[ThrillRyder23]

Hey everyone. I am new here so bear with me please.

Ok I am looking to buy a laptop. Around the $1500 range. Give or take $500.

I need a laptop that can last for more then 3 hours (w/o the extra battery). If I end up buying an extra battery I want it to be able to fit into the extra bay.

The laptop can be upgradeable but if I customize the laptop to my exact needs then that won't be necessary.

These are the brands I was really looking into - Dell (5150, 8600), Alienware (Sentia Performance and the other medium ranged Sentia), Acer (803ci).

I have heard that Acer is an "iffy" brand because they tried to pull a HP and throw in used parts into their laptops.

The Dells (from what I heard) are strong all the way around except in support but I don't need support. I can fix my own problems.

The Alienwares are supposidley (sp?) the best all around for laptops.

Ok what I really need is for you guys to just clarify or correct what I have said about the laptops, give me any extra additional info on them/pros and cons. If you have another laptop in mind that will run great (performance and speed wise) and has a good battery life then please mention it.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated, thank you in advance!

[digital_darknes]

I would tell you to go with the dell.

I bought an Alienware when i didnt know much about computers. The reason i bought one was because they were "the best" What i found out is that you pay a BUNCH of more money for stupid things that you can usualy do yourself (like overclocking)

I bought a Dell and i love it. It also opened the oppurtunity for me to call dell once a month to speak with a manager about not being able to understand thier tech support

True, i never use thier tech support, but if theyget enough complaints they will move it back here to the U.S.

Anyway, i would get a dell.

[ThrillRyder23]

Yea I realize that you pay much mroe for Alienware but I tricked my parents into thinking that it is all worth it so I don't really mind paying for excess stuff.

Are they all upgradeable? Memory and graphics wise? Also what kind of Dell laptop do you own?

[Qiranworms]

My Inspiron 8200 just died...which means I'm not in a Dell-recommending mood, but I don't really have much to say for the other options, so my advice would have to look around at other brands before narrowing your decision to these.

And when you say you don't need "support", be carefull. Support also includes warrenties and such (part replacement). You may be able to fix your own problems (which is fine), but if your hard drive collapses and you need a new one, you are going to have to call Dell. And THAT is where the going gets tough. My brother's 5150 shipped with a faulty WiFi card, and he had to call at least ten times before they finally would send him a replacement. Basically, they bounced him from department to department (they wanted to troubleshoot before sending a new one...even though I had done everything they were telling him to do) and even at one point asked him to send the entire laptop in (why lose the laptop for at least a week when we can replace it ourselves and only lose access to the internet without being near the router?)...before we finally got them to send a replacement part. Not a pleasant experience.

By the way, regarding the 5150: a zippy machine with incredible battery life, but with a form designed for weight lifters. Not worth it if you actually intend to travel with the machine. I'm not going back to Dell for sure anyway...

[ThrillRyder23]

Originally posted by qiranworms
My Inspiron 8200 just died...which means I'm not in a Dell-recommending mood, but I don't really have much to say for the other options, so my advice would have to look around at other brands before narrowing your decision to these.

And when you say you don't need "support", be carefull. Support also includes warrenties and such (part replacement). You may be able to fix your own problems (which is fine), but if your hard drive collapses and you need a new one, you are going to have to call Dell. And THAT is where the going gets tough. My brother's 5150 shipped with a faulty WiFi card, and he had to call at least ten times before they finally would send him a replacement. Basically, they bounced him from department to department (they wanted to troubleshoot before sending a new one...even though I had done everything they were telling him to do) and even at one point asked him to send the entire laptop in (why lose the laptop for at least a week when we can replace it ourselves and only lose access to the internet without being near the router?)...before we finally got them to send a replacement part. Not a pleasant experience.

By the way, regarding the 5150: a zippy machine with incredible battery life, but with a form designed for weight lifters. Not worth it if you actually intend to travel with the machine. I'm not going back to Dell for sure anyway...

That is true. I probably will use support now and then but for the most part I can handle most of it. Hardware problems will be a problem.

Weighted machines don't bother me. I won't be on the run with a laptop most of the time anyway so.

I have researched extensively and those 3 brands are my favorite 3 of everything I have looked at.

[DeathToCats]

Mobile graphics cards I think are only upgradable with the Radeon Series from ATI.. Or I think they are getting to that point where you can upgrade them in laptops..

[Erik]

iBook

Power Book

The only reason I am advertising an Apple laptop is because from what I've heard, they last forever, have good battery life, and they look really awesome.

I don't know what you plan to do with your laptop, but if it's going to be internet, word processing, video, burning cd's, etc. The iBook would be perfect. Don't let the numbers fool you, if you stick 512MB of ram in it, it will run plenty fast. A 1Ghz G4 would most likely out do a 2Ghz P4/XP

If you will be doing all of the above with gaming, you should go Power Book. Yes, they are expensive. But as soon as you operate or use one, you'll understand why.

If you're set on Windows XP, Dell, Toshiba, and Gateway have great laptops. I'm still using my old Dell Inspiron 4000 to this day.

[ThrillRyder23]

Originally posted by bandage_boy
iBook

Power Book

The only reason I am advertising an Apple laptop is because from what I've heard, they last forever, have good battery life, and they look really awesome.

I don't know what you plan to do with your laptop, but if it's going to be internet, word processing, video, burning cd's, etc. The iBook would be perfect. Don't let the numbers fool you, if you stick 512MB of ram in it, it will run plenty fast. A 1Ghz G4 would most likely out do a 2Ghz P4/XP

If you will be doing all of the above with gaming, you should go Power Book. Yes, they are expensive. But as soon as you operate or use one, you'll understand why.

If you're set on Windows XP, Dell, Toshiba, and Gateway have great laptops. I'm still using my old Dell Inspiron 4000 to this day.

I appreciate your response but I just don't like Apple notebooks. I really don't know why, myself, but I borrowed my friend's iBook and I just didn't like it all that much compared to the Windows Laptops. It has nothing to do with the performance or anything, I just don't like them. I mean it is like Intel and AMD. Most times you either like 1 or the other.

So from what I've read from everyones response, I should go with the Dell, am I correct? Well sorry for being a pain but this is a big investment so let me ask, what is wrong with Alienware?

BTW I have narrowed down my desicions a little better.

Dell Inspiron 5150 (customized to my needs)
Dell Inspiron 8600 (customized to my needs)
Alienware Sentia Performance (customized to my needs)

[Erik]

Alienware to me, would be a waste of money. Simply because they are a custom gaming desktop company. I know they have stretched their horizons, but they should stay with desktops. You won't be using the laptop for gaming anyways, so stick with Dell. If you want a custom PC for gaming, built just for you, along with a really cool alien head on the front of the PC, go with Alienware.

[ThrillRyder23]

Originally posted by bandage_boy
Alienware to me, would be a waste of money. Simply because they are a custom gaming desktop company. I know they have stretched their horizons, but they should stay with desktops. You won't be using the laptop for gaming anyways, so stick with Dell. If you want a custom PC for gaming, built just for you, along with a really cool alien head on the front of the PC, go with Alienware.

I alreayd have a custom made computer, made by me. lol So I have my dream PC. What interests me is that you say it is completely gaming. Well from what I have read, the Sentia is purely business. Take a look at the video card for example. It is an intel (64 mb shared) which is kind of odd. The processor is only a 1.4 ghz Intel. So this one is actually not meant for gaming which is a huge 180 for them. Just though I should point that out.

I realize you can do gaming with those components but they aren't meant for mazimum powerful gaming. May not be a big deal for other laptop distributors but for Alienware, it is big.