Dell 6400/E1505 vs. Alienware m5790

[mikeblas]

I'd like to get a new laptop. I'm looking at the Dell Inspiron 6400 (or E1505) because there's no XPS with a 15-inch screen.

I've stumbled across the Alienware m5790, which is a 17-inch screen. But it's got the option of a 1920 x 1200 LCD, which is really sexy. And the price, even with that option, is very competitive to the 6400 setup I want to buy.

How is Alienware's support? I can't find, for example, batteries or adapters (for this laptop) on their site. I can't surf for drivers until I login, and I need an order number to login.

Is choosing the Alienware rig over the Dell machine advisable?

 

[tickle_me_emo]

1) The dell and alienware are two totally different machines. The dell will have better battery life and better portability due to it's size. The alienware's gpu is ~4-5 times more powerful than the x1400 in the e1505. There are other laptops that are more powerful than the dell yet are 15.4 inches in size. The asus g1, asus 96j, and compal hel80 all offer better video cards in the 15.4 inch form factor. Also as an aside i'm not sure how you got the e1505 the same price as the alienware, were you getting all high end parts in the dell? The dell should be $500-800 less if you use a coupon.

2) Alienware's support is marginal at best. Here's hardocp's take. The charge a lot for their parts, so you're better off buying the minimum specs and upgrading though newegg.

Both those machines have their pros and cons but i still need more info from you so i can give you more info about your decision. Despite the alienware having some major issues (support and inflated pricing), it offers a good price/performance ratio if you choose the right parts and upgrade through newegg.


What exactly are you going to do with this laptop? (gaming/3d processing? or just surfing the net and using office software?)
What is your price range?
What size are you looking for?

 

[mikeblas]

Thanks for helping me, Tickle!

What exactly are you going to do with this laptop? (gaming/3d processing? or just surfing the net and using office software?)
What is your price range?
What size are you looking for?

I'm replacing a 3-year old HP Pavilion ze5700. The performance is getting on my nerves, and I can't play any games on it at all because of the graphics subsystem. The screen is just great, though; it's a 1400 x 1050 LCD with decent contrast.

I'll do all of the above with the laptop; unless I change my mind again, I'm after a workstation replacement. I'll use the laptop for doing email and using productivity apps, but I'll also use it for software development and testing -- C++ coding and database work, as well as gaming for both testing and recreation. And doing graphics design and web design. ("Changing my mind" would mean giving up on the idea of a desktop replacement laptop because of size and cost and instead getting a more portable laptop. I'd use that for productivity apps, some design work, and then do the heavy lifting by doing remote desktop into a real workstation. That makes getting a nice big screen harder, and gaming more difficult.)

While you might not like Alienware's support, at least their site looks like it was written by someone who speaks English; the Compal site doesn't leave me very hopeful for finding support.

The pricing and options I've got at this exact moment are here; unfortunately, there's no way to show the table or the spreadsheet easily because of the limitations in the forum software:

Area 51 m5790
$2,458 
Core 2 Duo T7400
2 Gigs at 667
100 gigs SATA 7200
1920 x 1200
17 inch
Vista Home
8x DVD Record
256 MB ATI Mobility X1800

XPS M1710
$2,929 
Core 2 Duo T7200
2 Gigs at 667
100 gigs SATA 7200
1600 x 1200
17 inch
Vista Home Premium
8x DVD Record
256 MB GeForce Go 7900

Inspiron 6400 (DNDBEA3)
$1,691 
Core 2 Duo T7200
2 Gigs at 667
100 gigs SATA 7200
1280 x 1024
15.4 inch
XP Pro to Vista Business
8x DVD Record
256 MB ATI X1400

The Dell M1710 is actually more than the Alienware rig, and the Alienware rig has a much nicer display. Indeed, the 6400 is a lot cheaper--I misspoke in my original post.

I've priced these with the parts from the manufacturer becasue it's easier to compare. While upgrading after the fact often results in a savings, I'll have to either try to return the upgraded parts or try to sell them on eBay, and the hassle isn't worth it to me. Plus, the aftermarket upgrades aren't always chepaer. The KTD-INSP6000B/1G memory to upgrade the M1710 is $284 total, but Dell puts the memory in for $228. OTOH, Alienware charges $270, and NewEgg wants about $184 for two KVR667D2S5/1G parts.


After writing all this up, I think I'm still leaning towards the Alienware rig; better graphics performance (particularly, no Hypememory!) and the high-res screen are selling points. I've never used a laptop with adequate battery life; I've always needed two batteries for a cross-country flight, and I don't think the Alienware will be any diferent.

 

[tickle_me_emo]

You wouldn't buy a compal from compal (i don't think they sell laptops to consumers, they just design them and sell them to resellers), you'd buy it from a middle man, a laptop reseller.

here is a list of compal resellers:
discount laptops
milestonepc
xotic pc
sager notebooks
powernotebooks

I'd recommend powernotebooks, they come with a standard 3 year warranty, their prices are good, and their reseller rating is 9.99. All of those sites also sell the asus s96j/z96j (the z version is wsxga, the s version is wxga). And if you decide on that model, again i'd suggest powernotebooks.

If you're on a budget, go for the compal or asus 96j. If you can spend a bit more go for the asus g1, overall it has a better quality (better screen chassis and video card). The g1 is $1700-$1800 depending on who you purchase from.


But i think you're more interested in the high end so...

The only reason to get that alienware model is if you want the x1900 (and possibly you like the look of the chassis). On paper the x1900 is the fastest card. I say on paper because there have been no reviews of it yet. And the upgrade alienware charges for it is acceptable (i think dell charges $1000 to go from a 7900gs to 7900gtx). The x1800 is out classed by several nvidia cards (7900gs, 7800gtx, 7900gtx, 7950gtx, and the work station cards also beat it, 1400m, 2500m), and the laptops that have these nvidia cards are priced the same if not cheaper than the alienware.

Assuming that alienware doesn't use a new chassis, you're going to be stuck with this keyboard

If you were to go dell, you should not buy an xps, there are no coupons and they're overpriced, it's a shame hardocp reviewed one as it's a horrible choice if you're a savvy consumer.

If you want to buy new, the e1705 with coupon code ( 6TD9G$5C07?T2W ) should cost you under $1800 depending on the parts you choose.

If you want to buy used/refurbished, and save a ton of money ($500-$1000) search the Dell outlet. You should look at m90's with the 2500m, core 2 duo, and 1920x1200 screen for under $2000, they come with a standard 3 year warranty since they're business class. Also the outlet is where you buy the xps line, try to get an m1710 for under $2200 with a core 2 duo, 79_0gtx, and 1920x1200 screen. And of course they have the e1705 there but you won't save much versus buying it new.

If you were to purchase from the outlet, you sould spend a week just checking out prices looking to see what the going rate is and ultimately looking for a sweet deal. These ship the same day so you don't have to spend time waiting for it to build, so usually you'll receive this faster than you would a newly built laptop.

Battery life for all 17 inch laptops with dedicated video cards is poor. One battery lasts 1-2 hours depending on the tweaks you employ.

 

[mikeblas]

You wouldn't buy a compal from compal (i don't think they sell laptops to consumers, they just design them and sell them to resellers), you'd buy it from a middle man, a laptop reseller.

Wow, so they don't support their customers and push it to the reseller? Even though their prices are very good for the equipment, I'm not at all comfortable with them.

I'd recommend powernotebooks, they come with a standard 3 year warranty, their prices are good, and their reseller rating is 9.99.

If I price out a PowerPro L 8:15 FORCE there with the same options as the E1505, I end up at
$2024 and no operating system -- compared to $1691 for the Inspiron 6400. Why is it that you recommend this brand?

All of those sites also sell the asus s96j/z96j (the z version is wsxga, the s version is wxga). And if you decide on that model, again i'd suggest powernotebooks.

The PowerNotebooks site is so broken as to be nearly unusable -- the menu text doesn't fit, wraps, and is therefore unreadable. I rooted around, but I can't find the Asus laptops you're referring to. Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, as they're not at Discount Laptops, either.

Assuming that alienware doesn't use a new chassis, you're going to be stuck with this keyboard

What is it that you're saying is wrong with that keyboard?

 

[Mr_Superstar]

I have Dell Latitude D810 from work and I love it (15.4" screen with a 1920x1200 resolution). I'd highly recommend the Dell D820 (the D810 is the old model). Plus, I've heard that if you buy from Dell Small Business, the support is in the US.

I just customized a Dell Latitude 820 with the following specs for $2,455:

Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T7600 (2.33GHz) 4M L2 Cache, 667Mhz Dual Core
Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Business from XP Professional
15.4 inch Wide Screen WUXGA LCD Panel <--- 1920x1200
2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMMS
160GB Hard Drive, 9.5MM, 5400RPM
8X DVD+/-RW w/Roxio Digital Media™ and Cyberlink Power DVD™
512MB NVIDIA® Quadro NVS 120M TurboCache™


The only drawback I see is the video card. I have no idea how it would perform for games (because of the Turbocache memory).

I don't know if this machine has any media card readers, because it's a business class machine.

A review:
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3348&review=Dell+Latitude+D820

 

[mikeblas]

Thanks, Mr_Superstar. Thing is, that model comes in at $2440 kitted-out... which is about the same price as the m5790 -- which has a larger screen with the same resolution, a game-capable graphics card, and otherwise the same options.

After thinking about it harder, my hang up is probably the very large form factor of the 17-inch laptops. The Alienware rig would be a no-brainer for me if the case wasn't sixteen inches wide. The E1505 would be easy to buy if it had a better video card. I guess I have to try to find a 15-inch laptop with a fast video card...

 

[Mr_Superstar]

Thanks, Mr_Superstar. Thing is, that model comes in at $2440 kitted-out... which is about the same price as the m5790 -- which has a larger screen with the same resolution, a game-capable graphics card, and otherwise the same options.

No problem. I was just trying to offer an alternate 15.4" laptop with a nice resolution. Another laptop I've been looking at is the HP Compaq nc8430. It has an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 with 256MB of memory. It only has a WSXGA+ (1680x1050) max resolution, but I still consider that very nice.

A review: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3080&review=HP+nc8430

The only issue is that it's pretty expensive. Might be worth a look though.

 

[mikeblas]

I've not been perfectly happy with my existing HP, so I'm pretty eager to switch brands. The support has been typical for HP -- they shipped this model for about six months. After that short lifecycle, finding anything for the laptop (for drivers, parts, or support) has been pretty tough.

I think I've settled on the Asus G1, which is 15.4 inches and 1680 x 1050, and I can price it out with a T7400 at about $2250. The revews on it are decent, even if the styling isn't perfectly to my liking. I love Asus motherboards, so I'm not too worried about buying this laptop from them. Their website already has Vista drivers for this model (even 64-bit) so I'm good to go as soon as I can get another copy of Vista. The only downside so far is that a second battery is $155. I haven't paid that much for a battery since my Pentium 90 Thinkpad!

Anyway, thanks for your help!

 

[tickle_me_emo]

Wow, so they don't support their customers and push it to the reseller? Even though their prices are very good for the equipment, I'm not at all comfortable with them.

I'm not sure where each individual reseller gets their warranty support, but they may or may not use compal for the warranty. But this is common practice in the laptop business. The alienware you selected is a uniwill model. Some dell's are made by quanta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_design_manufacturer

If I price out a PowerPro L 8:15 FORCE there with the same options as the E1505, I end up at
$2024 and no operating system -- compared to $1691 for the Inspiron 6400. Why is it that you recommend this brand?

the 7600 go is 2-3 time better than the x1400, i mentioned that before

you're also probably selecting hardware that doesn't have a good price/performance ratio

if you're going to configure the compal hel 80 for $2000, then you should go for the asus g1 since it has a better build quality and a video card that's 10% faster than the 7600

The PowerNotebooks site is so broken as to be nearly unusable -- the menu text doesn't fit, wraps, and is therefore unreadable. I rooted around, but I can't find the Asus laptops you're referring to. Maybe I'm misunderstanding something, as they're not at Discount Laptops, either.

you should shoot them an e-mail and tell them what browser you're using and what problems you're having, it works for me and i'm sure it works for other people as well.

What is it that you're saying is wrong with that keyboard?

uh, the right shift key and the area around it, is really small


also i'm not sure why you want the t7400, it's only 160mhz faster than the t7200, it's not really worth the premium.

 

[mikeblas]

The alienware you selected is a uniwill model. Some dell's are made by quanta.

And fully supported by those companies. It should be obvious that they have more resources than any of the resellers that you recommended in your previous post.

also i'm not sure why you want the t7400, it's only 160mhz faster than the t7200, it's not really worth the premium.

Because: it's faster. While it might not be worth it to you, it is to me.

 

[mikeblas]

My G1 finally arrived. It's really awesome.

The lights are a little gaudy, and the screen glare is unfortunate... but other than that, I'm thrilled.