Hardware Can't decide which gaming laptop to get

[NAND0]

Hey guys and gals. I'm currently shopping for a gaming laptop for when i do my taxes.
I'm looking at 3 different ones right now:
Alienware 17 - From their website, customized with the best specs you can buy with it.

MSI (dragon) - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00QL23QH0...lid=1QAKSXDX1HT3Y&coliid=I2FCMVLB21WI69&psc=1

Or this MSI one - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O4ORV9Q...XDX1HT3Y&coliid=I3GPIY7XB64NXX#productDetails

There are only minor differences between the 3 though.
Like the Alienware only has 512gb ssd, 16gb of ram and no optical drive but has a slightly better processor. While the msi dragon has 32gb ram, optical drive and 1tb ssd. And the second msi (not dragon) has the same 512gb ssd as the alienware, 32gb of ram, but also has an optical drive.

I dont exactly need an optical drive but it would be nice to have just in case.

Ugh i dont know. I'm having a lot of trouble deciding lol. I like the look of the alienware more. And i know the alienware has the bump on the F and J keys..not sure about the msi though, cant exactly see it in the pics.


Anyone own an msi or alienware laptop? Or would you recommend another brand? I'm curious to what you guys think. Price isnt really an issue. But im trying to keep my budget around $3,300 for it.

Thanks for reading and for any help!

 

[Originality]

Without looking at either of those laptops, do you need 32GB of RAM? You've already said you don't need the optical drive, and considering you can get an external USB BD drive very cheaply, there should never be the need in a laptop. 512GB SSD is generally plenty, and many gaming laptops have more than one slot for SSDs/M.2 cards for extra storage, although 1TB is always nice. Mainly comes down to how many games you play, or how many you like to leave installed all the time. USB drives are also cheap for expansion (me and my brother always keep a 2TB USB drive close to our laptops.

Main thing is, what do you need it for? Playing BF4 at maxed settings, or just the odd round of minecraft? Video editing and rendering, or just facebook and youtube? My friend got a £1100 Samsung desktop replacement gaming laptop and it has served him well for all his (heavy) gaming needs whilst at university, where as my brother's laptop ended up being mostly underused when his gaming desktop did everything better.

That said, better processor is generally always better than more RAM or SSD space. Also, make sure you check reviews to make sure the cooling works well and there are no weird quirks (I have one person who keeps coming back to me every month due to intermittent bluescreen issues caused by Asmedia controller drivers that like to keep corrupting themselves).