21 replies to this topic

[Camille]

okay so partly for my classes next year and my gaming needs i'm going to buy an alienware laptop online. there's the option to assemble your own parts so that's what i'm going to do. problem is, i need to compromise between price and performance in some way that doesn't harm either gaming power nor graphics applications efficiency. i'd like to know what you suggest, you can assemble it on this page (translate the page to english if you don' understand dutch i need the prices in belgian euros, unless importing from, say, germany would be cheaper).

i generally know what i want but as far as processors go for example i really don't know what to choose...

my budget is +-€2000 but i can stretch it to some extent if necessary.

any help would be greatly appreciated

Edited by Camille, 30 January 2011 - 16:25.

[CJ]

Question is : Are you interested in the 15" model or the 17" one ? (The M11x is worthless for it's price)

[Camille]

well i'm unsure about that too since different dimensions offer different hardware options... the 17" version for example can support crossfire ATIs but it's stock resolution setting is kinda low.

i'll probably go for the 15" unless the 17" offers better hardware for little more.

[CJ]

I don't think you'd be able to afford a great processor if you go for a the 5870 crossfire, and the nVidia 460M available on the M15x is only slightly inferior than the ATI 5870 on the M17x even though you won't notice much of a difference in most games.
I ran a few builds through the french site (they have the same models with the same prices), basically if you want the M17x model with a slightly better GC it'll cost you 150€ more than the M15x and it's 460M (with both laptops having a full HD resolution) so unless you really need a big screen I'd advise you to get the M15x.

And honestly, I'd advise you further more to get an ASUS, you'd be able to get the same laptop without the LED lights for 500€ cheaper...

[Camille]

CJ, on 30 Jan 2011, 18:51, said:

I don't think you'd be able to afford a great processor if you go for a the 5870 crossfire, and the nVidia 460M available on the M15x is only slightly inferior than the ATI 5870 on the M17x even though you won't notice much of a difference in most games.
I ran a few builds through the french site (they have the same models with the same prices), basically if you want the M17x model with a slightly better GC it'll cost you 150€ more than the M15x and it's 460M (with both laptops having a full HD resolution) so unless you really need a big screen I'd advise you to get the M15x.

And honestly, I'd advise you further more to get an ASUS, you'd be able to get the same laptop without the LED lights for 500€ cheaper...

really? now that i did not know. could you possibly link me to asus' site? btw do they allow custom builds too?

[CJ]

I looked for an example of what I was saying, turns out the price difference is even more horrible than I thought :

Here you have the Asus G53JW-SZ105V vs a personalized M15x
I've tried to select the exact same specs, the only ones that differ are:

- The Alienware has a 9 cell Li-ion battery, while the Asus has an 8 cell one...
- The Asus has two 750GB (7200rpm) hard drives while the M15x has only one. (It was the nearest option I could find)

Rest of the specs :

Quote

- Core i7-740QM
- 6 GB DDR3 1333 MHz
- 1.5GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 460M
- Full HD (1920*1080)
- Wifi + Bluetooth
- Blu-Ray support

Price of the M15x : 2 479,00 €
Price of the G53 : 1 579,00€

Sadly, I don't think you can order it from the Asus site, but they have so many models on the market that you probably won't even need to configure it (the website is down for me so I can't check it right now)

Edited by CJ, 30 January 2011 - 18:12.

[Camille]

this is sounding very, very good i looked at the belgian site sadly they had no information as to where it can be ordered/bought...

[CJ]

Well I can't really help you on the matter, I only know you French sellers.
If you're ready to import your PC from France I'd advise buying it from materiel.net, they have the best reputation and aftersales service, along with a large range of ASUS laptops.
The one I was talking about you can find on this link : http://www.materiel.net/ordinateur-portabl...105v-60921.html

[Camille]

okay man thanks CJ you've probably saved me quite a lot of money. i'll ask around where/if these can be ordered in belgium. if not, how exactly does one order stuff from other countries? and what are the complications with it? i know i ask a lot of questions but then again i've never done this before

[CJ]

I'd rather leave that question to another member, I have absolutely no idea about how online inter-EU shopping works, except for the fact that only UK used to (still?) makes you pay taxes despite being a member of the EU which forces companies to send products marked as gifts to avoid these taxes

I also checked the materiel.net site, they ship only to France and Belgium, but with a small fee (15€) and a 10 day delay for the former
You could try looking on German sites too, I know their prices are a bit cheaper when it comes to Media Players, might also be the case for laptops.

Edited by CJ, 30 January 2011 - 18:36.

[BeefJeRKy]

There's also this one but I don't know any good EU PC retail outlets sorry

[Camille]

@ scope: yup i looked at that one too 's looking nice. but i guess i'll have to see what the retailers offer.

@ CJ: no problem, i'll look into it now that i know what to look for

[Wizard]

Camille, on 30 Jan 2011, 18:28, said:

if not, how exactly does one order stuff from other countries? and what are the complications with it? i know i ask a lot of questions but then again i've never done this before

Bottom line, you are likely to be left with a purchase that might have to pay import duty, if your country has it on the product. You'll probably suffer a longer delivery time due to customs formalities and perhaps additional freight charges, but these will be a minor concern and will be included within the price from the seller. I certainly wouldn't suggest you stick with purchasing from your own country, just be sure you google "buying a x from y" before you do.

[BeefJeRKy]

Wizard, on 31 Jan 2011, 0:46, said:

Camille, on 30 Jan 2011, 18:28, said:

if not, how exactly does one order stuff from other countries? and what are the complications with it? i know i ask a lot of questions but then again i've never done this before

Bottom line, you are likely to be left with a purchase that might have to pay import duty, if your country has it on the product. You'll probably suffer a longer delivery time due to customs formalities and perhaps additional freight charges, but these will be a minor concern and will be included within the price from the seller. I certainly wouldn't suggest you stick with purchasing from your own country, just be sure you google "buying a x from y" before you do.

Not sure how it works but assuming the EU allows for similar processes as the NAFTA, he should be able to order just as easily from most Euro-zone countries too.

[ΓΛPTΘΓ]

Shipping within EU will not add import tax. Not sure but most shipping company won't add additional handling fee either. Shipping price will be higher than shipping locally, but that's about it.

[Libains]

ΓΛPTΘΓ, on 30 Jan 2011, 23:35, said:

Shipping within EU will not add import tax. Not sure but most shipping company won't add additional handling fee either. Shipping price will be higher than shipping locally, but that's about it.

Whilst the EU has many relaxations on taxes, there are lots of ways for countries to get around it, and if they can, they will. You'd be most likely to be hit with an import tax, as as a specialty item, it'll probably fall under that category (similar to alcohol/tobacco). I don't know what the VAT is in Belgium, but I'd imagine you'll be looking at somewhere between 10-20% of the cost of the product. I'm not 100% sure though, and honestly, your best bet would be to ring the customs office and ask them what would happen if you were to order a high-end laptop from another EU country....

I'd also bet my life that your shipping fee will go up by approx 50% if you ship it outside of the country of origin. This all said, you're still likely to make one heck of a saving if you go for an Asus rather than an Alienware.

[BeefJeRKy]

VAT is one thing and import tax is another. You'll always get VAT whereas import tax can be avoided I believe. That said, I've found out that NAFTA is far less complicated than the Eurozone regulations

[Libains]

Scope, on 31 Jan 2011, 0:06, said:

VAT is one thing and import tax is another. You'll always get VAT whereas import tax can be avoided I believe. That said, I've found out that NAFTA is far less complicated than the Eurozone regulations

Most import taxes are tied to VAT in some shape or form, thus why I mentioned it Import taxes are avoidable if the item is labelled as a gift (if memory serves) but otherwise you can still be hit by one even within the EU. Most tax breaks don't affect laymen, they're mostly there to get big business to invest more.

[CJ]

AJ, on 31 Jan 2011, 1:26, said:

Scope, on 31 Jan 2011, 0:06, said:

VAT is one thing and import tax is another. You'll always get VAT whereas import tax can be avoided I believe. That said, I've found out that NAFTA is far less complicated than the Eurozone regulations

Most import taxes are tied to VAT in some shape or form, thus why I mentioned it Import taxes are avoidable if the item is labelled as a gift (if memory serves) but otherwise you can still be hit by one even within the EU. Most tax breaks don't affect laymen, they're mostly there to get big business to invest more.

As I said, the gift label concerns UK and some other countries only, a lot of my (French) friends buy things from Germany or Belgium and don't get taxes, it only happens with the UK for some reason... Maybe your country didn't accept some European laws?

[2nd_2_None]

did someone ask for a German alternative? ^^ Allow me to introduce mindfactory.de Click here!

I've worked with these folks on a number of occasions back in the days, prices are top notch, delivery is fast and on point (via DHL which also delivers to the rest of the world in less then a week if you feel like it) and excellent custumer support before and after purchase. They have a wide variety of Laptops in their lineup including said ASUS models for prices that are among the best in Germany. The laptop i've linked pretty much sums up all of your originally posted expectations in one neat package for about 200€ less then you wanted to spend. Not quite sure about the Tax part since i live in Germany myself tho...

Might be worth a look

Regards, 2nd_2_None

[Camille]

oh that looks great too i'll keep that in mind.

there's a new twist though: i visited my local order store but they told me the g53 and g73 models (which i am/was aiming for) are not sold through order any more since they will be replaced by a new series/model soon. can anyone confirm this? i looked it up on asus' site but they had no information on it...

ah found it:

the g73JH model will be replaced by the g73SW which should pack a bit more punch with an improved i7 core.

they also upgraded the price

Edited by Camille, 02 February 2011 - 17:31.

[BeefJeRKy]

Camille, on 2 Feb 2011, 19:16, said:

ah found it:

the g73JH model will be replaced by the g73SW which should pack a bit more punch with an improved i7 core.

they also upgraded the price

yeah but those new i7's are the SHIZZ. Might be worth it