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Hey, I want a laptop and I'm thinking about purchasing an Alienware Area 51m.

This laptop will be a complete desktop replacement.


I'd want to do:

I will definitely be using it for some gaming (Vice City, Sims, CS, some high end games)

Web/Graphic Design

School work

Internet Access

Is an Alienware laptop for me?
 
Sounds like an Alienware would work great for you.

Just a word of caution... laptops inherently suck for gaming. I don't care if they put a great screen on it, load it up with a super-fast CPU and video card... it's still going to be inferior to a desktop system.

It will probably be acceptable for some games, but especially for FPS games like CS, you're going to run into issues with the keyboard ergonomics, hard drive access speeds, and screen size.

However, in terms of laptops, the performance will probably be better than any other laptop you'll be able to find, since Alienware packs them pretty well.

Based on my cousin's experience (he's the only one I see in person with an Alienware laptop), their support is top-notch, but their QA leaves a little bit to be desired. He's currently on his 4th laptop.
They replaced his entire laptop when he had his modem fried by a lightning storm, which really says something about their support. However, since getting that initial one replaced, the next 2 both failed with different hardware failures (first one was the screen, second one was the keyboard controller).
 
On the gaming issue--

Will it be impossible for me to play CS even if I buy a mouse and other accessories?

Also are their laptops upgradable? (Let's say I would want more RAM)
 
I know a kid who plays America's Army, which is a hell of a lot more complicated than Counter-Strike, and he's **** good at it. A top player. Yes, you can play Counter-Strike on it, yes the mouse and "other accessories" will help, but as Diesel said, it's just not nearly as good as a desktop. You'll pretty much always have the best experience on a desktop.

Yes, you can put more RAM in, but if you don't know how, you should have them do it, which usually costs an arm and a leg extra for them to do (not to mention Alienware laptops aren't cheap in the first place).

It will be good for school work and internet access, and pretty good for web/graphic design (again though, you'll have better luck with a desktop), but all-in-all, I'm sure Alienware will make you a nice laptop. I haven't ever owned a laptop, though I have used one on several occassions (my moms), and they're fairly decent, especially if you're into the whole portable thing, which, obviously, they're phenomenal for.

And, yeah, that's all I have to say pretty much. :)
 
On Yesterday @ 12:40 PM hi02 had this to say in Post #3
Click to expand...
On the gaming issue--

Will it be impossible for me to play CS even if I buy a mouse and other accessories?

Also are their laptops upgradable? (Let's say I would want more RAM)
Click to expand...

No, it won't be impossible. Just don't expect framerates anywhere close to a desktop machine. You'll be forced to keep resolution and details down fairly low to keep the framerate high enough for you to stay competitive.

And a mouse is a necessity if you're going to play games. You won't be able to do it with a trackpoint or touchpad.

Alienware laptops use fairly standard parts, so as long as your configuration has free RAM slots, you can upgrade it. Upgrading RAM in a laptop is usually a fairly easy affair if the design is halfway decent. On my IBM Thinkpad T22, it was a matter of unscrewing one screw, removing a small metal plate to expose the RAM slots, and pushing the SODIMM until it clicked. It was very painless, and was very easy to follow the directions in the manual.

Like Chimpi said, they'll do it for you, but it will cost you an arm and a leg. It's definitely cheaper to buy the RAM aftermarket and put it in yourself, but if you're not capable of that, you'll want them to do it for you.
But, like most things, it's quite simple to do if you just pay attention to what you're doing and follow the directions in the manual.
 
your other major concern should be heat.. alienware's using desktop processor in a fairly small amount of space. CS isn't that stressful but if you try to play a more recent game i wouldn't be surprised if you ran into artifacts or even the processor freezing..
 
Thanks for your help

Is there anything I could do about the cooling situation like buying a pad or an additional fan?

Should I forgo Alienware and look at a Vaio??


I've been used to a sub-par computer for a LONG time so slow frame rates won't really bother me I just don't want it to crash.

I'm really leaning towards an alienware though:D
 
Ugh, do NOT get a Vaio. They're packed with tons of useless features, and focus too much on multimedia. They're also the most unreliable name-brand laptops I've ever used.

As for the heat issue in an Alienware laptop, there are things you can do. First, make sure all of the vents are open and unblocked. Don't cover them up by putting them on a spongy or pillowy surface. Make sure the laptop has at least 4-6" of clearance on all sides to ensure good airflow around the unit.

You can also buy pads that the laptop rests on that are supposed to keep it a little cooler, but results with those are varied. You could also put a desk fan near it so that there's a little additional airflow around the unit.

I wouldn't be too worried about the heat issue. I think WaterB is making it out to be slightly more problematic than it really is in practical use. Alienware has made a good reputation for itself by building quality systems. They've no doubt taken the desktop processor heat issue into account when designing the laptop, so I doubt you'd experience that many heat related issues. It might be a tad hot for you to use on your lap, but I don't think they'll get hot enough to cause problems while gaming unless you're in a seriously overheated room.
 
Great I will be getting an Alienware the cost will be about $3,000.

Now comes the hard part... getting the cash. I'll have to sell alot of templates and logos :/

Its all worth it.
 
If you want to do gaming on the laptop, make sure the model uses the ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 chip. That's the current top of the line laptop graphics chip. The performance isn't too far off that of the desktop version.

In comparison, the Nvidia Go5600 is a slower part, runs hotter, and uses up more battery life.

Comparative reviews of the two:
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,1208971,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000532
http://www.ukgamer.com/article.php4?id=90&page=1

As you can see, with the proper cpu setup, the Mobility9600 is capable of playing UT2003 with 4x AntiAliasing and 8x AnisotropicFiltering at 50fps.
 
Here is my outlook on the type of computer you need:

In regards to the ATi Mobility Radeon 9600, if you can get it, it is the best way to go, but if you need a laptop now, most brands will not have it.. The M9600 not only has stunning frame rates (for a laptop), but it is the beginning of a new standard that will let you swap out the chip for a new one (by detaching your keyboard). This is an excellent idea for the top-notch gamer who wants a new chip every half of a year. But they are not widely available yet.

Need a gaming PC right now? I am sorry to all you Alienware fans, but it may not be the best way to go in this situation. He wants a desktop replacement, which may actually be done best by Alienware, but he is also using this for school and other forms of work, and I bet he wants portability. The Area-51m can reach 11 pounds! Not only that, but the battery lasts a mere hour. Not what this guy needs.

To top it all off, in benchmarks, Alienware's top of the line Area 51-m has not turned in the best results. That title goes to the Dell Inspiron 8500, my recommendation. The battery life is pretty good, the gaming is top of the line for laptops, and it is lighter! And look at that sexy screen!

Need it now, go for Dell, but I actually recommend waiting a little while (maybe a month or two) and getting a Dell with the 9600 Mobility chip from ATi.
 
If you have Any problems when you get an Alienware Computer. Send it back for FULL refund. Do not send it back to be fixed. You do not spend that much money only to get a "repaired" computer.
If you still want to invest more time into waiting for a new Alienware to be built for you, Do That. It will take that much time for them to repair it anyways. Do Not settle for Crap Alienware Quality Assurance. This is one of the areas that Alienware Lacks in.
 
Thanks alot nacho I'm looking at some dells right now and they are intriguing. I think I'll wait the two months and get it with the new chip.

Alienware was becoming too expensive.
 
hi02> I don't know too much about Sager but from looking at some of the specs and word-of-mouth they seem to be really good. Maybe consider those laptops as well. :) I have a Dell 5150 with upgrades and it's pretty good, but if you are looking for a gaming computer you may want to look at a more gaming oriented notebook. Looks like Sager is better for gaming. Dell computers are very good though and have a lot of upgrades and decent specs. I'm very happy with my Dell but I'm not a heavy gamer. It will handle most recent games however. :nod:

Maybe consider looking at this website for information on the notebooks:
Sager Website

For more information here are the forums: (Yes, I have Alien's permission to post this site)
Sager Forums
 
I think the Dell Inspiron is the best laptop for desktop replacement purposes. Its cheaper than most, has all the good stuff, and so on. I think Dell's tech support is kinda crappy though, but if you can save a few hundred bucks you could spend that on extended warrenty and such so they will cater to you more

If you dare try new thouhg, you should get an Apple Powerbook, they are very energy efficient, are practically as powerful as an Apple Desktop, and have the longest battery life of any notebook I know.
 
On Today @ 04:37 PM Shadow had this to say in Post #15
If you dare try new thouhg, you should get an Apple Powerbook, they are very energy efficient, are practically as powerful as an Apple Desktop, and have the longest battery life of any notebook I know.
Click to expand...

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Sorry, had to get that out of my system.

Yeah, get an Apple Powerbook. It's a great desktop replacement, if you mean it's good at replacing a desk. Really, they're great laptops until you try actually running the software you want on them. Then, you'll find yourself wondering why you can't find any software to run on it. The reason is that no one makes software for them anymore because there's no money to be made in it.

The reason they're energy efficient is because you can't use them for anything practical. If they don't run anything, how can they use battery life?

If you want to talk about battery life, look at a Centrino-based laptop. Many claim 7+ hours of battery life, although they test out in real-world testing at about 5.5-6 hours.

And, for the record, yes, I have used a Powerbook G4, which was given to my mother by her job, and I abhore touching the thing. Quite possibly the most useless technological device I've ever seen.
 
At the moment I'm planning on getting the 8600, can you add on to the warranty after?
 
Typically, companies (not just computer companies) do not let you adjust the warranty after the purchase. Some give you a grace period, usually no longer than 7 days, to make a decision on something like an extended warranty.

So, I would tell you that the general answer is no. You might be able to call up Dell and adjust the order, but I would think that once you have it in your hand, all bets are off and what you ordered is what you're stuck with.
 
Alienware is a rip off, you can build a better machine cheaper then what they charge and still get the same performance. They're nothing but a bunch of scums trying to make a killing on computers and doing a **** good job, someone keeps to come in and put a hole in them.

Foor an example, I can pick you up a good Dell/Sony Vaio on a good deal for you and still have a good system.

MAC sucks to me.

If you want a good deal on a laptop send me a PM with your requirements and I will put you in contact with a few references.
 
Some stuff that folks were reporting here are a bit off:

Battery life with the new Area-51ms is over 2 hours. Granted, 2 hours isn't all that good off of one battery, but its a LOT better than in the past.

I've not heard much about the Area-51m freezing up or overheating thanks to the heat of the processor. While I wouldn't like to sit to the side of it, the exhaust system is rather good. Toshibas and the prototype Dells which use a full P4 processor have had problems freezing, but that had to do moreso with the motherboard and not the heat.

TechTV recently did a review of the top end notebooks, and while I wasn't impressed with the Area-51m using the ATI Raedon 9600 (the drivers weren't ready), the one using an NVIDIA card rocked the house... and now that the drivers for the 9600 are ready, the system looks really cool (darned close to desktop performance, even beat a few of them in graphic benchmark tests).

but that's just my $0.02

BTW: I'd like to see someone build a laptop for $1000s less with the same specs as a Sager, Dell or AW... me thinks they've gotten themselves confused with desktops.
 
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