# Which is best? - Alienware M14x vs. MSI GE60 ONC



## Sari95

All right, so once again I am having a hard time deciding which computer to go for xD The candidates are Alienware M14x with these specs: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/526/alienwarec.png/ 

and MSI with these specs: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/99/msi.png/

The prices are almost the same for me due to a few discounts I have, so only judge by specs, quality etc. 

If you vote for either, why?  

Thanks in advance!


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## Sari95

Why should I go for the alienware ?


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## spirit

The guy who responded was a spammer. I'd go with the Alienware as it has faster memory and an SSD as opposed to the slow 5400 RPM HDD which the MSI has which will bottleneck your system no end. 

Which is the cheaper of the two?


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## Sari95

Ow ;o The alienware, with the current specs, has a hybrid harddisk, which I believe does not give the same effect as a real SSD ;o There's also this point of which I can open the MSI, change parts, while the alienware is "closed", just like Apple's products :l

Alienware with current specs: 10400 NOK (approximately 1741 USD)
MSI laptop - 10490 NOK (approx. 1756 USD) + SSD: suppose around 1500 NOK, 250 USD = a total for 2006 USD for the MSI

My question is then is the mSATA + harddisk solution as good as having a real SSD?


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## salvage-this

Sari95 said:


> My question is then is the mSATA + harddisk solution as good as having a real SSD?



Yes.  mSATA is just a mobile (smaller) version of an SSD drive.  It is not a hybrid drive like the seagate momentus drive.  You will still get very good performance out of it.


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## Sari95

I see, but what is good performance for you? Does it perform as well as a real SSD with a read of 500 mb/s, or is the speed at 200-300 ?


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## salvage-this

That will depend on the chip.  when I looked up mSATA a review on AmandTech came up (http://www.anandtech.com/show/5735/micron-c400-msata-128gb-ssd-review) the performance was similar.  Maybe down 60mb/s than a desktop version but it will still be better than any regular hdd.


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## Sari95

so vista and salvage: if you were in my position, would you buy the alienware 1760 USD with the specs listed above or the MSI with a total of 2010 USD (because I have to buy a SSD) ? 

Friends say that alienware is something I'll quickly get bored of and the screen size and resolution may bother me, since I've always used FullHD. 

So.. back to my first question, which one? sorry if I am repeating the questions, but I want to be really convinced about my choice


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## spirit

I'd go for the Alienware, it's a better all rounder and it's cheaper. I wouldn't really let the resolution put you off, what res does it run at?

I'm not sure how long the novelty would last, but the Alienware is a better-specced machine.


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## salvage-this

Well first off I'm guessing that you need the portability of laptop otherwise a desktop would be the better choice.  

The resolution will not be a problem in my opinion.  1080 on a 15.6" screen would be too small for me.  1600x900 will be more comfortable.  I'd go Alienware as well.


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## Sari95

The res is 1600x900 as salvage said  

Thanks for your advice and help! 

I appreciate it


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## spirit

1600x900 should be absolutely fine for a 14" screen.

No probs regarding the help by the way - any time!


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## Sari95

I am convinced!  Alienware it is then  

thanks again!


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