Don't know about customer service, but check this out:

http://www.toptenreviews.com/computers/gaming/best-gaming-laptops/alienware-m17x-review/

Just thinking if you've noticed something similar also in US, ie. the prices of gaming laptops have gone up during the last two years or so.

Then again it doesn't feel like price of other kinds of laptops have gone up, they seem to be selling some 300€ low end "student laptops" all the time. So it is as if the price disparity of laptops has increased: low end laptops have become even cheaper, and high-end gaming laptops gone up.

Especially I can't quite figure it out why it seemed I could have bought a Geforce GTX 980M equipped ASUS gaming laptop much cheaper like 1-2 years ago, than now. The GPU is supposed to be the same. Back then I think you could buy one for something like 1600€, not they cost well over 2000€.

Impressive, but way too expensive, especially for something where I have no idea how long it'll last.

Well, besides the alienware info on that page, I suggested that link because of the detailed pros and cons of their top ten gaming laptops on the right-hand side of the page. Give it a look to compare different machines.

Oh. I completely missed that.
Thanks.

NP. Good luck in your search for a new laptop.

If you do not really need it as a laptop but rather a portable PC (with external monitor/keyboard and so on)

Did you think about getting a mini/micro-tower instead?

Cheaper as a laptop always!

HW is replaceable, so upgrading certain parts is easier and cheaper.

EDIT:

If you need laptop, a few things to think about:

1.) Do you need a touchscreen, if not you can save some money
2.) Do you use it mainly with an external display, if so, get better CPU/GPU instead

To better compare the CPU and GPU this site is quite useful.

This might also give you an idea of what's out there around the $1000 mark, although why they have 2 Macbook Airs on that list is beyond me. That ASUS ROG model doesn't look too shabby even though it's already a bit dated with the 960. *shrug* Interestingly, the newer model with seemingly the exact same specs but a 1060 chip instead is $450 more. Yikes.

I just bought an ASUS ROG (GL552VW) a few weeks ago and noticed this myself.

I had to go with a 960m model to stay in my budget, with a 980m or 1070 model costing $800 - $1000 more minimum. A 1060 is currently $500 more.

A year or so ago a buddy of mine got a 980m laptop with roughly the same specs for only $400 more than I paid this year for a 960m.

The CAD has been shit for a long time so it's not just a currency thing. Prices did seem to jump. When I was doing research before my purchase one or two reviewers did touch on the prices rising from prior models with similar specs, but couldn't really explain it other than theorizing that the GPU costs increased.

Good to know I am not alone notificing the same. However, now that I look at the specs of those "over 2000€" ROG laptops, it might be that at least they have more RAM (some have 16GB, some even 32GB by default), semi-big SSD + an additional bigger HDD, and most probably also the Intel chipset + CPU has been revamped. It might be the 1600€ model I was looking at before had only 8GB RAM.

If those are the reason why e.g. a GTX 980M equipped ASUS ROG gaming laptop costs so much more than 1-2 years ago... couldn't they just sell some with lower specs? For instance, I'd be fine with one HDD, ditch the SSD for now (until they get bigger and cheaper), and 16GB is enough for me, not sure where 32GB is needed now or in the coming few years (PC AAA games will anyway be restricted by current console generation, whose RAM sizes are probably not increasing constantly). And I'd be fine without a Bluray drive too... heck, probably I'd be fine without any optical drive. If I need one for some old games, I'll buy an external USB DVD drive for 20€ or such.

But fortunately for me, I don't quite need a new gaming laptop yet, especially as I tend to play older games anyway, and Team Fortress 2. I still follow the specs of new offerings every now and then, I must say I am happy that now the 10xxM series of laptop GPUs are apparently almost as fast as their desktop counterparts, so the discussions of how slow (gaming) laptops are for gaming can be pushed aside.

Early tests are putting the new 1060 at about the same level as a 980GTX, so the $450 bump is not a bad deal.

I even find the performance of the 960m quite impressive compared my desktop 960 GTX, it's a little slower but definitely comparable. But I think I would have been impressed by pretty much anything since my old gaming laptop is 7 years old. :D

I'm not sure why they are slapping 32 gig of RAM in those laptops already, that's just massive overkill. And I agree about the optical drives, nice to have in a pinch, but not really necessary at all. Especially considering the amount of internal space they take that could be used for other components or another fan for better air flow, the heat these things put out is insane.

I'm coming around to that line of thinking. Picked up a cheap external a couple weeks back, maybe $30? For the few times a year I'll use it. Thinking I'm not going to bother getting one on the next laptop.

Speaking of which, I really need to start looking harder for a replacement. End-of-year is coming up...

Some suggestions:

1.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=0AY-00PU-00003 ($699)

Asus Rog 15.6" GL551VW-DS51

Intel Core i5 6300HQ (2.30 GHz) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M 8 GB DDR4 Memory 1 TB HDD FHD Windows 10 Home 64-Bit Gaming Laptop


2.) https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Inspiron-i7559-12623BLK-Generation-GeForce/dp/B015PYZ0J6/ ($799)

Dell Inspiron i7559-2512BLK 15.6

Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 8 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD + 8 GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M, Win 10


3.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834331907 ($949)

Lenovo IdeaPad Y700 80NV00Q9US

Intel Core i7 6700HQ, 16 GB DDR4, 1 TB HDD, 256 GB SSD, GeForce GTX 960M 4 GB, 15.6" FHD, Windows 10 Home 64-Bit


4.) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA4P040C4918 ($1.045)

DELL 15.6" Alienware 15R2-4623SLV

Intel Core i5 6300HQ (2.30 GHz), NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M, 16 GB DDR4, 256 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD, Windows 10 Home 64-Bit


5.) https://www.amazon.com/Notebook-i7-6700HQ-NVIDIA-Geforce-Windows/dp/B01GSPT7M2/ ($1.570)

ASUS ROG GL502

Intel Quad Core i7-6700HQ, 24GB RAM, 500GB SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1060 6GB, 15.6" Full HD, Windows 10


6.) https://www.amazon.com/GL502VS-DB71-i7-6700HQ-NVIDIA-Windows-Notebook/dp/B01KGCPZ8I/ ($1.699)

ASUS ROG STRIX GL502VS-DB71

i7-6700HQ, 16GB DDR4, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1070 8GB, 15.6" Full HD, Windows 10

What is wrong with the Dell XPS line? I like their XPS 13 line. Too bad they are very expensive.