Laptop gaming rig help. please

[dunginhawk]

Good afternoon ladies and gents... First off thanks to all the posters who make this site great. Ive read here for a long time, never posted.

I am wanting to put together a nice gaming laptop. I work for dell, so I get a pretty decent discount on top of any savings on the site etc.
So here are a couple options im weighing. would love any input.

System Color Alienware M17x, Soft Touch Stealth Black
Operating System Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Processor Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
Memory 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz (4DIMMS)
A/C Adapter Alienware M17x 240W A/C Adapter
Display Panel 17.3-inch WideFHD 1920x1080 120Hz WLED w/ NVIDIA 3D Vision Bundle
Video Card 1.5GB GDDR5 Nvidia GeForce GTX 460M
Hard Drive 320GB 7,200RPM HDD
Nameplate Personalized Plate (Alienware)
AlienFX Mars Red
Adobe Reader Acrobat SW Adobe Acrobat Reader
Optical Drives Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BR-ROM, DVD+-RW, CD-RW)
Sound Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio
Wireless Wireless 802.11 g/n
Service 1 Year Basic Plan
Pre-Installed Software Steam and Portal™ Factory Installed
OS Customization Alienhead Chrome Red
Standard Nameplate Trigger Thank you for Purchasing Alienware
AW:Alienware

$2194
- 275 instant savings
- 50 off coupon
- 317 off for dell employee
So its like $1550 for the alienware


Now the XPS

XPS 17 XPS 17
Operating System Genuine Windows® Home Premium, 64-Bit, English
Processor 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
Memory 8GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3 Memory
Keyboard Standard Keyboard - English
LCD 17.3" FHD (1080p) 3D Display with 2.0MP HD Webcam & Facial Recognition
Video Card NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 550M 1GB graphics
Hard Drive 750GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Color Elemental Silver Aluminum
Integrated Network Adapter Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card
Adobe Reader Adobe® Acrobat® Reader
CD ROM/DVD ROM Tray Load Blu-ray® Triple Writer (reads and writes CDs, DVDs, BDs)
Sound JBL 2.1 Speakers with Waves Maxx Audio 3 + Creative SoundBlaster X-FI MB 1.2
Wireless Plus Bluetooth Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 1030 and Bluetooth 3.0
Office Productivity Software (Pre-Installed) Microsoft® Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word & Excel w/ ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
Anti-Virus/Security Suite (Pre-installed) McAfee SecurityCenter, 15-Months
Battery 90 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery
Hardware Support Services 1 Year In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis
Data Safe DataSafe 2.0 Online Backup 2GB for 1 year
Mobile Broadband No Mobile Broad Band Selected

$1789
-429 instant savings
- 150 coupon
- 222 dell employee
= $1075 XPS price

I dont know what to think. I love the look and feel of alienware rigs, but is it worth it in this case? 500 bucks for cool? or is there other things in here that make the alienware better?
please advise.

thank you much

 

[Puppies04]

All i can tell you is that i had the same choice to make and i bought the xps17, i haven't regretted it once but make sure you get the backlit keyboard option it looks really awsome. If for some reason you do go down the alienware route then try and save money on your gpu. There is no way that a mobile chip can saturate 1.5gb of ddr5 it is just a maketing gimick

 

[Puppies04]

Can you give a little more information about exactly what type of games you plan to run on it (and any other programs)? Also do you actually plan on using the 3d screen and blueray? They are both expensive options that really cost a hell of a lot more than they should and i am not sure how mobile GPU's cope with crunching 3D as you are basically pushing twice as much data. Also make sure you order the windows disc if you like the idea of sticking a SSD in the spare drive bay (one will be going in mine shortly).

 

[dunginhawk]

I plan do watch 3d and blu ray movies for sure... Games I like are turn based strategy, (civ type), shooters and mmorpgs like warcraft (id like to think im done with that one, and rift etc). I like the idea of the dvd burner in the xps. I wont be buying the restore cd. I am going to be putting windows 7 ultimate (im in IT, i have unlimited OS cds) on it anyway.
I do like the idea of a 3d screen. I know its expensive, but this will be my first foray in to 3d and I hope it works out. I like the idea of 3d gaming, and of course movies.
THe alienware gpu is the lowest i can get for that model.
I still feel that Im getting a great deal on both, both with the instant savings right now and the good dell discount.
thanks for you input so far. appreciate it a lot.
lets continue the dialogue

 

[TakeNoPrisoners]

The GTX 460m in the Alienware is the faster GPU. For gaming I would pick that.

 

[Puppies04]

I plan do watch 3d and blu ray movies for sure... Games I like are turn based strategy, (civ type), shooters and mmorpgs like warcraft (id like to think im done with that one, and rift etc). I like the idea of the dvd burner in the xps. I wont be buying the restore cd. I am going to be putting windows 7 ultimate (im in IT, i have unlimited OS cds) on it anyway.
I do like the idea of a 3d screen. I know its expensive, but this will be my first foray in to 3d and I hope it works out. I like the idea of 3d gaming, and of course movies.
THe alienware gpu is the lowest i can get for that model.
I still feel that Im getting a great deal on both, both with the instant savings right now and the good dell discount.
thanks for you input so far. appreciate it a lot.
lets continue the dialogue

Thats cool, was just making sure you were going to use the hardware you had spec'd, the XPS will handle any game you throw at it, wow will run at ultra pinned at 60fps (I just quit but those were the figures i got even in SW/ORG at busy periods) with vsync on. Turn based games will be fine and as for "shooters" you will be able to run even new titles at medium/high settings depending on the game. At the end of the day it comes down to personal preference, both machines will begin to feel dated in 2-3 years so are you willing to throw an extra $500 at it for the alienware chassis and slight bump on the GPU. As I already said, I was in the same boat not too long ago and i decided the extra money would be better placed sticking a SSD in myself and keeping the rest of the cash for other stuff. Let me know what you decide though hope that helped.

P.s check out the weights of both laptops before you buy, you probably have an idea that neither will be a "lightweight" but the XPS17 is pretty heavy and the MX17 is a couple of kilos more.

 

[oynaz]

The GTX 460m in the Alienware is the faster GPU. For gaming I would pick that.

Quite a bit faster, actually, so I agree.

 

[dunginhawk]

Yeah, i did some research and realized the 460 (the 6) is indeed the older gen, but faster than the current gen 550. Just trying to figure out if its all worth it. I lose the blueray writer by going alienware. this is such a tough choice

 

[ieatdonuts]

Neither of these deals are the best.

I would get a Sager NP 8170 - you can get a 2630qm and a GTX 560m for cheap.

Also if you choose the XPS 17 there is a 350 + 150 coupon for orders above 1600 (google it). If you configure it right you can get the 2630qm + 555m in the XPS 17 for 1100.

Thirdly if you can afford I would def get the 3d screen.

 

[Puppies04]

When i check the dell specs on the uk site the XPS17 comes with a GT555m. Are you sure the one you are looking at is a 550m.

 

[dunginhawk]

The 555 is an additional 150 bucks on the xps. when configuring it that is.
The reason i buy dell is because i work for them, and get additional 17% off.
ill see about that 350+ 150 off, but i think the fact that there is already 425 off (just the standard dell savings offer right now) it may not work.

 

[dunginhawk]

if i try that 350 off coupon it just replaces the $425 that it automatically did, so that doesnt work. but thanks.. its already a great deal

the 150 off took thought, so 1809 laptop ends up 1329 before my dell discount.


After all the coupons added in, etc. the prices above are still correct... so its a matter of the exact question still above.
i very much appreciate all the dialogue. unfortunately im not much closer to a decision. i just dont know if 500 bucks is worth it for a little better gpu, and everything else being equal more or less, and the alienware doesnt have a Bluray burner.

 

[Puppies04]

My honest answer is this, if you are willing to spend $1550 on the alienware then upgrade the GPU and CPU on the xps and get that, the GPU will still be somewhere around 10% slower that the gtx460 but you end up with a faster cpu a lighter machine and a blueray burner and will still most likely be less than the MX17 price. There may be 1 or 2 games in a couple of years that are still playable on the MX once the xps' GPU become to "slow" but 6 months down the line the alienware will succumb to the same fate. Also if you can drop the ram down to 4gb and buy 4gb once you have the machine (should work out cheaper although you need to check this with your staff discount).

 

[dunginhawk]

i read somewhere else that the gpu upgrade from the 550 to the 555 wasnt a big deal, certainly not 150 bucks worth, thats what i read.. im still leaning towards the xps but one thing i forgot about is the alienware has hdmi IN, so i could plug my ps3 in to it . kinda tempting. value has to e in the xps.

 

[dunginhawk]

I wanted to thank you all for all of your input on my purchase.
Its a neck and neck race, i see benefits to each and its just so close.

Alienware has a better GPU, awesome visual appeal, and hdmi input

XPS has BluRay Writer, and much Cheaper Price.

thanks for all the feedback.

 

[Puppies04]

gt555 is 6% faster than the 550m acording to notebookcheck, gtx460m is about 10-15% faster than the gt555. Unfortunatly this is what happens, once you start aproaching the top of the tree. a few % costs you $$$

 

[THRiLL KiLL]

Neither of these deals are the best.

I would get a Sager NP 8170 - you can get a 2630qm and a GTX 560m for cheap.

Also if you choose the XPS 17 there is a 350 + 150 coupon for orders above 1600 (google it). If you configure it right you can get the 2630qm + 555m in the XPS 17 for 1100.

Thirdly if you can afford I would def get the 3d screen.

i would second getting a sager, its a high quality brand and will last.

 

[Puppies04]

Neither of these deals are the best.

I would get a Sager NP 8170 - you can get a 2630qm and a GTX 560m for cheap.

Also if you choose the XPS 17 there is a 350 + 150 coupon for orders above 1600 (google it). If you configure it right you can get the 2630qm + 555m in the XPS 17 for 1100.

Thirdly if you can afford I would def get the 3d screen.

1. Why does he need a gtx560m or is this just what you would like
2. What is cheap? Numbers?
3. Did you bother to read his original post, forget "if you configure it right" we aren't talking about a bare bones xps with 2630 +555m he requires a blueray drive and 3d screen + other extras and it already comes in under $1100 with his staff discount.

 

[Puppies04]

i would second getting a sager, its a high quality brand and will last.

So is dell, so will an xps.

 

[dunginhawk]

I went ahead and ordered the xps and upgraded the cpu, so it came in around 1200 bucks.I couldnt justify a few % faster gpu and hdmi input for 500 bucks.
I am sticking with dell because its my company, and the discount is very nice.
thanks again for all your help folks. great dialogue and good stuff to know.