Area-51m vs 8790 - Page 2

Its true plus voodoos dont cost 2000 more than a dell............Thats if you configure them the same.

I posted this in the Sager fourm but id see what the alienware fans have to say.

i have a class thats out of town on the 18th and i was hopeing that i could order my laptop tomorrow and hopefully receve it by the 17th. (not much chance of that but maby it can happen)
So i must make my decision by tomorrow between the AW and the Sager

Alienware- $3,114.00
Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
Case: Area-51m Case with 15.4" WideSXGA+ 1680x1050 LCD Display - Conspiracy Blue
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB w/ 512KB Cache
Motherboard: SiS648FX + SiS963L AGP8X Chipset
Memory: 1024MB DDR PC-3200 - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
Video Card: Area-51m ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 Module with 128MB DDR and Half-Life 2 Coupon Bundle
Sound Card: Sound-Blaster Pro Compatible 3D Audio
Hard Drive: Hitachi 60GB 7200 RPM ATA100 with 8MB Cache
Smart Bay One: 24x10x24 CD-RW / 8X DVD Combo w/Software
Ethernet NIC: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Wireless network: Internal Wireless 802.11a/b/g miniPCI Card
Modem: 56K Modem with V.92 Technology
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Security Software: Norton Internet Security ™ 2004 Professional Edition
Additional Battery: Area-51m Primary Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack (Model 766)

Sager- $2,900.00
CPU: Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology 3.2GHz
Memory: 1024MB PC3200 (2 DIMMs) SDRAM
Primary Hard Drive: 60.0GB (7200rpm) Ultra DMA Hard Drive
Floppy Drive: External USB 3.5" 1.44MB Floppy Drive
CD-ROM/DVD-ROM: 8X DVD / 24X10X24 CD-RW Combo Drive & Softwares
Battery: 8 Cells Smart Li-ION Battery
Modem: Integrated 56K V.90 Internal Fax/Modem
Network: Adapter Integrated 1000Mbps Ethernet LAN + Internal 108Mbps Turbo Mode 802.11g Wireless LAN
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Warranty: 1-year standard warranty from Sager

My worries with the AW are: 128mb video mem over the 256mb the sager has, the slower cpu, smaller screen size, and the horror stories ive heard about there service. (the fact that one of the AW tech support ppl is actually active on these fourms has conforted me though)

My worries with the sager are: less battery life, the inability to have mutiple batteries and swap them out when more juice is required, inability to upgrade video, and the cases durability. (ive heard good things about the durability of the AW but nothing on this issue for the sager)

i know this is like a decision that i should be making for my self, but id like to hear some feed back from ppl that actually own these machines. Seeing as this is the biggest purchace im going to make sofar in my life, id like it to be a good one.

The way you have it spec'd right now, I would go with the AW, purely because of the 3 year warranty. If this is you largest purchase thus far in life, you better make sure it's covered as long as possible. As a note, the AW also does NOT support multiple batteries...only one that can be swapped out for another. As far as the vid mem, 256 won't get you as far as clock speed will, few if any current or soon to be games take advantage of that much mem. Get the AlienAdrenaline that allows you to overclock the vid card under warranty and you can get nearly the same performance from the AW as you can from the Sager. I have not had any problems with Tech Support, and have only read a handful of horror stories that AW did everything to fix. I like my 15.4 inch screen, as well as the "compact" footprint (compared to an 8790). Good luck either way, they are both great machines.

Yeah, in my experience, AW tech support is spot on! Also, can't comment about the Sager, but AW's case is built like a tank. No durability issues there.

Well dude, I know your situation cause i'm in a similar one. I purchased my laptop based on the knowledge that i had another year of school, and that I had another 4 years of graphic intensive college. Plus I had gaming (duhhhh!! ). So I decided on the AW. couple reasons:

1) i've wanted one for 6 years and now i have it
2) it looks great and..
3) plays even better
4) solid as hell (specially when compared to my retarded plastic cased ibm thinkpad)
5) upgradeable up the wahzoo

and lastly
6) now i'm the envy of all my buddies

It's kinda heavy, but damn does it ever rule. the aw backpack will counteract that and it'll be great. AW all the waaaaaaaaaaaaay

Just Curious, are you talking about the sager 8790 here? The price you have on the Sager seems really high, I'm guessing you are looking at the EE processor on the Sager, I priced this at $2429 at pctorque on the 8790. Did you accidentally price the EE on the Sager?? I would also look at the 5690 possibly

Edit 1 - yes, the 3.2 EE did price out in that range, but to get that on the AW, you are looking at $849 extra, over the 3.0 that you priced

...and seeing that you mention the 256mb gpu, this is obviously the 8790

Save yourself the money and just buy a gameboy.

AREA51m...alot of reasons + Radeon 9700 256MB is not that good..the Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB is better much better than the 256MB in performance

Why would the 9700pro128 be better? It is identical to the 256MB version except for the ram.

No, buy the PSP when it comes out.

Not much is cooler than this -

dude it not all based on that...(not trying to be a smartass )their are other factors..i can tell u why if u like...but for now u can check http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.as9700&page=5

dude thats comparing the 9700 256 mobile to the 9700 128 desktop version.
of course the desktop one is going to be better.

there needs to be a review of the 9700 mobile 128 vs. the 256

well im ordering my laptop in the next fiew minutes, and i think im going with the alienware.
the upgradability, the ruggedness of the case, and interchangeable batteries without having to remove screws just seems better.

plus i dont like the way sagers warrenty is set up. the first year your covered by them then the next 2 your covered by the company you bought it from. just dosent make any sence.

ok... i placed my order.

[1] Area-51m™

Warranty: 3-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
Case: Area-51m Case with 15.4" WideSXGA+ 1680x1050 LCD Display - Conspiracy Blue
Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology 3.0GHz 800MHz FSB w/ 512KB Cache
Motherboard: SiS648FX + SiS963L AGP8X Chipset
Memory: 1024MB DDR PC-3200 - 2x512 SO-DIMMs
Video Card: Area-51m ATI MOBILITY™ RADEON™ 9700 Module with 128MB DDR and Half-Life 2 Coupon Bundle
Video Optimizer: AlienAdrenaline: Video Performance Optimizer
Sound Card: Sound-Blaster Pro Compatible 3D Audio
Hard Drive: Hitachi 60GB 7200 RPM ATA100 with 8MB Cache
Smart Bay One: 24x10x24 CD-RW / 8X DVD Combo w/Software
Ethernet NIC: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet NIC
Wireless network: External Wireless 802.11a/b/g PCMCIA Card
Modem: 56K Modem with V.92 Technology
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional
Security Software: Norton Internet Security ™ 2004 Professional Edition
Remote Control: Area-51m Multi-function Infrared Remote control
Additional Floppy Drive: USB Floppy Drive
Additional Battery: Area-51m Primary Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack (Model 766)
Gamespot Complete: Gamespot Complete - Free 90-day Trial
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Automated Support: AlienAutopsy: Automated Technical Support Request System

so its 10pm in florda at the moment, do i call them in the morning or will they contact me?

They'll call you.. but if you call, it'll speed it up. Congrads on your purchase! Good luck!

did u change your order from the external wireless to the internal, and if so whoat was your reasoning. cause ive heard the internal sux balls so i went with the external. i might change the order if someone has had good results from the internal.

i allready have a gameboy, but the psp looks mighty tempting

I haven't bought a Gameboy since my Limited Edition Ice Blue Gameboy Pocket.

AHHH nice man congrats man....I just ordered it as well...not "just" more like 6 days ago..so i am happy and cant wait...and dude i seriously i knew that you cant compare desktop GPU to a mobile one....but long story already explaint it to the guy...i did know that..cuz of pipline and ****..so aint a computer newb. or nothing..i do know about my computer

Actually... when I ordered there was no wireless at all, so I changed it so I wouldn't have to install it myself if I don't have to. I'm not going to be far from the router... and I prefer not to have an ugly antenna sticking out, so internal it is!