Johnsy Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 G'day all, In November of 2013 I bought myself a brand new gaming laptop the 'Alienware 17' costing me over $3000. When I first received it I thought it was fantastic and for the first few months I couldn't fault it. It has now just broken down for the third time and I've cracked it and told Alienware(Dell) where they can shove their expensive paperweight. They have agree to do a complete swap with me, but as I write this now, I still have to wait 2 or 3 more weeks before I can get back into my Combat Mission games and Beta testing. Below I have put down the basic specs of both my old laptop and the one that they are going to replace it with. I just wanted to know what you guys think of the swap and specs, and if any of you have had a bad experience with Alienware or Dell computers? Old Alienware 17 inch laptop 4th Gen Intel® Core i7-4700MQ processor @ 2.40GHz 16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz (4x4GB) 2x WDC WD7500BPKT Hard Drives 750GB each NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 770M graphics with 3GB total GDDR5 New Alienware 17 inch laptop 4th Gen Intel® Core i7-4710MQ processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.5GHz w/ Turbo Boost) 16GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz (4x4GB) 256GB mSATA SSD Boot + 1TB 5400RPM SATA 6Gb/s- NV NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 880M graphics with 8GB total GDDR5 Johnsy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizou Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My experience of Alienware is that they are over priced. I do hope the new one will work out well for you. SSD disc is a must IMO 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelican Pal Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I had an old Dell XPS 400 back in '07 or so. It was a pretty solid computer and I didn't have any problems with it. The swap is pretty good. I mean you are getting a better computer out of it. Personally though I think you would be better off not getting a gaming laptop. They are incredibly expensive compared to a equivalent desktop. For $1,900 you could get a comparable desktop and a pretty solid laptop. Probably for less than that price too. Laptops also have a pretty strict life so in a few years when it starts showing its age there won't be a lot you can do to fix it. Hell for $800 you could build a desktop that would get you equivalent performance. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tank Hunter Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My experience with laptops is basically the same, I had high end Sony that I used for gaming ocasionally, it broke down within two years. The graphics card gave up. It was repaired under warranty, three months later the screen gave up.... Had similar experience with previous laptop from HP, it was also high end, the fan failed resulting in overheated motherboard. Will never get another laptop, not high end for gaming at least..... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vergeltungswaffe Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Can't tell you about laptops, but I've been using Dell and Alienware desktops for my business and home since 1997 and I've never had a single problem with any of them. Would never buy anything else. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niall78 Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Had both a Dell and Alienware desktop before they were bought out by Dell. Both were solid computers but vastly overpriced for the performance they gave. With the Dell especially I felt afterwards that I paid top money for a system that contained mid-range components. I wouldn't buy from them again. And since then I've done a lot more homework when purchasing a system. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wako Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 When it comes to laptops, I've had good luck (component-wise) with Lenovo and Apple... and that is it.... It's worth noting that you can wipe the Apple laptops OS and put Windoze on it if you want to as well... I use an Apple for home and a Lenovo for work. The Lenovos are just workhorses (since they used to be IBMs, not really surprised). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slysniper Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I would never use any laptop as my gaming machine. I just dont think they hold up, any brand . As for Dell, They get a bad rap at times. But when you produce so many machines, some arre going to have issues. That question is what percentage. All I know is in many years of using them for home and work and having to deal with many machines in that time frame. I personnally have never had one Desk top machine malfanction on me. Plus I find that I never have software issues since most programs are tested using some of their machines. Build your own machine and I bet you I can find some software that will not run well on it. Just saying. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelican Pal Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Plus I find that I never have software issues since most programs are tested using some of their machines. Build your own machine and I bet you I can find some software that will not run well on it. Just saying. While that may have been a problem in the bad old days at this point that isn't true unless you have some fetish for obscure hardware. Software will work across the board on custom built machines. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 If it's helpful to someone, I have had at least 3 gaming computers (desktop and laptop) made by XI Computers over the past 12+ years, and they have never gone bad. Getting my 4th soon. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Williams Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My experience is that I build my own gaming computers, and have since, oh....the late 1980s. I'm probably an "outlier", however. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Childress Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 If it's helpful to someone, I have had at least 3 gaming computers (desktop and laptop) made by XI Computers over the past 12+ years, and they have never gone bad. Getting my 4th soon. Man, just looked at some XI reviews. They're off the charts positive. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George MC Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Can't help. I'm another build my own. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sburke Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 same here. I think you and I George are both in the midst of upgrades. Friggin BF making me unsatisfied with my old computer.... I spend too much time with this game not to spend the effort on my rig. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StieliAlpha Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 No issues with my 7+ years old Dell XPS (2GB RAM, 256 MB NVidia graphics card). Even CMRT runs ok, though the old boy is struggling. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George MC Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 same here. I think you and I George are both in the midst of upgrades. Friggin BF making me unsatisfied with my old computer.... I spend too much time with this game not to spend the effort on my rig. Yeah saw that Mines is all done - for the moment... :cool: Yup upgrade purely driven by need to play CM on larger maps, at higher resolution with more units! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnsy Posted June 18, 2014 Author Share Posted June 18, 2014 Thanks for all the reply's guys. What I get out of all of them is to build my own desktop. The missus has said this new laptop has to last me at least 5 years, but after that I'll build myself a desk top. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baneman Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Agree, building your own is the ( best and cheapest ) way forward. Hmmm, maybe not so much on the cheapest though I find myself much less easily satisfied by certain components than some techie-assembler-guy... :cool: Yup upgrade purely driven by need to play CM on larger maps, at higher resolution with more units! Is there any other reason ??? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bradley Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 In December bought basically the same machine as OP. About a week later had a screen glitch, very thin horizontal white line blinking on/off. A tech came out and replaced the screen two weeks later. No problems since and cannot complain with the performance I've been getting as the machine runs the game flawlessly. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herr_oberst Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 Also a "build your own" person, so can't really speak to a bought PC or laptop. With a son going to college, I'm thinking HP laptop for him. Basing that on good reliability at my wife's company (she directs the purchasing, and that's all they buy), but no idea how CMRT would run on one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 StieliAlpha, I'm running a late 2009 3.06 GHz Intel Core Duo 2 iMac. 4 GB RAM, ATI Radeon HD 4670. I take it your screenshots aren't anywhere nearly as pretty as what people are posting? Mine sure aren't, though they are better since 2.12 arrived. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pelican Pal Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Also a "build your own" person, so can't really speak to a bought PC or laptop. With a son going to college, I'm thinking HP laptop for him. Basing that on good reliability at my wife's company (she directs the purchasing, and that's all they buy), but no idea how CMRT would run on one. I have an HP Envy 5 somethings series. Really great laptop for work and web browsing, and the build quality is really nice. It doesn't do too hot with games though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herr_oberst Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 I have an HP Envy 5 somethings series. Really great laptop for work and web browsing, and the build quality is really nice. It doesn't do too hot with games though. Sounds like just the ticket for a college laptop then. With a "built-in" gaming deterrent. haha 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMac Posted June 20, 2014 Share Posted June 20, 2014 I have an 09' Dell Optiplex 755 Mid-Tower, Win 7 64bit, Core2 Duo 3.0GHz CPU, AMD-HD7750 1GB DDR5 GPU (upgraded from stock ATI-HD2400 256MB ), 250GB Hard Drive ( will upgrade to WD 500GB-1TB VelociRaptor )...Will most likely keep this rig for years to come, and fixing/upgrading it when needed. I only play CM:BN ( CM:FI & CM:RT at a later date ) at up to Reinforced Company size Scenario's/QB ( Small-Medium size ) with Balanced Settings, and the rig works rather well. Joe 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.