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Hey there, TL. After growing tired of my family's computer running games like Starcraft 2 at an admiral 3 fps on the lowest settings, I decided it might be worth it to get a new one (especially with my first semester of college coming up in the fall.) Since I had just recently acquired a decent-paying job, I decided to splurge a little and get something really sexy.
After some deliberation, I settled on an Alienware M14x.
Rational for decision:
+ Show Spoiler +First off, would someone mind informing me how you rename spoiler links?
Anyway, I know that most of the computer-savvy denizens of TL are scratching their heads right now, or think I'm an idiot. "Gaming laptops are overpriced," they say, and then go on to claim (correctly) that it'd be cheaper to build a gaming desktop and then get a cheap netbook for portability. But I really wanted a gaming laptop specifically because I was looking for portability. My friends and I LAN quite frequently, and dragging a laptop to whichever house we decide to crash at is much, much easier.
"But, but, Alienware specifically is even more overpriced! You're just paying for a brand name and some flashy lights!"
...Okay, I concede to this point. Of all of the gaming laptops, I chose Alienware because it looks freaking sexy and the keyboard glows. But honestly, if these types of things are what make me happy, I should certainly be allowed to spend my own money on them. Besides, I want instant recognition, especially from the ladies. When I'm sitting next to a hot chick in my freshman classes next fall, and I whip out my laptop, I'd rather they go "Ooooh, an Alienware? That's hot. Let's go back to your dorm after this class" instead of "Oh, you have a... random computer that could possibly be a gaming laptop? I'm not even remotely turned on right now." Because we all know that this is how life works.
Specs:
+ Show Spoiler +Processer: Intel® Core™ i7 2630QM 2.0GHz (2.9GHz w/Turbo Boost, 6MB Cache)
OS: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
Memory: 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz
Graphics Card: 1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus™ technology
Hard Drive: 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s
Anyway, after placing the order and doing nothing but f5ing the product tracking page for about a week, I returned home to find a big, hefty box sitting on my porch.
+ Show Spoiler +![[image loading]](http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/4723/099gk.jpg) (Note: I'm terrible at taking pictures, and I'm taking them from a crappy camera, so... yeah. Hopefully these aren't too painful.)
Upon opening the outer box, I find... another box, although this one is considerably more sexy.
+ Show Spoiler +
Now we're getting somewhere...
+ Show Spoiler +
All of the contents of the box.
+ Show Spoiler +
The laptop, powered down.
+ Show Spoiler +
My desk, with my new computer on top.
+ Show Spoiler +
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the pics. Unboxing this beast was quite fun, and Alienware took tons of care packaging it. I've got SC2 installing as I type this, and as soon as it finishes, I'm going to hop on immediately and see if being able to cast storms without my computer exploding will help improve my game at all.
I should be posting another entry near the start of season 3, to show whether or not my new computer has helped my results at all.
Thanks for reading!
 
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Always liked the shape and elegant style of Alienware's pcs. Sadly that it's completely ruined because of the price. 
Grats though, i bet it's nice piece of hardware.
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People are just haters. If you can afford an Alienware laptop, why not get it? Yeah it's expensive, but it also looks freaking amazing.
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On July 11 2011 07:13 denzelz wrote:
People are just haters. If you can afford an Alienware laptop, why not get it? Yeah it's expensive, but it also looks freaking amazing.
If you can get a computer close with same specs 300-500$ cheaper, i don't see why would i want to spend that money on it just because of the look.
By no means im hating. Just saying that the price is often very high. As i said earlier, it looks fucking amazing and i bet they are quality laptops. If you decide to buy Alienware laptop or desktop, i have nothing against you, vice versa.
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The M14x is actually a very decently priced computer for what it offers.
You normally don't get that kind of hardware in a 14" chassis, so its price is justified.
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On July 11 2011 07:11 Assault_1 wrote:
how much did it cost?
I managed to get a pretty nice deal on this one and picked it up for around $1000. Which, while much more expensive than a similarly specced desktop, is pretty decent for a gaming laptop.
And thanks to everyone for the congrats =) I actually got it and wrote this blog last night but couldn't get these pictures uploaded til this morning. After some testing, I think "amazing piece of hardware" covers my feelings towards it.
Sorry if this is coming off as a brag blog, btw. To be honest I only really wanted to post about this because of the unboxing pictures; I know some people (myself included) enjoy looking at them.
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Might have needed more RAM. But anyway, sweet video card and it looks pretty awesome as well. 
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ya it's really hard to justify the kind of price that alienware puts on their computers, but it's better than buying a desktop by them (you can just build a better machine yourself, but I've never built nor looked into building a laptop). Hope you like it
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On July 11 2011 07:26 FragKrag wrote:
The M14x is actually a very decently priced computer for what it offers.
You normally don't get that kind of hardware in a 14" chassis, so its price is justified.
Actually this is true what i checked myself, its pretty good deal if you look at it. But some of the Alienware products are just too expensive.
But once again, grats, hope you have good times playing with this thing. 
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Edit: Never mind actually.
I saw Alienware and made an assumption, making an ass out of myself. Decent price for an alienware. Very uncommon of them.
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On July 11 2011 07:27 Baltor wrote:I managed to get a pretty nice deal on this one and picked it up for around $1000. Which, while much more expensive than a similarly specced desktop, is pretty decent for a gaming laptop. And thanks to everyone for the congrats =) I actually got it and wrote this blog last night but couldn't get these pictures uploaded til this morning. After some testing, I think "amazing piece of hardware" covers my feelings towards it. Sorry if this is coming off as a brag blog, btw. To be honest I only really wanted to post about this because of the unboxing pictures; I know some people (myself included) enjoy looking at them.
That's actually a very good deal. You get good build quality, a very solid CPU, a decent GPU, and also a nice screen.
Your $1000 is going very far with this purchase.
Anybody who says otherwise clearly has never used a high end machine and experienced the difference in quality.
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Uhh yea don't expect the hot chick next to you to actually say "Ooh an alienware" lol. Shoulda gotten a macbook air if you wanted to get the girls.
But congrats and the laptop is actually pretty good for gaming. My brother has the older m15 and this definitely looks way better imo
On July 11 2011 07:13 denzelz wrote:
People are just haters. If you can afford an Alienware laptop, why not get it? Yeah it's expensive, but it also looks freaking amazing.
I don't actually really like the look of Alienwares, but I know people who do so it's just personal preference.
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On July 11 2011 07:32 FragKrag wrote:Show nested quote +On July 11 2011 07:27 Baltor wrote:On July 11 2011 07:11 Assault_1 wrote:
how much did it cost? I managed to get a pretty nice deal on this one and picked it up for around $1000. Which, while much more expensive than a similarly specced desktop, is pretty decent for a gaming laptop. And thanks to everyone for the congrats =) I actually got it and wrote this blog last night but couldn't get these pictures uploaded til this morning. After some testing, I think "amazing piece of hardware" covers my feelings towards it. Sorry if this is coming off as a brag blog, btw. To be honest I only really wanted to post about this because of the unboxing pictures; I know some people (myself included) enjoy looking at them. That's actually a very good deal. You get good build quality, a very solid CPU, a decent GPU, and also a nice screen. Your $1000 is going very far with this purchase. Anybody who says otherwise clearly has never used a high end machine and experienced the difference in quality.
Plenty of laptops that surpass Alienware for a $1000. Nonetheless, gratz OP.
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On July 11 2011 07:36 Jaxtyk wrote:Show nested quote +On July 11 2011 07:32 FragKrag wrote:On July 11 2011 07:27 Baltor wrote:On July 11 2011 07:11 Assault_1 wrote:
how much did it cost? I managed to get a pretty nice deal on this one and picked it up for around $1000. Which, while much more expensive than a similarly specced desktop, is pretty decent for a gaming laptop. And thanks to everyone for the congrats =) I actually got it and wrote this blog last night but couldn't get these pictures uploaded til this morning. After some testing, I think "amazing piece of hardware" covers my feelings towards it. Sorry if this is coming off as a brag blog, btw. To be honest I only really wanted to post about this because of the unboxing pictures; I know some people (myself included) enjoy looking at them. That's actually a very good deal. You get good build quality, a very solid CPU, a decent GPU, and also a nice screen. Your $1000 is going very far with this purchase. Anybody who says otherwise clearly has never used a high end machine and experienced the difference in quality. Plenty of laptops that surpass Alienware for a $1000. Nonetheless, gratz OP.
Go ahead and name me a laptop that has the CPU and GPU power in a 14" chassis and a high quality screen with the same build quality.
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On July 11 2011 07:36 Jaxtyk wrote:Show nested quote +On July 11 2011 07:32 FragKrag wrote:On July 11 2011 07:27 Baltor wrote:On July 11 2011 07:11 Assault_1 wrote:
how much did it cost? I managed to get a pretty nice deal on this one and picked it up for around $1000. Which, while much more expensive than a similarly specced desktop, is pretty decent for a gaming laptop. And thanks to everyone for the congrats =) I actually got it and wrote this blog last night but couldn't get these pictures uploaded til this morning. After some testing, I think "amazing piece of hardware" covers my feelings towards it. Sorry if this is coming off as a brag blog, btw. To be honest I only really wanted to post about this because of the unboxing pictures; I know some people (myself included) enjoy looking at them. That's actually a very good deal. You get good build quality, a very solid CPU, a decent GPU, and also a nice screen. Your $1000 is going very far with this purchase. Anybody who says otherwise clearly has never used a high end machine and experienced the difference in quality. Plenty of laptops that surpass Alienware for a $1000. Nonetheless, gratz OP.
In that size and quality? Not really
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On July 11 2011 07:41 FragKrag wrote:Show nested quote +On July 11 2011 07:36 Jaxtyk wrote:On July 11 2011 07:32 FragKrag wrote:On July 11 2011 07:27 Baltor wrote:On July 11 2011 07:11 Assault_1 wrote:
how much did it cost? I managed to get a pretty nice deal on this one and picked it up for around $1000. Which, while much more expensive than a similarly specced desktop, is pretty decent for a gaming laptop. And thanks to everyone for the congrats =) I actually got it and wrote this blog last night but couldn't get these pictures uploaded til this morning. After some testing, I think "amazing piece of hardware" covers my feelings towards it. Sorry if this is coming off as a brag blog, btw. To be honest I only really wanted to post about this because of the unboxing pictures; I know some people (myself included) enjoy looking at them. That's actually a very good deal. You get good build quality, a very solid CPU, a decent GPU, and also a nice screen. Your $1000 is going very far with this purchase. Anybody who says otherwise clearly has never used a high end machine and experienced the difference in quality. Plenty of laptops that surpass Alienware for a $1000. Nonetheless, gratz OP. Go ahead and name me a laptop that has the CPU and GPU power in a 14" chassis and a high quality screen with the same build quality.
Tbh people say things on the Internet. People make up girlfriends, others make up expensive cars and brag about them on World of Warcraft. His laptop retails for $1200 or $1275 with the monitor that doesn't suck.
If he's honest and "got a deal" for a grand, then yes, it's already... but you said:
On July 11 2011 07:26 FragKrag wrote:
The M14x is actually a very decently priced computer for what it offers.
You normally don't get that kind of hardware in a 14" chassis, so its price is justified.
At its normal price, it's awful, unless you're fine with paying $300 to lose an inch of monitor.
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/4861/102npx.jpg)
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