I recently purchased the Alienware 17 after a friend let me have a play with his. I didn’t buy because I’m a gamer, but because like you, I have so much going on, on my laptop, I needed something with raw power and stability.
I’ve had so many laptops over the years it’s ridiculous, but I bought cheap and cheerful ones for £5/600 at a time. None of them offered the performance I needed.
I also duel boot with Ubuntu and the Alienware runs so smoothly you’d think it was a separate laptop.
I chose the higher spec model in hope that it will last longer! And so far, its doing it’s job perfectly.
It is pricey, but definitely worth it.
V