Alienware 15(r3)or Alienware 13(r3) for Gaming/Programming

[Le0198]

Hello, I am going off to college soon and am hoping to get some advice on purchasing a laptop for college. I am planning on majoring in Computer Science and am generally a heavy gamer. So far I have my eyes on the new Alienware 13(r3) and the Alienware 15(r3) (You are welcome to give me other suggestions). I am looking for a laptop that is portable and can handle most games pretty well. I also think battery life is important as well, what do you guys think? My price range goes from anything below $2600

 

[Chugalug_]

Neither.
You can get a top end workstation laptop with an i7 6700HQ and a desktop PC with a GTX 1080 and a desktop i7 for less.
I'll put together a list.

 

[Chugalug_]

Sorry, I meant an entire setup.

Laptop (New Kaby Lake mobile i7, 16GB RAM 256GB SSD 256GB HDD, more than enough for productivity and a few games): http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834266511&cm_re=i7_laptop-_-34-266-511-_-Product

i7 6700k, 250GB SSD for OS and software, 2TB HDD for games, a GTX 1080 and a white and black color scheme.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: CRYORIG H5 Ultimate 76.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.77 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($569.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Define S w/Window ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.90 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($82.50 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer XG270HU 27.0" 144Hz Monitor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1844.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-22 08:25 EST-0500

Total Cost:$2493.98

Peripherals, I highly recommend you get a mechanical keyboard with Cherry switches as I have listed and a good gaming mouse like the new Razer Deathadder Elite, has a great grip and ergonomics, and the keyboard will make your inputs much more tactile, as you'll feel a slight click when you press down on a key to let you know it's registered the press, very good for competitive gaming.
I play SC2 competitively and use the Deathadder Chroma and a Cherry MX Blue Corsair K70, not a single bad thing to say about either.
http/pcpartpicker.com/product/xgrcCJ/razer-deathadder-elite-wired-optical-mouse-rz01-02010100-r3u1http/pcpartpicker.com/product/N4dFf7/corsair-keyboard-ch9000226na

 

[Le0198]

I know I can build q godly desktopcomputer that can destroy these overpriced laptops, but the bottom line is I need something I can carry around. I already built a desktop and would love to bring it with me but the dorms are rather small and I think it would be awkward if I borught a desktop and monitor around with me everywhere

 

[guanyu210379]

Alienware laptops are not exactly mobile and the battery can not really last long....yes...you can still carry them...
Alienware laptops are gaming desktop replacement laptops.
They are heavy, quite big and the battery stamina is bad...in exchange for good gaming performance...
Do not expect to run Alienware laptops for more than 3 hours of non-stop heavy gaming, even 2 hours is already hard to achieve.
Alienware laptops are still a lot better than PC in term of mobility tho'.

If you want to buy one of those Alienware laptops, I would suggest picking the 17" one. Gaming on 13" or 15" is exactly nice.
You can pick either:
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/alienware-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-solid-state-drive-silver/5623233.p?skuId=5623233
or
http/www.bestbuy.com/site/alienware-17-3-laptop-intel-core-i7-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1070-1tb-hard-drive-128gb-solid-state-drive-silver/5623238.p?skuId=5623238

 

[Le0198]

I believe the 17" one to be too big. The problem is I need something portable(in terms of size) and has decent battery life. The size I think are good are 13" and 15" but I'm unsure of which would be better. The 13" has mediocre battery life but OLED and is lighter and smaller. On the other hand the 15" has higher battery life but is a bit heavier and bigger. I am open to other suggestions by the way

 

[Chugalug_]

I can put together an ITX build if you want that'll be around the size of a modem, you won't be dragging the monitor or PC around, they'll be sitting in your dorm?
That's why I listed a workstation laptop above it....

 

[guanyu210379]

Alienware 15...well the screen is too small to be used as permanent main screen but it is definitely more mobile than the 17.

Another option is to find a laptop with decent processor but only equiped with iGPU to be carried around. Once you are home, you can simply plug the laptop to something like Razer Core. (pay attention to the needed interface to the docking)

Alternative: Having a powerful PC as stationary and a cheap mobile laptop is also good.

 

[Chugalug_]

The Razer core + GPU works out to essentially what could be a whole rig anyway, better to go for that.
As mentioned above OP, here is an ITX build about the same size as a modem.


Laptop Link: http/www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834266511&cm_re=Laptop_i7_7500u-_-34-266-511-_-Product

PC
------------------------------
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9x65 33.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.95 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z170N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($75.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($94.75 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 1080 8GB AMP! Edition Video Card ($569.00 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone RVZ01B Mini ITX Desktop Case ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair SF 600W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular SFX Power Supply ($119.99 @ Corsair)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($79.89 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer XG270HU 27.0" 144Hz Monitor ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1912.51
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-11-23 06:11 EST-0500

Total $2562.50