Used Laptop M14X cost in 2015 ? - Buying My 1st alienware

Hello folks,

Please help a newbie out; I am most probably going to learn how to build a custom gaming desktop but I really want to know if what my friend is selling is really worth the price since I do not know much about laptops.

He is selling M14X priced at $750 ( I was able to lower the price down to $575.. I still find it really expensive (I am not trying to rip him off but my budget is tight);
The following below is what he told me:

8GB RAM, Intel Core i5-2430M CPU@ 2.40GHz with Windows 10. This laptop is perfect for gaming or office. Can also be used for school,
He plays World of Warcraft on Ultra and League of legends on Ultra as well. He has also
been playing many games like Diablo 3, Call of Duty and other shooters.

Any insight will be truly appreciated;
Take care
(I am aiming to lower the price down to $500-- is that even possible?)

 

For that price you can get a lot newer Alienware. The Alienware 14 (14 comes after M14x) has been going for under 600 on ebay depending on what it has. Either with i5/i7 or 750m/765m. I have seen some go for lower. Also I have seen some good prices lately on a few of the 17" machines. Depending if the M14x is a R1 or R2 it will have either 555m or 650m video card.

That is the current used market. It's still not a bad machine, I still use the hell out of my M11x R1.

 

Thank you for your input; So if it is R1 or R2--either way..it should not be priced at $575?

 

Alienware laptops tend to hold their value a lot better than other brands. You'll still find ancient pre-Dell Alienwares selling for $400 or more on e-bay. It really depends on the specs. Maxed out, that laptop may have cost around $2000 brand new. I would also look at the condition of the laptop (scratches, scuffs). If it is in mint condition, its value should go up.

 

If you're aiming to play more recent games, I would advise against getting a M14x R1. I've been using mine since 2011, and it can only just about manage to run Rise of the Tomb Raider at the bare minimum settings while overclocked. You'd get more bang for your buck if you go for a R2, the 14, or another model with less dated components. Check out the Lenovo Y50, I believe the model with a 860M goes for ~600-700 on eBay. Not the best laptop in terms of build quality, but you get a pretty decent GPU for the price.

For reference:
555M (R1) info: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-555M.41933.0.html
650M (R2) info: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-650M.71887.0.html
750M (14) info: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-750M.90245.0.html
860M (Y50) info: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-860M.107794.0.html

 

Rise of the Tomb Raider is terribly optimized.