# Anything I should know before I consider buying an alienware laptop? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 17, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-should-know-before-i-consider-buying-an-alienware-laptop/250776 "2004-06-17T01:28:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-should-know-before-i-consider-buying-an-alienware-laptop/250776/1 "2004-06-17T01:28:43Z")
For once I _have_ to wait before buying this item because they don’t let people pay on credit or installments and I can’t afford it until I get paid, which is in about 10 days. (I usually just give in to temptation and buy) So, Is there anything I should know before I consider buying an alienware laptop? I am looking to buy an almost top of the range one for playing games and running demanding software (programming IDEs, Photo editing software, 3d authoring software). And it has to be a laptop (I plan to take it to work and use it about the house) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-should-know-before-i-consider-buying-an-alienware-laptop/250776/2 "2004-06-17T02:29:51Z")
You should probably avoid the special “probe” option. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-should-know-before-i-consider-buying-an-alienware-laptop/250776/3 "2004-06-17T04:36:21Z")
If you search comp.laptops, you’ll get pretty much two responses: 1. I love my Alienware laptop! 2. I hate my Alienware laptop! From what I see, their customer service isn’t too hot. It’s irritating that to download drivers you have to log in. But I’m typing this on an Alienware 51-m machine (3.2 GHz HT P4 w/ 1GB RAM and 7200 RPM drive). It’s for work, so it’s not really mine, but it’s got a gorgeous screen on top of everything else. Oh, and the keyboard has the perfect resistence, but the key layout sucks IMO (I’m using a registry hack on XP to move some keys around). Oh, but it is **heavy** (about 9-10 lbs.) and comes with a 160Wt power supply (fan included!). ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2004, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-should-know-before-i-consider-buying-an-alienware-laptop/250776/4 "2004-06-17T05:59:11Z")
What are you doing for work that you get an Alienware laptop? Not exactly a typical corporate item. \ One unique feature of them is that they’re made so the video can be swapped out for upgrades pretty easily. Most laptop video is soldered onto the motherboard - with these, it’s a plug-in bit. As for the weight - well, there’s a 3.2 GHz Pentium and 1 GB of RAM stuffed in there - with that sort of muscle, you need serious cooling and power supply. ---
**Author:** ![emarkp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3be4f8/32.png) [@emarkp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emarkp)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anything-i-should-know-before-i-consider-buying-an-alienware-laptop/250776/5 "2004-06-18T03:14:17Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > What are you doing for work that you get an Alienware laptop? Not exactly a typical corporate item. I develop software for scientific simulations with very large datasets (as in, the in-house debate isn’t whether to upgrade to 64-bit systems but rather when). Oh, and there’s the 3D modeling of the simulation. The full retail package sells for a _lot_ more than the cost of a laptop (any laptop). Our customers can buy the laptop with the software, and I need the horsepower to run it and develop it.