your opinion is solicited

Joined: 06-20-2009 Posts: 32 Status: **Offline**

Hey guys, and gals
I am seriously considering buying the Alienware MX15 laptop
I will buy up to get the Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Quad Core Processor 1.6GHz (2.8GHz Turbo Mode, 6MB Cache)
comes to abt $1400

I know some of you (others...not too sure!!) are professionals in real life, so I thought who better to ask!!
What do you think?
Will it guarantee I will own King Snake's lame butt every nite??
...Worth every penny!!! LOL

That laptop is a slice of heaven, core speeds and memory will give you every edge you will need....
Yes I pontificate!

Chaos:

You won't find a bigger fan of Alienware than me. I purchased both a gaming PC (Aurora) and laptop (m9700) from them. However, in my opinion, they have lost a lot of their "luster" since Dell took them over. They had a pretty good support service prior to Dell, but now I am not so sure. My past experience with Dell service is not so great. As for the laptop, I agree it's top notch. It is however a power hungry son of gun. The battery lasts from 1 to 1½ hours at best between full charges and one lasts less than a year before you have to replace it. (A replacement cost circa $90+) It is a heavy "mf" too. God forbid you drop any liquids on the keyboard, et al. Repairs are expensive even with the warranty coverage. As with any laptops. if you are "kind and gentle" with it, it will serve you well. The machine is a great performer, but like all "pretty things", they can be "high maintenance".

Geeser Smile

Support, I'm dell certified:D

Rocco (excuse me Chaos):

I'm not here to poke at the support from Dell. Dell is a fine company with which I've conducted plenty of business in my "former business life". To make myself clear, Alienware isn't what it used be. Before Dell fully took it over a little over 6 months ago, I had several first-hand experiences (as a home consumer) with the folks who created Alienware. They were a small business with the very personable and helpful folks who spent all the time needed to help me resolve my service issues. I liked and appreciated that very much.

This is no longer the case since Dell is a large multi-national company who is better suited to supporting larger companies, not little guys like me. All I was trying to express is large companies don't support the "little guy" as well as the original owners of a small company--that's all. If Chaos has no problem with dealing with a very large company's support services, by all means go for it. As I said before, the [MX15] laptop is a great performer, but like most of the laptops out there, I convey the caveats that they are more susceptible to damage from everyday accidents like water or soda on the keyboard and/or accidental drops. The repairs needed to correct the damage is relatively expensive.

Geeser Sad

Joined: 06-20-2009 Posts: 32 Status: **Offline**

Thx Guys
Dell isnt bad stuff.
After I examined the specs on the mx15, it was over 1600.00 before I had the i& processor!
I have seen some more reasonable values like a Gateway and some toshibas.
So they put me back in the 1100.00 range.

Considering that I am playing with a 2.8 ghz P4 and an Nvidia Gforce 6200...ANYTHING I purchase is probably gonna be great in my estimation.

I used to be a Dell laptop fan myself. I can't speak about the Alienware side though.

I still like Dell for the professional side like servers, etc. I think you might get better bang for the buck with Toshiba. It's been a bit since I looked at their line but I have to imagine you can get the same spec for fewer bucks.

As for the laptops, I have been through several myself. Regardless of what the manual says about not overcharging the battery, REMOVE IT after it has charged if you plan on staying plugged in for days at a time. Leaving the battery in while plugged in WILL shorten it's life. It gets slowly cooked to death. Most laptops now you can pull the battery easily.

Phil