If anyone is going to be buying a new desktop around this price. Just buy this laptop & buy any external monitor if the 17\" is to small. This laptops hott.
Alienware M17x
Alienware M17x
No more Alienware for me.
$2600 cost
2 years before the second vid card replacement died
No vendor or after-market replacements anywhere to be found
$2600 paperweight
$2600 cost + 2 years of service = roughly $110/month for the privilege of playing on a portable gaming rig that I can only cannibalize the hard drive from.
In hindsight, that cost was nowhere near worth it. I'd rather build a mini case machine with a handle on top. For $7000+, you could buy extra LCD monitors, cables, and peripherals for all of your most frequented remote locations and only have to carry the case around. ;p
$2600 cost
2 years before the second vid card replacement died
No vendor or after-market replacements anywhere to be found
$2600 paperweight
$2600 cost + 2 years of service = roughly $110/month for the privilege of playing on a portable gaming rig that I can only cannibalize the hard drive from.
In hindsight, that cost was nowhere near worth it. I'd rather build a mini case machine with a handle on top. For $7000+, you could buy extra LCD monitors, cables, and peripherals for all of your most frequented remote locations and only have to carry the case around. ;p
Re:
Mindboggling, and really silly.Sirius wrote:If you're one of those happy few that can build their own machines, then yes, it will become quite evident just how expensive Alienware is. It's quite mindboggling actually.
I'm not convinced that building your own computer is that hard. Maybe that's because every computer I've owned has been self-built, but these day's it's pretty much a matter of plugging everything in, and knowing how to read a manual. I realize that the hard part is selecting all of the components... but that's not even too hard after one does a bit of learning.
For the average internet-browsing user, it's a lot of ask, but at the same time they can get a pre-built basic system for basically the same price. (maybe even less, if you consider periphrials)
For the average gamer... they usually know a bit more, at least enough to have a wish-list. By the time you have a wish list, why not put in the little bit of extra work to select specifics & save yourself a lot of money? (Now, with laptops that's not so much of an option, but I'm not convinced that laptops should be gaming machines.)
Agreed wholeheartedly. I've built every PC I've ever owned going all the way back to my first 486/33. The only reason I departed from the norm was because I was smitten with the idea of a portable gaming rig for the sake of LANfests after having lugged a mid-size case and CRT around for years. The irony of it was that I ended up moving soon after purchasing the laptop and only had the time and opportunity to take it to a single LANfest during its lifecycle pre-paperweight.
I snagged a Gateway FX P-7805u for $1,100.00 and could not be happier.
With a second HDD/RAID-0, laptop cooling pad and the ability to run two monitors without a docking station; it more than meets my requirements as a desktop replacement.
It is nice to be able to play games while on the go and have the power to run all of my programming tools without a sweat.
Excellent product.
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/gateway ... 96191.html
With a second HDD/RAID-0, laptop cooling pad and the ability to run two monitors without a docking station; it more than meets my requirements as a desktop replacement.
It is nice to be able to play games while on the go and have the power to run all of my programming tools without a sweat.
Excellent product.
http://reviews.cnet.com/laptops/gateway ... 96191.html