Which Laptop is better to get?

[Quicsilver87]

I'm planning on getting a new laptop for myself and i am stumped on which one t to get...here are two of them that i chose but im not sure which one will be the one that will be of greater use for me. I like to play alot of games, especially First Person Shooter ones like Gears of War, Counter Strike, etc. So which one would you guys suggest i get. I want the computer that will last me forever...if possible...well here are the customized pc's that i chose, and i plan to pay using the monthly installments...

Alienware Area -51 m9750

Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Premium
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
Video/Graphics Card: 512MB Nvidia® GeForce™ Go 8700M GT
Chassis: 17" WideXGA+ 1440 x 900 LCD - Stealth Black
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T7200 2.0GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB
Memory: 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 1024MB
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 80GB 7,200RPM (8MB Cache)
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer CD-RW/DVD±RW Burner
Wireless Network Card: Internal Intel® PRO Wireless 3945 a/b/g Mini-Card
Sound Card : High-Definition Audio with surround sound
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service
AlienContact: Added Bonus with any AlienSupport Selection
AlienContact - Remote Alienware Support
Games: F.E.A.R. Extraction Point
Monitor: No Monitor
Headphones: Alienware® Ozma 7™ Headphones with S-Logic™ Technology
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mesh Cap
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mousepad
Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mobile Binder
Alienware Extras: Owner Identification Card
Avatar: Alienhead 3D
Window Style: Default Window Style
Mouse Pointers: Standard Mouse Pointers
Power Plan: Standard Power Plan
Automatic Updates: Automatic Updates On

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dell XPS M1710

My Components
PROCESSOR Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor T5600 (1.83GHz/667MHz/2MB) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition edit
LCD PANEL Black edit
MEMORY 1GB DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHZ, 2 DIMM edit
HARD DRIVE Size: 120GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM) edit
VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 7900 GS edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability edit
WIRELESS CARDS Intel PRO/Wireless 3945a/g edit
BATTERY OPTIONS 80 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery edit
SOUND OPTIONS Integrated Sound Blaster® Audigy™ HD Software Edition edit
My Software & Accessories
ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE Trend Micro Internet Security 15-months edit
PRODUCTIVITY SOFTWARE No Productivity software pre-installed edit
GAMING SOFTWARE Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 edit
GAMING SOFTWARE The Orange Box (Halflife 2, Fortress 2, Portal) edit
WIRELESS ROUTER Netgear NEXT Wireless-N Broadband Router WNR834B RangeMax edit
My Service
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor,24x7 Phone Support edit
ACCIDENT AND THEFT PROTECTION Add Accidental Damage and LoJack Theft Protection to 1Yr Warr. edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP DataSafe Online Backup 10GB for 1 year edit
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS No ISP requested edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Adobe Software Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Miscellaneous Award Winning Service, Support
Labels Windows XP™
Processor Branding Intel Centrino Core Duo Processor
Network Card and Modem Integrated 10/100/1000 Network Card and Modem
PHOTO AND MUSIC SOFTWARE No Entertainment software pre-installed


so which one do u guys think i should get and maybe even guide me as to what customization i should have if the ones i chose is bad...

[Yin-Yang]

the Alienware Area -51 m9750 is better for gaming, as it has more ram and a better video card, but it has a smaller HD which means less games installed at once.

[Meithan]

OH for christ's sake, second double-post in a day! I was supposedly editing this message but I double-posted instead. Please, shoot me now.

[Meithan]

I'd chose the Alienware: it has a better CPU (T7200 vs. T5600), double the memory (2Gb vs. 1GB) and a much better graphics card (8700GT vs. 7900GS). The hard drive is a tad smaller, but it's not a huge difference. However I'm guessing the Alienware is much more expensive, so if price is important, we should consider that too.

EDIT: this is my 700th post, yipee!

[Norcent]

Alienwares are nice. I have one but I am going to sell it soon cause its not the best for gaming cause of the p4 2.8Ghz and the ati radeon 9000 64mb.

Mine is about 20 years old and there are a few scratches but thats all. My parents thought it was brand new when I had it hooked up for the first time cause it doesn't scratch as easily as most laptops. I don't know about dell but I wouldn't buy one unless I got stuff to protect the laptop and put silicon on the keyboard.

[hmammen]

Id chose the alienware...just because its not Dell

but seriously, the AW has better performance.

[stillwitpentium]

Ya between these two I would choose AlienWare. I have heard/seen nothing but problems with Dell. But I am wondering did you consider HP? I have an HP Pavilion dv9500t and I play Counter Strike Source without any problems. My specs are: 2.2 Core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM, 256 MB nVidia 8600, 200 GB HDD, and High Resolution Screen (which gets bad glare but worth it!!), 17" wide screen.
I paid just over $2000 and got a few accesories. I have never had a problem and play CSS all settings high at 70 to 100 FPS. This is a fast laptop and in my opinion a great deal. I am guessing that HP has thrown some other stuff into this one since July but I bet it would make a great computer for you.

Just a suggestion!!

I ordered straight through the HP site and got it a week early!!

[Michowski]

Dude I would pick up that alienware. I got the 5750 and I love it. Its got a x1800 and there isnt a game I cant play. I can play cod4 at medium settings with the largest resolution . A hard drive is easy to upgrade. You can go on newegg and get a 120 gig for under 100 bucks and it seriously only takes like 3 minutes to swap em out. Or just choose a bigger hd when you make your laptop. Alienware ftw. There customer service is awesome as well. Any issues ive had they were always right there with a solution.

[stillwitpentium]

Thats all fine and dandy if you want to pay for it, but I got mine for $2000, which is cheaper than the AlienWare my friend has, and mine is faster. So I guess it all depends on your preference but you mentioned problems you had, I have had absolutly no problems at all, and I have used it everyday all day for three months.

[Drizzt5]

between those two there isnt even a question, the AlienWare is way better...

But see if you could get a bigger HD for it... 80GB will make you cry within a month or less