Alienware 14 or Razer blade 14?

[Lord Pantaloons]

The Blades monitor is awful

[Scionyde]

I got an Alienware laptop as a gift a year and a half ago, and while I agree Alienware is overpriced for the specs, I've had a decent experience with mine. When I upgrade, I'll probably looking toward MSI or Asus, however.

 

It seems to me like the Razer products are also pretty overpriced for what they provide, so if you absolutely had to choose between buying an Alienware or Razer for those prices, I would just get whatever is going to hurt your wallet less - the Alienware in this scenario. But I'd still urge looking around and seeing if you have other options.

[coen113]

get a lenovo Yoga and a desktop

[Aw27]

Do not buy Alienware, infact they're worse than dell. Due to high end components in a compact case with insufficient air cooling my m17xr3 broke down after a year. I cleaned it monthly and repasted it three times, yet it still broke, the graphics card just got too warm too many times. Also, they just aren't too great in specs, the basic ones aren't very good at all, but by the time you've upgraded they just get so expensive. Looking back at it now I realise that I paid double for the components inside it.

 

Finally, the customer service is utter shite. It's just another branch of dells service, where they are unresponsive and not helpful what so ever. Plus the standard warranty is only one year... So much for Alienware and their "indestructible" machines.

[NickTheMajin]

Do not buy Alienware, infact they're worse than dell. Due to high end components in a compact case with insufficient air cooling my m17xr3 broke down after a year. I cleaned it monthly and repasted it three times, yet it still broke, the graphics card just got too warm too many times. Also, they just aren't too great in specs, the basic ones aren't very good at all, but by the time you've upgraded they just get so expensive. Looking back at it now I realise that I paid double for the components inside it.

 

Finally, the customer service is utter shite. It's just another branch of dells service, where they are unresponsive and not helpful what so ever. Plus the standard warranty is only one year... So much for Alienware and their "indestructible" machines.

My m17x r4 is two years old now and it still running beautifully. I've never opened it to clean it and I have it over clocked with MSi afterburner. Don't use your one experience to say the whole company is terrible. I've had a great experience with Alienware. You also can't say Alienware is worse than dell because they are the same company. As a matter of fact, I use a program called hardware monitor to monitor temps and have never had my laptop go above 70c even over clocked. Don't use a laptop cooler or anything. My friends Sager consistently goes above 80c.

You also didn't pay double. You most likely paid $200 more at most. Worth it to me because I appreciate the in home tech support you get from dell and the aesetics of the machine.

[godsarmy]

I'd say aleinware

[Aw27]

My m17x r4 is two years old now and it still running beautifully. I've never opened it to clean it and I have it over clocked with MSi afterburner. Don't use your one experience to say the whole company is terrible. I've had a great experience with Alienware. You also can't say Alienware is worse than dell because they are the same company. As a matter of fact, I use a program called hardware monitor to monitor temps and have never had my laptop go above 70c even over clocked. Don't use a laptop cooler or anything. My friends Sager consistently goes above 80c.

You also didn't pay double. You most likely paid $200 more at most. Worth it to me because I appreciate the in home tech support you get from dell and the aesetics of the machine.

Oh, you couldn't be more wrong about the customer service, if your machine is running nicely they will help you, but as soon as it breaks, they want nothing to do with helping you fix it. Also, they do have insufficient cooling, multiple people cannot use their alienwares because of this, just look online. My friends m14x also had the same issue...

 

Secondly I mean it is worse than dell as it is more likely to overheat, I am aware they are the same company.

[NickTheMajin]

Oh, you couldn't be more wrong about the customer service, if your machine is running nicely they will help you, but as soon as it breaks, they want nothing to do with helping you fix it. Also, they do have insufficient cooling, multiple people cannot use their alienwares because of this, just look online. My friends m14x also had the same issue...

 

Secondly I mean it is worse than dell as it is more likely to overheat, I am aware they are the same company.

Look up any laptop or any tech product in general. You will always find people complaining about everything. I've had one thing replaced in the several dell laptops I've owned and it was as easy as the tech coming to my house the next day. And if anything alienwares are less likely to overheat. They have extremely good cooling systems. As I've said I'm overclocking and running intense games with no temps exceeding 70c.

But honestly, look up Sager laptop overheating. Or Asus laptop overheating. Or MSi laptop over heating. There are going to be "multiple people" who own each complaining. As I said, the vocal minority.

[JayWhyOkay]

Both have their faults and benefits. The Razer has a terrible terrible screen. ._. The Alienware has specs that don't make sense to me. I don't like the looks of both

Might I suggest the Aorus X7 (when it comes out), Gigabyte P34G, MSI GS70, or ASUS ROG laptops. :3

[spandy34]

Buying a gaming laptop while i was in college was one of the dumbest things i did while i was there

[Crion]

Between those two get the m14x. 

[chaozbandit]

Of the two, neither. The Blade 14 has a terribad screen and the Alienware is an overpriced liability because it will most likely get stolen if you bring it to campus (trust me, I've seen a few on my campus and they've drawn way more attention than a laptop should). You'd be better off with either a gaming laptop from MSi or Asus, though with a 2K budget I'd probably go for the MSi GS70. Of course, you can always get yourself an ultrabook.

[The Craven]

I had this same dilemma recently but have resolved it.  Trust me when I say that the alienware will make you look like a 10 year old.  besides it is too big to be a laptop for school and the lights and fans will not be welcome in a classroom.  For me price is not an issue because luckily I can afford either.  The razer preforms on par with the alienware.  it has very quiet fans even when gaming the fans make a quarter of the sound the alineware does.  When looking for portability the razer outplays every other gaming laptop.  now theres that screen...it isn't as bad as everyone here is saying but it isn't good either; you can easily use it for watching videos surfing the web and typing essays.  for gaming I would hook it up to a monitor because the colours aren't that sharp, it isn't like the screen is blurry or 144p on youtube but colour reproduction is not good.  personally I am going to wait to see what razer do this year, hopefully they will just make a razer blade 14 with a good screen and improved components.  I suggest you wait until mid July before making a decision.

[Markmjb]

If you don't care about the screen, go for the razer blade, otherwise...

You really should consider buying a bigger laptop with 15'6 or 17'3 screen.

As mentioned before, Asus Republic Of Gamers and MSI Gaming Series both have laptops with decent screens AND powerful hardware in them.  
Also, alienware has the 17 inch line-up with much better screens than the 14 can deliver.
It all depends on what you are looking for, better hardware/screen but more weight--> check the suggestions above.
Good Hardware and about 50% lighter than others, but with a shitty screen --> Razer Blade.

 

@ suggestion of shipping from outside your country : Idk how much the import costs will be in your case, with me, it's a certain % of the price itself, so that could get more pricy than you actually bargained for...

[UltimateDave]

i live in Australia and these laptops are basically the only 14" gaming grade laptops i can buy in my area, online is not really an option for me as its like $150+ for shipping. 

 

so Alienware 14 or Razer blade 14, the alienware is $1999 and the razer blade is $2699 i only have $2k and really paying a bit extra might break my bank just like to know if it worth paying the extra $700

i'v done research on both a lot  the alienware is upgrade able  which is good. i will manly use it for university work ,video and photo editing with some moderate gaming like LOL, hearthstone & planetary annihilation  

just like to know some people opinions on this is it worth the $700? or should i ship something in that is cheap in someway

(there are other laptops here but there cheaply made and don't have a gtx760m+ in them anything under is too slow and not as powerful, i like to have a little bit more power for other programs to run later down the line)

Razer Blades have major cooling issues. I had an M17x R4 which was great. I'd go for the alienware anyday. I am not a fanboy because i own all razer peripherals

[Joshua Ondangan]

I say go with the alienware they are not bad. you need it for portability right? just grab the alienware and be done with it.

[Legion]

This reminds me why I must be the only irish person who doesn't want to move to australia. South Korea for me .

I'd go for the blade though, I've carried gaming laptops around for a friend before and they are just big and bulky and a pain in the ass.

[Legion]

My m17x r4 is two years old now and it still running beautifully. I've never opened it to clean it and I have it over clocked with MSi afterburner. Don't use your one experience to say the whole company is terrible. I've had a great experience with Alienware. You also can't say Alienware is worse than dell because they are the same company. As a matter of fact, I use a program called hardware monitor to monitor temps and have never had my laptop go above 70c even over clocked. Don't use a laptop cooler or anything. My friends Sager consistently goes above 80c.

You also didn't pay double. You most likely paid $200 more at most. Worth it to me because I appreciate the in home tech support you get from dell and the aesetics of the machine.

 

Mine didn't arrive for 5 months after I ordered it, it then broke 2 months out of warrenty. I'll never buy anything Dell touchs for the rest of my life.

[-ism]

Build an mITX system for like 800$ that will do all your gaming/university work and then get a laptop for around $1-1.2k and use that for school. Or even cheaper, there are some good ultrabooks for less than 1k.

[Probenja]

Most people forget when saying "build an mITX system" is that you need to carry a monitor, mouse, keyboard, speakers and you need to be plugged in, a laptop makes a lot more sense!

 

The alienware is quite good but if i was in the market i'd go for an msi or asus rog laptop just because they are less "flashy" the razer is cool but i just don't trust it being reliable. You could also get an ultrabook with a pretty decent gpu now-a-days.

[rcarlos243]

razer blade screen is one of the worst TN panel ive ever seen on a laptop.

 

the cooling system also absolutely suck as it throttles on heavy load (35-52 C palm & keyboard area) and it sounds like a vacuum cleaner.

 

 

Alienware 14 on the other hand uses an IPS display panel so it should be very good on both viewing angles and color reproduction.

 

although it has the best in class cooling for a 14" gaming laptop, be prepared to use notebook cooler as the temp on heavy load hovers around (30-38 C palm & keyboard area).

[NickTheMajin]

Mine didn't arrive for 5 months after I ordered it, it then broke 2 months out of warrenty. I'll never buy anything Dell touchs for the rest of my life.

Mine arrived in a week and has lasted two years.

[Legion]

Mine arrived in a week and has lasted two years.

 

Individual experiences. I know the US tech support is supposed to be decent -> good.

Mine was some guy in india who kept telling me useless information.