It doesn't do 3D and it doesn't curve all around your periphery, but Alienware's OptX AW2210 does a decent number for its just barely sub-$300 price tag. The 21.5-inch widescreen LCD panel boasts 1080p resolution, two millisecond response time, 16.7 million colors, and an 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. Throw in two HDMI and four USB ports -- sorry, no VGA or DVI here -- and you've got yourself a pretty nice option. The screen's on sale now via Alienware direct.

Update: Alienware's sent us word that the monitor does in fact sport DVI input, and it looks like the product page has been updated to reflect that.

We noted that Alienware's "All Powerful" M17x gaming laptop was a hefty beast when we got our hands on it last month, so who better to unbox this 11.5-pound monster than Bruce Pechman, also known as Mr. Bicep? Apparently Bruce scored one of the first models off the line after betting the Alienware reps at E3 that he could do 17 straight one-arm lifts of the demo machine over his head, and his maxed-out rig packs a quad-core Core 2 Extreme, dual GeForce 260M graphics cards and a slot-loading Blu-ray burner -- all of which arrived in this gigantic 32-pound box. Yeah, it's a little ridiculous -- but you know you want it.

Just because you're timid and demure doesn't mean your laptop has to be. Alienware's M17x "All Powerful" gaming rig with option for twin GTX 280 GPUs is now up for grabs on Dell's retail site. While the base configuration starts at $1,799, we went ahead and priced it fully loaded just for kicks. As such, our rig is stuffed with a 2.53GHz Core 2 Extreme Quad QX9300 ("the most powerful mobile processor in the world" according to Dell), Vista Ultimate, dual GTX 280M running in SLI, the 1920x1200 WideUXGA LCD panel, 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 memory, and a pair of 256GB SSDs for 500GB of RAID 0 storage, slot-loading Blu-ray combo drive, and ExpressCard ATSC tuner with remote. The damage? $5,587. Who says gaming doesn't kill?

Update: NVIDIA has confirmed that this monster exists.

We're still not sure where Alienware gets off calling this thing "all powerful" -- where do you go from there? -- but we certainly like what's under the hood. This 17-inch M17x desktop replacement, which is due for E3 next week, has started cropping up early and we've gotten a quick look at one in the flesh. It weighs in at 11.5 pounds, and packed to the gills it can handle dual GeForce NVIDIA GTX 280M GPUs, an Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-core processor some fancy overclocking options, and up to 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 RAM. There's also the lovable GeForce 9400M integrated graphics with HybridPower switching for when you want to turn things down a notch and write a nice, long letter to your mother while milking the overtaxed nine-cell battery for all it's worth. Outside the raw horsepower, Alienware's revamped its design, with a hefty aluminum chassis, user-configurable lighting accents and a great many radar-evading accoutrements -- oh, and facial recognition for login and timed auto-logout. The display is configurable up to 1920 x 1200, and the laptop can pump out a good many pixels to an external monitor as well -- we saw it powering Dell's almost-ready 2880 x 900 curved display running Crysis with no problem. Other options include Blu-ray, up to 512GB of SSD storage in the dual drive bays, and perhaps best of all: a $1,799 starting price, which includes a GeForce GTX 260M GPU to get your feet wet.

We got to play with the laptop a bit at a recent event, and were seriously impressed with the look and feel of the thing -- somewhat of a rarity in the over-plasticized gaming space. As we mentioned, Crysis ran fine, and while the hardcore gamer-on-the-go with endless supplies of cash might be a bit of a rare breed these days, at least they haven't been forgotten... though they are in store for some serious back problems in later life.

The announcement wasn't scheduled for a few more days -- four according to the teaser site -- but it looks like Alienware's All Powerful gaming laptop has been set free anyway. So, does it live up to the clues? Pretty much... how does a pair of 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M GPUs strike you? No Core i7 listed, instead we're looking at a Core 2 Extreme quad-core CPU at the top end with up to 8GB of 1333MHz DDR3 memory, and 1TB of 7200-rpm disk or a 512GB SSD if you prefer. RAID 1 or RAID 0? Sure. Rounding things out is a nine-cell battery of unstated performance, FireWire, 4x USB, eSATA, ExpressCard, 802.11n WiFi, 8-in-1 media card reader, dual-layer Blu-ray, a 1920 x 1200 pixel edge-to-edge LCD, DisplayPort and HDMI-outs all wrapped up in a massive chassis weighing 11.68-pounds with a 15.98 x 12.65 x 2.11-inch footprint. It's also packing a GeForce 9400M G1 GPU with HybridPower technology that allows you to scale the graphics back to conserve battery power. Prices start at $1,799 for a lot less than we mentioned above.

As a footnote to the details above, PCWorld also says that Alienware will use next week's E3 show to update us on its 42.8-inch curved monitor we went hands-on with back in January of 2008.

[Thanks, Steve]

Five days before launch and out pops another teaser for the Alienware Allpowerful gaming laptop. The image above again comes courtesy of the cats and kittens over at the NotebookReview forums. Noted symbolist, Larven, went so far as to translate the gibberish on the picture setting the forum into a tizzy of code cracking. It reads line-by-line as follows:

The sum of the first four primes (Answer: 17 hinting at a 17-inch display or Core i7 maybe?)
Denotes a state of two parts (Core 2 Extreme or dual-GPUs perhaps?)
Known as the gentleman's muscle car of 1967 (Plymouth GTX pointing to NVIDIA graphics?)
When pure, it will carry a yield strength of 7-11 mpa (Aluminum chassis?)
Is always empty in zero sum games (Core?)

Of course, with a name like Allpowerful, we're expecting something big here. We've seen Core i7 laptops before, but dual GTX 260M / 280M GPUs might be a little much? We'll turn the sleuth-work over to you now dear readers. Best guess gets a HTTP cookie.

[Thanks, MAG]

Menacing huh? The slightly enhanced image above was uploaded to the NotebookReview forums by a jockey claiming to be from Alienware marketing in Costa Rica. The tease upon tease shows what could be the Allpowerful laptop already counting down for product launch in 15 days. Further image manipulation reveals the typical offset-left trackpad found in Alienware's current gaming rig lineup. One thing's for certain, with a name like "Allpowerful," we'd better be looking at a 17-inch screen (minimum) and heavy-hitting Core i7 or we're setting phasers to kill. Pew pew. Fully enhanced image with added fanart by forum member Quicklite after the break.

[Thanks, Sneaky]

Read -- Original post
Read -- Image dissection

When it's not busy perpetrating negative stereotypes about alien cranium sizes, Dell's Alienware has been known to throw together a product teaser now and then. This latest one points to 20 days in the future, when Alienware will presumably unveil a "new gaming laptop & computer" (according to the header) dubbed "Allpowerful." Seems a little pretentious, sure, but we wouldn't expect anything less. We'll see y'all in June.

Now that Intel's mighty Core i7 is all out in the open, it's no shock to see a wave of gaming rigs come along boasting said chip. Following in the footsteps of Dell and Gateway comes Alienware with the Area-51 X-58 -- a beast that's a leap above (in terms of power and price) the recently revealed Area-51 750i. Serious gamers can select from the Core i7 920 (2.66GHz), 940 (2.93GHz) or Core i7 Extreme (3.2GHz) along with dual gigabit Ethernet jacks, one or two 2GB ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2s, up to 2TB of HDD space, an optional dual-layer Blu-ray burner and the usual complement of ports. The sky's the limit once you really start speccing it out, but the ball gets rolling at "just" $1,649.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: Alienware also introduced the even more robust ALX X-58, which starts at $3,699. Full release after the break.

Remember when the average Alienware was like four large? Ah, those were the days. As the used-to-be-boutique gaming PC company looks to attract a wider range of customers and fight off the effects of this economic quandary we're involved in, it has introduced the (relatively) affordable Area-51 750i. Predictably based on the NVIDIA nForce 750i SLI motherboard, this rig can be outfitted with a Core 2 Extreme QX9650, twin ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics cards (or dueling GeForce GTX 280s, if you prefer), 8GB of DDR2 RAM, Windows Vista 64-bit, more hard drive space than you'll ever have use for, an optional Blu-ray burner and the usual complement of ports. We needn't remind you that the $1,049 baseline rig doesn't have a specs list nearly that impressive, but if it's all about that glowing case, you can get in the game quite cheaply right now.

Alienware didn't do itself any favors by hyping up what wound up being a decidedly ho hum offering in the M17, but the open-minded critics over at CNET were able to sit the machine down for a tick and give it a workout. Reviewers tested a $1,999 configuration (it starts at $1,399) with twin ATI Radeon HD 3870 GPUs and a Core 2 Duo P8400, and overall, performance was "decent" for the price. Gaming scores were more than adequate and basic computing tasks were handled with ease, but a few niggles were still present. For instance, the smallish touch pad was blasted, and the inability to stay alive for over 1.5 hours during a video playback test was a real (albeit expected) downer. The biggest criticism, however, had nothing to do with performance; rather, critics lambasted the rig's old school design, and honestly, we find ourselves in complete agreement. Hit the read link for the full writeup.

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]

What is this, the day of the tease or something? We're already at our wits' end after what RED did to us earlier, we're not so sure we can withstand another. In an Alienware Insider e-mail (titled "Countdown to Launch") sent out to select individuals, the above picture was included -- and, that was it. We've reason to believe the new product might be dubbed LM7, but that's far from concrete at this point. What's not far, however, is the official unveiling of whatever this thing is. Desktop? Laptop? Alienware's valiant entry into the world of head-mounted displays? Tick, tick, tick...

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

It was under two years ago when we initially caught wind of Alienware's Hangar 18, and while the outfit seemed pretty bullish about the thing just 12 months ago at CEDIA, things have apparently went south. As of right now, the Hangar 18 website simply redirects back to the company's homepage, and CSRs are now informing inquiring consumers that the HTPC is simply no longer available for purchase. We know, this thing was overkill in every sense of the word, but it's not like that's stopping Niveus, Exceptional Innovation and all those other guys from making headway. So long, Hangar 18 -- we barely knew ya.

[Thanks, Aaron]