Alienware's Core i7-equipped M15x and M17x now available to order

Alienware didn't drop too many details about how it was revising its M15x and M17x gaming lappies back at CES, but now both of those are finally ready to be ordered by the drooling masses. The "little" guy is available with a Core i3, Core i5 or Core i7 processor, your choice of a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 240M or 1GB GeForce GTX 260M, a 1,600 x 900 or 1,920 x 1080 15.6-inch WLED panel, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 250GB HDD (or a 128GB / 256GB SSD for those with the coinage) and plenty of lights to go around. The big brother can be ordered with a Core i7-920XM processor, dual 1GB GeForce GTX 280M GPUs (or a pair of Radeon Mobility HD 4870s), optional Blu-ray drive and pretty much anything else you can imagine. Follow the links below if you're eager to be first in line -- the M15x gets going at $1,199 (and should ship early next month), while the M17x starts at $1,799 with a Core i7.

[Thanks, Joshua]

[One Love Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:48PM]

But, why so ugly.

[trevr Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:50PM]

@One Love

because you touch yourself at night.

/jk

[24hourpartypal Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:56PM]

That is what I get told every single date

[MarkB Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:03PM]

@One Love It's a theft deterrent.

[Christian Martin Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:05PM]

@MarkB Well, seeing as how my M15x was stolen last week, it doesn't work.

On the plus side, I get reimbursed and get to buy the updated model.

[Edobe Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:17PM]

@Christian Martin The funny thing is that this ugly thing is the most attractive alienware laptop ever!

[tylersmyler Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:26PM]

@One Love

Agreed. I would seriously consider this if it wasn't so damn hideous.

[Christian Martin Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:43PM]

@Edobe The previous model, the m15x, wasn't too bad. The hinges liked to crack though.

[rchives Posted Jan 29th 2010 2:28PM]

@One Love

Better yet, why is it running Vista?!!!

[Steve2000 Posted Jan 29th 2010 3:29PM]

Is there really a demographic out there that thinks Alienware designs look cool? I don't get it.

[JamesR Posted Jan 29th 2010 4:30PM]

@(Unverified)

That's Windows7, not Vista.

[mattisdada Posted Jan 29th 2010 7:31PM]

@JamesR
No the image portrays Vista. The laptop runs Windows 7, but if you look above, its showing Vista. (Look at the tray, and the bar overall)

[bigcow05 Posted Jan 29th 2010 8:50PM]

@One Love

Those front intakes are there to suck out any femininity you might have and instantly turn you into beer chugging, rough handling man of men.

[mokotoamoina Posted Jan 29th 2010 10:30PM]

@tylersmyler This is one of the high-rollers, all the while this laptop made a good rival with alienware m17x which cost more than 3k USD now this laptop selling for less than 1k? Sweetest. Details about alienware m17x..: http://bit.ly/alienware-m11x-closest-competition

[mtnDewFTW Posted Jan 30th 2010 3:29AM]

@One Love That's just the logic of a average PC user. They don't give a rats ass about what their computer looks like, it's all about the SPECCS. OMFGZZZ THE SPECS GOTTA HAVE EM. OMGZZ ALIENWARE LOGO IMMA CUMMMM.

If PC makers actually thought of what they're selling, looks wise, Mac users like me wouldn't be so cocky.

[Dr Sharp Posted Jan 30th 2010 11:41AM]

i just ordered a m17x and to my dismay Dell has pulled all blu ray players from the line up citing industry wide shortages.

[Nitesh Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:52PM]

I never understood the need for these...Do you REALLY need to bring along all your games while on the road? And pay a hefty premium over similarly powerfull desktops? Is your penis really that small?

[One Love Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:56PM]

@Nitesh : ...and does it have to light up like the Las Vegas strip?

[Dafrety Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:43PM]

@One Love
Does your small penis light up like the Las Vegas strip? There might be something wrong with it then.

[Vrmithrax Posted Jan 29th 2010 2:29PM]

@Nitesh - as someone who typically spends over half of each year on the road, often stuck in hotel rooms for week long trips, I can attest to wanting to have some gaming gear available. It helps alleviate the boredom.

Another reason would be the LAN party fanatics who just like to bring their killer gaming laptop instead of a Shuttle or dragging a full on gaming rig around. Or consider students whose only computer is a laptop, they'd probably like to be able to game on it... Lots of reasons to have the power available, when you start considering.

[Christian Martin Posted Jan 29th 2010 2:49PM]

@One Love

Actually, no it doesn't; you can turn the lights right the hell off.

[Thunderbuck Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:56PM]

I'm confused. I've seen these machines on Dell's site for months.

Or were they actually available in Canada first? (for once?)

[lordbannon Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:59PM]

@Thunderbuck They've been out here too, but they just got updated with the i3s and i5s

[RGSPro Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:57PM]

I wish Voodoo was still making notebooks- those were awesome looking laptops.

[yejun Posted Jan 29th 2010 5:09PM]

@RGSPro I think they designed envy.

[Kleptomaniac Posted Jan 29th 2010 12:58PM]

These will probably make good gaming machines but they can also be used to heat a small house!

[vdubdan45 Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:00PM]

I'll stick with my gaming desktop. Kthnxbi.

[nako808 Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:05PM]

$1,199 for entry level. $2,000+ for it to be worth it. OP PoS.

[MarkB Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:05PM]

Only two icons on the desktop? Where's the crapware?! I needz my promotional 10 free Snapfish prints!!

[beersurfing Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:07PM]

@MarkB No need for extra crapware, Vista is already installed

[Christian Martin Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:10PM]

@beersurfing

1) Alienware machines have no pre-installed crapware.
2) It's an old picture.

[beersurfing Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:07PM]

Is that Vista I see on the screen? Pass

[D1rtyD1ngusMcGee Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:24PM]

@beersurfing

All the Mx machines have Windows7

[Jacob1 Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:18PM]

why ATI 4870? why doesn't the M17x have the latest ATi 5870 (or whatever equivalent)?

[Rick Goodman Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:44PM]

@Jacob1
Because the ati radeon hd 5000 series for laptops has been announced, not yet released...

[Jacob1 Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:50PM]

@Rick Goodman yeah they have:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/09/ati-serves-up-directx-11-compatible-mobility-radeon-gpus-helps/

[Vrmithrax Posted Jan 29th 2010 2:35PM]

@Jacob1 - make sure to read your own cited article carefully. It says "introduced" prominently. As Rick Goodman stated, they have just been unveiled - it sometimes takes a while to get them incorporated into an already tight laptop environment. If the bus is at all different, or the cooling profile is unlike previous discrete cards that current laptop models are built to use, then there's a good degree of redesigning and reorganizing that can be required before a laptop using the new stuff is ready for release to the public (and mass production).

[Faceless Troll Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:21PM]

I think I'd rather get a Macbook.

[paul34 Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:23PM]

The keyboard is kindof cool, but... why do Alienware computers always have to be so gaudy? ugh. They appeal to a demographic that can't even legally work (too young) in order to be able to afford these things

[vzachari Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:25PM]

I neither see the Geforce gtx280m nor the Blue ray drives available for the m17x core i7. As a matter of fact it appears that alienware has run out of most componets (including DVD drives) and they are canceling orders left and right. Speculated ETA for Mobility Radeon 5870 is late February for M17x i7 and God knows when they will actually start shipping systems with even the current configurations. To me it looks like AW is trying to get rid of stock components at the moment.

[saliwok Posted Jan 29th 2010 9:49PM]

Stunning - first that we have all these "announcements" on products that they can't deliver and second, that Engadget is posting these press releases without checking what the company is really offering. How much advertising does Dell buy on this site??

[gandalfthewizard2 Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:36PM]

I wonder if Alienware ever got around to fixing the "stuttering" and "skipping" sound issue with the M17x. I sent mine back because before the return period expired because Dell/AW couldn't fix the sound problems. I'd recommend not buying the M17x if you care at all about sound quality.

[chilenoneto Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:39PM]

There is a lot of people (including me) that travels a lot, and likes to play latest games at best possible quality... there is no equivalent to alienware laptops... if you want a lower profile design try Dell XPS series, with slightly lesser specs but a lot less eyecandy on lights.

[WilliamFoss Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:40PM]

are aliens real?

[Snake Robot Podium Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:41PM]

I'm not seeing any Blu-ray drive option, do you mean external?

I've been shopping for a new laptop and it's actually kinda hard to find a laptop with any internal Blu-ray option from Dell.

[vzachari Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:48PM]

@Snake Robot Podium

Seems like there is a general shortage of internal Blue ray drives all around, not just dell. I was just commenting on the post suggesting that Blue ray drives are an option for M17x i7.

[D1rtyD1ngusMcGee Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:53PM]

@Snake Robot Podium For some reason the Blu Ray drive option is no longer available for any configuartion

[Vrmithrax Posted Jan 29th 2010 2:38PM]

@Snake Robot Podium - most likely an issue with finding a slot-loading Blu-ray player to fit into their design (at least on the Alienware models)

[grockle Posted Jan 29th 2010 1:56PM]

So I am going to confess at the start. I am writing this on a fresh M15x having used a 1710 XPS for three years happily. No I don't work for Dell before you ask !

Using a Core i7 820, 500Gb7200, 6Gb, WIn7U64, GTX240, FullHD. It cost a bomb however the XPS proved to be a good machine over three years and I do a lot of hi-res work. No gaming but need heavy travel and big CPU.

The 2/4Gb is in Single channel mode ! Order 4Gb or 8Gb (not from Dell whos prices for RAM exceed even Apples !)
The keyboard bounces a bit, trackpad is a bit sub-premium but usable.
For a 15" machine it has the same footprint as my old 17" XPS
It weighs more than my old XPS1710. Big sod !
Dell EU don't offer an SSD - get a life ! Now i have to prize my new machine open and fit an Indilinx based SSD you muppets.
Where's the Blueray option ? I had it on my 36 month old XPS1710 ?

Sounds bad right - Hell no. It is a stunner. You will have to prize it from my clammy dead hands if you want it. Stunning build quality, no bloatware, Intel ICH drivers already loaded, Loaded all my Kaspersky Office 2010, Adobe CS4, RMTS and SP and it is still hammering away without a drop in performance. Outstanding.

You could get the same P55 platform Core i7 820 from other vendors but if you are going to buy this now it will still be expensive and the metal chassis on this bad boy will allow you to keep it looking good for the three years it takes to pay for it. As long as you wipe off the fingerprints it attracts.

No overheating problems, fans not running up, ran Prime 95 without a glitch for 6 hours (fans came on slow then) and it seems smooth.

Nice work Alienware/Dell - its expensive, it MUST have SSD and BR but I have screwdrivers......and I rate it highly.

[refink Posted Jan 29th 2010 2:23PM]

why does this laptop have Windows Vista?