HELP WITH GAMING SPECS

[pooky]

Hello,
I am the parent of a boy who loves gaming and is also able to script/programme and build games to some extent. I fully admit to being a computer dummy and do not recognise his language but in order to buy him a descent gaming laptop that will last for a few years at least, I am trying very hard to learn.
I have been offered a new Alienware laptop with the specs below for £1150.
Please please could someone tell me if this is a good deal and a good ballance of bits,sorry components?

3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3630QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.4GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0)
English Windows® 7 Home Premium (64 BIT)
2GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 675M
6144MB (1x2GB + 1x4GB) 1600MHz DDR3 Dual Channel
500GB 7,200rpm SATA 3Gb/s HDD
17.3" WideFHD (1920 x 1080) WLED LCD
Alienware M17x Stealth Black
DVD+/-RW (Read/Write)
Killer Wireless-N 1103 a/g/n 3x3 MIMO with Bluetooth 4.0
Primary 9 cell Li-Ion Default Base Battery
Internal UK/Irish Qwerty Keyboard 1
UK 2M 250V Power Cord 1
Southern Europe Documentation (EN, SPA, POL, GRE)
N08W7M02
Placemats (Eng, Gre, Pol, Ara, Rus) 1
Alienware M17x Order
Integrated Skype HD Certified FullHD Camera with dual digital microphones
Alienware M17x Resource DVD
240W AC Adaptor
Steam® Factory Installed and Steam Extra Content
Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software

 

[zared619]

Firstly you are technically in the wrong forum. You should go under prebuilt forum for laptops.
The specifications above are really good for the price. However, I know alienware to not be the best brand out there for gaming laptops. I personally have an Asus, and I love it, but I understand that MSI makes pretty good computers as well. However, here on tom's hardware, almost all of us highly suggest building your own desktop. The process is very simple, and if your son has never done it before, it would be a great learning experience. You would save money and you and or your son would have an amazing computer and more experience with computers. If you want a recommendation for a build, just say the word.
Additionally, unless the laptop is necessary for portability, I would go with the desktop because you can upgrade them as components get more and more out-dated. If you decide to not build a desktop, you can always buy one, but I highly recommend building your own.
I hope this all helps!

 

[excella1221]

^+1

Or you can also build your own laptop! :lol:

 

[Nw333]

May I know why you cant build a desktop? Will give you better performance for the money.

Anyways, check out the MSI GT70 if you can. Quite a nice gaming laptop.

@excella, you can build your own laptop? Never knew that lol. :lol:

 

[excella1221]

Yes, apparently! My friend and his dad tried it. :lol:
I found this too.
http://www.tomsguide.com/us/diy-laptop-whitebook,review-1286.html

 

[Nw333]

Eh. Dont wanna try that. Seems more delicate and harder to install, with all the parts being just bare chips. (most, atleast) :lol:

 

[excella1221]

Yeah, it's more of a hassle really. Just an innocent suggestion anyway. :3

 

[Nw333]

Anyways, @OP, we can make a build anytime. We just need a budget, your country and what parts you dont need.

 

[pooky]

Thanks, but I really am not confident enought to build a pc and I know it would be far too stressful for my son, he would be ok if it wasn't so important to him... major stress just painting his warhammer pieces so we will stick to choosing the best specs we can afford.

I have read that the radeon HD 7970M is better than th GTX675m and is cheaper, has anyone had the experience in a laptop with similar specs to my first post?

I have also checked out the MSI GT70 as suggested by Nw333, thank you, but it seems to be more expensive with the specs that I have been quoted for, Is it likely to be considerably better quality and worth the extra?

 

[Nw333]

Building a PC is easy. Putting parts together and connecting cables is like playing with Lego. If it doesnt fit there, it shouldnt go there. A bunch of guides around too.

 

[winther]

if he doesnt excactly need a notebook I would really suggest getting a desktop. most internet based reatailers offer to assemble the computer for a pretty small sum of money. and the performance of a 1100-1200 dollar desktop would completly destroy any notebook!!

But going back to topic; I dont know that much about gaming laptops and dont have any experience with alienware. but I would think the quality is good, since Alienware is owned by Dell, and I would almost say that any alienware notebook for 1150 is a pretty good deal. but bare in mind that I dont know too much about this, mjust my 2 cents.

 

[winther]

Building a PC is easy. Putting parts together and connecting cables is like playing with Lego. If it doesnt fit there, it shouldnt go there. A bunch of guides around too.

Like he says. There are lots of very easy-to-follow guides on youtube. just search for "computer build guide" and the first three hits are all good..