Alright, so this year my parents are getting me a new laptop for school (my birthday present), but I guess they were feeling generous because they let me pick an Alienware I'm gonna pay for an upgrade myself, but I need to know which to pick (keep in mind that the upgrade is mainly for gaming). Either:

 

 

 

A) 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz 2 x 1024MB instead of 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz 2 x 512MB

 

 

 

or

 

 

 

B) Intel® Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz 4MB Cache 667MHz FSB instead of

 

Intel® Core 2 Duo T5500 1.66GHz 2MB Cache 667MHz FSB

 

 

 

Which of these will improve gaming performance the most?

What OS?

 

 

 

I'd personally go with the extra RAM but that CPU does have double the cache...

The OS would be Vista.

Both^^

 

But since it's Vista i'd go with the extra RAM.

what computer are they getting and how much are they spending? You can get a much better computer for quite a bit less money from several different companies - alienware computers are very overpriced.

The laptop is an Area 51-m9750 (1400 + 150 for upgrade). I've kinda had my heart set on an Alienware for awhile, but if you can recommend a better priced laptop I'm all for it.

The laptop is an Area 51-m9750 (1400 + 150 for upgrade). I've kinda had my heart set on an Alienware for awhile, but if you can recommend a better priced laptop I'm all for it.

 

 

 

Wow alienwares are really expensive, seeing what processor and ram you have in it... I knew they were overpriced but not that much.

 

 

 

On topic:

 

 

 

I'd go with the ram, but you'd be better off going for over 2Gb if you can, at least 3 if you have Vista. At 2Gb, Vista still uses half the RAM and you don't have that much (~1Gb).

Just had a quick play around at the Dell site customizing an XPS.

 

 

 

This is the end result I got, coming in at $1574.

 

[hide=Build]SYSTEM COLOR Tuxedo Black

 

PROCESSOR Intel® Core 2 Duo Processor T8300 (2.4GHz/800Mhz FSB, 3MB Cache)

 

OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows Vista® Home Premium Edition SP1

 

LCD AND CAMERA Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch LCD (1280x800) & 2.0 MP Camera

 

MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz (2 Dimms)

 

HARD DRIVE Speed: 250GB 7200rpm SATA Hard Drive Free Fall Sensor

 

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)

 

VIDEO CARD 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT

 

WIRELESS CARDS Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card

 

BATTERY OPTIONS 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

 

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0

 

FINGERPRINT SCANNER Finger Print Reader XPS M1530[/hide]

 

 

 

This laptop has more RAM and a better CPU than the Alienware model you posted. This laptop is far better value, but it's your choice at the end of the day.

Can you link me to where you customized that laptop? The lowest priced XPS I can find is $1,999.

look at the xps m1530. And yes, aside from being a significantly more powerful laptop then the alienware, that dell computer will be significantly thinner and lighter.

I just looked at the m1530, base price is $2000.

Go for the RAM upgrade. You won't see much of a performance increace from the CPU upgrade, the RAM will make a huge difference.

Ah, you're a Canadian, I assumed you were from USA because most TIF'ers are.

 

 

 

So, checking Dell Canada, I found the XPS page, check here.

 

 

 

There are XPS laptops there starting at $899.

 

 

 

I chose the $999 model and customized it, end result was similar to the build I posted above for $1499.

 

 

 

Here is the link to the model I picked, you can customize it to your liking, I myself upped the CPU, RAM, HDD and Graphics.