NEW TOY!! what do you guys think of my first gaming pc?

Alienware stopped being good years ago. They are now just Dell XPS with different badge.

 

They're not that bad. One good thing that came from the acquisition was they gave them a big-ass budget to design a custom case. The result, the area 51 is one of the best of cases I've ever had. Stuff like mounting the hard drives behind the motherboard, battery-powered internal lights and rear lighting should be standard on all cases.&nbsp;<br>

 

I actually like laptops, but to a point. Most laptops I've tried (including my old Toshiba Satellite that I adored) are pretty rubbish - you need to spend a lot to get anything good.

I've found that my favourite laptops are actually the MacBook Pro range. Yes, it's Apple. Boohoo, cry me a river. I can not deny that Apple products are overpriced - you pay for the name; surprise, surprise. However, I have a late-2011 17" MBP, and I love it. It's the best laptop I've ever used. Apple's touchpad are unmatched, and their new Force Touch one is even better (although it doesn't come with a complimentary Darth Vader).

I can't really afford to upgrade it, however, but I'd love a better CPU and GPU, since mine are starting to age. Unfortunately, this was the last 17" MBP Apple ever made, and they've since removed the ethernet jack, as well as the optical drive - two things I find very useful. I believe they got rid of the ExpressCard 42 slot, too, which may sound useless, but is actually the complete opposite of useless (especially when you get one of those multi-sized memory card adapters like I have, since MacBooks still don't have built-in SD card slots, for some reason). I don't think I could ever have a laptop again that wasn't 17". Not that I'd mind if I had one that wasn't, but if I did, I'd also want one that IS 17". Or just a desktop.

I don't have room for a desktop on my... desk, though, and the family one that I was wanting to kit out as a gaming rig is inoperable. Motherboard is dead and I'm not paying to replace it for everyone else just because they're cheap-asses. One day, though...

But yes, building your own desktop is best for gaming. Investing some money into it and making it blistering fast is a good idea. Also, screw i5s.

Agreed.

I've hated Dell since day one, and when I learnt they bought out Alienware, I wrote off Alienware has useless. I have yet to see someone prove me wrong on that assumption.

Now that's just unfair.

This is true. The reason you hear about a lot of problems with Macs compared to other computers is - and this is important because it relates to all Apple products - they're one unified line of products. You don't have ten different OEMs making ten different models in one year. Perhaps Apple is limiting when it comes to the type of components used, but having a more unified line of products increases reliability of software.

That's why console games can often be as good as or better than a PC experience. Obviously, the PC has better hardware and will be better overall, but consoles are one (or two, since it's typically PlayStation and Xbox) unified piece of hardware that developers can program for - they don't have to account for all the variations in hardware, and can therefore provide a better experience on consoles. People wonder why console ports to PC are often rubbish. That is why. I'm not saying it's acceptable (it's not), but that's typically why that is the case.

I'll admit, the iPhone is locked down a bit too much for my liking, and iOS 8 is a complete and utter mess, riddled with bugs like an early Android OS. However, I got into the ecosystem with the iPhone 4 on launch, when Android was still that early, buggy mess. Ironically, that was around the time that it started to get a lot better. Still, it's kinda hard to transition at this point, especially with the fantastic inter-compatibility between OS X and iOS, but unless Apple steps up their game in the next two years, I might take another look at Android. My brother has an LG G3 and it is NICE. It annihilate my iPhone 5s, even if I prefer the smaller size and still somehow want a bigger screen.

It's a common misconception that OS X is locked-down and quite restrictive compared to Windows. It's not, at least nowhere near as much as some people make it out to be. In fact, there are parts of it that are less restrictive. Granted, if you want to modify apps for whatever reason, it's a pain in the ass thanks to Apple's code signing (and yes, you can code sign an app yourself, but if you update it, you need to change that all over again), but code signing also makes sure you get legitimate apps that don't destroy your computer.

If you have a touchpad for OS X, it's even quicker than keyboard shortcuts, and much more intuitive (and this is coming from someone who has used Windows his whole life, knows most every keyboard shortcut, and used to hate Macs with a burning passion). Finder is always open, no matter what app or apps you have up on the screen. It's basically the same as the menubar in Linux. Once you get used to it, it's hard to live without it. Having all the options available in one place instead of finding them in separate windows makes it way better. Typical keyboard shortcuts are still there if you want them. Right-click is available with two-touch click on a touchpad, or standard right-click on a mouse. I think the Magic Mouse (the Apple one) detects clicking on the right side without a two-touch click as well. Oh, and fullscreen mode is wonderful. I love it so much. Even Windows 8 can't compete, with its locked-down fullscreen metro apps. Fullscreen mode on OS X just works, and it works well.

Admittedly, I used to hate Macs... but that changed when I got my MacBook Pro in February of 2012. I still use Windows, too, but when using OS X, I actually ENJOY navigating the OS. Here's the thing, though: both operating systems have their flaws. In fact, both of them have some MAJOR flaws. They also both have their advantages. Plus, if you like Linux, you'll probably like OS X. Terminal is a million times better than Command Prompt, and screw even trying to figure out Powershell. Personally, I don't think I could live without both operating systems. I need Windows AND OS X. I can't choose between them. They're both great and they're both crap for different reasons.







Now, with ALL of that said (and mostly off-topic), this thread feels like it has kind of become "bash I AM ME for his decision". Poor guy. I think the point is that, for most of us, we prefer something in the way of a desktop for gaming, and gaming laptops are kind of middling at best, but overall as a laptop, it's fine. Since going from a 15" screen to a 17" screen, I doubt I could ever go back (seriously, Apple, give me a new 17" MBP already, dammit), but if you're happy with the size, that's fine. It's got more than enough RAM, it has an i7 (bonus points from me, because screw those i5 posers), and it has Windows 8.1 which is God-awful so on second thought, chuck it in the bin.

 

Yeah, I've been like that a lot lately. My mind has been closed for sometime since all this traumatic events have happened so close together...

Issue is, many knock Windows 8 as it's a very watered down version of Windows, like Mac OS it's a overly simple interface. Many who use Windows since they were young find it annoying. I think the issues with IT education is you don't get brought into Mac OS at the same time as Windows. It just isn't widely used... Probably effects my views on them a bit, however while studying the Macs we used were very, very badly configured. I couldn't stand using them. Though they were better than the Windows PCs we had in terms of performance.

There's no reason for me to even want to use a Mac over Windows. I even hate how the Adobe products function on them compared to the Windows counterpart. Like how Photoshop didn't have a background Window for example. Depending on what type of hardware you need, you get what you need. I just view Apple products as overly shiny over priced hardware, my opinion of course it doesn't make it a fact or anything.

 

"was"? lol. Android is still garbage with tons of glitches, if iPhones weren't so damn expensive I'd switch over in a heartbeat.

 

How is Android garbage?

 

And iphones are bugless...

 

When has Android been like that? My Note 3 and Shield are fine and i haven't heard of any reports.

 

Nothing is really private online any more anyway. iOS is somewhat just bad with their security too, everything is cloud based. All it takes is someone or some group to hack servers. Then boom.

@Sephirothkefka You've never seen "Permissions" when installing an app?

 

Yes.