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Battle of the Laptop Beasts

post #1 of 63
5/28/05 at 10:24pm
Thread Starter 
Hiya fellas,

This is my first post, and I just spent 5+ hours reading on the 17inch laptops. I am looking for a high performance "beast" of a laptop and I am willing to spend up to $2800 on such a machine. Please try to awnser my numbered questions below, to the best of your knowledge.

Right now it looks like between the following machines:

Alienware 51m 7700
Intel® Pentium® 4 540J Desktop Processor w/ HT Technology 3.2GHz
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM
NVIDIA GeForce™ 6800 Go with 256MB of DDR3 memory
60GB 7200 RPM ATA100
8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW
$2700 with $600 rebate

Sager 9980
Intel® Pentium® 4 530 Desktop Processor w/ HT Technology 3.0GHz
the rest of the specs are exactly the same as above
$2,950

Dell XPS Gen2
Intel® Pentium® M Processor 760 (2 GHz/2MB Cache/533MHz FSB)
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz 2 Dimm
60GB 7200rpm Hard Drive
24X CD Burner/DVD Combo Drive
256MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ Go 6800 Ultra
Dell Photo All-in-One Printer 942
$2700 with 15% sale but no coupon (is there one available right now?)


sooooo, its looking like I'm going to throw out the Sager because of it's comparative high price.
Then between the Dell and Alienware. People don't like the Dell because of it's reputation and image.
1) How well founded is this Dell "image"? I have never owned any products by them. I have heard that the AW customer service is amazing.

I am mainly looking for a performance machine, but battery life and lightweight is always a plus.
2) Is the Pentium-M (Dell) as fast as the Pentium 4 (AW)? If my main concern was gaming and mobility was a close second, which one do you guys recommend?

3) What is this I hear about the 64-bit CPU(Dell) vs. the AW CPU? I read a post complaining about AW's CPU; will this make a drastic difference for gaming between the two machines?

4) Which machine would you finally recommend?

thank you guys very much for your help!

-Alan
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post #2 of 63
5/28/05 at 10:35pm
Where are you getting your prices from

Go here
http://www.pctorque.com/builder.php?type=77

plus it depends on what software you are getting on those prices. So if you could list everything out that'd change it aorund to.
I came out at 2667 but that is with some other goodies such as a case. Office small buisness, and the operating system. I think you'll find it to be the oppisite in that Alienware is more expensive compared to Sager. But alienware is better known and looks a ton better.
Check the 4 page thread titled something like "I hate to buy a dell but..."
Has some of the stuff your looking at it in it
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post #3 of 63
5/28/05 at 10:37pm
The Sager 9880 comes with the nVidia 6800 Go Ultra with 256mb of DDR3, the same video card found in the Dell.

Personally, I would buy the Dell. It is significantly lighter and less bulky than the other two behemoths. As far as customer service goes, Dell is a huge company, they sell a lot more computers and laptops than Alienware or Sager, and thus they will have a higher percentage of unsatisfied customers.

The 2.0 Ghz Pentium M found in the Dell is comparable to a 3.4 Ghz Pentium 4. The PM will have better mobility and battery life and excel well in games. The XPS2 can reach upwards of 5,000 marks in 3DMark '05.

The Dell XPS2 with the many coupons that Dell releases would be a great buy. Not that the other two aren't great laptops, but I think you are looking for a combination of gaming power as your priority and mobility as a second priority. Though none of these laptops are going to be extremely mobile, the XPS2 is more mobile than the Sager and the Alienware without sacrificing the power that you are looking for.



Edit: I did not realize that the Alienware offers the nVidia 6800 Go Ultra as well. With that being said, all three laptops do have the gpu, which happen to be comparable to desktop (single chip) gpus.
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post #4 of 63
5/28/05 at 10:42pm
Thread Starter 
thank you both for the prompt reply, this thread also helps if anybody is asking the same questions I was about the P-M vs P-4:
http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=85413

I got the prices directly from their websites: www.alienware.com and www.dell.com and www.sager.com

any more inputs would be great, I am leaning towards the XPS

-Alan
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post #5 of 63
5/28/05 at 10:44pm
Instead of buying directly from Sager, you should check out the reputable resellers like PCTorque, the same people who happen to run these forums.
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post #6 of 63
5/28/05 at 10:50pm
the 2.0 m isn't as fast as a pentium 4 3.4 with Hyper threading which is what most gaming machines have now...
IT IS A DELL meaning all customer support will mainly go to someone in india. Who are impossible to understand but yet are very patient i give them that.
Sager and Alienware are personalized and are directed towards gaming machiens while Dell is a humongous company that selling any type of machine.

The other computers will be faster, all will be close to the same price*aw a little more*,sager and alienware look better, also when you get a sager or Aw your actually just getting something that was made really well. It has just been put together meticiously while dells are more massed produced.
xps have had screen problems i've heard but i've also heard good things

Xps be a good deal if you get a good coupoun(750 dollars off)
but as everyone says you get what you pay for...
But i am personally thinking the Sager would be your best bet as a desktop replacement laptop. Most powerful, same price, with good technical support, and all in all built the best.

*the 6800 ultra is found in all three not just sager and dell the 7700 has it aswell*
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post #7 of 63
5/28/05 at 10:54pm
Thread Starter 
wow the sager on pctorque is considerably cheaper than buying from their website, thats amazing...

does anybody know of any XPS coupons, if I can get any coupons I will definately go with the Dell. Now I am considering the Sager! AW seems to be getting thrown out the window (primarily because the $600 rebate is a pain in the arse)

-Alan
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post #8 of 63
5/28/05 at 10:56pm
But AW has best technical support, made the best, looks the best, And is equal in power. Also with AW you can just say I HAVE AN AW which can win it initself.
Great resell value to.

Even with the coupon. your still getting horrible service and a less powerful laptop. That has a greater chance of breaking then either SAGER or AW.
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post #9 of 63
5/28/05 at 11:05pm
In most benchmarks a Pentium M can hold it's own against Pentium 4 processors. Either way, both are great processors, but it just depends on what is more important to you.

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20050525/
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post #10 of 63
5/28/05 at 11:08pm
Thread Starter 
lemme see if this is a correct summary:

Dell
pros: more mobile, longer battery, weighs less, not considerably less powerful than the AW or sager
cons: mass produced, overall less quality

sager
pros: cheapest of the three (no sales/coupons/rebates needed), very powerful, good customer support
cons: is huge

aw
pros: is the "rolls royce" of computers/laptops, best customer support, looks cool
cons: most expensive, only comparable price b/c of rebate, is huge

are those basically the right assumptions?

does anybody know of any XPS coupons?

is it safe to assume that AW will honor the rebates in a prompt and professional manner? I have had such problems in the past...

-Alan

ps: you guys are such a great help!
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post #11 of 63
5/28/05 at 11:11pm
AW will honour it but it honours it in a slow manor... The fine print says it will defiently do in 6 months and lot of people have thought its been slow, but as far as i know everyone has got theirs.
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post #12 of 63
5/28/05 at 11:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ouchemoma
AW will honour it but it honours it in a slow manor... The fine print says it will defiently do in 6 months and lot of people have thought its been slow, but as far as i know everyone has got theirs.
Yes, but they will get that $600 for six months for FREE, no interest paid. Damn corporations these days!
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post #13 of 63
5/28/05 at 11:20pm
its a good marketing ploy... plus some people don't even follow through with that kind of stuff
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post #14 of 63
5/28/05 at 11:44pm
Thread Starter 
Looks between the sager and the XPS right now, tough decision. for $2700 I can get two HDs with raid for the sager and the XPS at the same price but with a nice all-in-one printer. freakin tough decision!

what is this I hear about 64bit CPUs?


-Alan
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post #15 of 63
5/28/05 at 11:51pm
I recommend the Dell, as I have had a Sager 4780, and have a Dell XPS2. The lighter wight (8.5 lbs versus 12 lbs) of the Dell, the increased battery life, the reduced heat all make it better for my needs.

Some advice:

If you get a Sager, get it through PCTorque.com It is cheaper, better customer service, and you can buy it without an operating system if you have a copy of Win XP laying around, saving about $100.

If you get a Dell, make sure to wait for either a 30% off or $750 off coupon. In additon, buy the least amount of memory possible from Dell, and then buy whatever memory you need from Newegg.com as Dell's memory prices are outrageous. Depending on how much memory you get in the end, you could save up to $250, and installing memory in the XPS2 is simple.

Either way, you will get a good computer. Avoid the Alienware, as you are paying for the name and the paintjob, and despite what you might read in the Alienware forum, the customer service is not all that great. Probably better than Dell's, but certainly not outstanding, as you will find if you search the net.

Dave
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post #16 of 63
5/29/05 at 12:05am
Thread Starter 
you have been a tremendous help dave... especially on the memory aspect of the xps

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144182

will that work with the XPS and is it the approriate speed?
will installing memory void my manufacturers warrenty?

do you know of any coupons going on right now?

thanks,

-Alan
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post #17 of 63
5/29/05 at 12:38am
I don't kn ow any coupons, but check on this board in the Dell section, and also check on www.fatwallet.com You might end up having to wait a week or so; I waited three days and got a $750 off coupon; if I had waited another two weeks, I might have got a $35 off coupon, but not a problem, I didn't mind, and you never know exactly when coupons will come up.

The above listed memory will work; I think the minimum you can get with an XPS2 is 512mb, and I think it will come in one 512mb stick, which you could just add the Kingston stick above to, in order to get 1 GB, but the Dell memory of 512mB MIGHT come in two 256 mb sticks. Since there are only two slots in an XPS2, you would have to replace one of the 256's with the 512 for a total of 784, not really a good idea. I would wait to get your XPS2 and see what it has, and then go from there. 1 GB total is really what you want; either way, get the minimum from Dell and then order what you need to get up to 1 GB.

Installing memory will not void the warranty, in fact, IIRC Dell gives instructions on how to do so in the manual. Other things, like replacing the GPU or anything more complex than the memory might void the warranty, however.

Either way, good luck with whatever your choice is.

Dave

Final note: if you buy a Dell, don't pay for the overnight shipping. Order it with regular shipping, and then when your Dell spends 3-4 days in the "boxing" stage (you'll know what I mean when you order it and check your order status), email customer service complaining about the slow production of your laptop and they will upgrade you to free overnight shipping.
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post #18 of 63
5/29/05 at 12:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ouchemoma
the 2.0 m isn't as fast as a pentium 4 3.4 with Hyper threading which is what most gaming machines have now...
IT IS A DELL meaning all customer support will mainly go to someone in india. Who are impossible to understand but yet are very patient i give them that.
Sager and Alienware are personalized and are directed towards gaming machiens while Dell is a humongous company that selling any type of machine.

The other computers will be faster, all will be close to the same price*aw a little more*,sager and alienware look better, also when you get a sager or Aw your actually just getting something that was made really well. It has just been put together meticiously while dells are more massed produced.
xps have had screen problems i've heard but i've also heard good things

Xps be a good deal if you get a good coupoun(750 dollars off)
but as everyone says you get what you pay for...
But i am personally thinking the Sager would be your best bet as a desktop replacement laptop. Most powerful, same price, with good technical support, and all in all built the best.

*the 6800 ultra is found in all three not just sager and dell the 7700 has it aswell*
Hyperthreading has proven to be miniscule in attempting to be beneficial for gameplay
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post #19 of 63
5/29/05 at 12:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caelric
I don't kn ow any coupons, but check on this board in the Dell section, and also check on www.fatwallet.com You might end up having to wait a week or so; I waited three days and got a $750 off coupon; if I had waited another two weeks, I might have got a $35 off coupon, but not a problem, I didn't mind, and you never know exactly when coupons will come up.

The above listed memory will work; I think the minimum you can get with an XPS2 is 512mb, and I think it will come in one 512mb stick, which you could just add the Kingston stick above to, in order to get 1 GB, but the Dell memory of 512mB MIGHT come in two 256 mb sticks. Since there are only two slots in an XPS2, you would have to replace one of the 256's with the 512 for a total of 784, not really a good idea. I would wait to get your XPS2 and see what it has, and then go from there. 1 GB total is really what you want; either way, get the minimum from Dell and then order what you need to get up to 1 GB.

Installing memory will not void the warranty, in fact, IIRC Dell gives instructions on how to do so in the manual. Other things, like replacing the GPU or anything more complex than the memory might void the warranty, however.

Either way, good luck with whatever your choice is.

Dave

Final note: if you buy a Dell, don't pay for the overnight shipping. Order it with regular shipping, and then when your Dell spends 3-4 days in the "boxing" stage (you'll know what I mean when you order it and check your order status), email customer service complaining about the slow production of your laptop and they will upgrade you to free overnight shipping.
I ordered mine with free regular shipping and received it in a week.

So if you are considering ordering an XPS 2 just click on the standard shipping box which should be free.
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post #20 of 63
5/29/05 at 12:50am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caelric
if you buy a Dell, don't pay for the overnight shipping. Order it with regular shipping, and then when your Dell spends 3-4 days in the "boxing" stage (you'll know what I mean when you order it and check your order status), email customer service complaining about the slow production of your laptop and they will upgrade you to free overnight shipping.
awsome tip, I think my final decision will be to buy the XPS, I will wait for the approriate coupon and then jump on it! when you are waiting, do you just check www.fatwallet.com every day?

thanks,

-Alan
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