The good: Subtle improvements to Alienware's dorm room chic design; amazingly fast and powerful; highly configurable.

The bad: Good configs can get very expensive; no 16:9 display; garish lights don't scream "high end".

The bottom line: Alienware's new version of the M17x makes some welcome design tweaks and offers the best laptop gaming hardware you can get. Just be warned: It ain't cheap.

Read full review of the Alienware M17x »

By Dan Ackerman, CNET.com
Oct 29, 2009

With a brand-new look and some of the highest-end tech available in a laptop, we're semi surprised that Alienware has kept the M17x name for its newest 17-inch laptop (even if it loses the X-Files-esque "Area-51" moniker). While the system starts at a reasonable S$3,499 (US$2,519.44), you'll need to configure something closer to our S$7,253 (US$5,222.49) review unit to really get the benefit of Alienware's years of experience making high-end gaming PCs.

We appreciate the evolved design of the new M17x, which does away with some of the dorm-like qualities of past Alienware systems, making for a (slightly) more sophisticated-looking package. The somewhat goofy custom lighting system remains, but the automotive-inspired front-end grille and edge-to-edge glass on the display offset that.

With an Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9300, dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M GPUs, and 1TB of hard drive space, this is about as powerful as laptops get without resorting to stuffing actual desktop parts in a chassis. We often point to less expensive gaming laptops, such as the Asus W90 or the Gateway P7809G, as offering better bang for your buck. But if you want the very best, and are willing to pay for it, dropping several Gs on the new Alienware M17x will make you the coolest nerd on your block.

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Do check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

We've always gotten down on Alienware for its dorm room chic design sensibilities, which seem more like adolescent sci-fi fantasies than anything someone who could actually drop seven grand on a laptop would be interested in. The M17x made a few steps in the right direction, de-emphasizing the brand's iconic glowing alien head design and offering a smart matte-black finish.



This new version continues the march toward modern minimalist design, with fewer distracting flourishes on the keyboard tray and a slick edge-to-edge glass overlay on the display. The front edge has also gotten an overhaul, with an angled automotive-inspired grille that helps keep the overall look from being too slab-like. The anodized aluminum case feels heavy and substantial, but also means you won't be taking it on too many trips outside the house (unless you like lugging around almost 7kg of computer equipment).

Alienware's Fusion FX lighting and settings control system returns--even more over the top than ever. You can now set the color for the backlit keyboard in four separate zones, meaning you can create a rainbow-like design across the keys. The same software package also provides a fairly comprehensive power control suite which offers more detailed options than the basic Windows Vista power settings, as well as security controls, including facial recognition login software.

The flush trackpad has a very subtle texture, so your finger can more easily tell when it's actually on the touchpad (even if most gamers will plug in an external mouse).

The keyboard has a more traditional tapered key design rather than the wider, flat keys many laptop makers are partial to these days. Alienware explains that for its core gamer audience, the traditional keys provide more space between the individual letters, which is better for first-person shooters which make heavy use of the WASD keys. There's also a strip of touch-sensitive controls above the keyboard (also with an adjustable backlit color), but their response was a little slow for us, and there was a confusing lack of onscreen confirmation for some of the commands.

Features

The 17.1-inch widescreen LCD display offers a 1,920 x 1,200 native resolution, which is what we'd expect from a high-end 17-inch laptop (less expensive desktop replacements can have 1,440 x 900 displays). The display looks crisp and bright, and the edge-to-edge glass overlay adds a seamless feel but is subject to glare from light sources. We also wouldn't mind seeing Alienware embrace the trend toward 16:9 displays.



There's shortage of ports and connections here, including a rarely seen mini-Firewire port and three separate video output options and a DisplayPort. Multiple audio-outs mean you can easily hook up a set of big PC speakers, which is a plus for high-intensity gaming.

Tags: Laptop Computer, Expresscard, Keyboard, Facial Recognition, USB 2.0

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