Advice on new laptop

[Dakotarick]

I hope this is in the right place. I am looking to replace my laptop soon and have been visiting the Alienware website. I have a few questions that I hope the Den can help with. I Am thinking about the Area 51-9750

#1. Do I really need dual graphics cards for WOW?

#2. Is the 1920x1200 Screen worth the 225$ and will I have trouble with everything being small such as Icons and such.

#3 Is 2G enough ram if I use vista or should I have XP installed?

I was thinking of getting the 160G 7,200 RPM Drive.

I am curious if anyone has experience with Alienware and am open to ideas. This may seem stupid to most of you but I shopped for my last computer for about 15 minutes LOL. I am very happy with the Toshiba I have now but want something with a bigger screen. I also looked at the Toshiba X205 which seems OK for a lot less money.

The more I look the more confused I get. Help.

Dako

[Gnofear]

OK, so I did a lot of research on this before buying my laptop. It's a $2100 high-end Vostro Dell laptop. I configured it as best as I can to maximize my WoW experience.

to answer your questions,

1. No, dual graphics cards are not needed (it will only overheat your laptop and that's gonna be annoying. i bought a laptop cooler anyways and i suggest you to do the same)

2. Higher resolution will make WoW look much better, but it takes a better graphics card to run a higher resolution. Assuming you are getting a good one, then please go for the highest resolution. It's awesome when you're Alt-Tabbing thru multiple windows...wowhead, wowmb.net, WoW....and they can all fit on your screen at the same time because of the resolution.

3. 2GBs ram is enough for Vista (Vista uses 1G) but i recommend getting 4GBs if you're a multi-tasker and planning on Frapsing as well. I have 4GBs and I love it. The hidden secret about 4GBs is that Vista 32-bit cannot fully address all of it (only 64-bit can). But that really hasn't posed a problem for me yet. The more RAM, the better.

4. Faster hard drives ONLY speed up the loading times. However, with such a sick laptop anyways you wont notice the difference between 5400 and 7200. I got 5400 and I start up WoW in 2-3 seconds, and the loading screen entering takes about 5 seconds. That's pretty good I say. So, if you're a movie-whore (downloading WoW movies and making movies), go for lots and lots of space.

5. You want a really fast processor to accompany all that because if one part of the system lacks, then it brings down the ENTIRE performance.

Finally, good luck in your search for a nice laptop. Alienwares are great but way too expensive for what they've got. But if you're a more avid gamer who plays the latest and most system-intensive games, then a sick Alienware should do the work ;)

[Valimir]

I had to buy a new laptop recently as well. I didn't have a lot of money as I have other commitments. The only game I play is WoW so I didn't need to some grand graphics card. My new laptop runs on Vista, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Intel Core Duo2 CPU, and only has the onboard graphics card. It runs The Burning Crusade perfectly and I've had no problems with overheating.

[forketta]

Alienware
They are cool, they pack the best components, they cost way too much. you can have the same components for half the price. I know, a dell laptop is not that cool, but you know in real life there is no such thing as dailys, so money counts ;P

RAM
4G; XP 32 bit reads 3GB; the rest is used toghether wit vram from the videocard (i have a Nvidia 8800gtx with 768mb)

HD
The faster, the better. WOW keeps loading scenario, models, textures. Part of the lag is network latecy. On top of that YOUR pc must load what server tells him to load.

CPU
A dual core is fine. Some cache on each processor works wonder. Let's say 1 MB per core is good.

GPU/Monitor
LCD monitors requires for better visual quality to run at native resolution. So the GPU has to be able to handle it. I wouldn't suggest too high resolution.

Cooling.
This kind of hardware generates heat. Ask if they have one already switched on, and touch it...

Operating system
Wow The Burning Crusade runs smoothly with XP. And with antivirus and firewall runs in less than 300MB. I see no point in letting Vista eat 1GB of my ram.
Of course

[AetherShock]

I got an Aurora M9700 about a year ago from Alienware and have never regreted my decision. To answer your questions:

No, you don't need dual cards for WoW, in fact, WoW does not support Crossfire or SLI. If you plan on playing other games in the future, more games are supporting dual graphics cards. And no, not all laptops overheat with dual graphics cards (you get what you pay for in most cases). I run dual GeForce 7900GS Go cards with 256mb each. I thought about getting the 512mb but it was almost too much. I have no problems with even the latest games cranked up to max settings (like COD4) with my cards.

2 GB of memory should be good, stay away from Vista for another year at least; from a technical standpoint it's not worth the price at all. You will see tons of legit reviews out there (PC mag, extreme tech, etc.) stating just that.

Faster hardrives equal faster data transfer, you will notice a world of difference between 5400rpm and 7200rpm. This is what makes all textures, videos, sounds, etc. load into memory faster. I currently run a stripped set of Seagate 100GB 7200rpm SATA NCQ.

The bigger Clearview screens are worth the money, believe me, they are sharp and clear. If you are not used to higher resolutions, don't worry. Everything will seem tiny at first until you get adjusted. I got the best at that time (17" WUXGA Clearview).

Also, spring for the biggest warranty you can get. I got the three year. If you make an investment like I did with an Alienware, you should invest in the proper protection.

[Dakotarick]

Many thanks to all who responded. I just played my first few BG's on my new Alienware and all I can say is WOW and I'm not talking about Warcraft!

[Pontofelle]

I just bought a refurb'd Alienware 9700. I should get it tomorrow and be online with it on Weds. Below are the stats.
I spent about 20 hours researching other laptops. Honestly without spending 3-4 grand nothing compared. Im glad to see others with alienware laptops.

Screen: 17" WideUXGA 1920x1200 LCD
Processor Type: AMD Turion 2.4GHz L2 ML-44
Memory (RAM): 2GB PC 3200 DDR SO-DIMM
Graphics Card: NVIDIA 7900GS with 256MB Memory
Hard Drive Capacity: 200GB 7200RPM SATA
Optical Drive: 8X DVD+/-RW
Operating System: Windows XP Pro Edition
Connectivity: W-NWEB 802.11BG Wireless

[Gritz]

If you have 3k to drop, the high rez 17" MBP is really, really nice. Load up Windows in Bootcamp for non-WoW gaming.

[Cruor]

Fwahahaha, i know this is a fairly old post but i'm having the same problemish,

I want to buy a laptop

1) For WoW (and maybe other games in the future)

2) Because now my sister has discovered MSN i never get on the computer

I'm looking for a reasonably priced laptop, that will play games without me having pumped everything down to low, and still i only get 20fps :( (which is what i have to put up with atm)

I did have my eye on the Alienware M9750 (i think it was) but then 29/30 of the people in my ICT class (thats alot of nerds) strongly suggested i shudnt buy alienware, and even my teacher said, i'm paying for the name alienware not the product.
Help would be fantastic

[Pontofelle]

Originally Posted by Cruor

Fwahahaha, i know this is a fairly old post but i'm having the same problemish,

I want to buy a laptop

1) For WoW (and maybe other games in the future)

2) Because now my sister has discovered MSN i never get on the computer

I'm looking for a reasonably priced laptop, that will play games without me having pumped everything down to low, and still i only get 20fps :( (which is what i have to put up with atm)

I did have my eye on the Alienware M9750 (i think it was) but then 29/30 of the people in my ICT class (thats alot of nerds) strongly suggested i shudnt buy alienware, and even my teacher said, i'm paying for the name alienware not the product.
Help would be fantastic

yes that is alot of nerds.
but if thats what ya want, Id go for it. I got a refirb'd one from Alienware thru ebay. Its basically half price. Its awesome running Wow full tilt and still getting 60fps. Also Alienware(Tech service) is awesome. I was missing a driver. They had me fixed in 5 mins.