When it said evolutionary, it wasn't kidding around.
Alienware has just taken the wraps off of a relatively uninspiring (or,
unworthy of hype, we should say) new laptop: the M17. Not to be confused with the
M17x, this 17-incher is the outfit's very first
CrossFire X-enabled notebook, and those with the requisite coin can get one outfitted with a Core 2 Quad / Extreme CPU, up to 4GB of DDR3 RAM, twin ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 GPUs, a WXGA+ / WUXGA panel, an optional ATSC HDTV tuner, up to 640GB of HDD space in a RAID 0 array, a dual-layer DVD writer / optional Blu-ray reader, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, gigabit Ethernet and a facial recognition sensor. As with most of its siblings, this one puts a beating on the scales at 9.5-pounds, and we're certain you can deplete that 12-cell battery in no time flat. Granted, it does get going at "just" $1,399, but you can expect that figure to head far north when you add anything drool-worthy to the build sheet.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
posted Nov 3rd 2008 10:05AM
They need to update their outdated laptop case. Still thing it's a ugly laptop.
It isn't, just that it doesn't have ALUMINIUM or SMOOTH PLASTIC with CURVED design, doesn't make it bad.
it's ribbed for your pleasure.
No, it's ugly. Sometimes I think the designers at Alienware consist of a few fourth graders who just watched Battlestar.
"Alienware has just taken the wraps off of a relatively uninspiring (or, unworthy of hype, we should say) new laptop: the M17"
Ouch! Truth hurts.
Damn. 9.5 pounds? That's pushing it to call it "portable."
Besides it being fugly, its overweight. At this point its a semi portable pc rather than laptop... unless you have a really large lap
@asg84 so you're saying you have to be fugly and overweight to own this?
They have a commercial similar to Apple's ... showing how it fits inside of a family-size pizza box ... kind of.
remember, it's a high-end gaming notebook, not an entry-level netbook.
lol. I'll stick with my macbook pro, thxs.
Excelent decision.
nothing says "I'm a spoiled brat" more that a video game laptop shaped a like cheap bolt on kit car...
To be fair, the Alienware will be better for games and I'd expect nothing less. The MacBook Pro is a much more practical system, however, and has the added advantage that someone who knows understands design has had a role in it. I honestly can't think that anyone is going to look at this monstrosity of a laptop and think it looks good given the competition. Even Dell, who used to produce very uninspiring systems, can bang out something much better than this lump. It even makes my dad's no-name laptop laptop look stylish...
and what? ... play solitaire... haha
@iEye
Nothing says scumbag more than that "i" prefix in front of a person's username.
looks like everyone has a case of the Mondays
Seriously? MBP is all well and good, but comparing it to a behemoth gaming machine is hardly fair. Don't get me wrong, at 9.5lbs, I would personally want to be talking about two or three notebooks stacked on the scale at once, but I'm not a gamer. Anyone looking for a serious gaming laptop would laugh if you suggested they use an MBP or any other Apple laptops.
@jorvay
Ah, but there's the rub. Is this really a "behemoth gaming machine"? Or is it simply a more powerful desktop replacement? Here's the thing - no gamer worth their salt would choose something like this over a desktop because the desktop will not only be cheaper, have a bigger display, better sound but be faster as well. What you have here is a very stupid laptop with no redeeming features. It simply is not a practical laptop. Yes, I would choose a MacBook Pro over this (personal choice) but feel free to choose an Windows alternative like a Dell XPS (i.e. a proper laptop). I'm sorry but this thing is neither portable nor can it be used away from a power point. If you need this level of power then buy a desktop instead.
Seriously, the only thing that this "laptop" is going to set on fire is your trousers.
It looks like a thinkpad from 1980s that a alien with flaming fingertips held from the screen and make hand prints, while flinging it on the other side of the room from being let down after a tease...
Good specs, but even for a gaming laptop, it looks wayyyy too big!
It actually does remind me of my Dad's ThinkPad from the mid-90s lol.
MacBook Air should be ashamed.
can it not play crysis?
I think this is still 'portable' but it is not a laptop/notebook any more, more like a portable gaming all in one computer, as it's probably too hot to put on a lap.
I have a Dell m1730 with dual cards and I can vouch for the heat. But that's ok... I didn't want kids anyway!
I have a Dell m1730 with dual cards and I can vouch for the heat. But that's ok... I didn't want kids anyway!
... not much of a suprise ...
unfortunately the nerds who will be purchasing one of these don't have the muscle mass to carry these around
If they buy 2 of them; it can be used as dumbbells rofl
damn, this thing looks big and chubby,
can do little bit of weight lifting with this one
thats what she said
Alienware, sort out your old outdated designs. This brand has so much potential. :(
It maybe a powerful machine but its ugly as hell.
Just look at the back of that thing.
Not an iPhone but it'll still sell ok. (oh wait, I need a new troll for this!)
Not a Macbook Pro but it'll still sell ok.
:punchballs:
Not to Alienware: As technology gets smaller and cheaper, computers get thinner over time, not thicker.
Then who is it to?
All I have to say, is that laptops/notebooks were never meant to be "gaming" computers...and for a good reason, if you're looking for a computer with these specs you're better off getting a desktop, even though you won't have "portability" (although I don't think 9.5 pounds it portable either) you'll have a computer you can upgrade yourself, easily.
I concur. Maybe it's because I'm not a gamer, but I just don't get it. It is too big to be very convenient. Sure, the performance is great, but it's still a huge compromise because it's in a laptop shell. For real gaming I'd think you'd want an expandable desktop.
Wouldn't it be easier to make a small-ish desktop? Sure this system is more convenient for LAN parties, but these days with small form-factor computers and LCDs, it's not much work to toss an LCD, computer, keyboard and mouse in the trunk of your car.
I hear ATI has sent out the mobility HD4850/HD4870 cards to vendors, can't wait to see these in gaming notebooks!
Totally called it.
Diesel @ Nov 3rd 2008 8:59AM
Yeah, Whatever happened to Alienware's Curved Display? Last year they said it was going to be out by spring 08 (on their forums at least)
Other than a new kind of display...I can't really think of anything that would get me pumped up from Alienware.
A new Desktop? Yippy freaking doodah, I can make whatever you built for less money with better cooling and wow factor.
A new laptop? Oh goody, I bet if I go to the gym every day for three weeks my back will be strong enough to carry it from my living room to my front door without causing massive internal bleeding of course by the time I make it to the front door I'll have to take it out of my bag, plug it in for 2 hours and then frantically rush to the nearest gas station to repeat the process in an futile attempt to actually get mobile computing out of my 10 pound $3000 paperweight.
A new netbook? Oh thank god, because what the world needs is a new way to implement an Atom/Via/Centrino 2 processor, integrated graphics, 2gb of ram and an SSD drive into a shell 13.3" by 1" that should have enough room to store my wallpapers and a david bowie album before filling up and subsequently exploding.
You are my new favorite commenter (other than myself).
what exactly did you call? A heavy laptop? Alienware have always made very heavy laptops. I have the M9700 (omg single core was such a bad idea) and it weighs close to 10lb
Great! Gods forbid they spend any of their development and production capital to overhaul their lackluster customer / technical support or fix problems with their existing line of "portable" laptops that reduce them to non-functional and unsupported within a year.
+$300 for a Blu-ray drive on Alienware
+$150 for a blu-ray drive from Dell.
Kiss my love spuds Alienware....
either way its Dells money.........
Which makes me even more amazed. What a rip. Whoever buys this is a proper mong.
Who is the moron who's gonna buy this thing the very same day Intel presented its new i7/ Nehalem chips?
The new Core I7 processors are desktop only, the notebook equilvalents won't be out until later in 2009.
Though some gaming notebooks do use desktop processors like some Sagers, so we may see some I7 notebooks soon. : )
Introducing next-generation laptop - now with build-in heating station xD
The base $1399 price comes with a HD3870 as standard. This is a very good GPU, should bench around 8500-9000 3DMark 06.
For someone looking to spend the minimum possible on a 17" gaming laptop, this is very competitively priced.
I think that 3dMark06 score is a bit overestimated. I'd guess it's more like 7500-8500 depending on what cpu the machine has.
They're a laptop/PC company, what did you expect them to announce, engadget? You think they'd announce a cell phone or something? Jeez.
I bought 3870x2 a month ago and returned it back to the shop, then I bought 4870.
Single 4870 is at least 2 times faster than 3870x2 in crossfireX. I know its weird but its true - 4870 runs TeamFortress 2 at max settings in 1680x1050 and sacred 2 at 2560x1600 without any problem, a task impossible for 3870x2 (TF2 in medium-minimum settings was stutter-free but nothing more than that, horrible performance if you ask me).
Don't buy.
PS: I'd wait till next year - both Nvidia and ATI are said to introduce 40nm chips, and I have high hopes for these to get into laptops.
But this is a laptop.
Shinigami: I have no idea what you're talking about regarding TF2. The 3870x2 in this laptop is rock-solid at 60fps with every single setting maxxed running at 1920x1200.
Alienware really knows how to bring the ugly.
Yeah, and no Solid State Drive-even though Alienware offers that option on lesser notebooks...
I just ordered one of these babies with 2xsolid state drives in raid 0, so they do offer it.
This Alienware is an OCZ Whitebook rebrand and ironically, I can get this Alienware cheaper than the whitebook!
This is the same chassis that custom-build retailers (like Killer Notebooks) have been selling for a while. I have one, and eh, it's just not that big. Fits in the same tight sleeve that my Inspiron e1705 does, which is the same sleeve for a 17" MBP.
Sure, it's heavy for a laptop, but good lord people, it's less than 10 pounds. And some people don't call that portable? Huh? But a 6 pound notebook is? I'm a thin 160lbs and certainly no bodybuilder but I don't understand the issue with a couple pounds. It's the weight of a couple books. Did your backpack in college suddenly stop becoming portable when you put one more book in it?
Heat-wise it runs as cool or cooler than e1705, and is totally fine sitting on your lap (I use a custom-cut plastic cutting board for a laptop platform, which also gives me a nice mousing surface right next to it). Neither the CPU nor GPU have cracked 80C, and both generally run around 70C under typical gaming load. The fans are rarely running at full power, and are nice and quiet. And I've overclocked my CPU to 3.3Ghz.
And yes, it's very fast. Over 15k in 3dmark06, almost 30fps in Crysis at 1920x1200, 60fps everywhere in WoW, 60fps almost everywhere in Fallout 3 on High at 1920x1200. Shinigami, I'll try TF2, but I'm pretty sure it's going to fly even at 1920x1200. Not sure what you're talking about.
I love mine.
I'm kind of with Chris on this one. I'm a Mac+Nix guy in the general computing sense, but I looooove gaming and have been buying/building gaming desktops and laptops for years. The most high-end gaming laptops have always been 17" and have always hovered around 9-11 lbs. in the last 6 or so years. In order to keep abreast of gaming desktops they just need the space for cooling, more components, and the like. If you look at all the high-end gaming laptops in the 17" range that really have these specs (no, Sony won't have these specs) they're all going to be around the same size and weight. Alienware, Dell, Hypersonic, Malibal, VoodooPC, Sager, etc. all have a laptop like this.
Of course, my personal comment is that this one's fugly as hell and there's nothing really that "new" about it (per their hype). It's more of the same, really.
sorry but hopelessly ugly.
for gaming computer in such spec. and weight,
i cant spot any reason for not buying a nice desktop.
personally, Vaio R or Vaio L are nice choices.
Facial recognition? Finally, a way to stop people hacking into my Steam account and ruining my stats!
i still cant believe they stoped making the malx 19 you know the one with the 19in screen i would have bought that in a heart beat. and mac fans don't deserve to comment on a gaming rig .... you cant game on a mac period !
Funny... I could swear that I just logged out of Warhammer Online.
I guess I got one of those Aluminum Dell's with the Apple Logo on it, not a MacBook Pro. Explains why it has Windows on it too... huh.
oh and let me clue ya in on a lil secret dell acquired alienware back in 06
If you ask me it's a rather large and ugly machine, and probably sounds like a Harrier Jet lifting off when under a heavy load. In all honesty I would never really try to shoe-horn all this power into a notebook cause it's just impractical. Sad thing is someone is going to drop the money on this thing and have it, but the downside to it is it will have to be plugged in all the time due to the large power consumption of having dual video cards. Enjoy your 1 hour battery life, just like every other Alienware and Dell laptop that is pushed for the gaming industry.
17" notebooks are great but when they weigh in at 9.5lbs that is a little ridiculous. 6.5lbs should be max and i find that to be a little towards the heavier side of things. And what is this monster, 2 - 2.5 inches thick? It's not a NoteBook or a Laptop, it's a "SlabBook".
Stick to an HP or Apple notebook, sure they aren't pushing the specs that these things are, but atleast there is great battery life, and a sense of style and design about them. This looks like a briefcase fitted with computer parts and a keyboard laid inside of it.
It's actually really quiet -- only under VERY heavy load does the GPU fan go to max, when it's kind of loud, but under typical gaming it's quieter than my Inspiron e1705.
Also, it's 1.6" thick. Fits just fine in the sleeve that my Inspiron e1705 and a 17" MBP fit in.
And yep, I pretty much have it plugged in all the time. But it means that I have a tiny, portable desktop machine at work that I can take home and use on the couch. It's not for everyone, but I don't see why so many people dismiss this kind of notebook. I absolutely love mine.
So is this just another re-branded sager laptop?
Ayo! Diesil, help a brotha out, you said you could build something more powerfull than this for less. Please send me the list of all the hardware and software i need to purchase. I am in Botswana and alien ware machines are not available this side. I would like to build the most powerful gaming desktop possible as cost efficient as possible.
The other thing is how do the graphics of the most powerful gaming pc/notebook compare to the ps3 and xbox 360, if they are better i wouldnt mind paying for it,though it will be quite difficult, It would be worth it.