Alienware 14x VS Macbook Pro 13/15 Inch

[oldbarrel]

Hey guys. Im currently in high school, im a sophomore. Im currently in need of a gaming computer. Sure it would be nice if I could take notes with it, but it really is not necessary. What I do need, is a powerful gaming computer, that will last me for at least 2 years. More would be nice. Now I did some research, and then I customized the laptops to have good specs. Ill list all that in a second. I would just like to say that my budget is around $2000. If need be, i could gather another $200. As for games I would be playing, that would be pretty much everything. Sims 3, Battlefield 3, Assassins Creed 3, Star craft 3, Darksiders 2, Skyrim. Now I don't really need to play them all at ultra settings, or the highest setting. Im not that big about that stuff. I just want it to play fast, with no lag at all, at a decent setting. So here are the specs.
Alienware m14x- 1379.00


Alienware M14X R2 Alienware M14X R2 edit
Shipping Material Shipping Material edit
Additional Software Additional Software edit
Primary Battery 63WHr 8-Cell Primary Battery edit
Processor 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3610QM (6MB Cache, up to 3.3GHz w/ Turbo Boost 2.0) edit
Operating System Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit edit
Memory 8GB (2 X 4GB) Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz edit
Hard Drive 750GB 7,200 RPM SATA + 32GB mSATA Caching SSD edit
Wireless Networking Intel® Centrino® Wireless-N 2230 With Bluetooth 4.0 edit
Optical Driver Slot Load Dual Layer DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW)
English Keyboard
Alienware Documentation
1 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 650M with Optimus™
14.0" High Def (720p/1366x768) with WLED backlight
Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di with THX TruStudio Pro Software

Macbook Pro- 15inch-1799.00
2.3GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz
4GB 1600MHz memory
500GB 5400-rpm hard drive1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 512MB of GDDR5 memory
Built-in battery (7 hours)2
Or
Macbook Pro- 15 inch= 2199.00
2.6GHz quad-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
750GB 5400-rpm hard drive1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M with 1GB of GDDR5 memory
Built-in battery (7 hours)2
Or
Macbook Pro- 13 inch- 1499.00
2.9GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.6GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
750GB 5400-rpm hard drive1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Built-in battery (7 hours)2
Now, you guys will notice that I listed the Macbook pro 13 inch, 15 inch and another 15 but with better specs. The reason for that is for you guys to help me out a bit with choosing which one. Although I would prefer the 15 inch, since I like bigger sized laptops, and I used to use a 17inch sony, the 13 inch one is a fair price, and has pretty good specs. As for the two 15 inch ones, one is about $1800 but the specs are not all that, meanwhile the other one that's about $2200, has nice specs, but is really expensive.
Also, how long do you think the alienware will last? I know macs can last for a really long time, but im not sure about alienwares. Im tired of having to buy a new laptop every year. If it comes to it, Id rather something that would last a long time, and just play on normal settings, than something that will last a year and play on high.

Ps- If I posted in the wrong place, please move this. Im new here.

 

[ssc456]

Hey,

My initial insticts say the Alienware every time.
Don't get me wrong i do love a good MacBook and i have one and it does run like a dream however Windows laptops can run just as good as long as you are careful with them. Don't keep unneccessary crap on there and if you don't mind give it a good clean install of windows every 12 months.

Now granted you shouldnt have to do that to keep a laptop running smooth.

It depends what you are looking for the Alienware will go for 2 years with no problems at all and is considerably cheaper that the 15" Mac alternatives.

The MacBooks will probably run for 4 years with no problems (probably longer) with no maintenance like wiping them and rebooting them etc.

Ultimately it comes down to if price is an issue for you?
I know you have $2k to spend but would you like to spend it all on a MacBook or spend £1400 on an Alien and treat yourself to something nice with the change

I think they will both do the job you want without any problems for atleast 2 years.

**Please be careful getting advice on this subject as it may attract Apple FanBoys and Apple Haters! You may get extreme bias opinions.

 

[BikerEcho]

..why a macbook for gaming?????
You do know that mac does not support games like Skyrim, battlefield and sims.... right?
there are a few games for mac, but not many and no big title
Check steam store under mac and see what you can play on a mac. what is the price on the alienwere?

 

[ssc456]

..why a macbook for gaming?????
You do know that mac does not support games like Skyrim, battlefield and sims.... right?
there are a few games for mac, but not many and no big title
Check steam store under mac and see what you can play on a mac. what is the price on the alienwere?

Just a note that you could Dual Boot Windows.

 

[BikerEcho]

Just a note that you could Dual Boot Windows.

I do know about dual booting to windows, but you don't buy a MAC for gaming anyway.

 

[ssc456]

I know macs can last for a really long time, but im not sure about alienwares. Im tired of having to buy a new laptop every year. If it comes to it, Id rather something that would last a long time, and just play on normal settings, than something that will last a year and play on high.

Ps- If I posted in the wrong place, please move this. Im new here.

I do know about dual booting to windows, but you don't buy a MAC for gaming anyway.

No but you do buy a Mac for lasting a long time . . . . .

 

[BikerEcho]

Mac hardware is not in anyway superior to PC hardware. The macOS X i'll agree that is less resource hungry and easier to maintane. But if it's for gaming you get a better GPU and overall specs which is needed for gaming when you buy a PC [for the money that is].
you also need to buy windows separately in order to play games. that's beside an already expensive mac 100 bucks more.

I would buy an HP or acer. you get more for the money. alienware are like apple. you pay money for the brand.
i am not tryin to bash apple here, it's just that you do pay some extra for the apple logo, and they are not a smart choice as a primare gaming laptop.