Expert: Bobbert - 4/17/2008

Question
My parents offered to buy me a laptop for University, but also one to play games on (Since my current desktop is from like, 1995, no sound, and bad EVERYTHING).  So, I'm thinking of two different laptops to buy from, but I can't decide which, because I don't know the first thing about gaming computers.  So, if you would like to help me decide on one of these two laptops, please, the help would be greatly appreciated.

($2100, Dell Laptop)
http://www1.ca.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsnb_m1730?c=ca&cs...

($1499, Alienware Laptop)
http://www.alienware.com/product_detail_pages/area-51_m15x/area-51m_overview.asp...

If you could briefly describe the difference to them, that would be nice.  And a conlusion of which is just plain best for games.  =) Much thanks in advance.

Answer
Well if you're going with base configurations, the Dell XPS is more capable due to having a faster processor and better graphics card, however the Alienware offers more options to enhance its performance to, and far above, the capabilities of the Dell. Honestly I'd go with the Dell as it is now at $2199 unless you'd like to customize the system more completely to a certain application, in which case I'd go with Alienware.

-bob