Alienware laptops? Any good?

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spincut

[H]ard|Gawd
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I was looking for a solid laptop for work (but also personal as well), and while I earnestly did want a Macbook, our tech person is just too lazy to make that work (I say lazy because it seems wholly doable, but some kind of complaint about every other computer on the network needing to be reconfigured or something). It also seems like Macbook were/are the highest rated laptops on many laptop rankings.

Anyway, as I was thinking about what kinds of alternatives I would want to look into (I really am not digging how Lenovo is set up and I have had bad experiences with HP in the past), it kind of occurred to me "why not an Alienware?".

Now, I know that for Desktops, Alienwares are not well liked these days. But anything on their laptops?
 
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Price/performance with Alienware would be my big worry. I have no direct knowledge of their reliability.

Asus G series laptops on the other hand provide exceedingly good bang/buck, great performance, and solid reliability.

I am not an Asus spokesman.
 
Oh yeah, I am even less of a fan of Asus's layout over Lenovo though :( . They have so many different models spread across their site that have a pre-built vibe rather than just allowing me to pick and choose what I want to put in the damn thing).

The thing about price/performance is that, with my companies discount (they have a dell discount, although I am not a big Dell fan), I think that for what you're getting hardware wise, it would be pretty reasonable.

The question does come down though to reliability, design, and the probably likely to happen bloatware (or does Dell actually try and steer clear of bloat with their Alienware products?).
 
I actually use an M17x R4 at work. Its solid and works well. Best bet if you want to get a good deal is to check out the Dell outlet.
 
AthlonXP said:
I actually use an M17x R4 at work. Its solid and works well. Best bet if you want to get a good deal is to check out the Dell outlet.
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Well, as I said, my company has a business discount through dell anyway, so I feel I'll get a good price that way.

But yeah, so you actually enjoy your Alienware laptop then? No bloat? Well designed shell/features? Works well?

Because yeah, I certainly have not heard glowing things about their desktops. I also am having trouble telling how sleek they are. One of the things I liked about Macbooks is that it packs some very similar hardware into a much nicer and slimmer shell. I feel that's partly what I'm paying extra for. How is the Alienware's design functionality in that regard?
 
Yup works well. They actually do not put much software on the machines out of the box. What model were you looking for?? As for design they are awesome.
 
From the last time I looked, the Alienware laptops seemed a bit on the clunky and heavy side, but you're saying not so much?

And yeah, I wasn't sure how Dell-esque alienwares were at this point, but I do recall Dell generaly stuff has always been infamous for bloatware.

I was pondering probably going for the middle sized m17x as well (not sure what the R4 signifies for the model you have).
 
Yeah R4 is the 4th revision of the M17x model. To be honest its a great laptop but it does have some weight. I love it as it does everything I need. Now if you want some more portability the M14x is a great laptop, my wife has one and loves it.
 
My biggest issue is that I still need it to work as a laptop. That's why the Macbook pro was so perfect. Due to it's superior design it managed to have that ideal balance between power and portability. I just have been having trouble finding a truly reliable substitute it seems :( .

Not that I expected the Alienware's to be super portable, but yeah, not surprisingly it does seem like their battery life is pretty poor and that they are still pretty clunky/bulky :( .
 
AthlonXP said:
I would take the M14x R2 over that any day!
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g46vw doesn't seem that bad, sure it has a low resolution screen, but it may eventually get a better one. m14x r2 only has the gt 650m, while the g46vw has the gtx 660m. m14x r2 only has hdmi i believe. g46vw will have hdmi, mini display port, and optional thunderbolt port. it's too early to tell if it's a flop or not, as it hasn't been out yet.
 
AthlonXP said:
Battery life is really good but yeah size is the issue.
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Really? Because I heard it was only about 3 hours or so according to the reviews.

HaX said:
power and portability? have a look at the new asus g46vw, it'll be avilable at bestbuy in December according to a asus rep.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1725790
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Yeah but here's my problem with Asus, outside of their website making it incredibly annoying to find the proper model for me. They seem largely prebuilt. I far prefer customizing something to my specification after a minimal separation of models based on some basic difference. Asus seems to try and push out a thousand different pre-builds, and I am just simply not a fan of that.
 
alienware/dell also ships prebuilts to retailers like bestbuy and other places as well. if you want customization sure you can do that on alienware's website get it configured with what they offer*. if you want a customized asus, you'll have to shop at places like xoticpc, which is not a bad thing. asus does offer lots of different pre-builds but it narrows down to what your looking for. But I mean if your looking for a model that's proper for you, I would pick base components (screen size, processor, gpu, etc.) and go shopping from there and don't limit yourself to branding. Clevo notebooks bought through resellers have much more customization then Alienware.

But in all honesty, If I was gunna get a "solid work laptop", I would get a HP Elitebook or if going with dell percision mobile workstation.
 
HaX said:
alienware/dell also ships prebuilts to retailers like bestbuy and other places as well. if you want customization sure you can do that on alienware's website get it configured with what they offer*. if you want a customized asus, you'll have to shop at places like xoticpc, which is not a bad thing. asus does offer lots of different pre-builds but it narrows down to what your looking for. But I mean if your looking for a model that's proper for you, I would pick base components (screen size, processor, gpu, etc.) and go shopping from there and don't limit yourself to branding. Clevo notebooks bought through resellers have much more customization then Alienware.

But in all honesty, If I was gunna get a "solid work laptop", I would get a HP Elitebook or if going with dell percision mobile workstation.
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As you yourself said though, at least one can go on the Alienware website, choose from one of the three screen sizes, and then customize from there. Asus makes it near impossible to do that with ease I feel. And of course I was not even considering going to best buy or any big box store to shop for anything, even if I did decide to get an Alienware, for that very reason.

I have never heard of xoticpc?

HP does seem to be very well recommended, which surprises the heck out of me as I bought one 6-7 years back (and the model differentiations haven't seem to have changed a whole lot since) and the thing did not last very long.

Also between Dell and HP, I don't imagine either does a very good job of not loading the computer with a lot of proprietary bloat and junk?
 
i wouldn't bash on asus because there website doesn't offer customization, instead go here:

http://www.xoticpc.com/custom-gaming-laptops-notebooks-asus-laptops-ct-95_51_163.html

Since you selected alienware as your frame of reference. I would pick any of the asus G series laptops and see what customization is available. you'll find that you can customize things like screen types, screen resolutions, different ssds, gpu's, all the way down to the thermal paste used.

*Saying you won't go with asus because there are too many models or lack of customization is a weak sauce excuse.

This is the only reason why I have continued nagging you about the subject lol

But by all means if you have your heart set on alienware, go with alienware.
 
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Heavy, but great build quality. Sometimes things happen and they need work done. Much like any other laptop.

My brother owns a M14x. I had an M11x.....both are beefy (heavy+solid build quality)
 
Great build quality and hefty loadouts.
Much more solid than clevo. With bigger heatpipes. Clevo is alright as a cheaper alternative though.

I have had a few mates who have had problems with their m17x's:
-Overheating death (single and dual card configurations 6970m)
-track pad polling
-probs a few other things I'm forgetting.

Not sure how people online are getting 4ghz+ OCs yet I've had friends systems die from overheating at stock.
I guess from my personal experience and from what I have read online they are still a bit of a gamble yet are pretty well speced if all goes well.
 
Alienware is too expensive, unless you can get a good deal on Dell Outlet. Asus makes some good gaming laptops, my brother has one. Really big and heavy, but I guess that's to be expected.
 
Love our Alienware. When we bought it we paid about $100 bucks more than a comparable system from ASUS plus interest free financing (when we paid it off before a year was up) we really like the look of it better. I will most likely buy another one in the future but this one is still powerful enought to hold its own. Its not our main gaming system but its still powerful enough to run most modern games.
 
rewted said:
Price/performance with Alienware would be my big worry. I have no direct knowledge of their reliability.

Asus G series laptops on the other hand provide exceedingly good bang/buck, great performance, and solid reliability.

I am not an Asus spokesman.
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I beg to differ, I and others have had horrid experience with this G series.. Horrid over heating things they are. Don't get me started on Asus tech support...
 
bigdaveberg said:
I beg to differ, I and others have had horrid experience with this G series.. Horrid over heating things they are. Don't get me started on Asus tech support...
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I have a second-hand asus g73, haven't had a single problem with it. build quality feels good to me.
 
My M18x R1 has been on and used almost 24/7 since April of 2011 with no issues until yesterday morning. It's even been used daily in Afghanistan and Kuwait and now back here in Portland, OR. This is my 3rd and only one that has ran into an issue. All of a sudden it wouldn't recognize my ssd or any of my hdds. It's being shipped out for a mobo replacement.

Alienware's are a quality product in my book and I've been a happy owner over the past few years. My 2920xm has been stable at over 4 ghz since ownership.
 
I am not sure what alienware and mac books you are looking at but mac books and alienwares at 17 inches are night and day different. The alienware is very large and it really is very powerful, never seen any macbook pro period configured like those. If you configure an alienware to low specs then you do not need the alienware, go with a dell XPS which will be thinner.

Heck I dont even see a 17 inch macbook pro anymore and last I checked alienware did not make 15 inch laptops.

IMO these are not reasonable choices to be comparing in any way shape or form. They are 2 companies with polar opposite markets, configurations and clients.

That being said with alienware you get access to dells warranty and surely you are familiar with that on site next day fix almost anything is pretty good. Chances are that will make your tech department happy. Also another option would be, buy a macbook and bootcamp into windows for everything work related.

But if I were you I would be looking at dells precision laptops instead.

As others mentioned you can get sager laptops configured any way you want, since they do not rape you for upgrades like dell and apple you can often put together exactly what you want for a nice price. But beware, if you are concerned with your "image" no one will even know what you have. Personally I like that no one ever tries to steal a sager lol, funny thing is they are missing some of the best laptops out there.

Currently I own a samsung series 7 gamer. Takes alot of the power of the alienware and drops it in a more conservative form.
 
I had an M14x. Loved it. I would really recommend Alienware, if you have the money to burn. They're not cheap, but some people don't mind paying extra for quality.
 
They're great laptops if you're looking to get the top-of-the-line GPU and game (I've owned 6-7 different models). If you're just looking for a work laptop, however, that still gets respectable FPS e.g., something with a GT 650, or GTX 660m, your options are much more numerous. Not sure what you're looking for in terms of spec...

I suppose it depends on what kind of work you do, but I would not be caught with an AW (or any other blinged out gaming laptop) in a meeting for the same reason I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a tap-out t-shirt at work. You just look like a knob with a "gaming" laptop in most corporate environments. Also, as already mentioned, if you need something portable, AW is probably not your best option.
 
Yes. My supervisor at work has bought and sold many. They're quite impressive, both in terms of hardware and build quality.

I love my Asus G73 more, but I'll tell you that I'd far prefer taking apart an AW than that.
 
Just wanted to update my original post with my first experience with Dells warranty and customer service with their Alienware's. I originally was going to have the laptop shipped to the service depot to have it repaired, however Dell sent me a shipping box with no return label. At that point I asked if I could have a local authorized tech come take a look at it in-home as that comes with the complete care warranty. She had no objections and scheduled right away. She then offered me the choice of a free Alienware TactX keyboard, M18x backpack, Alienware mouse, or messenger bag for my "troubles". I opted for the keyboard ($80) as I needed a new one for my desktop anyway. Tech will be here Monday.

Great first time experience for me so far. We'll see how the tech does.
 
about 2 years ago I was researching before buying a new laptop. At the time I worked for an IT company. We used to outsource a computer/laptop repair guy. When he came to the company to collect broken laptops for repair, I asked him "You have repaired hundreds of laptops, which ones are least prone to breaking?" The answer he gave me was 'Apple'. Then I asked him 'what about Windows laptops?' He told me that they all have their weaknesses and there isn't much of a difference between all the brands but Toshiba and Sony were probably slightly less prone to breakage and their common faults are generally less serious.
 
http://www.electronista.com/articles/09/11/17/reliability.study.has.apple.4th.place/

Of course the problem with this study is they do not separate lines of laptops, for instance dell precision laptops, ya never seen one break personally. In general the business laptops seem to be more durable, probably because they all of on site repair contracts and dell does not want to actually do that. On the other hand apple only makes 1 line now the pro which is basically similar to dell business, so is it fair to compare to say acer whom to my knowledge does not make any higher end line. Would be nice if they also took the average sale price and divided them to get a normalized to cost reliability.

You can see this in their break down where more expensive laptops seem to be more reliable, then again if you buy a $200 netbook you probably are not as careful with it as you are with a $2500 alienware....
 
Last time i checked the M17x started a $1454 not $2500. Check my sig, I have been using the same alienware laptop for a long time. They are well built and durable.
 
I was making a point, that people take care of things differently depending on how valuable they are, never said anything about intro prices or anything else. You can EASILY configure a $2500 alienware so its not at all unreasonable to use it as an example vs saying something silly like a $2500 netbook.
 
rudy said:
I was making a point, that people take care of things differently depending on how valuable they are, never said anything about intro prices or anything else. You can EASILY configure a $2500 alienware so its not at all unreasonable to use it as an example vs saying something silly like a $2500 netbook.
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True but i take care of everything the same way. And everyone including the OP has said alienware was expensive. That's a cheaper price MBP and has a better CPU and GPU.

Also I don't get when people complain about weight. I mean i can see the 11 pounds (My alienware) vs 7.6 pounds (Friends MBP) is a 30% increase in weight but its only 3 pounds. And you wont even notice it when you have it in a bag.
 
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I also think alienware is a bit overpriced, considering an ASUS or DELL are cheaper for the same products
 
koek said:
I also think alienware is a bit overpriced, considering an ASUS or DELL are cheaper for the same products
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Asus laptops are the same price and have inferior cooling, Also Ask around about Asus's customer service....

And Dell offers no laptops with similar specs because Alienware is dells high performance gaming section.
 
Alienware is overpriced unless you know how to stack coupons. My M18x was configured at $4500+ through Dell's build site. After some stackable coupons and ordering through AAFES I paid less than a similar equipped 17" Sager/Clevo and I also got a $120 M18x backpack and a screen protector with the order. Being my 3rd Alienware and using a Sager/Clevo, I personally think Alienware's top of the line M18x has better build quality no question.
 
bigdaveberg said:
I beg to differ, I and others have had horrid experience with this G series.. Horrid over heating things they are. Don't get me started on Asus tech support...
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I had a G73 and it was flawless. I did read some issues online about updating display drivers but i just left mine alone since it had no issues. Also my G73 didnt even get luke warm when gaming, best gaming laptop ive ever owned -- just sucked to travel with.

Id assume just about everyones tech support is bad. lenovo is probably the worst ive ever dealt with though.
 
These days though prices and quality can change so fast even from month to month. I have no experience with Asus. However, Alienware seems to be overpriced and the Asus G-series have a great reputation.
 
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