New Laptop

[Ferral_Imp]

Thanks everyone for helping me out by showing me some of what's out there and giving me more options than what I originally thought. I've pretty much decided that I'll go with the Alienware with a few slight changes cuz I feel it'll be the best solution for me at this point.

All the specs will stay the same except for:

1Gig Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB instead of 2 gigs

80GB 5400 RPM ATA100 instead of 200 GB(100+100GB nonraid setup)

Ditched the Bluetooth (was gonna check out the possibility of getting wireless net access cuz the cops here have it wired into their cruisers but decided against it for right now)

Bringing the total down to $3,917.00 USD

I figure that this setup should last me for a long while with only minor upgrades along the way.

Thanks again to everyone who helped especially Sazar(you really helped me figure out exactly what I wanted and not just what specs looked good thnx)

 

[Ferral_Imp]

No worries. Just let me know if you do decide to go with a Dell before you order it, and I'll try to find you something again.

I decided I'll go with the alienware but thanks anyway.

 

[NetRyder]

I decided I'll go with the alienware but thanks anyway.

Not a problem.

 

[Sazar]

the alienware is a good choice (since it has the best gfx card right now)

I would probably stay with the bluetooth module...

you can connect pda's, cell phones and there are a lot of main-stream printers that are coming blue-tooth capable now-adays (dell will have one on sale soon, an all-in-one printer) and the wireless aspect is really awesome..

it doesn't cost much and gets you future ready

overall your package is nice... stick with the on-site warranty if it is free since that is one of the best things you can really get... also see if alienware offers accidental damage coverage...

 

[Elektro Slime]

Ferral_Imp the reason i suggested the the Pentium-M processor was because it uses lot less power compared to the dektop procs + it stays a lot cooler so there is a less likelyhood of thermal problems, also for a proc costing about $450 it can even rival the flagship AMD desktop proc, the AMD64 A-FX 55 ($820) and win at some benchmarks! but unfortunately it doesnt come with HT .

As for the ram IMO 2GB is overkill, but then again unlike desktops you cant 'piggyback' onto existing ram, you have to replace the whole thing which can prove to be more expensive in the longrun.....so i guess its better to get the most you can get

the graphics.. a 6800 or 9800? um u said you wanted to play the Sims2, i dont think you really need such a high end card for that sorta game.

Ferral you mentioned you had a budget of $5,000. That's a lot of money, you realise you can buy a pretty decent car with that, or maybe even soup up yer existing one, you can get some neons, turbo kits, coolers or maybe even nitro? but im sure your not into that kinda thing...........but its nice to have a little bling bling.

 

[VenomXt]

bling bling

(hits with a shovel)~

hehehe 5 grand on a lap is impressive. but for half that you could have something y0u want and have 2500 left. alien ware is badass. but overpriced like a mofo. (my two cents)

 

[Ferral_Imp]

Sazar,

I messed up on the weight of this one. It weighs 12.5lbs with the battery and the other area-51 laptop line is the one that weighs about 8lbs. (I had the weights written down on the wrong system notes ) All their service plans on that line include on site service. I might still get the bluetooth module yet.


ElectroSlime,

The Pentium m might have been a good option if I was looking for a truely mobile notebook (though finding one small enough to fit my lap would probably be an issue) but I'm looking for a desktop plunker and I'll be throwing a laptop cooler under it to help with the temp issues.

As far as the ram goes this laptop has 4 slots on it that can be all filled (as some of the ram configs available use all 4 slots) so upgrading the ram to 2 gigs at a later date could be done quite easily.

Ummm that's the default video card for this system. You can't change it (unless you buy another one and swap it out after getting the machine but then why take out a perfectly good card?)

It will be money well spent on this laptop cuz it's able to be upgraded later as new video cards become available. Besides I really need to get a new one cuz my current one is suffering from serious lag problems that have no viral/spyware/adware causes (I think it's either from the overcluttered hdd, or I'm slowly cooking some of it's hardware to death)


Sraycoz,
I personally see the alienware as the best choice for me cuz it comes with the option of two optical drive bays which means that I'd be able to listen to music while playing some of my games (namely The Sims, and SimCity3000) just by dropping a cd in the other tray rather than having to hunt through my external drive for the album I want.

 

[VenomXt]

it comes with the option of two optical drive bays which means that I'd be able to listen to music while playing some of my games , just by dropping a cd in the other tray rather than having to hunt through my external drive for the album I want.

please explain.. sorry. Iv allways been the one to use mp3's and such like media and alt tab is a wonderful thing in games. Basically im all for it if you have the money. its something i and alot of others dont have the luxury of hehe if i spent 5 grand on something it better keep my alive or get me to mexico city in a hurry because i just robbed a bank.) but once again if you have the money man all the power. Trust me i will be so jealuse of you. and i know you are getting this so its upgradable in the future but the fact is with laptops its not as attractive a thing. Desktops constantly have hardware and crap updated and so do laptops just desktops have wayyyy less intergrated. and i can only imagine what a full lap will do and look like in the future. hehe... so for the 3rd time if you have the money go for it.

btw sorry im tired and im rambling. please forgive me.

 

[chastity]

Well I missed this topic till just now so I guess I'll say congrats and for makin me jealous by getting the Alienware

 

[Ferral_Imp]

Sraycoz,

In my case an extra cd/dvd rom drive is a good thing cuz my external hard drive truely looks like a bomb hit it which makes it really hard to find things sometimes (I'm still at a loss for what I did with a few mp3s and movies )

The only reason why I can get this is cuz I'm due to get some money from stocks a family member bought me when I was little. Otherwise I'd be sitting here hoping this lappie doesn't croak just yet. (It's never been the same since I had to reformat after IE going nutz a few months ago)


Chastity,

Thanks and sorry for getting you prematurely jealous cuz it's not ordered yet. But it will be as soon as the dang mail lady brings my loot.

 

[VenomXt]

loot

hahahhahahahahahhah np man all the power to you.

 

[chastity]

still beats me and old Pentium III IBM Thinkspad

 

[Ferral_Imp]

Chastity,

you could always take some frustration out on it if it's not needed.

 

[VenomXt]

still beats me and old Pentium III IBM Thinkspad

if seen those do so much.. hehe

 

[chastity]

true you can do a lot with it and its still better then the Compaq one I had that had a 600 MHz Celeron and 64MB of ram.

If I didn't need it and could afford to replace it I would have done so already

 

[Gary Pandher]

www.pctorque.com
This laptops can be fully customized with bigger HD's more ram and everything

Whats nice about this one is that its got a pci-e mobo, and a great vid card
Sager 9860
http://pctorque.com/9860.php
17" WSXGA+ Active Matrix LCD
P4 3.4GHZ Extreme Edition LGA775 with AS5
1024 MB DDR2 533
256MB PCI-Express NVIDIA GeForce GO 6800
40.0 GB 4200rpm HD (SATA option)
Integrated CMOS Video Camera/7-in-1 Card Reader
8x DVD / 24x10x24 CD-RW Combo Drive & Software
10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Internal V.90 Fax/Modem
Integrated Wireless 802.11G and Bluetooth
Internal 4 speaker/subwoofer and 7.1 digital output
$3431.00


The one i got (again fully customizeable)
Sager 4750
http://pctorque.com/4750.php
17" WSXGA Active Matrix LCD
AMD Athlon 64 3400
1024 MB DDR 400
40.0 GB HD
Integrated CMOS Video Camera/4-in-1 Card Reader
8x DVD / 24x10x24 CD-RW Combo Drive & Softwares
10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Internal V.90 Fax/Modem
Integrated Wireless 802.11G Turbo and Bluetooth Optional
Smart Li-ION Battery
$1901.00
Cash Discount
$1857.28


or if you want to stick with intel
Sager 8790(fully customizable)
http://pctorque.com/8790.php
17" WSXGA+ Active Matrix LCD
Pentium® 4 3.4 GHz EXTREME Edition 800 FSB
1024MB 400DDR RAM
40.0 GB HD
8x DVD / 24x10x24 CD-RW Combo Drive & Softwares
10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
Internal V.92 Fax/Modem
On board Hardware Raid
Integrated TV Tuner option w/ Remote/Digital Video Camera
Integrated 4 Speaker System and Subwoofer
Smart Li-ION Battery
$2913.00
Cash Discount
$2846.00

 

[Gary Pandher]

hmmm..just read through the thread..i know alienware has a LONG LONG LONG wait time..2 weeks to a month and in most cases more for their laptops, SO im guessing if you want to look over what i posted you can..cheaper prices..good quality, great service and you can get exactly what alienware has ...in less time..and cheaper

 

[Ferral_Imp]

Gary Pandher,

The right computer is worth the wait in the end. Even if it would mean over a month or more.

I'm poking through the links you posted from pctorque right now and the whole thing of them listing one price then a cash discount price is confusing (I know I'm probably missing the most obvious thing here.).


Chastity,

your old compaq could probably easily beat the now ancient brother wordprocessor I had prior to getting my current laptop (that's even if it would still work seeing as it's been in storage for over 3 years).

 

[chastity]

Gary Pandher interesting company, though in someways their site seems poorly laid out to me.

Ah ok ferral

 

[Ferral_Imp]

Gary Pandher,

Sorry, But I don't feel comfortable with ordering from that site cuz it lists 3 different prices for the computer when you go to configure it . I do realize that the one price is the base price for the computer but I'm not totally sure what the other two prices are for. I'm guessing one is the actual price of the computer as I had it configured and I'm guessing the other price is either the cost of a preconfigured unit similar to what I had configured or the price of the computer after some sort of a discount.