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Miscellaneous laptop discussions forum: Alienware vs. Apple

by: m.nandini April 4, 2006 3:24 PM PDT

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Alienware vs. Apple

by m.nandini - 4/4/06 3:24 PM

i am in high school and getting ready to start taking college classes and i need a notebook. i like to play the occasional game, but i really need this computer for word processing, music, and movies. i need it to be fast and not have to worry about crashing, parts failue, or battery life. i have heard mixed reviews about both systems, and i know that both are not really widespread machines compared to HP or Dell, but i like them both and i really want to know if there is someone that could help me decide.

i wanna know what you guys think. its either a 14 inch apple ibook G4 with a 1.4 ghz processor, 512 mb ram, and a radeon express 32mb graphics card or an Alienware Area-51 m5500 with 1.5 ghz processor, 512 mb ram, and a 256 mb NviDia graphics card . both of the notebooks are about the same price.

thank you for ur opinion in advance


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My question.

by R. Proffitt Moderator - 4/4/06 3:45 PM

In Reply to: Alienware vs. Apple by m.nandini

Since all power pc based units are being phased out, why is that on your list?

Bob


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my answer

by m.nandini - 4/4/06 7:46 PM

In Reply to: My question. by R. Proffitt Moderator

because that is what i can afford right now, i dont feel like waiting for the new one, which im guessing may make the line of ibooks more expensive.


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considering that you list parts failure

by togus - 4/4/06 4:13 PM

In Reply to: Alienware vs. Apple by m.nandini

(and I presume customer service to fix any failures) I can't understand why you'd consider Alienware, a builder that is near legondary for it's poor support. Apple, on the other hand is noteworthy for it's build quality and customer service. I'd also consider Fujitsu, another fine machine that has maybe the nicest displays going. However, if I were buying right now I'd look hard at the HP 5000t... a lot of computer for the money.


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well

by m.nandini - 4/4/06 7:48 PM

In Reply to: considering that you list parts failure by togus

i have seen some reviews where people have had no problems whatsoever with the alienware computers or they had a problem and they promptly fixed it, but i have also seen reviews where the people have returned their computers for service and not gotten them back for months, so im not sure, i was hoping to find someone who had dealt with alienware before.


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if your going with the hp...

by afireinside1582 - 4/4/06 9:20 PM

In Reply to: well by m.nandini

id concider the 5000z, i mean, do us ordinary people really need a dual core? sure... if i want to burn a cd, while on the internet, while playing a game and watching a movie... you know... cause i can.

the commercials dont really apply to what a dual core should be used for, sure it splits up the workload. but it wont help you with your mariah carey listening experience.

the 5000z has an amd turion... 64 bit, better to work with vista.


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im not very fond of HP

by m.nandini - 4/5/06 12:10 AM

In Reply to: if your going with the hp... by afireinside1582

my brother recieved an HP as a graduation present not too long ago, and wasnt very happy with it. he experienced very low battery life that only got worse, electical problems, and a couple broken solders. alone they may be little things but put together they were very troublesome for him, it kind of pushed me away from the HP laptops.


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yeah

by m.nandini - 4/5/06 12:08 AM

In Reply to: Alienware vs. Apple by m.nandini

but im also worried about the battery life. alienware advertizes 3 hours, but i doubt that it could really live up to that with a 15 inch screen and a graphics card. do u think that i have anything to worry about with battery life for just normal internet browsing, music playing, and word processing?


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You will get more than 3 hours on most machines if

by togus - 4/5/06 4:06 AM

In Reply to: yeah by m.nandini

you buy the big battery. Conversely, if you get a machine with a GPU that has dedicated resources you are always trading battery life and heat for performance. I'm sure you've learned that the battery miser machines always have intergrated intel graphics. Like boats, computers always require compromise.


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