunday, they called on monday) to confirm it and work out any details, seem like a great place to order from.

[Osede]

At the moment I've been looking at a few builds on laptops for college. I'm looking for something that will of course, run FFXI, but will also run some higher end games like Tiberium Wars / Crysis / whatever. Plus it needs to be able to run cad/photshop/videoediting as well, without too much lag.

At the moment I'm looking at a Dell XPS vs Alienware m9750. My price range is max ~2300 before taxes / shipping. Desktop is out of the question as I cannot lug it around. I WILL NOT be running Vistashit on my pc.



Dell XPS: $2,324
17Inch Widescreen WXGA LCD

VS

Alienware Area-51® m9750:$2,249.00
17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD - Stealth Black


Now, I'd like to ask for any feedback on the two systems, people who have owned from each company, and ease of use ect + Any systems that might match these at a lesser price. I was shocked when alienware was the cheaper system for more, as well as the fact that the alienware looks much sharper, and offers onsite servicing.

Also, any other websites would be appreciated on good laptop deals. Thanks.

I see 17" monitor. As an expenrience user on 17" monitor laptop, I would say don't buy that kind of size if you plan to bring your laptop to class or school. Unless you would like it to sit in your room all the time then thats fine. Because 17" is too big that hard to get a proper bag to be fitted. And, that kind of size is heavy too