Record-breaking performance, superslick design, wireless HD streaming, and five hours of battery life. Yup, this gaming notebook is pretty much perfect.
Price as Reviewed: $3,300.00
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It's the pretty rare notebook that makes us giddy with excitement, but the Alienware M17x does just that. When we last reviewed this gaming rig, we praised its power, keyboard, and display, among other things, but lamented its high price and poor battery life. The latest M17x doesn't just improve on its predecessor, it has all the makings of a dream laptop. Featuring an Intel quad-core Sandy Bridge CPU, AMD switchable graphics, and a Samsung SSD, this monster offers more than double the performance of anything that came before. On top of that, the M17x has a built-in WirelessHD transmitter, so if it's 17-inch 1080p display isn't big enough, you can beam Blu-ray movies, games, and anything else you want wirelessly across the room to a big-screen TV. Yes, this newest M17x costs $3,300, but that's $1,300 less than its predecessor. What's not to like? Seriously.
Design
For the past two years, Alienware notebooks have had a distinctive grille on the front of its systems that is reminiscent of a Camaro. That look continues with the latest M17x, but the lid is slightly different. While the Alienware logo--an alien's head--is still prominent, the lid is now covered in a soft-touch finish, and no longer has a ridge running down its middle. Also gone are the Nebula Red and Lunar Silver color options. We prefer this new treatment; not only is it nicer to hold, but it resists fingerprints.
While it's doubtful that many will notice, the new M17x is also slightly thinner than before. Whereas the last-gen M17x measured 16 x 12.6 x 2.1 inches, the current M17x is 16 x 11.9 x 1.8 inches. Part of the reason is that the M17x only has space for one discrete graphics card, whereas the older version could accommodate two.
The M17x has also gone on a diet: The previous M17x weighed 11.6 pounds; the latest is 9.6 pounds. While that's still massive as far as notebooks go--even desktop replacements--it's an improvement. It falls right in between the ASUS G73Jw-A1 (8.8 pounds) and the Toshiba Qosmio X505 (10.6 pounds), which is a larger 18-inch system.
The media control buttons have undergone a slight change; no longer are they touch-sensitive. Instead, the backlit controls are physical buttons. They're still just as responsive, though.
One of the coolest things about Alienware systems is the backlighting. You can change the keyboard, the logos, the front grille--even the ring around the touchpad--to a number of different colors, depending on your mood or what you're doing. It's just awesome. The AlienFX utility to change the controls is fun to use; you can easily spend a lot of time tinkering with the color schemes.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard is pretty much untouched since the last generation of the M17x; then again, there's nothing that needed changing. The keys are large, have a nice feel, and are very responsive. There was a bit of flex in the keyboard, but Alienware told us that production models would have more support.
While the previous M17x had a honeycomb pattern on its touchpad, the newest iteration is smooth, but is a spacious 3.9 x 2.2 inches. The surface offered little to no resistance as our fingers glided across it, which is a good thing. Powered by Synaptics, the touchpad is also capable of multitouch gestures, though Alienware turns them off by default.
Heat
After streaming a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the M17x' touchpad was a cool 86 degrees Fahrenheit, and the space between the G and H keys was a nice 85 degees. However, the middle of the underside reached 98 degrees; we consider anything above 95 uncomfortable. After gaming for about half an hour, the temperature here increased to a scorching 120 degrees. It's a good thing it's highly unlikely that you'll ever rest the M17x in your lap.
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