Hey guys, My old laptop just kicked the bucket and I need something before the semester really starts (ie: in the next 2 weeks or so). I'm in my final year in a media intensive program (audio production/engineering) and I do other stuff like graphic design on the side, so a laptop is a must. My previous setup was a Dell XPS M1530... unfortunately it was one of the earlier models that had the faulty 8600GT card in it which had the overheating problem and after about 4 years of running the laptop finally kicked the bucket. The specs were as follows 2.5ghz C2D 4GB DDR2 DVD/CD-RW 160GB HDD 15" 1280x800Screen Nvidea 8600GT 512MB I'm basically looking for something at 14"-15"... mmaayybbbeee 16 but ideally a 15 incher.... at LEAST as good if not better than my old one specs wise. I use my laptop for everything from school work to editing audio, images, playing movies, music and gaming. (L4D, Crysis, DiRT 2 etc...) My budget is around $1400 tops..... mmaaayyybeeee $1500 but thats stretching it.... I checked around dell's site and got a config I was fairly happy with (was happy with my last dell laptop so figured why not)... I basically maxed out a Studio XPS but I haven't really been keeping up with laptop prices and all as of late so I figured there might be something better out there. I'd be hoping for this thing to last me another 3+ years. Like I said, budget maayyyyyy be a *bit* flexible but not too much. No real preference as far as brand is concerned. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance ! ps: oh and the price is in Canadian dollars >_>....
I wonder if you might be happier with the AlienWare M15X...it is still made by dell, but the Alienware line is still built well (unlike the rest of the Dell line).
Dell laptops are pretty well made actually, much better than cheap stuff like Acer/Asus laptops. I'd have no problem recommending a Studio XPS laptop, but make sure you get one with a Radeon video card. The geforces in laptops now are no better than the 8600GT cards that caused all those problems years ago, if anything they're worse.
Really?...I would have thought they sorted the heat issue out by now. Thanks for the tip! I considered alienware but to be honest I'm not a fan of the look =/....
It's not just a heat issue, they're just built to a low standard of manufacture, graphics chips/cards from ATI and Intel can withstand heat, geforces simply can't.
I just got my daughter an M17x Alienware laptop, and its awesome for game playing. I got it with ATI 5870 Dual 1GB Crossfire. The M15x is good too, she just wanted bigger screen. Stays cool too, unlike my crappy Acer laptop. It was fine in its day though I guess. Support is great also, at least I found as I had a problem with one of the drives, as I ordered it with RAID 1, but we fixed that in a day and got it back too normal.
Er, Alienware are Dell? Quite frankly, Alienware laptops are far more overpriced than their XPS counterparts, but you're buying prestige, so it's to be expected.
It isn't just prestige...they are much better systems...I7 machines with crossfire that run cool enough to use on your lap, even when gaming...that is downright amazing.
They may be more purpose built, but they don't run as cool as you say. Have you tried one of the crossfire laptops when gaming? It's physically impossible to keep a laptop that powerful nice and cool without a massive external cooler, which they don't use. The old FX5700 Alienware laptop my friend had got roasting hot, far moreso than my old housemate's XPS M1710.
I have to say the M17x that my daughter has with i7 and crossfire stays cool. I have checked it out after she has gamed for a few hours. Just google 'Alienware m17x cooling' and it brings up a few reviews which give high ratings on its cooling. But as she loves it, she does say its a 'beast' lol.. Its not for everyone I am sure. It is worth it too me.
