as my going to iraq present, the wife finally agred to letting me buy one of my dream systems
its overkill for what i will be doingwith it in iraq, but it will make me happy~

[1] Area-51m 7700

Processor: Intel® Pentium® 4 550J Desktop Processor w/ HT Technology 3.4GHz 800MHz FSB 1MB
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2
Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support with Onsite Service
LCD Display: 17" WideSXGA+ 1680 x 1050 LCD Clearview Display with Built-in Camera
Motherboard: Intel® 915P PCI-Express Chipset
Memory: 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 533MHz - 2 x 512MB
Video Card: Area-51m 7700 NVIDIA GeForce™ Go 6800 Ultra with 256MB of DDR3 memory
Hard Drive: Extreme Performance - RAID 0 - 120GB (60GB x 2) 5400 RPM ATA100
Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 8X Dual Layer DVD+/-RW / 24X CD-RW Combo w/Software
TV Tuner: Alienware® 7700m Series Mini PCI TV Tuner
Sound Card: Intel® High-Definition Audio (24-bit, 192Khz) with 7.1 surround sound
Primary Battery: Alienware® 7700 series 12-cell Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack
Additional Battery: Alienware® 7700 series 12-cell Lithium-Ion Smart Battery Pack
Communications: Integrated 10/1000Mb Gigabit Ethernet & 56K V.92 Modem
Wireless Network: Internal Wireless 802.11b/g miniPCI Card
Floppy Drive: USB Floppy Drive
Mobile Transport : Alienware® Premium Backpack XL
Free Alienware T-Shirt: Free Alienware® T-Shirt - Black
Desktop Enhancements: Exclusive AlienGUIse Theme Manager
Free Alienware Mousepad: Free Alienware® Mousepad

[1] Free Shipping Mail-In Rebate; on Alienware systems excluding peripherals - Continental U.S. Only
[1] Special Financing Offer; 6 Months Same As Cash Financing with the Alienware Credit Card

SubTotal: $3,356.00
Shipping: $99.00
Discount: $0.00
Tax: $0.00
Order Total: $3,455.00

Damn! You really get a T-shirt?

Are you sure that thing is going to last in Iraq? Hell I would be scared bringing something worth $3,455.00 out of the house. (besides a car of course)

it should last.


im not worried about it taking some bangs as the case is made out of metal.
the only thing i worry about would be the sand and dust. i dont expect to be using the laptop out in the open desert. only while in doors.

ill also be picking up a laptop cooler to help with the 130 degree heat out there. its primary use will be games and DVDs.

when i get back home, and CPUs get cheaper i will drop in a new CPU and new video card.
main reason i picked a alienware over anyone else is the fact the use desktop CPUs and the video cards are upgradeable. well worth the money

metal? i think youre mistaking the 7700 case for the 5500 series, which does have metal casing. The 7700, however, is made of plastic. i gots one of these computers, and i should say its pretty good, cept for the noise.

damn id make some sort of custom steel/diamond/ whatever metal terminator2 was made out of to protect that thing lol

Quote: Originally Posted by BigAkita Damn! You really get a T-shirt?

And a mouse pad.

Car Charger and batterys is the first thing I'd buy with any desktop replacement system without a mobile power conservation system, I'll Stick with my XPS-gen 2. My other buddy owns the same system, his record battery life was 2 hours at windows and that was it, sweet as hell system but it weighs 13 pounds and gets no battery life. If your near alot of power sources in Iraq you will be a lucky man. Congrats

ya i bought a 2nd battery just so i could watch a normal DVD movie.


im really hoping that power isnt a issue in Iraq. i think this thing weighs in closer to 15lbs now. i always wanted to own one of these, i just wish i had time to wait until the 7800 cards came out for this thing instead of a 6800GT Ultra GPU

I heard some good news about the video card systems in our laptops. Both the 7700m and XPS are PCI-Xpress and I heard that when the newer cards come out dell and alienware will offer the upgrade to you. You send them money and your laptop and they upgrade it and send it back out. I hope that will be the case in any case the 6800 ultra is still way more then enough for a laptop, better then most desktops. I wrote up little review for my XPS its under member reviews, Trust me you won't be disapointed with the 6800 ultra.

i doubt you will need to send them your laptop as both Dell and AW are both user upgradable GPUs laptops

Could be But I bought a Warrenty that may not cover self-installing things like video boards in my laptop, but I know how to, and it is fairly easy. Bad thing is It may void the warrenty, in some cases.

The reason I would not carry an Alienware laptop in the desert is because no matter where you store it, sand and/or silt WILL find it's way in. You can bank on it!

We were very careful with our equipment in Saudi and Iraq, yet sand always got into everything. We had this monster green TACCS computer and when we returned to the U.S. I cracked open the cover on it, there was a half inch of sand sitting in the bottom. Keep that laptop wrapped in plastic when you aren't using it, and when you do use it make sure the wind isn't blowing.

ya thats basicly what i plan on doing. at the least, ill pick up the biggest ziplok bag i can find, or buy a waterproof bag.