sager or alienware.. put in your 2 cents - Page 2

Well said. As I look at it, u line up a Segar, Alienware, and Dell, all with the same configs, and which one do you think looks more interesting? Which one do you think is faster and will make you feel special? Alienware offers a unique experience. At least, i sure had a great one!

Seems to me that a lot of people here (mostly Sager fans) seem to think that it doesn't count as a gaming laptop unless it has a 256MB video card. This is simply not the case. Sure, a 256MB video card is good for bragging rights, but there is no real performance gain in actual use. Most, if not all games can't or don't utilize all of the memory. While future games might, games today don't.

"Puny 15.4 or 16" screen"? Who needs a laptop with a 17" screen? Why not just get a desktop, because any laptop with a 17" screen isn't going to be portable by any stretch of the imagination. If you need something to take to the occasional LAN party, why not get a shuttle?

As for RAID, this requires two hard drives, which again increased the size of the laptop and puts it squarely in the "too heavy and big to laug around, why didn't I get a laptop?" catagory.

Really, the Area-51m's only shortcoming is the lack of dual channel RAM.

Puny screen? Obviously you've never seen one of the AW screens. I can't speak for the 15.4" but the 16.1" is a wonderful screen. It takes a while to get used to the high resolution, but after a week you wouldn't want to go back. It's perfect to play your games with 1600x1200, has a wide angle view, and no ghosting effect (and I play 3D shooter as well as strategie games - and view all my DVDs with a pleasant quality).

For the video card: It takes AW a while to adapt the new cards to their modular rigs. It's not like they get a bunch of video cards and simply put them in their rigs. Although they have only the 128MB version for now, it can get more power via overclocking than the Sager ones due to the better cooling rig.

For the RAM: point taken. The SIS board doesn't support the dual channel tech, but one day I'd like to see a speed comparison between those two *s*

For the raid sys: There isn't a point in a raid system if you only have one hard drive. The cooling system takes up a lot of space (and it's worth it). And keep in mind that the Sager is more that 2 pound heavier.

For the custom high gloss case: Well if you take that one, you'll have reached or even exceeded the AW pricerange (wonder why :P).

On a personal note: I like the magnesium shell (although not all parts are magnesium), the structural quality (no stress cracks, hinge problems or other cheap materials).

So Sager can give you more Benchmark for a buck, but only if you don't look for style.

Or fit and finish.

Don't the Area 51m and Sager 8790 weigh the same, 9.5 lbs or 4.3kg?

nope - the Sager weights about 2 pounds more

Also Duel channel ram wont increase preformance that much more..
Raid = Battery lasts shorter
Duel Ram = Battery Lasts Shorter
Bigger Screen = Battery Lasts shorter

Sounds to me like a sagar is a workstation replacement BUT only works well on power? also theres the overheating problem.
2 harddisk spinning at the same time doing the same thing more electrical pulses
Duel ram is more electrical pulses
Bigger screen Just gets hotter

next is gonna be "well sagar now has 5 fans" o yah bigger memory in gpu card IF its is being used = More heat,Less battery.

I briefly looked at Sager and decided to with AW just based on looks. I'm not afraid to admit it was pure aesthetics that drew me in. Like buying a Porsche 911 (beauty, styling, and performance in one package). Both machines were about equal in performance (except for the dual channel RAM) but the Sager looked plain and boring. Not in any way bashing the company, but it was more like I didn't know enough about them to drop $2500.00 for a notebook.

same here. i think they also redid there website from **** to tackey. duel ram isnt gonna be that much of a preformance booster. if they look like they care atleast that better than not looking like they care

Fetus, For the money and value of it...and could do it all again, I would probably go with the Sager. Especially since now there is a big doubt about the Area-51m's upgradeable graphics actually ever being supported with future upgrades. I think that is why 99% of us ever bought an Alienware to begin with. Yes, the AW is the sharpest notebook on earth but you will actually get more performance for your buck with a Sager.

alienware because of their performance

So far I've seen no constructive compairasons, just a bunch of "well i think it's ugly, this looks good, blah blah blah"
Only 4 things you look for in a notebook:

1. Performance
2. Weight
3. Looks
4. Pricetag
So lets compare each brand equally, in a non-biased view unlike most of you have done.

Performance. Well this is a no brainer, go look at the benchmarks. The Sagers are far superior in performance. 3dmark03 for example, 5690's bench almost 1000 points higher than Area51m's

Weight: Sagers are heavier, thus less portable than A51m's. If you travel a lot, extra points for alienware here

Looks: Obviously AW's look good, hence the extra bucket of cash you have to drop on them.

Price: Sager wins this field, and wins a lot of AW customers because of this as well. A cheaper machine, that outperforms Alienware.

But what about Battery life, customer support, warrenty, upgrades ect. Even if those are deciding factors, you will certainly run into them in your day-to-day use. Im curious, are those benchmarks against an Alienware with the same specs? Any way for you to show me this? Just curious, i havnt found much on sager benchmarks against alienwares.

I think a desktop is lighter than sager..But its so damn hard to configure alienware. Everytime I call alienware with a problem they solve it within minutes.Dont know if you can say the same with sager. Another thing that bummed me with alienware was it did not have a slot-loading cd-drive.Like the mac's. Oh and the fact that you HAVE to put them on hard surface only. Anyone know if its the same with sager?

P.s I love how craig has the power to stop people from fighting...

Sagar is more expsenive for me. (the VAT issue)

Main thing is support aswell (even though u never want to use it) but which is better? Hardware doesnt make the pc.

Not that this is really any good imput, but I really don't care about the weight or battery life. First of all I've only used the battery on my current laptop like 5 times, I normally like to plug it in if I can. Second I don't really do alot of traveling with it and if I bought a heavy laptop I would still just carry my current one. Between these forums I really don't know what computer to decide on. I go up and down, I almost got a Dell last week and even called Dell. I haven't gotten that far with AW or Sager. IMO Performance > Looks, but its nice to get both.

dont forget about stability almost everything in the AW computer has been tweaked to work with the other really well I would have to say AW just cause they look good theyre stable theyre fast theyve got good tech support.......

Its more of a personal taste!

Would echo most of the above post, save one very important line item that should be included within the above listing : needs. Assessing one's machine needs is of vital importance in the purchasing process, and understanding the distinction between a need and a want an integral part of the assessment process.

Will refer to a quotation from a prior post (found here):

"Your final choice should be based on what in particular is best for you the end user, including (but of course not limited to) performance, support (both customer and technical), and budgetary restrictions. Be certain not to get caught up in a numbers game, in regards to performance; this unfortunately happens all too often. Also, do not put off a needed purchase waiting for the next generation of any particular component. While the motivation for such is understandable, being without a needed machine is far too costly a performance gain any newer wave of technology will afford. In short, choose the machine that best suits your needs at the time you need it."

Both machines mentioned have their merits. Both are excellent machines. On the average, both companies offer a favorable user experience. The choice between the two (or others of course, as other machines exist in the world as well for different needs) should always fall back to one's requirements. In short, simply assess your need.

Regardless of your end decision, good luck with your purchase and the resultant machine - whichever brand it may be.

^^^ thats very good explanation. there is no better since what is better for you maybe not better for me

Software makes the "computer" not the hardware