If that is a snide remark towards mine, then here's a comeback.

An Alienware can be subtle as well, with the Ripley chassis. Getting the Skullcap chassis will definitely turn heads, and if you're that shy type and wants to slink into the background not wanting to attract attention to yourself, or the type that wants to appear business-like, but still project an outlook f someone who appreciates portable computing power, then Alienware with the Ripley chassis is just that. There are lots of technical-related professionals who arm themselves with an Alienware when it is their turn to do their presentations, especially to those relying on CAD drawings or number-crunching applications. That is why Alienware even offers the option of the Nvidia Quadro FX 3600M, specifically for that. And these professionals at some point, do think like you, wanting to avoid unnecessary attention, yet needing considerable processing power with them in portable form all the time.

Turn off the all the AlienFX lighting and guess what? It is as zero bling as your dull Sager. Saves on battery life too. And what's that? BinaryGFX even extends that with using the IGP and processor downclocks for your "presentation infront of the class" moments so that you don't blast those listening on your presentation with hot air from your spinning fan ventings. If you're worried about other people's expectations then you have self-esteem issues. After all, you bought your Sager with that config, and you want it to hide under a plain-jane enclosure? Might as well wrap it in painted tupperware then.

To each his own. Want to be dull and regular like others? Be my guest, but fitting in an out-of-this-world specced components into a dull case, is like fitting in an Evo engine into a nondescript Wira. We all know what we call that around here. Personally, I see it as a damn shame to have no one know that your notebook innards is filled with premium specs when you wrap it with a cookie-cutter case. You wouldnt want a crumbling facade of a house but filled it with leather Italian furnishing and tiled walls and floorings, would you?

I can accept the reasoning of Alienware being a premium (read: priced beyond reach of normal audience) purchase and I'll agree on that fact with you. But once you start harping on the Alienware being too much of an expectation-raiser, then you get others perceiving that it does only that and nothing else. If you had left it at the issue of it being a price factor, I would not have felt compelled to comment at length like this.

Thermal paste? That was the comeback? A simple call or email to Roswell, would even allow that, at probably no extra charge.The option of not buying an O/S is hardly an advantage. I see Alienware as the the equivalent of Apple in the PC side of things, they marry their components inside nicely and to make sure they work well with each other, that requires an OS to test them out. Installing FreeDOS on a performance notebook and letting the enduser be the guinea pig as to whether those components works well with each other, for something of this caliber, is a form of being irresponsible in my books. I dont want to be troubleshooting FOR them, after the amount of money I have splurged for this.

Again I reiterate, Alienware is not about the bling. Having the bling and turning it off is an OPTION, so that if you're in that LAN Party with the right crowd you can turn it on, and if you're in a more formal setting, you have the OPTION of turning it off. IF your setting is more formal than that of the previous LAN Party setting I've mentioned, then why are you even considering a premium gaming laptop then? Shouldnt it be better to get a business-oriented laptops like the Sony Z. Oh, you wanted the OPTION of gaming on your laptop as well, you say? Well, that concept of having an OPTION I've pointed out comes out nice and clear now, doesnt it? Zing!



Wow, you have security issues there, man. If given an opportunity to own a Ferrari, would you still rather drive a Wira, even if it's Wira engine is shanked off and replaced with a souped up Evo engine? And why the heavy consideration on "what other people think"? You have "what other people think" as one of the consideration on buying your stuff?

Classifying "extravagance" and "premium" is subjective , depending on the level of one's financial security. I find buying a Ferrari as an extravagance, but not to let say, Person A, who loves performance cars, and have either saved and skimp on his savings just enough to buy one. He does not have to be super rich, only do well enough to save up for a Ferrari. Another person, Person B would say, that getting a Ferrari is out of his consideration because it is not within his affordability range, so that other person picks another car that almost mirrors that Ferrari in performance, but may have certain concessions and sacrifices on looks. It looks scoffingly plain to the untrained eye, but once Person B stepped on that gas pedal, it is a different story. But, it does not stop the general public's already established impression that the Ferrari = fast. No matter how much that Person B wants to preach the virtues of his car, the general public would probably have dubious looks on their face at first before it is "test-driven" to prove his point. It doesnt help that his chosen car have the boxy dimensions of a Kenari.

In 2 years, when all is said and done, which brand would people feel more inclined to purchase, should I choose to resell it then? Alienware or Sager? Point is moot if you choose not to sell it, but having that sense of brand recognition and is like a warm blanket on a rainy day to me.

I'm all for reviews and introducing new brands and their OPTIONS to others, but choosing to harp on those new brand by downtrodding and mocking another brand, you'd most definitely be inviting a counter-reponse from those brand(s) you have retorted against now, wouldnt it? Newton's Third Law, my friend.......your actions most definitely will invite its appropriate REACTIONS.

P/S: This may be a Wilayah Sager, but the Mothership patrols the skies.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Oct 27 2008, 12:00 PM

The arguments would not have come if the TS didnt portray the Alienware as "just bling only" and polish his Sager choice to kingdom come. I said it before and I will say it here again, if the decision against the Alienware was purely on the basis of paying premium price over the Sager offering, then we are on the same page here, and I totally agree, the Alienware is more pricetag-prohibitive. But lambasting the Alienware because it has the OPTION of bling, just simply invites a counter-reaction.



I totally agree, and if the criteria at which the choice came from is because "we might not have the budget" and it stops there, I'm with you, brother. But dont make it look as if the Alienware is all bling and no brains inside. That was what I was responding to, as well as TS's insecurities of having a nicer looking laptop(which is again, subjective). The bling (Light Pipe, AlienFX linings, and illuminated keyboard) is OPTIONAL, they can be turned off. Best of both worlds, the world of business-like simplicity, or decked-out decadence.

And heroiuu, you're getting out of context here , dude. The Sager matches, if not overtakes the Alienware specs when it comes portable power. Your arguments are tepid and fickle at best. The looks on the Alienware is not the all-consuming, the-one-and-only reason one should get it. It should only be part of the consideration.

There is no getting to you. I'm done talking to you here man. The others have tried to reason to you, and we all know how that went.

This is considerably OT, but if you compare the specs on the processor/graphic cards between my Alienware and corad's Sager, based on benchmarks on notebookcheck.net, it is head-to-head. His Sager has the 9800M GT, compared to my 8800M GTX, and even though I did mention that the 9800M GT is a rebadged 8800M GTX, on benchmarks, his 9800M GT still has an advantage over my 8800M GTX, even if the amount is very very slight. Processor-wise, my X9000 would probably tops his T9400, but he may have set up his system with power-saving in mind. All-in-all, it's actually head-to-head. It's the other extras that balloons the differences between our systems.

I've read and considered a few options before taking this plunge, and I still am perfectly happy with my choice to go Alienware. I like the uniqueness of the chassis, not so much of the AlienFX lighting system. No matter how you weigh your options, I'm sure nobody can completely disregard the aspect of looks when it comes to their laptop purchases. Some may be able to stomach a plain chassis relatively easy, while others may want a particular look.

Initially, wanted to put the responses in RED, but I'm keeping it BLUE instead. Don't want to put too much EXPECTATIONS on my responses, I may not do so well in the presentation of these responses. But I try to make it stand out a bit so that it wont get lost in the sea of plain-jane black on the text in here. Probably like the Sager itself too.

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Oct 28 2008, 01:13 AM

This post has been edited by stringfellow: Oct 28 2008, 12:57 PM