Alienware

[wolfeyes89]

hey guys I'm going off to college in one year and i wanted to know how much of a budget would i have to save up until then so i could get a gaming laptop that would last me 3 yrs. Also should i go for a powerbook or an Alienware ALX. I know about the components and evrything the problem is I've never had experience with a laptop first hand and just wanted to know what to expect.

[TheDiceman]

Any particular reason you need a gaming laptop over a desktop? Besides just general cost issues, the battery preformance alone barely makes it worth while. And when you are talking the price of an alienware after a few upgrades you might just be beter off building a gaming desktop and picking up a mid range Toshiba or Dell (yes I knwo this forum is very anit-dell, but I find thier laptops to be pretty durable and "good enough" performance wise for thier price) similar on the cheap for on teh go school use like word processing, chatting and browsing.

[wolfeyes89]

i just wanted to play world of warcraft on campus when i had so time off...i guess i see youre point i am being kinda stupid although for now im just speculating because i need to start saving up.

[TheDiceman]

What kind of budget are you hoping to work with?

[wolfeyes89]

around 2500 and 3k with taxes and shipping.

[TheDiceman]

Holy crap, you coudl build a killer desktop rig and still buy a laptop for class use with that kinda cash. And, if you are mainly going to be playing WoW, you dont even NEED a high end computer. **** I used to play it just fine on an old 1.73GHz iBook, just needed soem extra RAM. I am heading home from work in a minute, but I am better soem of the other regulars will start posting build suggestions shortly. For under 1500 you could have a really nice desktop easy.

[Zachalmighty]

DvD drive - Pioneer 212D

Newegg.com - Pioneer Beige 18X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 10X DVD+R DL 18X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 40X CD-R 32X CD-RW 40X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 18X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM

RAM
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

320mb version
Newegg.com - Leadtek PX8800 GTS TDH 320MB Extreme GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

Mobo
Newegg.com - MSI P6N SLI Platinum LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

Case
Newegg.com - Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

PSU
Newegg.com - Rosewill RP550V2-D-SL 550W SLI Ready-ATX 12V V2.01 Power Supply 115/230 V CSA,UL,TUV - Retail

CPU
Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 Conroe 2.13GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor - Retail

[wolfeyes89]

hey thnx for that parts list. I got a great idea while looking at a issue of pc gamer at the supermarket. To save some cash, Im going to probably buy those parts you listed but im going to reuse things on this pc like my case psu and etc but that proc and mobo are badass. And i dont even want to think what i could do with that vid card thnx.

[Snake91839]

alienware = no


you can find some better cyberpower or ibuypower

or just go to newegg.

for college, I would say a good laptop would be a thinkpad or a macbook


Two of my favorite laptops

[wolfeyes89]

ya thats exactly what i was thinking I probably am going to get a macbook in july of next year for college and the parts in December probably by then ill have enough cash. Actually cyberpower and ibuypower have pretty good prices but i went alienware back in 04 when i saw the badass cable management i mean i had seen well build pcs before but this is just ridiculously clean. Even after all the upgrades ive done its still clean. Also i didnt get a cyberpower due to the fact i could easily build a pc and someone said they had glued their video card on there, and ibuypower has bad cable management. Idk todays standards maybe they're better. Plus tbqh i also like the alienware's cases bragging rights.