Dell :: Asus V1s-a1 Or Xps 1330 Or Alienware M5550
Aug 26, 2007
I haven't been keeping up with laptops recently and I've always been an amd guy so I thought I'd ask for some help now that I'm looking for a new laptop.
Here are my main criteria:
1) I will run mostly linux (hence no ATI, I currently have a ferrari 4005)
2) Dual core & 64bit are a must (computational chemistry stuff)
3) I use a 2405fpw most of the time, but when I use the laptop I like to have a decent amount of real estate (this is the main hold back for me with the dell)
4) I play games every now and again, so if it will run UT3 when it comes out I'll be happy, but I'm by no means a gamer
5) I don't want anything too large, 15.4" or smaller
I'm going to post the configs. Please let me know what you think of the various choices and if there are other factors I should consider...
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Aug 14, 2009
I got a great deal on an Asus K40IN-X1 notebook:
C2D T6400 2.0 Ghz (can replace with the T8300 from my m1330)
4 GB RAM
free upgrade to Windows 7
320GB hard drive (will swap with 500GB from m1330)
Nvidia G102M discrete graphics, 512MB
wifi
no bluetooth, but can add via usb
no fingerprint reader
LED (!) backlit 14.1" 1366 X 768 LCD
after coupons, $740.00 Canadian + taxes
I'm going to try it out and see if it meets my needs.
If so, I'll sell my m1330 with the original T5450 and a 320GB HDD.
I really love my m1330, but I am worried about the GPU, although I do have full warranty until March 2010, and the extended GPU warranty until March 2011.
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Jan 28, 2009
which better:
this model from ASUS
[url]
or
latest vaio SR?
the important thing is the screen? U6 VS Sr
and other thing like built quality and spec.
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Aug 5, 2009
The specs on the ASUS:
Core 2 Duo T6400 2 GHz
4 GB DDR2 SDRAM
nVidia GEForce 102M (512 mb DDR2 VRAM)
The specs on the DELL:
Core 2 Duo T6500 2.1 GHz
3 GB DDR3 SDRAM
nVidia GeForce 9400M (256 mb DDR3 VRAM)
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Jan 12, 2010
I am a long time PC user. I have always built my own desktops and used them for gaming and school work. My latest gaming rig has an i7 920 oc'd @4ghz, 6gb ram, raid 0 setup, radeon 5870 and does everything in the world I could imagine, also has the new windows 7.
Well I had finally ventured into feeling like I would love an Apple for a laptop at school........before I read this thread on these forums ASUS UL Series vs. Macbook (Pro)? that was about the UL series Asus vs the Apple MBP 13" which is the one I was considering buying and after reading so many guys tell about how much the UL has the upper hand over the MBP and was quite a bit cheaper (the 13" MBP built how I wanted was around 1500) than the Mac so I pulled the trigger and purchased the UL80VT-A1. I thought I was getting a sweet alternative, something with the new win7 I love, and it is also something I would not need to learn new things about.
Now note, my roommate has the larger MBP with all the bells and whistles (paid 3k+ for) so I have seen one and messed with one in person. This Asus arrives and I am very excited to open it up! It seems to look okay.............until I open it. There is absolutely no comparison in build quality, looks or attention to detail on this thing.
I'm not sure what all the dips on that forum who said that the ASUS was a superior product were thinking, or how they could EVER say that it was even close to a competitor. Maybe the price? The whole "battery lasts for 11 hours" conversation is retarded, you have to turn off the good video card and then the entire screen and all of your desktop look like a giant turd. It will get 4-5 hours max out of the non-integrated vid card. The keyboard is a pos, no back light.......it also is flimsy as hell. The mouse pad feel like crap, and it has a black piano finish inside and chrome that shows fingerprints EVERYWHERE!!! I used it for 2 hours today at school and it looked like it was touched by every kid on campus, when it was only me putting it in and out of my backpack 3 times....................
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Apr 18, 2010
i cant seem to get fullscreen on the monitor using 1920x1080p but if i lower the resolution to 1680x1050 it works full screen on the monitor but not full screen on my XPS.
I think the problem is in the laptop setting as I used a friends samsung monitor and that didnt go fullscreen either. My old Hp dv9500 did not have any problems with the fullscreen.
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Sep 23, 2009
I owned an Asus N10J-A1 for about a year and ended up selling it. It was a great little machine, but I didn't really think I needed a netbook any more. Plus I grew tired of issues with the stupid 1024x600 resolution and anemic Atom N270. It was a fun toy to tweak, but in reality, it wasn't practical. Nice to have a strong GPU like the 9300m GS but the other components really didn't push it to its full potential. Plus watching flash based video like Hulu and YouTube was less than ideal, manageable, but not ideal.
My biggest issues with netbooks have been the keyboard size, screen resolution, and enough CPU power for flash video (i.e. Hulu, YouTube, etc). This notebook seems to correct that. The keyboard looks close to having regular size keys, and the screen resolution is at least somewhat normal (16:9 and with compatability with 1024x768). The CPU is much more powerful than the Atom can ever want to be, and battery life isn't compromised really. I think it's better on this Acer than the N10J anyhow.
I was waiting for the ION platform, but it seems that will be a while and still contains the Atom CPU. It will have its caveats as well to work out. Since I realize it would be nice to have a smaller, lighter notebook with a longer lasting battery, I decided on the Acer AS1410. I have ordered it but haven't received it yet. The specs to me are perfect, and dimension-wise it's not much bigger than the N10J (only 0.4" longer and wider).
Here's the specs:
Acer AS1410
CPU: Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 @ 1.4GHz
Chipset: Intel GS45
Screen: 11.6" 1366x768
Memory: 2GB expandable to 4GB (comes with 2 slots, and only one populated with a 2GB module - nice!)
Hard Drive: 250GB 5400RPM
GPU: Intel GMA 4500MHD
Network: Gigabit LAN, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n
Ports: 3xUSB, 1xVGA, 1xHDMI, 1xMic, 1xheadphone, 1xwebcam, 1xcard reader
Battery: 6-cell
No Optical Drive
OS: Windows Vista Home Premium.............................
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Jun 3, 2009
I am trying to decide what I should get between two laptops that I will get as a graduation present. To be honest, I am pretty much a total noob when it comes to laptops, so any advice would be welcome. My choices are between the Asus G50Vt-X5 or one of the HP Pavilion dv7t series laptops. My budget is around $1000.
I was at Best Buy the other day when I was shown the Asus for the first time and I really like how it looked and felt, much more than the overly glossiness of the HP laptops. However, I know HP has a pretty good reputation, as the rest of my family has HP's and they seem to run just fine.
Here are the specs for both:
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Note: I used Cnet for the Asus laptop because Asus's own website kinda sucks for providing specs.
Truth be told, I like to game a little and would really like to be able to run Star Craft 2 (if that has any signifigance to you guys) when it finally comes out.......
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Jul 18, 2009
I am looking for some opinions on the above two machines.
I am line ball between them, screen size not an issue, fairly close in specs.
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Nov 7, 2013
When I connect my external monitor (ASUS PA248) to my W520, the audio disappears. When I disconnect it, the audio returns. This seems a bizarre link between audio and video, but there it is. Note that the PA248 does NOT have built-in speakers.
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Sep 13, 2008
why is alienware in dells website. did dell bought alienware or is it the other way around.
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Apr 5, 2010
how many of you all got an Alienware as a replacement?
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Sep 25, 2007
I got my Inspiron 1520 and discovered a little chippng on top and a missing wireless switch. Also I was kinda misled by the sales representative into buying the 4 GRAM,which the system can't even fully recognize.
So after A LOT of call waiting and negotiation it came down to:
15.4'' 1280x800glossy+Intel Duo2 Core 7500 2.2GHz+4G 667MHz RAM+120G 5400rpm disk+Geforce8600M GT with everything else default for $1489.
Now I'm seriously torn between this bizzarely configured Inspiron a big part of which I will never need and the Alienware Aurora.I'm not a big hardware wiz and I mainly need a laptop for mid-high end gaming (not the real crazy pixel monsters but like Neverwinter Nights 2 and Heroes of Might and Magic V etc)as well as college routines.
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Jan 27, 2009
I don't know if anyone has posted this but I found this searching for an item on dell's EPP website..............
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Dec 7, 2009
i have a dell xps m1530 that has the t9300 processor and it got damaged so then dell decided they would send me a replacment system
so they send another xps1530 refusbished was not happy with that so i called and complained took them 2 weeks to decide what they where going to do so in the 2 weeks i saw the M15X for 1499 plus 200 in free upgrades so i bought hte m15x with the i720 i only got the basic 512 vid card i dondt do alot of gaming and i might get into wow but not sure if i will or not here is the thing ......
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Jan 22, 2009
I have a limited budget of about $250-300 (note: the Dell comes without a HDD, that extra $ drop isn't very pleasing),
which is what the Dell sells for on eBay (where I'm shopping).
The Dell specs:
Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz
1GB RAM
ATI X1400 256MB
No HDD
The Alienware specs:
Pentium M Centrino 2GHz
1GB RAM
ATI X1600 256mb
80GB HDD
So the determining factor of my choice is gaming. Yes, I know, they both suck for gaming, but I don't mean today's latest, greatest games. Plus I'm fine with low resolutions.
Anyways, the Dell's processor is a lot better, but the Alienware's graphics card is a lot better. I've researched them both extensively. I also plan on eventually upgrading the Alienware's graphics card to the 8600M GS (which is possible).
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Sep 8, 2009
I've been thinking about getting a new laptop. I'm pretty satisfied with Dell, I know that I might get a "better" deal some where else, however Dell has provided me exceptional service with 3 systems I've own/owned in the past.
The studio XPS 16 has everything I want in a laptop minus a gaming video card. The alienware looks very slick and has a decent video card.
I have a budget of $2000. So I'm looking for opinions, which of the two would YOU get
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Jun 5, 2009
I had virtually decided on a XPS M1730 with a X9000 Extreme processer, Bluray read and write drive, 6GB ram, 1920 x 1200 screen, 640GB hard drive of ram, Nvidia 1GB 9800M GT Graphics (2x512MB in SLI mode) etc
I then started to read this forum about Dell taking over Alienware and i read up on the Alienware M17X, i have natural concerns with whats going to happen with the XPS gaming brand now that Dell have taken over Alienware to be its gaming division.
1. What sort of XPS customer care will i get in the future now that Dell seems to be putting most of its gaming resources into Alienware, will Dell carry on to manufacture parts for the XPS M1730 in the future just incase something goes wrong and how long for ?
2. If you had the choice to buy at this present time would it be an XPS M1730 or would you save up and spend a bit extra on the Alienware M17X, i want to get it right and to have no regrets.
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Jan 28, 2015
I bought an Alienware 17 last october and it came with the caddy for the second hdd slot but without the interposer needed for upgrading it with a second hdd/ssd. I saw on youtube a video of a guy upgrading his alienware with an ssd and he had the interposer. How do I get one?
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Feb 8, 2013
I have an alienware x15 and can't get it to play DVD's. I've tried various programs to play them with to no avail. What do I do?
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Feb 11, 2010
So I ordered my Alienware Area-51 with a bunch of upgrades totaling at something like $5000 on January 22nd. It has been in the "In Production" stage for a while and today they sent me an email saying the delivery date was changed to February 23rd. It was initially supposed to be shipped by February 16th.
So I'm wondering if "In Production" means they have actually started building the computer, or if there is a chance they are still processing payment information. Is there any chance they haven't confirmed the payment at this point, I would consider canceling the order.
Secondly, when Dell gives you a delayed ETA, how often do they delay the system from arriving further? I'm worried that a week and a half from now I will get another email saying I won't be getting my system until March.
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Mar 3, 2010
I know alienware tends to be abit bulkier, but is this a good thing? Or should I request Studio XPS 16? Everything seems alot beeter then my current 1530 but not sure about the graphics card? I Here is what they are sending: ...
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Jul 30, 2009
Ive been hunting around for a laptop for a couple of months now and ive still not decided what to get lol, i was initially drawn to the M17x but here in the uk we seem to be paying well over the odds for one compared to the US.
I was looking on ebay earlier and i came across a couple of Dell Precision M6400 laptops with what looks like a huge spec for a decent price, they seemed to offer more value than the M17x at their respective prices.
Now what i need to know is what is the difference between a Precision M6400 and a Precision M6400 Covet ?
How well regarded is a Precision M6400, is it known as a gaming laptop as ive not come across them before.
This is the spec i was looking at, how would this compare against an M17x, how well regarded is the processor and graphics card and the spec in general? ...
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Apr 25, 2010
1) Electronica Musician
2) Hardcore Gamer
What I need is a system that can do both of these tasks. I find the alienware to be FAR too much money, as it's somewhere in the ballpark of $2300.00 CDN + tax if I want a laptop guaranteed to do both jobs .....
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Jul 17, 2009
My Dell XPS M1710 is reaching its end of its life, and I've begun to start looking for a replacement.
Which one would you advise? I'm a casual gamer, but I like a laptop which has the 'complete' package (good speakers, battery, ...).
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Mar 6, 2010
1200 for the sxps
1000 for the m11x
Ive been using a dell xps m1530 for the past 2 years and i still can run games like mass effect 2 or dragon age, but i hate the temperature. My gpu is at 68 C usually, and playing games reaches 90-94. Sometimes the computer shuts down because of it.
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Apr 25, 2013
When I got my latop, Alienware m17x all the software was on it and working. I tried to instal win xp 64 on it as I don't like anything else, but since dell don't make any drivers for win xp 64 on the m17x r4, I simply couldn't have the software I wanted.
I returned back to win 8 and everything installed except my web cam...
Your diagnostics software is ok, for checking my cpu speed etc, but your suggested drivers for my system does not say anything about my web cam, can I have a link and maybe the activation code I know my service tag.
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Jun 5, 2010
I've had my M17x since last September and while I've come to accept the fact that it locks up on occassion, lately it's been getting rather ridiculous. Today alone I have had to do 6 forced reboots because of lock ups. It's pretty much a given that the machine will completely lock up around 100% CPU usage, but outside of that it can just happen randomly as well. This is particularily annoying if I'm doing a task that does put some stress on the CPU, there's maybe a slim chance I'll get to actually finish it before it all freezes.
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Apr 26, 2013
i have a problem. a few months ago my dell warranty for my alienware has expired. now all of a sudden, the computer crashed and refuses to turn on again. first it restartet and asked my if i want to strt windows normal or safe mode. i entered normal, as i thought it was jus a crash. it showed the start screen, than all lights went off. no matter what i do, it will not start. hitting the power button, however, makes a very short sound, as if it starts reading from HDD but than nothing. took battery off and waited. back on... nothing.
prior to that it showed a blue screen like it did before, when HDD was useless and had to be replaced september last year. sure the warranty of the computer itself is expired, but i still have a warranty for the new HDD. however, the service tag of the notebook says i can not contact e-mail support, because i have no warranty anymore. i can not choose anything that can change that. i fear the HDD is gone again, which i can have replaced, as it still has warranty, but i can ask no one at support, as they assume i have no warranty left.
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Feb 14, 2013
I installed windows 8 on my M17x and now I have no wifi ...
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