im saving up for an alienware laptop, the x11 i think. Will i be able to take it out of the box and use it straight away or will i have to build it. Is this a good idea? Im on xbox now and hope to turn to pc.

Also do i just have to buy a charger thing for my xbox controller or a special unit.

any other info i need to know?

There is one thing you need to know:

Don't get alienware.

why not, what brand?

They're expensive, use cheap parts, and on an aesthetic note I think they look like crap.

Asus has a fair selection of "gaming" laptops. MSI has some good ones too. Brand loyalty with laptops is silly, though. you just go for the best hardware for the cheapest price.

Alienware is often rather overpriced, I would suggest you look into laptop model from ASUS and others that have the powerful hardware you want. Although that will require you to do some more research about what the more powerful gfx laptop chips are called and so on, so you know what laptop model is right for you.

The most important thing if you buy a gaming laptop is to make sure it doesn't have poor graphics performance.

Overpriced, for one. Dell also doesn't have the best history in terms of quality assurance, from what I've read (never personally used a Dell).

mind everyone I dont want to build it.

Personally I would recommend against getting any gaming laptop, but I would definitely never get an alienware one. There's plenty of others just as good, for much less money. I used to have an asus gaming laptop, which was pretty good. Excellent customer service as well. It still died within four years, mostly because of overheating. Laptops just aren't that durable.

Laptops don't need to be "built". They come out of the box ready to roll.

edit- I have an http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Gaming_Powerhouse/G73SW/#overview, but I seldom game on it. As stated, heat becomes a major issue. I have desktops much more powerful than any laptop for extended gaming. It's fine for a few hours at a time.

Again, gaming laptops, or any laptops, are very durable as long as they are designed properly, just like desktops. I game for 8 hours or more at once on my Asus gaming laptops and have no problem with heat, so people who are having problems may not have proper ventilation or something. Heat is not a problem, though.

Alienware was bought by Dell but they remain independent from Dell's main operations, so Dell's customer service and other factors are not involved with Alienware, per se.

However, Alienware machines do tend to be overpriced, just like any brand name (Sony, for example, no matter what hardware item you choose, tends to be overpriced).

Most computers use Asus motherboards, so Asus began offering their own products. Read critical evaluations comparing Asus with Alienware and other brands such as MSI, and you'll see that Asus compares very favorably (but for about $1000 lower price point).

Also, Asus has very good reliability.

One thing with laptops: it is a very good idea to get the full extended warranty coverage, including accidental damage. This is the one added expense compared to desktops, but the portability is more than worth it.

I have two Asus gaming laptops and one Gateway multimedia laptop, plus a desktop that's about 10 years old but I have no display for anymore. The three laptops still work great, but the Gateway had to be maintained twice.

Oh, and you don't have to build anything. You just have to take time to install software and set it up as you want.

just on asus, their laptops are €200 more expensive!

Give us links. Alienware is always more expensive. The Asus laptops you were looking at were probably much more powerful.

As someone who works on Asus laptops all day I personally recommend the Asus G74SX. They rarely come into the service center for anything other then physical damage and the odd bad HDD. I would avoid Alienware like everyone else has said.

Also Asus just released the G75 laptop as well.

But Alienware uses Alien technology!

what price

Alienware is bad, as are gaming laptops.

It's also worth noting that the M11x is a very weak gaming laptop hardware-wise. Plus, gaming on an 11 inch screen isn't much fun!

I'd recommend that you more thoroughly research the relative processor and graphics card performance of any laptop you look at. Case in point, the Asus G-Series laptops mentioned earlier probably offer more than double the performance for a modest price increase. With the Alienware you're mainly paying for the brand name and small form factor (which is a negative for gaming anyway).

G74 ranges from $1200 to $1600 USD from BestBuy.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Asus+-+17.3%22+Laptop+-+8GB+Memory+-+1TB+Hard+Drive/4775907.p?id=1218525518576&skuId=4775907&st=g74&cp=1&lp=1

17.3'' screen
Nvidia Geforce GTX 560M(2GB memory)
8GB RAM(Expandable to 16GB)
Two 500GB 7200 HDD

My Asus G73SW cost $1500 when released.

i7-2630QM
17.3" screen - 1920x1080 resolution
GTX460M (1.5GB, I think)
BD drive
8GB RAM
one 500GB HDD

I've used it to play Witcher and DA:O and stream online TV. A nice machine, which seldom gets to 80C, but a little bulky if you plan to carry it around much.

Honestly if you're looking to turn to PC gaming, look into building your own PC. It's not as hard as it seems and you can get plenty of help here. It's also cheaper and more powerful than a laptop.

I know almost nothing about serious gaming laptops, but I think the Mano should mention what price range he/she is willing/able to spend. Decent/good gaming laptops seem to be relatively expensive, and if you want a bigger screen/resolution, typically tend to be on the large/heavy side.

If we're going the $1500+ range I'd personally buy an $800-$1000-ish desktop tower for the gaming (at least it's GPU/RAM upgradable) + monitor, and if you really need portable a cheap $300-400 notebook for that. But that's just me.

I'm going to further add to the posts of recommending to not buying alienware brand, that is, I recommend to not buy alienware brand

I also recommend to get a desktop PC, rather a laptop, if your aim is gaming. In my experience, laptops wear down quick, and aren't nearly as easy to upgrade as desktop PC's are, which you will eventually have to do if you think you're future has an interest in gaming, among other reasons (that I personally have)

Don't ever get an alienware computer. They charge 400$ extra just for the cool case and flashy lights. If you want to use a computer for gaming get a desktop instead.