Ramzay

I have to agree about Dragon Age Inquisition. I started playing it with the KB +Mouse, and it was frustrating and didn't make sense. Then I plugged in a controller, and it was like a totally different game. All sorts of design choices made sense. The choice of platform/controls actually has a significant impact on certain design choices and game play elements.

I'm assuming you're talking about CPU temps yes? How long ago did these problems start? Is your CPU fan working properly? You can check the RPMs with several programs. That might be the first culprit, and maybe the most likely. You may have "broken" heatpipes or a bad heatsink, but that's probably less likely. I'm assuming you cleaned out your fans/heatsinks when you re-pasted the CPU? Enough gunk in there could clog up the cooling system. Is your heatskink making good contact with the CPU? Just because you re-pasted, doesn't mean the contact is firm.

You often end up having to chat with a CSR in order to properly apply certain coupons, or to try and negotiate a better deal. Often, the discounts you can get are well worth the time invested. And as I've mentioned elsewhere, dealing with AW support can be awesome or hell, depending on who you get.

The 880m has a TDP of 100w, and the 4910MP 47w. As such, I don't think the 330w PSU will solve your issues. That being said, performance dips can often be due to throttling, either thermal or power-wise. That's a common problem with the new AW17. It wouldn't hurt to try with the 330w.

Alienware has substantially better build quality than most others out there, based on my experience. In addition, their customer support can be vastly superior. I used the word "can" here, because there are times where you'll be frustrated with their CSRs. The level of support you'll get from them depends entirely on who you're dealing with. I've had very good experiences with them, though I know other people have experienced the exact opposite. Once you've held an AW product in your hand and used it, you'll understand where part of the price premium is going.That being said, they're no longer as easy to upgrade, and have less configuration options. If all you're looking at is the specs compared to comparable brands, then AW does indeed seem pricey, and people love to hate on AW for being overpriced. But these people simply don't understand what it is you're paying for.

I don't understand why they've gone completely "mainstream". Nothing says they couldn't have made the new 13 & 15 models with this new philosophy, while keeping a bigger 17 model that would stay somewhat true to prior AW designs and philosophy.