Hi guys,

I'm considering purchasing a powerful laptop for simming purposes, and the two most popular custom-build websites appear to be Alienware and PCSpecialist.co.uk.

I'm after a 17" screen, and the specs I've gone for on each website are listed below:

-----------------------Alienware-M17x- --------------------------------PC-Specialist-Vortex-III-17"
Processor--------------Intel®-Core™-i7-2860QM---------------------------Intel®-Core™-i7-2860QM
RAM--------------------16384MB-(2x8GB)-1600MHz-DDR3-Dual-Channel--------16GB-(4x4GB)-Samsung-1333MHz-SODIMM-DDR3
Graphics-card----------2GB-GDDR5-NVIDIA®-GeForce®-GTX-675M--------------2GB-GDDR5-NVIDIA®-GeForce®-GTX-675M
Screen-Resolution------1920x1080----------------------------------------1920x1080
Hard-disk--------------1TB-RAID-0-(2x500GB-7,200rpm)--------------------2x500GB-WDSCORPIO-BLACK-WD5000BPKT-SATA-3Gb/s-16MB-cache-7200-rpm
Optical----------------BluRay-Combo-(Blu-ray-read-only)-----------------SONY-BD5750H-BLURAY-WRITER-&-CYBERLINK-SW
Sound-card-------------Creative-Sound-Blaster-Recon3Di------------------Creative-Sound-Blaster-X-Fi-Surround-5.1-PRO-External
Wireless---------------Intel-Centrino-Wireless-N-2230-w/-Bluetooth-4----Gigabit-LAN+Wireless-Intel-Advanced-N-6230-(300Mbps)-+-Bluetooth
OS---------------------Windows-7-64-bit---------------------------------Windows-7-64-bit
Warranty---------------1-Yr-Next-Day-In-Home-Service-w/-Phone-Support---1-year-collect-&-return,-1-year-parts,-3-year-labour
Price------------------£2643--------------------------------------------£1770

So the PCSpecialist laptop is nearly £900 cheaper for practically the same spec! The only major difference I can see is that the RAM has a slightly lower clock speed of 1333 MHz as opposed to 1600MHz.

So the PCSpecialist option seems like a bit of a no-brainer to me, but to be on the safe side I thought I should get some opions here. I was just wondering if there is any other reason for the massive price difference, in terms of component quality etc? Or is the extra £900 just to pay for the Alienware brandname prestige?

Also, will these specs comfortably run the latest flight sim titles (CloD, DCS: A-10 etc.) at high detail levels?

I'd appreciate any comments, experience or strong views held on either brand

Cheers,

Simon

I have an Alienware Aurora ALX....i'm happy with it, but wished i built my own for a lot cheaper or found a deal such as you have with PCSpecialist.

-16384MB-(2x8GB)-1600MHz-DDR3-Dual-Channel
-16GB-(4x4GB)-Samsung-1333MHz-SODIMM-DDR3

2 Sticks is better than 4 for Power, heat, and space reasons


-1TB-RAID-0-(2x500GB-7,200rpm)
2x 500GB in Raid-0 is 500GB, not 1th.

Raid-0 is 2 drives set as 1 in a raid array to allow the system to write to both at the same time increasing bandwidth.

I would go with PC Specialist since you'll get the same performance for almost $1,000 cheaper (the RAM speed isn't going to make any noticeable difference) and their warranty is better.

not to mention better support hardware comes with that pc specialist laptop.

X-Fi 5.1 is better than the recon 3d chips.

the optical drive in the PC S is better and comes with software to play BRD

Better HDDs in the PC S
(i think Alienware uses Seagate or Samsung, I'd have to check with my brother as I bought him a M17x last summer).

Better Ram on the PC S, the Ram SODIMMs in my brother's Alienware M17x were generic and we ended up replacing them.

Better warranty on the PC S

Alienware is now owned by Dell and I'll give you and Idea of what they have done to it let me tell you a quick story.





This is a 6,000 Area 51 Alx that I got for 1299.99. So I get it and the Bios is version 9 so I install 12 gb on memory and update to bios version 12. BLAMO I'm a tech mind you this is what I do for a living and it took me over a week to figure out the problem. DELL

Once Dell started to work on the new bios versions the wheels fell off the bus and if you upgrade past 6gb of memory their coding causes shut downs and failures. Calls to Dell were a waste since I speak english and was not until I trolled the internet and countless forums like this until I found my answer.

Dell messed up EVERY bios version they tried to create and even led to them getting rid of this model entirely. Version 9 is the last bios version that Alienware created and is the ONLY one that works with over 6gb of memory.

Bottomline:

If you are a pc tech savy person Yes the Alienware is a fine laptop BUT if you need help stay away from DELL unless you speak a foreign language.


Good Luck
Mr Wags

Proprietary Parts and the Alienware Command Center Program dont help.

My Brother's laptop boots quick and runs quick, but at as soon as the Command Center BS is loaded windows goes from 15 seconds load to 55+, and then you have to wait longer once the desktop comes up.

Dell has "remotely" and locally re-imaged his HDD, and everytime I have to wipe it and install a retail Windows 7 with his license key because that Command center garbage does something to his laptop, that forces it to run slow and idle HOT.

Command Center (or whatever its called) controls the LED colors of his keyboard and advanced power profile funtions (ie turn off touch pad when usb mouse is connected).

Pick a Company that doesnt pre-load the unit with their proprietary garbage.

Thanks for your input guys. Looks like I'll go with PC Specialist!