I happen to be doing some research for buying a laptop myself however I'm mostly looking for Centrino-based notebooks that offer a longer battery life... you seem to be looking for a desktop replacement with gaming on mind (which sets you at a very high price range).

But since you seem rather comfortable paying for those notebooks you mentioned, I would say the Alienware would be my first choice, it's the most expensive, too and you don't mention what's the videocard (Geforce Go 6800, I think), I especially like the 17" screen.

If you don't mind the smaller screen, the Dell gets close enough although for a mere ~$200 extra, I would go for the Alienware. I definitely like the battery options in the Dell something which you should look closely in anything you buy.

The HP system looks nice but the X600 videocard is not a gamers' choice so beware of that.

 

thx so much anyone else have any input?

 

It would really depend on what you expect from your laptop.

IMO a laptop should be portable first and thus I would go for the 15" screen version from these.

In general I like the 12.1" ultraportable models of all

 

I agree with Nodsu in the portability factor with the exception being when your laptop becomes your desktop as well.

I like 13" laptops a lot and I would get one if it wasn't that I couldn't find any that came with a faster videocard than a Radeon 9200 which won't do enough for my gaming needs... I'm thinking of buying the following:

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=34-146-058&depa=3

 

Gaming wise, I would probably go with the Alienware. I have a little bit of experience with Alienware and VoodooPC laptops. On the other hand, I have lots of experience with Dell laptops and absolutely love them.

What were you expecting to do with your laptop?

Cheers!

I was actually thinking about getting the Acer Ferrari laptop.

 

I wouldn't buy any of them. They are a con.

I would buy a cheap Centrino-based notebook and upgrade the HDD and RAM. Keep the old HDD and encase it in a USB caddy. This way, you can get larger amounts of disk space plus a laptop that has 1GB+ RAM for under the prices you are paying above.

Those deals above will have nicer screens and a DVD-RW drive or something, but to be honest a cheap laptop can be made to have all of these upgrades and you will still save money. Well, not the screen which you are kind of stuck with, but what I am trying to say is that I think it would be much better to get a cheaper laptop and upgrade it.

 

After some research I found that the Ferrari notebook and other Acer 8000 mobile models are pretty good overall although everyone seems to agree that the screen is the only major shortcoming.

 

Sager Computers

I have the Sager 9860 which is the same as the Alienware Area51 7700. The chassis is by Clevo, a Taiwan based company. You will find that The Sager will me less expensive for the same computer AND you won't have to go through that "Phases" crap that Alienware puts you through. You can find lots of information regarding your choices at www.notebookforums.com

 

I would go with the 7700 from alienware. I have a desktop and runs awsome.


Sebastian :knock:

 

No offense, but I would not purchase the Alienware. I can get the same notebook from Sager/PC Torque as Sager, Hypersonic, Voodoo, Alienware, Falcon Northwest, Eurocom PC and a host of others. All use the exact same chassis/parts from CLEVO and it would be a lot cheaper from Sager and delivered a lot faster because I won't have to go through the "PHASES" crap. I ordered my 9860 on a Friday, paid for it the following Monday and recieved it two days later on Wednesday, plus, I could do without the eyes. I get excellent customer service from PC Torque without having to deal with some dweeb in India reading from a script.