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Question of the Day: Have you ever been to an airshow?
Alienware laptop
- Thread starter Jaquesdp
- Start date
FarligOpptreden
Executive Member
Apologies for the late reply.
I dunno about the 970 vs 980 upgrade. Price-wise, the MSI GS70 with 970 kinda hit my budget limit at around R27k. I was specifically looking for a slim, understated design and the GS70 hit the mark perfectly.
The 970 does everything I want from it, to be honest. Maxing out most modern games, even playing The Witcher 3 very smoothly (sans Hairworx, but in all honesty it doesn't add all that much visually).
Like semaphore mentioned, and I told my wife this morning, I'll replace it with another if it dies or gets stolen... Or I just want a newer version of it.
Agreed also on the keyboard, some key placements are awkward. You get used to it if you work on it every day (like myself, doing development on it each day). The build quality is phenomenal though, but beware the soft aluminium body of the GS range - I dropped my phone about 20cm and it bumped against the side of the chassis, leaving a dent in it. If you treat it with respect it will serve you well for a long time.
TheGoosen
Well-Known Member
Enjoy your two year outdated hardware
You get a 5-6% performance going for anything 6th gen, and thats only on some tasks. The rest is upgradability, so ddr4 is better than 3 yes but not now that much, in 2-3 years time when you look to upgrade or increase ram it might play a role as you are stuck with 3 etc.
Check the Aorus prices x5. Worth a look and i would highly highly recommend.
Gtx Gaming
Gtx Gaming
Yep pretty sure the other models have the cards soldered on the board.
I Have upgraded an older gt model with 285M to a 570M ,it actually worked without any issues . Was a nice upgrade for cheap ,previous owners motherboard died so I bought the card off him. Luckily it did work ,some laptops has bios issues if replace the card.
Jase
Executive Member
Still OT but it seem that the MXM GPU upgrade for the MSI laptops is currently limited to the GT series.
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Jase
Executive Member
Asus makes a Dominator?
I meant acer predator sorry about that
Jase
Executive Member
Where can one get one of these locally? It seems I need to replace my wine stained laptop.
Johnatan56
Honorary Master
http://www.wootware.co.za/acer-g9-7...d-2tb-hdd-windows-10-home-64bit-notebook.html
http://www.wootware.co.za/acer-g9-7...d-1tb-hdd-windows-10-home-64bit-notebook.html
Do you want something like that? Or cheaper?
Jase
Executive Member
Thanks for the replies. I had narrowed down my choices to either Gigabyte or MSI but you have just complicated my life by adding a third option. But I'll start a thread sometime on what I want (and why), my budget etc. I have an old Acer lying around that served me well for 5 years so I'll look into it.
If I knew about the Acer range I would have taken it instead
I got my alienware from incredible corruption in Menlyn, not sure if they still have stock, but it's worth a shot.
I see a few people are suggest getting an Asus or MSI instead. I can't comment on the MSI, but Asus has amazing support. I had one of the Asus gaming laptops a couple of years back, the motherboard went, so I dropped it at Asus support in Sandton at 9 in the morning and it was ready for collection that same day at 15:00, I can't recommend them enough.
That being said, I've owned several alienware laptops over the years, but I've never needed to contact support or had any issues with them at all.
I see a few people are suggest getting an Asus or MSI instead. I can't comment on the MSI, but Asus has amazing support. I had one of the Asus gaming laptops a couple of years back, the motherboard went, so I dropped it at Asus support in Sandton at 9 in the morning and it was ready for collection that same day at 15:00, I can't recommend them enough.
That being said, I've owned several alienware laptops over the years, but I've never needed to contact support or had any issues with them at all.
Johnatan56
Honorary Master
I am assuming there was a large mark-up on the alienware device if you bought it from IC.
Surprisingly not more than other shops, I compared the price with some of the online retailers and it was about the same, if I remember correctly a few hundred rand.
I was quite surprised, after all, I call them as incredible corruption for a reason LOL
Jase
Executive Member
The IC website has no alienware listed so trying to find specs and a price is difficult.
I'll share my 2c, since i've had Alienware x2, the MSI Gaming and Gigabyte Aorus.
I've tried to break it down as best i can;
Battery Life
The MSI And Gigabyte both chewed through batteries like they were water. Thats understandable given the power of the laptop, however I had markedly better life on the Alienware despite it too being a "heavyweight" machine. The charger on the Gigabyte is HORRENDOUS - It literally weighs the same as having another 15" laptop in your bag. (and almost the same dimensions!)
Alternative OS
Assuming you don't want to actually work in Windows (why on Earth would you unless gaming?) you will find that running Linux on all 3 is easy affair EXCEPT for the Optimus switching. Its come a long way but still not reliable, and you will lose far more battery life than when running Windows. Having said that, with a lot of tweaking I know people who's got it down to a reliable level.
Heat
The Alienware again won this one for me - it ran far cooler on my lap than the MSI And Gigabyte. Design perhaps? All 3 however do not like your lap, as they need adequate airflow.
Performance
I cant really comment on this since all 3 laptops had different specs as they were bought within about 6 months of each other. However, overall the MSI felt very bloated with drivers+utilities for its hardware. The Gigabyte not so much, and the Alienware much better.
Value for Money
This is where I feel, the Alienware begins to lose. You pay a premium for what is effectively the same spec in others (in fact my MSI before the Alienware was better specced and cheaper). However I think Alienware makes it back in the build as it feels far more firm/sturdy/complete.
Display
The MSI lost out in my opinion. It had this horrible glossy display with brightness that just never went up enough to compensate for very well-lit conditions. The Gigabyte comes in a close second and again, I preferred the Alienware display. PS - the MSI's display was however perfect with its resolution, and image reproduction. Just the gloss and brightness let it down.
GPUs
I wont comment on this, since they had 3 GPU's and suffice it to say the one with the fastest/newest was better.
Keyboard
The MSI lost this one for me again, the Gigabyte comes a close second but typing on the Alienware was very comfortable.
Sound
Gigabyte wins that one, with some very cool and packing speakers. NOTE: I think Alienware and/or MSI upgraded theirs after I had mine though.
Warranty
I extended the Warranty on the Alienware, not the other two. I never needed to take either back, but having on-site on the Alienware would have been nice should I have needed a claim. I don't know if you get on-site with MSI or GB?
Conclusion
I'm against the Alienware for its price - driven by our horrible ZAR - its super expensive. But I will admit you're getting something Dell has put a lot of work into and its quality. However, the MSI and Gigabyte are also both well-built and for the money of the Alienware you will probably get one with a much higher spec. If you can live with a few small quality issues (that don't affect the way it works) then go for it. IF i were looking for a new high-end gaming laptop, my choice would be Alienware though.
I've tried to break it down as best i can;
Battery Life
The MSI And Gigabyte both chewed through batteries like they were water. Thats understandable given the power of the laptop, however I had markedly better life on the Alienware despite it too being a "heavyweight" machine. The charger on the Gigabyte is HORRENDOUS - It literally weighs the same as having another 15" laptop in your bag. (and almost the same dimensions!)
Alternative OS
Assuming you don't want to actually work in Windows (why on Earth would you unless gaming?) you will find that running Linux on all 3 is easy affair EXCEPT for the Optimus switching. Its come a long way but still not reliable, and you will lose far more battery life than when running Windows. Having said that, with a lot of tweaking I know people who's got it down to a reliable level.
Heat
The Alienware again won this one for me - it ran far cooler on my lap than the MSI And Gigabyte. Design perhaps? All 3 however do not like your lap, as they need adequate airflow.
Performance
I cant really comment on this since all 3 laptops had different specs as they were bought within about 6 months of each other. However, overall the MSI felt very bloated with drivers+utilities for its hardware. The Gigabyte not so much, and the Alienware much better.
Value for Money
This is where I feel, the Alienware begins to lose. You pay a premium for what is effectively the same spec in others (in fact my MSI before the Alienware was better specced and cheaper). However I think Alienware makes it back in the build as it feels far more firm/sturdy/complete.
Display
The MSI lost out in my opinion. It had this horrible glossy display with brightness that just never went up enough to compensate for very well-lit conditions. The Gigabyte comes in a close second and again, I preferred the Alienware display. PS - the MSI's display was however perfect with its resolution, and image reproduction. Just the gloss and brightness let it down.
GPUs
I wont comment on this, since they had 3 GPU's and suffice it to say the one with the fastest/newest was better.
Keyboard
The MSI lost this one for me again, the Gigabyte comes a close second but typing on the Alienware was very comfortable.
Sound
Gigabyte wins that one, with some very cool and packing speakers. NOTE: I think Alienware and/or MSI upgraded theirs after I had mine though.
Warranty
I extended the Warranty on the Alienware, not the other two. I never needed to take either back, but having on-site on the Alienware would have been nice should I have needed a claim. I don't know if you get on-site with MSI or GB?
Conclusion
I'm against the Alienware for its price - driven by our horrible ZAR - its super expensive. But I will admit you're getting something Dell has put a lot of work into and its quality. However, the MSI and Gigabyte are also both well-built and for the money of the Alienware you will probably get one with a much higher spec. If you can live with a few small quality issues (that don't affect the way it works) then go for it. IF i were looking for a new high-end gaming laptop, my choice would be Alienware though.
Jase
Executive Member
Firstly thanks for the feedback. The only thing missing is the models of each of these machines (e.g. Aorus X7 Pro) as well as the time frame you are referring to (2014 etc.)