PC Binge

I was looking at that lovely 11" MacBook Air, and noticed that you can get a better one (e.g., more storage and memory) for $50 more straight from Apple.

Comparison page at Apple.com

Poot.

I really want to pull the trigger on that Alienware PC, anyone out there able to maybe talk me out of/into it?

So Woot only had one?

I’m no computer expert but there a lot of comments in the previous sale in Jan.
http://tech.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=5302840
Some not thrilled with video card or second generation i7.

You should have no reason to buy a gaming PC when you have absolutely no idea what you are purchasing.

The CPU is a second gen I7. In reality it really doesn’t make much difference if it’s 1st gen of 4th gen i7, for most gaming any i7 is good enough. 16gb is more than enough to fulfill any need. After that the computer is nothing but mediocre.

The video card is inadequate in having only 1GB of ram, it also painfully slow.

For the price and Alienware name you would expect at least a mid range video card, not a graphics card from your mom’s Dell. You would even expect a SSD at this price range for a $1000 2600k build.

Look elsewhere.

Hate to be “that guy” but the Toshiba laptop says it is “Powered by the latest Intel® 3rd generation Core™ i7-3630QM quad-core processor” and that’s kind of false advertising because it is not the latest: 4th generation Haswell chips are available.

DONT

Look around at other sites. For 1000 you can find a computer with better everything, especially the graphics card. That card is really pathetic for a 1000 rig.

Edit:
In fact any one of theses would be better

This would be almost perfect except if you need 2 tb of storage. But you can buy 2tb for 100 and plug it in easy.

Look at that i7 Acer powerhouse, and look at those MacBook Pros, and tell me that the Apple tax is not still alive and well. That’s around 100% more expensive for the fruit logo and their take on a Unix desktop…

I love Thinkpads to the extent that I really only buy Thinkpad (Thinkpad :heart: Linux), but the 8GB max kills it for me. I am perfectly happy using my perfectly quick $100 Core2Duo X61s that is more portable and draws less power…its only drawback being it only has 4GB and tops at 8GB. Same max and default as this laptop that is five years newer :frowning:

Many 2-slot Thinkpads can support 16 GB of RAM, even though the specs say “max 8 GB”.

Yeah that air is two generations old and not very good in terms of video.

I dispise thinkpads and lenovo in general. I had one a few years ago that had to have almost every major part replaced under warranty. The POS was falling apart from day 1 and Lenovo wouldn’t replace it. I spent almost $2k on that computer and the customer service was terrible.

The Macbook Air is not a deal.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC968LL/A/refurbished-macbook-air-16ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

That Toshiba S855-S5165 is looking at me funny. Real funny. It’s telling me to buy it. Any computer-savvy people out there to give me the cons? Yea, it’s reconditioned but it’s a Toshiba. It has many rams.

Intel HD 4000, 'nuf said xD. Whats the point of all dem rams and cores if u don’t have parts that can take advantage of it.

cosign

For a grand you could get a much better deal. Hell, if you want I can spec it out on NewEgg, send you a “how to” video of putting together a computer, and you can enjoy…

I build computers as a hobby so I like that sort of thing. :wink:

If you are that determined to get an Alienware for the Look factor, I would probably shop the Dell Outlet and watch for a special coupon. I picked up an Alienware X51 scratch and dent (more like dust marks) for $450ish after tax + shipping. It had a third generation i5, blu-ray player, 8 GB RAM, nVidia GT 660, 1 TB harddrive. Not an i7 so not sure how it compares exactly.

I also had an odd go around which I got a refurbished one for $540ish tax + shipping which was the same version above but it had the alienware tactx keyboard and only a 500 GB harddrive. This one actually failed on me and I was able to argue a new exchange model which took 3 months to get to me, due to the Haswell refresh so I ended up with an i5 Haswell/1 TB harddrive/nVidia GT 670 for my troubles. Not sure if it was worth my troubles but the machine retails for over $1k and I paid 50% for it.

I have yet to see a Woot PC or laptop deal that is really all that great.

The % off looks really good at times, but these are computers we are talking about here, and they are generally refurbished HP’s (!) or older models.

Might be some “good” deals if you do most of your computer and laptop shopping at the mall or Best Buy. But they are not very good deals if you are willing to do a little research at any of the major PC deal sites out there.

What’s the difference between this MacBook Air and the one Woot was selling here for $759.99 a few months ago: http://www.woot.com/forums/viewpost.aspx?postid=5295457

I don’t see any.