Alienware ALW17-5312sLV 17.3-Inch Gaming Laptop [Discontinued By Manufacturer]

This system is everything I hoped for in a laptop intended for primary use as a gaming system (mostly Second Life). Seller quickly resolved any issues I had with delivery and has been very helpful with some technical issues. I'd happily give 4.8 stars, if I could (short of a 5 from minor irritations). I've had the unit about 2 weeks. Here's my review, so far. If I come up with other items, I'll edit/add to the review.Pros -It's handled nearly everything I've thrown at it: running multiple programs simultaneously, with no discernible loss in performance or overheating.Screen is crystal clear and graphics are crisp and lively.The fact that it came with Win7 was a *huge* plus for me.As a result of preinstalled "Killer Network Manager" I'm actually getting a boost in wifi signal. Major cudos on that one.I like the extended keyboard platform where I rest my wrists. I'm not a mouse user, so being able to rest my hands on the platform works well for me. I like the touch/feel of the keys (quiet - no clackity clacks - with a satisfying depth/response of individual keystrokes; the placement of function keys and separate arrow keys took a bit of getting used to).I don't use the fancy lighting effects, but they're nice to have available if I do want them (wish it was easier to make custom colors .. but .. meh .. mostly I don't care), but others seem to drool over them.The base surface feels like a matte-finished rubberized texture. Still have to find out the best method for cleaning it, but I find that it's not nearly as hot to rest my hands on, compared with units that use a metallic/shiny surface (designed to help wick away heat in the less expensive systems I've previously owned).System restarts are lightning fast.It has much better sound than most laptops, but I'm NOT an audiophile, so am not the best judge of such thingsCaveats .. this was a factory refurbished system and came with a stripped down version of most drivers and the HDD hadn't been prepped or partitioned, so that took a bit of setup and is NOT for the novice user or faint-of-heart. Not a complaint, just an observation.Cons - (mostly irritants .. not really defects or fails)As has been noted by others, this is NOT a lightweight notebook ... it's hefty.Battery time while gaming is no better than 2 hours (closer to 1 - 1.5 hrs), with only a slight improvement while performing other tasks, up to 2.5 hours. It's not easily replaceable, so having a charged backup isn't really an option. And recharging takes HOURS. So this really isn't your on-the-go option. Better to think of it as a low profile desktop system, with some portability. Frankly, I'm accustomed to having a wimpy battery, so doesn't come as much of a surprise or disappointment.The power cord/adapter is a monster and needs about 1.5" clearance (on the left side of the unit) and probably adds another pound to the carry weight.Did NOT come with the trial MS Office software, but I use Open Office, so didn't really care.

This machine looks good and nice from outside, but ever since arrived this Alienware ALW17-5312sLV sporadically keep getting Bluescreen (BSoD) at least 5 times a day. It's really annoying. I haven't even install a new software on it.After doing some research at Google, sounds like there were a lot of similar problem like this (shame on me, not checking it before purchasing).I tried to update all the hardware driver via Alienware/Dell's website but it said all the drivers are up to date. I tried to disable and then enable the acceleration from the Intel's Rapid Storage Technology, but same issue. Meanwhile the ugly Bluescreen keep coming without any pattern.My problem becomes a little bit complicate because I am outside of US now, so it is difficult to return this back. Truly, I did not expect a brand new laptop will have problem like this.For this reason, i am giving this product as a two stars only.

Blown away by the performance as a Linux workstation. I upgraded it with a 512 GB SSD and 32 GB RAM. It's a beast while running Ubuntu 14. I run heavy duty Java and C/Julia programs on this beast and it never broke a sweat. During normal coding sessions it's utterly quiet due to its beefy copper cooling tubes. Then it's extremely satisfying when I have the CPU running at 700% and the nice heavy duty fan swirls up with a pleasant sound. Recently I hooked this up with a 3840x2160 4K 30 Hz monitor (DisplayPort), the nVidia 850M works like a charm with its Linux driver.The only real minus is the screen which is not IPS and seems washed out. Maybe they offer a better screen now so do your research if requires a high quality display.

Great laptop but not great support. There was a problem in the BIOS that I finally got working but working through the seller is not great. There is definitely a system of stalling and kicking the can to avoid addressing your issue.

My screen have been broken with only two weeks!I didn't even drop it once!It's just become disconnected with out any reson!!!!

This computer came with all the power and capacity I wanted. I've been able to use maximum graphic settings with my games, and I have experienced no lag at all. The graphics look very good. The Ethernet connection and 4 USB 3.0 slots allow the addition of a good number of peripherals. The built in speakers provide decent sound, but IMO headphones or a subwoofer speaker system sound better. The setup was easy and everything worked well out of the box, however, since I have only had it a short time, I cannot comment on how well it will hold up. Overall, I am very pleased with the purchase.

I'm not a tech savvy person so I can't say anything about that side of things. All I know is that on my old lap top World of Warcraft ran at a meager 4-7 fps on the lowest settings, and now I'm running at 70-109 fps on the highest settings with all of my add-ons active. The graphics are spectacular! Sound is good but could use a little more bass. All-in-all it's everything I wanted. There is one down side. The "updates" that are for programs I don't want to use keep popping up and when I press skip they download anyways, even when I just exit the prompt window

Bottom line Alienware has 1800.00 and I have no PC.