Let me first just say this, if there is a thread already open regarding this topic, please move my post and my apologies in advance.
I just wanted to offer my commentary/two cents, for whatever that's worth, in hopes of helping people make a sound choice between these two GREAT laptops... I am an IT manager by trade and am always researching faster, more efficient micro-processors for my servers or desktops. While given I am in the IT field, I am by no means claiming to be an expert or know-it-all on these two machines, just offering general observations and which laptop I feel is better, which is the Alienware in MY opinion.
3DMARK Scores: Some people on these forums erroniously correlate 3DMARK scores with actual card performance. This is a mistake because GPU makers tweak their respective cards to perform well on these tests as the benchmark results directly affect the overall sales of a card. This is not to say that a given card with a great score is not greater then a card with a lower score, it very well may be. However, keep in mind that "Real-World" GPU performance for a specific game is a better scale as to which GPU might be better for you or in general. ATI uses its own technology to give the user features that nVIDIA can't and vice versa. Also remember that we don't always here the absolutes in regard to exact configuration of a tested system. Furthermore, being that GPU memory, chip architecture, a given example of a card, how long a system was tested before a specific score, cooling, etc... must all become a variable in reading a performance score. While its safe to say that any person with a reasonable foundation of logic could architect their own "Fair" test between these two laptops, we simply don't know what the variables are unless we do the tests ourselves. That said, some people will always exaggerate and not report truthful test data do to various psychological factors. So remember this when looking at scores. A higher score does not always mean a "Better" or "Faster" card. It simply means that the given card performs well on 3DMARK for various reasons. Getting a fast card when buying a fast card is always possible, so is getting a little slower card then expected. Nothing is perfect, as always, there will always be something faster. Get a card that will please you visually and be happy, play some games, and enjoy.
AW - Pentium 4 HT Vs. XPS Pentium M: Many folks on the board have been asking which processor is "faster"? One of the reasons many people think the Pentium M is faster is because of it's HUGE 2mb L2 cache. Having a 2mb L2 cache lets the M have 2 mb's of 1's and 0's (Instructions) on the chip at any given time to process directly instead of having to corral instructions more frequently from memory on processors with smaller L2 caches. The Alienware Area-51m 7700 processors have only 1mb of L2 cache. Now being that the Alienware board will take several versions of the P4 w/HT, and being that the Sager 9860 is the same thing and offers a 3.8Ghz version with a 2mb L2 cache, you can always upgrade. Why buy the Dell when you can always jump to a bigger cache later on? The reason the M seems quicker is because even though instructions only process at 2.1Ghz, the HUGE L2 cache makes it incredibly efficient at getting data to the PCI-e bus which can therefore get instructions to the GPU that much quicker. The architecture of the Pentium M, board chipset efficiency, PCI-e, Fast DDR2 Ram, all pointing to that awesome GPU make for extreme efficiency. So all in all its like looking at which is faster, the turbocharged 4cyl making 400hp? Or the V8 monster making 400hp? We know that weight, drivetrain, driver, etc would be the deciding factor. So its 2 different ways of doing the same thing. The main reason the Pentium M is used in the XPS2 is that its cache being HUGE, along with a lower voltage and lower frequency lets the chip and system make less heat and a better, hotter running VID card can be used and still not bake your legs. Now the AW uses the DESKTOP P4 w/HT for a different purpose, to simulate the same enviroment as a desktop in a mobile unit. The P4 w/HT is faster while in the native OS as your "tricking" the OS into thinking you have "2" processors. So in effect, the 2mb L2 cache on the M is better for games then a 1mb L2 cache P4 w/HT and relys on the state of the art nVIDIA chip architecture to do the brunt of the work driving benchmarks very high. So P4 w/HT is more powerful (Due to clock cycle alone), the Pentium M is more effiecient , which equals a near identical processor performance (So in english it takes about a 3.6Ghz P4/HT with 1Mb of L2 cache to equate to a 2.1Ghz Pentium M with 2Mb of L2 cache while playing a game at the same given system bus speed which there not, 800mhz Vs. 533Mhz. Because of having a smaller L2 cache, the P4 makes up for it with clock speed and a faster system bus to equal about the same performance processor to processor while playing games). In all reality, the P4 IS A LITTLE FASTER PERIOD, THE VIDEO CARD IS WHY THE SCORES ARE SO HIGH ALL TO ITSELF. Please remember, we are talking games and games alone. So it was pure genius for Dell to use that chip and mate the 6800 ULTRA. That card combined with the insane cache on the M is why the benchmarks are so high. Now, the Alienware WILL except a 2mb L2 cache version of the P4 w/HT. You get this chip in your rig, get the 6800 ULTRA in there too, That Pentium M XPS2 is going to be crying UNCLE real quick. So we will never know if AW is going to offer a P4/HT with 2Mb L2 cache like you can get on the Sager9860. We also dont know if the 6800 ULTRA will be an upgrade, I believe it will personally. If so, your going to be wishing you bought an Alienware.
Bottom Line: While the XPS2 is very nice, its 4 pounds lighter, doesn't run as hot and is ONLY really nice for games. The Alienware Area-51m 7700 does it all and is very UPGRADABLE, this means the the XPS2 may be a $3000 mistake far quicker the Alienware. Alienware has traditionally always offered upgrades and the 7700 being the system it is, you can bet that the ULTRA will be coming for it before the end of the year. I would buy the ULTRA if you want the best now and don't care about upgrades. If you want the best for the next couple of years in LAPTOP performance, get the AW as the performance between the two will shift to Alienware being the victor very shorlty. Ever wonder what happened to the XPS? those aren't that old and Dell already replaced it with the XPS2. Get the Alienware, you'll thank me later.
Just ordered:
Alienware Area-51m 7700
17" Vidcam 1680x1050 Clearview
P4 w/HT @3.6Ghz 1Mb L2 cache @800Mhz
1GIG of PC4200 @533Mhz
nVIDIA 6800 GO GPU w/DDR3 & 256Mb
60GIG SATA 7200RPM drive.
Dual Layer DVD burner
Hope this helps someone! Good luck and
I just wanted to offer my commentary/two cents, for whatever that's worth, in hopes of helping people make a sound choice between these two GREAT laptops... I am an IT manager by trade and am always researching faster, more efficient micro-processors for my servers or desktops. While given I am in the IT field, I am by no means claiming to be an expert or know-it-all on these two machines, just offering general observations and which laptop I feel is better, which is the Alienware in MY opinion.
3DMARK Scores: Some people on these forums erroniously correlate 3DMARK scores with actual card performance. This is a mistake because GPU makers tweak their respective cards to perform well on these tests as the benchmark results directly affect the overall sales of a card. This is not to say that a given card with a great score is not greater then a card with a lower score, it very well may be. However, keep in mind that "Real-World" GPU performance for a specific game is a better scale as to which GPU might be better for you or in general. ATI uses its own technology to give the user features that nVIDIA can't and vice versa. Also remember that we don't always here the absolutes in regard to exact configuration of a tested system. Furthermore, being that GPU memory, chip architecture, a given example of a card, how long a system was tested before a specific score, cooling, etc... must all become a variable in reading a performance score. While its safe to say that any person with a reasonable foundation of logic could architect their own "Fair" test between these two laptops, we simply don't know what the variables are unless we do the tests ourselves. That said, some people will always exaggerate and not report truthful test data do to various psychological factors. So remember this when looking at scores. A higher score does not always mean a "Better" or "Faster" card. It simply means that the given card performs well on 3DMARK for various reasons. Getting a fast card when buying a fast card is always possible, so is getting a little slower card then expected. Nothing is perfect, as always, there will always be something faster. Get a card that will please you visually and be happy, play some games, and enjoy.
AW - Pentium 4 HT Vs. XPS Pentium M: Many folks on the board have been asking which processor is "faster"? One of the reasons many people think the Pentium M is faster is because of it's HUGE 2mb L2 cache. Having a 2mb L2 cache lets the M have 2 mb's of 1's and 0's (Instructions) on the chip at any given time to process directly instead of having to corral instructions more frequently from memory on processors with smaller L2 caches. The Alienware Area-51m 7700 processors have only 1mb of L2 cache. Now being that the Alienware board will take several versions of the P4 w/HT, and being that the Sager 9860 is the same thing and offers a 3.8Ghz version with a 2mb L2 cache, you can always upgrade. Why buy the Dell when you can always jump to a bigger cache later on? The reason the M seems quicker is because even though instructions only process at 2.1Ghz, the HUGE L2 cache makes it incredibly efficient at getting data to the PCI-e bus which can therefore get instructions to the GPU that much quicker. The architecture of the Pentium M, board chipset efficiency, PCI-e, Fast DDR2 Ram, all pointing to that awesome GPU make for extreme efficiency. So all in all its like looking at which is faster, the turbocharged 4cyl making 400hp? Or the V8 monster making 400hp? We know that weight, drivetrain, driver, etc would be the deciding factor. So its 2 different ways of doing the same thing. The main reason the Pentium M is used in the XPS2 is that its cache being HUGE, along with a lower voltage and lower frequency lets the chip and system make less heat and a better, hotter running VID card can be used and still not bake your legs. Now the AW uses the DESKTOP P4 w/HT for a different purpose, to simulate the same enviroment as a desktop in a mobile unit. The P4 w/HT is faster while in the native OS as your "tricking" the OS into thinking you have "2" processors. So in effect, the 2mb L2 cache on the M is better for games then a 1mb L2 cache P4 w/HT and relys on the state of the art nVIDIA chip architecture to do the brunt of the work driving benchmarks very high. So P4 w/HT is more powerful (Due to clock cycle alone), the Pentium M is more effiecient , which equals a near identical processor performance (So in english it takes about a 3.6Ghz P4/HT with 1Mb of L2 cache to equate to a 2.1Ghz Pentium M with 2Mb of L2 cache while playing a game at the same given system bus speed which there not, 800mhz Vs. 533Mhz. Because of having a smaller L2 cache, the P4 makes up for it with clock speed and a faster system bus to equal about the same performance processor to processor while playing games). In all reality, the P4 IS A LITTLE FASTER PERIOD, THE VIDEO CARD IS WHY THE SCORES ARE SO HIGH ALL TO ITSELF. Please remember, we are talking games and games alone. So it was pure genius for Dell to use that chip and mate the 6800 ULTRA. That card combined with the insane cache on the M is why the benchmarks are so high. Now, the Alienware WILL except a 2mb L2 cache version of the P4 w/HT. You get this chip in your rig, get the 6800 ULTRA in there too, That Pentium M XPS2 is going to be crying UNCLE real quick. So we will never know if AW is going to offer a P4/HT with 2Mb L2 cache like you can get on the Sager9860. We also dont know if the 6800 ULTRA will be an upgrade, I believe it will personally. If so, your going to be wishing you bought an Alienware.
Bottom Line: While the XPS2 is very nice, its 4 pounds lighter, doesn't run as hot and is ONLY really nice for games. The Alienware Area-51m 7700 does it all and is very UPGRADABLE, this means the the XPS2 may be a $3000 mistake far quicker the Alienware. Alienware has traditionally always offered upgrades and the 7700 being the system it is, you can bet that the ULTRA will be coming for it before the end of the year. I would buy the ULTRA if you want the best now and don't care about upgrades. If you want the best for the next couple of years in LAPTOP performance, get the AW as the performance between the two will shift to Alienware being the victor very shorlty. Ever wonder what happened to the XPS? those aren't that old and Dell already replaced it with the XPS2. Get the Alienware, you'll thank me later.
Just ordered:
Alienware Area-51m 7700
17" Vidcam 1680x1050 Clearview
P4 w/HT @3.6Ghz 1Mb L2 cache @800Mhz
1GIG of PC4200 @533Mhz
nVIDIA 6800 GO GPU w/DDR3 & 256Mb
60GIG SATA 7200RPM drive.
Dual Layer DVD burner
Hope this helps someone! Good luck and
So which ever one is better for you, go for it! I'm glad you bought a system that meets your needs and makes you happy. 
Owners of the 7700 don't care about battery life, while someone who buys Sonoma/XPS2/9300 would. I don't know if a battery could even handle the 9860 and an 6800 Ultra, but man would I like to see what would happen if it tried. 
