Bad experiences with Dell/Alienware?

Okay so. I ordered a $1300 Alienware 17' R4 from Dell's website. They have the only version of that laptop that I can afford, I made it expedited shipping.

I was so excited to get my first real gaming laptop.

Gpu wasn't the best, from what I saw, but it was pretty good and was able to play even the most graphically demanding games at at least 30fps, which... is acceptable to me, never understood the big deal with 60fps. Most PS3 games play games at 30fps.

Anyway, so I ordered it, and then... for some reason, I checked a few hours ago, (I assume today was when it was supposed to be shipped), to find that my order had been cancelled.

Anger wasn't even the word, more like blind, unyielding rage. I wanted to punch a hole in every wall in my house. Worst part? I have to wait till tomorrow to talk to them, and its not like I'm gonna sleep tonight with how mad I am, so I may very well end up falling asleep later on today and then sleeping through their business hours.

This, to me, is like getting a brand new puppy, and then watching as it jumps out of my arms and then runs into traffic. That was ALL my money for this month too. **** dell.

Never had any dealings with them, but did I get this right? Did they take your money and didn't send you the laptop? That can't possibly be right.

Having 30FPS on PC is a much different experience than consoles. It can be a slideshow and very inconsistent. Developers on the console can tune those games to hide the fact it's only 30FPS. Not so much on the PC.

This might be a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't bother with a "cheap" performance laptop and instead get a $1300 desktop that can give you 60FPS quite easily.

Or build one. If you live in the US, you can build a computer for a great deal less if you know where to shop.

Alienware used to be considered top drawer, but ever since Dell started ****ing around with them, they've become the apple of windows computers in terms of being overpriced as hell.

Yep!

The funny thing is that you don't really need to physical build one yourself. I used NCIX to build my last desktop. Because they distribute computer hardware, you pay them $50, choose your components from a huge list and they build it and ship. And....they did a pretty good job building the computer.

And that was for an extra 50 bucks....and aside from the videocard, I haven't replaced any of the components in 5-6 years.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Yep!

The funny thing is that you don't really need to physical build one yourself. I used NCIX to build my last desktop. Because they distribute computer hardware, you pay them $50, choose your components from a huge list and they build it and ship. And....they did a pretty good job building the computer.

And that was for an extra 50 bucks....and aside from the videocard, I haven't replaced any of the components in 5-6 years.

👆

That's a pretty decent rate for a build.

I assume he wants a Laptop not a Desktop and I wouldn’t recommend trying to build one of those. Still, I’d recommend not buying an Alienware as you end up paying extra for the brand.

Yeah, they overcharge without giving you your money's worth. In general any laptop with a dedicated, decent GPU won't be cheap, but with a budget of 1300 he should be able to get something decent.

Eesh @ building a laptop though.

Don't really have experience with laptops, never owned one.

That said I did buy a Dell many years ago...like 2000. Had no issues with them at the time.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Having 30FPS on PC is a much different experience than consoles. It can be a slideshow and very inconsistent. Developers on the console can tune those games to hide the fact it's only 30FPS. Not so much on the PC.

This might be a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't bother with a "cheap" performance laptop and instead get a $1300 desktop that can give you 60FPS quite easily.

Even on a Trinitron/high end crt the real gaming freaks like to use?

Originally posted by Smasandian
Having 30FPS on PC is a much different experience than consoles. It can be a slideshow and very inconsistent. Developers on the console can tune those games to hide the fact it's only 30FPS. Not so much on the PC.

This might be a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't bother with a "cheap" performance laptop and instead get a $1300 desktop that can give you 60FPS quite easily.

The GPU is the GeForce GTX 1050 TI

All I know is that it ran everything decently on at least medium, and thats all I care about.

My little brother was running Warframe, Chivalry just fine on his GeForce GTX 640, and the 1050 TI crushes that.

Originally posted by Smasandian
Having 30FPS on PC is a much different experience than consoles. It can be a slideshow and very inconsistent. Developers on the console can tune those games to hide the fact it's only 30FPS. Not so much on the PC.

This might be a blessing in disguise. I wouldn't bother with a "cheap" performance laptop and instead get a $1300 desktop that can give you 60FPS quite easily.

I also like the portability of a laptop (even if it is pretty big for a laptop).

You may want to stay clear of Alienware, they do overprice their products because of their name/sleek look.

Other sites offer decent gaming systems for cheaper. Take a look at Cyberpowerpc or Ibuypower. I used to own a Cyberpower years back when they were a smaller company and never had any issues with it.

Build a desktop. More power and features for cheaper. More longevity. Less complications.

Originally posted by Jmanghan
I doubt I'll ever buy a desktop, I have no room in my house for one.

I also like the portability of a laptop (even if it is pretty big for a laptop).

Space considerations is why I game exclusively on consoles and mobile devices.

That makes no sense. Desktops are not much bigger.

Sure, if you only want one or the other. Desktops need their own desk, own space, own monitor.

Unless you're using your tv to computer game, which is kind of stupid imo..

Why is it stupid to hook up a computer to a TV? Not sure why you would think that

You do not need more space to have a desktop. You can easily hook up a computer to TV using HDMI and then use a Xbox controller to play games. And if you really want, you can just buy a cheap wireless keyboard+mouse combo to navigate through Windows if need be. Or, when powered on, boot to Steam Big Picture mode so you don't need a keyboard.

The idea that space considerations is the reason to play consoles exclusively is not true.

I've hooked up my computer to my TV a few times to play some games. That's how I played Witcher 2 and some others. You can essentially make your PC into a more powerful console pretty easily. In fact there are some prebuilt PC's that are made precisely for this purpose with a small form factor case.

Originally posted by BackFire
I've hooked up my computer to my TV a few times to play some games. That's how I played Witcher 2 and some others. You can essentially make your PC into a more powerful console pretty easily. In fact there are some prebuilt PC's that are made precisely for this purpose with a small form factor case.

Aren't tv's a lot weaker then computer monitors though?

The point of all that horsepower is cutting edge visuals, which PC monitors are designed to take advantage of..

Also, to the controller option, If I did game like that I'd use my PS2 controller, already have the attachment for it. I'd never use a 360 controller if I didn't have to. 😛