Alienware - 17.3" Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 - 1TB Hard Drive + 128GB Solid State Drive - Silver

The Alienware - 17.3" Laptop - Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 - 1TB Hard Drive + 128GB Solid State Drive - Silver is the best laptop that we have ever had. It's fast, pleasant to look at and is a great gaming computer. The quad-core Intel Core i7 chip provides fast processing and accommodates all of the games that we ever want to play, some being very complex.

A long time Apple Customer, but was surprised how new Macbook Pro was priced for what I needed $2700 for features that were at best minimum. So what Alienware was offering for a thousand $ less. And more horsepower. A no brainer. 17 R4 an excellent purchase. Boot speed excellent.

I have wanted an Alienware computer since before Dell purchased the company. Of course, I couldn't afford one back then, and now that I could I decided to buy one. I suppose I'm on the fence about whether or not it was a good decision. It is a good computer, don't get me wrong... but the power to price ratio is a little high. It is hard to feel like I'm not paying to have light up edges and logos. (Which is super cool...but easily forgotten since you can't see them while you are using it.)

I bought it in aug 2017. Within 1 month, the one of the 8 GB RAM stick got corrupt. Another problem is that the system keeps crashing to windows blue screen errors after few hours of use. Every time it is a different error.

I have taken this back to geek squad 3 time I bought in March of 2018

I purchased the Alienware 17 R4 as an open box unit from my local Best Buy. I imagine that someone had buyers remorse and gave it up for something more important such as their rent (it is a somewhat pricey unit). I consider myself to be a very well informed and particular person when it comes to electronics. I spend hours and hours scouring the internet for reviews from popular websites and YouTube channels just for the fun and entertainment of it all. I don't take the decision lightly. It is with that mindset that I approach this review and recommendation for an Alienware laptop. Any bit of research of available gaming laptop options will lead you to several separate categories - "Thin and Light with entry level performance" - GTX 1050/1050Ti (aka HP Omen, Lenovo Y520, Dell Inspiron 7567) - "Thin and Light with dense performance" - GTX 1060/1070 (aka Razer Blade, MSI Stealth Pro, or Asus ROG Strix GL series) - "Who cares about size, give me performance!" - GTX 1070/1080 (aka Alienware 17, MSI Dominator, Asus ROG G series) After trying to decide what I really wanted for the better part of a year, I settled on the fact that I wanted 1060/1070 performance, but wouldn't be satisfied with a loud/hot, thin and light package over the long term. Fast forward to after I made my purchase and Nvidia announced their new Max-Q system design specifications, which might allow for significant performance increase with adequate thermals and acoustics in upcoming thin and light designs. That is something worth keeping your eyes on. The reasons I bought the Alienware 17 R4 (other than the great price and immaculate condition of the open box unit): - i7-7700HQ and GTX 1070 deliver excellent performance. - Upgradability is 10/10. Support for more RAM, M.2 NVMe PCIe ssds, and even the Alienware Graphics Amplifier or similar Thunderbolt 3 enclosures. - Build quality is top notch. If you drop it, be afraid for what it hits. - 99Wh battery (legal limit for portable devices to be brought on planes). Since this unit has Nvidia Optimus and a FHD display panel, you can expect better than average battery life out of it when compared to the competition. - Aesthetics are very well done and professional without being overly "kid racer." - You can choose to make it "kid racer" with all the awesome lighting control (or turn it right off and go incognito). - Thermals and acoustics are under control given the sizable package. I know the thin and lights stay within the design spec of the chips, but I couldn't bring myself to play games with the fans sounding like a jet engine and chips running just below the thermal throttle limit. You can undervolt CPUs which is known to drop temperatures by several degrees if you must have a thin and light unit with 1060/1070 performance. That wasn't my chosen path though. Things I considered as cons but that didn't sway me from the purchase: - It's a heavy unit and not incredibly mobile. This is a desktop replacement unit and I came to terms with that with my decision to buy. I am fortunate to have other computers, including another laptop (Lenovo Thinkpad Yoga) that is my portable companion for work travel and general browsing. This Alienware laptop is solely meant to travel to friends houses for gaming fun or remain on a desk at home for stationary use. Granted, I have used it on my lap while browsing online and it was perfectly functional. Hours of that might strengthen your legs though (fringe benefit?). - The screen on my model is the FHD IPS panel from Chi Mei. Dell also offers QHD and UHD options from AUO if you build to order and Best Buy has some SKUs with those panels as well. If I had to do it again, I would really like the QHD panel given the 120Hz refresh rate and G-Sync capability. I have a 144hz G-Sync panel for my gaming desktop and it really is a dramatically improved experience. It is hard to go back to a standard 60hz panel after you have seen the light. I have tried to get in touch with Dell and procure the parts to convert my unit to the QHD panel, but the parts have so far been out of stock. Rest assured that it is possible though with relatively minimal effort. Forums can show you the way and you of course proceed at your own risk. - The internal deck and wrist rest surface has a rubberized coating. This coating, while soft and supple, retains the oils from your hands/arms and displays them for the world to see. Being a bit of a perfectionist, I keep a cloth and cleaning solution nearby to wipe it down when I'm done. Otherwise, the use of brushed aluminum and matte plastic is tasteful and inspires confidence. In conclusion, I don't think you can really go wrong with this unit, provided you are decided on the type of laptop you want. The Alienware 17 R4 competes with the best of them with regard to performance and price. I would argue that it is leading the class with regard to build quality and that is very impressive.

I use this computer for photo editing and gaming on the side. I got the AW17R4 since it's nicely build for gaming laptop (very professional looking with the right amount of bling. It works with my adobe lightroom photoshop flawlessly and able to play games on high settings. The fan are a bit loud but the computer didn't slow down from multiple tasks I performed. (watch 1080p FHD video while playing video games and exporting photos from lightroom at the same time.) Highly recommended

I have never purchased an Alienware laptop before. I saw this one in the store and after comparing it's hardware and price point, I decided to buy it. I love the sturdy construction when compared to my MSI Dominator and Samsung G7C. It feels like a quality build. I also like the IR camera that is built in. Designed with Windows Hello in mind, it was the first gaming rig I found that was equipped with it. It is also outfitted with16gb of ram and a NVidia 1070 graphic card. I have not seen any stress on performance to date with that configuration. For years I stayed away from this particular brand. But, this one has won me over. The things I wish that should of come with it, was a 2k or 4k 120hz screen. The one that it has is not as bright as I would prefer. In addition, the paltry 128gb M2 SSD was another downside to this model. I will install a large drive at some point in the near future. These are the reasons I don't give it five stars. Overall, I am quite satisfied.