Gaming Laptop

[Infinite]

Yes, I dont believe in laptops made for gaming (thats what desktops are for) however my cousin is out to buy a new laptop for gaming...

He wants to buy a alienware, but i am not too sure.

Anyone know of any other manufacturers that producing good gaming laptops...?

Thanks
Infinite

[staffsMike]

How good? And what is the budget?

Alienware make a great 15" notebook with an 8800GTX. It's what I would have if I had more money than sense

There is a very grey area in notebook gaming though. I suggest spending either ~£800 or ~£1300+.

The £500 in between rarely buys you anything worthwhile.

Try Dell and Rock but I think alienware has the best solution in that 15" notebook It can be configured with a 2.4GHz and GTX for around £1300 and if you spec the RAM and HDD at their lowest it's around £1300. Then upgrade the RAM and HDD yourself, saves about £150.

If he really has a total disregard for money and wants the absolute best performance then... here
http://www.rockdirect.co.uk/configur...Sku=XSL8-Q6700

Thats desktop Q6700 power with SLi GTX's

[Grey M@a]

There are the Dell XPS which are basically cheaper alienwares being that both are owned by dell, rock make some but I think they may of been bought out recently but not sure on who owns them now.

Other than that it all depends on the games your cousin wants to play.

[staffsMike]

Ironically Rock are now owned by Stone computers

Nothing cheap about Dell's XPS Gaming series though, much better warranty support however.

[TheReaFireblade]

I bought the 17" Dell XPS M1730 listed in 'My System' (to the left there), and I can confirm.. it

Although Dell bought out Alienware a while back... so they're in effect one and the same company now... Alienware systems/laptops still carry the Alienware name... and associated price tags

I'd recommend a Dell XPS Mxxx laptop to anyone, loooooong before I'd recommend an Alienware
And since your cousin wants a "gaming" laptop, I wouldn't suggest anything less powerful than a XPS M1530 model.
But if he has deep enough pockets... and is on speaking terms with his bank manager... see 'My System'

[FifthFreedom]

I agree that Dell are much better Price/Performance ratio as with Alienware you pay so much just for the name.

And call me old fashioned but I still fail to see the point of a gaming laptop.

If you need portability build a mini rig, if you want power just build a full size and leave it where it is.

So many people these days pay the price premium for a Gaming Notebook and just leave it on their desk... Waste of cash IMO and the end product is never as good...

And I'm yet to find anyone who uses a gaming rig on a train/plane or in any other condition where a mini rig won't do.

[staffsMike]

I would personally get something like the XPS m1530 which fits the £800 lower limit I suggested. It's plenty good enough to run the games at it's native resolution with decent levels of detail.

It's however unfair to suggest that Alienwares 15" notebook is overpriced though. buying and upgrading it yourself as I originally suggeted will cost you around £1450 for a modest spec. A similar spec from dell can cost around £1800.

The alienware can be specced with a 1440 x 900 screen which will mean that the 8800GTX will be able to play at native for a long time to come, no need to mess around with scaling the resolutions..

Yes the dell features SLI GTX's but at significant premium over the alienware which will be more than capable and far more portable with just one

As for people moving them around, there are lots of reasons to want a notebook capable of gaming as opposed to a gaming notebook. playing on the train etc.. isn't what I use my laptop for but I still want to be able to game on it