- NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M 3 GB GDDR5
- Intel Core i7-4710HQ
- 8GB Memory 1TB HDD
- 17.3" 1920 x 1080 Anti-Glare 300-nits Display
- 16.93" x 11.49" x 1.35" 8.33 lbs.
- 1 x Mini DisplayPort 1 x HDMI
- 4 x USB 3.0
good out of box, great after tweaks
08/13/2015
This review is from: Alienware - 17.3" - Intel Core i7-4710HQ - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M - 8 GB DDR3L 1600 - 1TB HDD - Windows 8.1 - Gaming Laptop (ANW17-2143SLV )
Pros:
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Cons:
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Overall Review:
After years of building PC's decided to buy this laptop so I can have some mobility and more space in the room. Right out of box this laptop is truly beautiful and well build. It's quiet, keyboard feels right, screen is beautiful and sharp and overall from hardware point of view a great laptop worth its price tag. Now the software is the big issue as you would expect with bloatware slowing down any new PC. I also ended up buying a 500gb Samsung ssd m.2 and had major issues with installation. Bios recognized the ssd but windows was giving me a hard time. I called customer service and got a windows restore USB flash drive. The customer service is below average as you are being transferred without any notice to multiple associates.
The flash drive does not give you option which hard drive to install windows on. I had to remove my 1tb standard hard drive and only use ssd to install windows. Then after the install I connected the standard drive and it worked fine as my secondary D drive. By doing the fresh install and drivers I avoided all the bloatware that comes with the laptop. The performance difference is huge without bloatware. Frame rate is better in games and the "every 5sec" lag is gone that was there when I used the laptop first few times. Now the laptop is what you would consider a end game laptop and I'm finally happy.
So for those who want this laptop get it but consider installing fresh copy of windows not from the alienware USB flash drive but your own system restore image. A ssd also benefits the laptop since the standard hard drive is clearly holding back the performance. Windows 8 boots in about 6-8seconds with SSD M.2. Also do not call the customer support to request your windows key since the motherboard actually will activate windows on your HD. Customer service was not willing to give me the key and tried to sell a $250 software warranty instead.
So overall fantastic laptop and this is my first month review. If there should be any changes I will edit this review.
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- Vladimir P.
-
Verified Owner
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Owned For:
1 week to 1 month
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