How can i get the best deal possible buying my new alienware (from Australia)

Hi everyone

So I've finally decided that i really need to upgrade my laptop but i'm a poor uni student and so i want to make sure im getting the best deal possible

Reading the forums there has been quite a few suggestions: PM an alienware admin on this forum, there's a student discount if u contact dell, there are some discount voucher code things u can get, go to hidevolution.com etc... so now i'm confused as to what is the best strategy is for getting the best deal possible

Keeping in mind i live in AUSTRALIA what advice can u give me? Let me know if u need to know the specs of what im planning to buy (it will be an m14x).

Thanks in advance!

SO heres what im thinking of getting with a price of $2,219 from the Australian dell online outlet without any discounts or anything. This is basically stock standard from the australian store apart from an upgraded CPU and upgraded wireless card:


PROCESSOR: 3rd generation Intel® Core™ i7-3720QM Processor(2.6GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 3.6GHz, 6MB Cache)

OPERATING SYSTEM: Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit (English)

WARRANTY & SERVICE: 1-Year Premier Service

MEMORY: 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM (2 x 4GB)

HARD DRIVE: 64GB mSATA MiniCard and 1TB 5400RPM Hard Drive

ADDITIONAL HARD DRIVE: None

VIDEO CARD: 2 GB GDDR5 NVIDIA® GeForce®GT 650M using NVIDIA Optimus™ technology

OPTICAL DRIVE: Blu-ray BD-ROM / DVD +/-RW Combo Drive

WIRELESS NETWORK CARD: Killer™ Wireless-N 1202 a/g/n 2x2 MIMO for Gaming & Video and Bluetooth

HD DISPLAY: 14.0" (35.56 cm) WLED HD+ (900p) display (1600X900)

Price: $2,219


Is this a rip off? if so are there any suggestions as to how i can get it cheaper?
Thanks!

anyone have any suggestions?

 

i bought mine from dell Au and i was surprised in the lack of discount that they could offer. i got same as you except 3610 processsor, 8gb ram and 750gb 7200rpm which i swapped out for a ssd later. It cost $1770 - and i got them to include a free bag, which i am yet to receive. I rang them and they were able to take of 5%... which wasnt very good... but just enough to make me buy it - its hard to source cheaper than that.

I would recommend not getting the upgraded CPU as i personally dont think it is worth $200 for a 0.3mhz increase...

The rep also put it on a speedier delivery and i got the laptop in 5 working days. (ordered tuesday night... received on wed afternoon following week)

What made me disappointed was that the rep could not remove the blu ray drive - which i do not need at all (its a $200 upgrade which, for me, is completely unnecessary)

hope that helps somewhat

 

Hey thanks for the reply. I just emailed them to ask what they could do for me but yeh my expectations aren't high. I was considering using hidevolution.com but decided against it after seeing some negatives reviews.

Tbh i wasn't expecting more than 5% but i've read posts on this forum where people are scoring 10-15% off so thought i'd see if anyone could tell me the secret haha

Thats a good point with the cpu - i will probably end up just getting the 3610QM

 

yeah... i nearly bought from hid evolution... but also saw the bad reviews and when you compare spec for spec... it was only $100 - 200 difference

 

When contacting them , a way to get a cheaper deal is compare the m14x with a cheaper laptop but with better specs . Tell them "hey so I'm deciding between the m14x and laptop x, i want the m14x but I found laptop x with better specs and cheaper , is there any offers you guys can offer me ?
Normally that helps .

 

Yeah i tried doing that but there was a tight word limit on the form used to submit a quote request.. Maybe i should call instead or use this live chat feature? What's best?

 

Just got a call from them and i got the same 5% off. When i call back ill try get some free stuff but ill prrobably end up taking it regardless - too excited

 

Done! They didnt go any higher than 5% off but he offered to remove some 1 time setup visit by a technician who basically comes over and presses the on button for you (something i would never use) which saved me $35. Also got the free Bose speakers (offer ends today) and free express shipping by saying i will be away in 2 weeks so need it to come asap

All up $2074AU for an m14x with the Intel Core i7 3720QM CPU and Killer Wireless-N 1202 (the rest stock); Bose stereo speakers; Express shipping.

I don't think i could have done much better through Dell so i'm fairly satisfied.