Buying my first gaming pc, torn between 2 choices..

[Hunter65416]

First off these are laptops i need a lapptop as i travel frequently so please dont :/

Ive customized two pc's at dell

An alienware M14x
Intel® Core? i7-2630QM processor 2.00 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
4GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 2GB)
1.5GB DDR3 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 555M using NVIDIA Optimus? technology (Stealth Black)
14" (35.6cm) WLED HD+ (900p) display (1600X900)

And a Dell XPS 15
2nd generation Intel® Core? i7-2720QM processor 2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.30 GHz
6GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM (1 x 2GB + 1 x 4GB)
2GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 540M graphics with Optimus
15.6" (39.6cm) FHD (1920x1080) B+RGLED display with TrueLife?

I dont know alot about computers but the XPS seems to have better specs and its a tiny bit cheaper, its just so hard because the alienwares exterior is so badass but..which of these will give me a better gaming experiance?

Thanks heaps,

 

[Flutterguy]

you could prolly get a gaming desktop and a laptop for cheaper then a good gaming laptop and not need to worry about the thing frying itself, or atleast giving your croch 1st degree burns.

 

[rabidmidget]

Judging by the specs, the XPS is better.

You should probably check out build quality as well, and battery life.

 

[Mr. 47]

Alienware has liquid cooling doesn't it? That is supposed to help overheating, but I don't know if that is a common feature now.

 

[Leviathan_]

Alienware? Son, you gonna get ripped off.

Get the XPS, how much do they cost anyway?

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

NEVER buy an Alienware. They are ridiculously overpriced. I've also heard from a friend that their customer service is fucking disgraceful.

 

[Signa]

Gaming laptops? ...Ew...

See, I built myself a kick-ass desktop PC 2 years ago, and the only thing I've had to do to it since I built it was replace the graphics card, simply because I borrowed it from my old PC and it died from old age. I ended up getting a mid-range laptop last year, and while it's cool, I NEVER would recommend tying yourself to one of them as a main. Too hot, too vulnerable to overuse, the form factor is too small to be practical, etc etc. Bottom line, I LOVE my laptop as a secondary PC. If I HAD to use only it, it would be fine, but judging by the specs you posted, I'd be shocked if you weren't spending 50% more on those laptops than what I spent on my desktop, and 100% more than what I spent on my laptop.

EDIT: Oops, didn't read the OP closely enough. The XPS looks better to me.

 

[StBishop]

Get the XPS.

I know people who've had both. Alienware isn't very good, they got worse since Dell bought them a few years back.

XPS is a quality machine but I'll ask a mate, he's pretty big on laptops for the same reason as you.

I'll get back to you.

EDIT: I asked, he has an XPS 15 so yeah. I suggest it based on my past experience and my mate's recommendation.

 

[StBishop]

First off these are laptops i need a lapptop as i travel frequently so please dont :/

you could prolly get a gaming desktop and a laptop for cheaper then a good gaming laptop and not need to worry about the thing frying itself, or atleast giving your croch 1st degree burns.

NEVER buy an Alienware. They are ridiculously overpriced you could build a PC just as good as one, if not better for almost half the price. I've also heard from a friend that their customer service is fucking disgraceful.

Gaming laptops? ...Ew...

See, I built myself a kick-ass desktop PC 2 years ago, and the only thing I've had to do to it since I built it was replace the graphics card, simply because I borrowed it from my old PC and it died from old age. I ended up getting a mid-range laptop last year, and while it's cool, I NEVER would recommend tying yourself to one of them as a main. Too hot, too vulnerable to overuse, the form factor is too small to be practical, etc etc. Bottom line, I LOVE my laptop as a secondary PC. If I HAD to use only it, it would be fine, but judging by the specs you posted, I'd be shocked if you weren't spending 50% more on those laptops than what I spent on my desktop, and 100% more than what I spent on my laptop.

I love it how even though the OP specifically said, "Don't bother with the gaming laptops don't exist har har" it still happens.

 

[Signa]

First off these are laptops i need a lapptop as i travel frequently so please dont :/

you could prolly get a gaming desktop and a laptop for cheaper then a good gaming laptop and not need to worry about the thing frying itself, or atleast giving your croch 1st degree burns.

NEVER buy an Alienware. They are ridiculously overpriced you could build a PC just as good as one, if not better for almost half the price. I've also heard from a friend that their customer service is fucking disgraceful.

Gaming laptops? ...Ew...

See, I built myself a kick-ass desktop PC 2 years ago, and the only thing I've had to do to it since I built it was replace the graphics card, simply because I borrowed it from my old PC and it died from old age. I ended up getting a mid-range laptop last year, and while it's cool, I NEVER would recommend tying yourself to one of them as a main. Too hot, too vulnerable to overuse, the form factor is too small to be practical, etc etc. Bottom line, I LOVE my laptop as a secondary PC. If I HAD to use only it, it would be fine, but judging by the specs you posted, I'd be shocked if you weren't spending 50% more on those laptops than what I spent on my desktop, and 100% more than what I spent on my laptop.

I love it how even though the OP specifically said, "Don't bother with the gaming laptops don't exist har har" it still happens.

yeah, missed that and was in editing when you posted.

To be fair, it read like an incomplete sentence. It's no wonder why I missed it.

 

[Tokeism]

Based of what you have said XPS

 

[JediMB]

Put me down as another vote on the XPS. Wish I could have a laptop like that.

The additional RAM and the higher-res larger screen are particularly useful, I think. I wouldn't want a 14 inch screen for gaming.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Gaming laptops DO exist ... but ...

You'd have to have a budget over $1500 to get one that won't choke.

I mean, that Dell XPS 15 probably won't even run Magicka properly (as in, it'll probably have to be played on minimum settings).

 

[MrHero17]

I don't know a lot about laptops but the XPS seems better, bigger screen with higher res is always good since increasing your resolution is a universal way to make a game look better. Only thing that concerns me about it is that the RAM sticks are different sizes but thats probably not a big deal, plus you might be able to replace the 2gb stick with a 4gb at some point so you'd have 8gb of RAM.

 

[StBishop]

OP

Might be worth putting a Poll in tbh.

 

[olliefrom1990]

I'd look else were to be perfectly honest as both of those brands both dell are always overpriced for what they are, and for the same amount you are willing to spend on those you could get something much better.

For a simlar price you could pick up this http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+Laptop+/+Intel&%23174%3B+Core&%23153%3B+i7+Processor+/+17.3%22+Display+/+8GB+Memory/2712579.p?id=1218346639131&skuId=2712579&cmp=RMX&ref=06&loc=01&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=2712579

Which is a lot better.

 

[Flutterguy]

I love how I have been put int

First off these are laptops i need a lapptop as i travel frequently so please dont :/

you could prolly get a gaming desktop and a laptop for cheaper then a good gaming laptop and not need to worry about the thing frying itself, or atleast giving your croch 1st degree burns.

NEVER buy an Alienware. They are ridiculously overpriced you could build a PC just as good as one, if not better for almost half the price. I've also heard from a friend that their customer service is fucking disgraceful.

Gaming laptops? ...Ew...

See, I built myself a kick-ass desktop PC 2 years ago, and the only thing I've had to do to it since I built it was replace the graphics card, simply because I borrowed it from my old PC and it died from old age. I ended up getting a mid-range laptop last year, and while it's cool, I NEVER would recommend tying yourself to one of them as a main. Too hot, too vulnerable to overuse, the form factor is too small to be practical, etc etc. Bottom line, I LOVE my laptop as a secondary PC. If I HAD to use only it, it would be fine, but judging by the specs you posted, I'd be shocked if you weren't spending 50% more on those laptops than what I spent on my desktop, and 100% more than what I spent on my laptop.

I love it how even though the OP specifically said, "Don't bother with the gaming laptops don't exist har har" it still happens.

I did read what he said fully, don't say I didn't, read my full post I recommend he get a PC for gaming and a laptop for school, I have been through the same thing he is going through now and bought a gaming laptop. A decision I spent the next two years regretting. You can get a PC with specs higher then those two laptops.

I was a good boy, I did search bestbuy before i posted, the cheaper of the two is about 1,200$ dollars if I remember correctly, and a PC which was better in every listed spec was 400$ dollars cheaper, telling me you can't find a laptop that will work just fine in school for 400$?

 

[Danceofmasks]

Edit: Sorry! Misquote.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Gaming laptops DO exist ... but ...

You'd have to have a budget over $1500 to get one that won't choke.

I mean, that Dell XPS 15 probably won't even run Magicka properly (as in, it'll probably have to be played on minimum settings).

It seems like a lot of people, not just this fellow I quoted, won't give gaming laptops any credit. They are most certainly not as good as an honest rig, but they can run games at acceptable settings and frame rates. I'll joke about gaming laptops, but I can't seriously say that they don't work.

To the OP, the XPS up there is the better one. In fact, it's far and away better than the Alienware. And when the XPS can run things that much better than the Alienware, what does it matter how cool the Alienware looks?

You DO realise that a 540M is below spec if a game says "minimum nVidia 8800"?