New laptop (in Off-topic)

i'm thinking about getting a new laptop... I originally wanted an alienware computer, but I saw a bunch of really bad reviews, so now I have been thinking about a MacBook... I know a big population of you have some nice computer background, so what do you all think... I really don't want to go over $2000 and less would be nice...

I guess my main questions are PC or MAC? Why?

If PC what brand? I don't play a ton of games, but I do game and want a top of the line gamer PC...

Does anyone have a really good experience with alienware?

Does anyone like using the Mac with bootcamp? What are the advantages?

I have been researching, but I'm sure a lot of you can give me some great info beyond what I have seen...

Thanks guys...

And Gals... I know there are a few ladies out there...

i bought core i7 LG A520 with 2gb vga for 1250 $ more or less. And it can run any game. (but we in Brazil pay a hell lot of taxes, u would found it a lot cheaper in ya country)

But for sure the guys can tell u better.

I would recommend not buying a MAC if you want to play any type of games. MACs are generally over priced....,for reasons I have yet to come across, despite owning one for almost 4 years. So, in order to get one with a decent graphics card you will probably be paying $1500-2000.

As for bootcamp, it is a must if you have a MAC and want to play games. I don't really mind it although it puts me into a state of never wanting to go back to the MAC portion. There is simply nothing on it that I would like to do that I can't already do on windows.

Alienware's reputation has been steadily declining after Del took them over (I think that was the right company).

I would recommend going with a different company besides MAC or Alienware. You can get a good gaming laptop for 800-1000 and a great one for 1200-1500. Usually their downside is the size since they will come with 17" screens and a big base to house all the hardware but if that doesn't bother you then you should be fine. Also be careful with over heating so read reviews.

Last time I was looking around for a laptop the ASUS G51Jx-A1 caught my eye although it has been out for awhile now and you can probably find something better.

I own a Macbook Pro; they are great for the onboard unix, and for photoshop/finalcut. However; I would only recommend getting one if you for some reason really want to spend a lot of money; you are basically paying 2x as much for the same hardware.

The Asus G74 "desktop replacement" series (there's quite a few choices inside that lineup, actually) is an overall great gaming machine that consistently gets very high benchmark scores, with some of the usual suckitude of laptops as far as gaming is concerned at least partially taken care of (the heat issue, for instance - most reviewers agree the ventilation system in it is awesome).

If you're looking for noticeably cheaper but still adequate for some less intense gaming, look at the Asus K53 series and pick one with a A6-3400M CPU+GPU combo.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152293
Just got one of these last month. Quite satisfied with it.

Asus has become a replacement idea for the alienware, but I'm still interested in the mac... I guess I'll just have to look around and see what I can find...

thanks guy and gals...

If you want to play any games at all on the laptop do not get a MAC.
IF you don't want to play games on the laptop then buy something cheap (400-500) and don't get a MAC.

Only get a MAC if you are seriously considering using their special extra software (which you could probably get any of the equivalents on PC).

But then again it is not my money, so in that case go get a MAC. :P

Even ignoring high-end gaming, for me, it's still PC. The software compatibility issue EoD said extends beyond games, so if you're like me and tend to use lots of small programs, expect to run into occasional problems.

Also, I'm comfortable poking around in computers and upgrading components, and that's inherently more PC-friendly (and can extend the PC's life beyond a Mac's). That ties in with what Titan said about the sheer cost of Macs. If you've shopped around, I'm sure you've seen the higher costs.

Then again, you're asking CB-land, which is skewed with computer-savvy people like me. My friends who aren't computer-savvy and have Macs absolutely love them.

Well, you can dual-boot on the newer MACs, so there's no reason you couldn't have both their own operating system AND Win7 installed, using whichever one you need...