Dell's latest Alienware laptops are VR ready
You can also power them out of sleep mode with your eyes.
Dell has revealed a 13-, 15- and 17-inch lineup of thinner, VR-ready Alienware laptops that pack new designs and whiz-bang eye-tracking features. For gamers, the main attraction is support for the latest NVIDIA laptop cards. The big-screen Alienware 17 gets the top-end NVIDIA GTX 1080 chip, while the Alienware 15 and 13 get the GTX 1070 and 1060, respectively. That means that all three models will be "VR-ready" for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets.
The 17- and 15-inch models have been completely redesigned, with the hinge point pushed forward. That allowed Dell to put additional parts and cooling at the back, making for 25 percent slimmer devices. The chassis are built with anodized aluminum and magnesium alloy, with steel reinforcing, making for better build quality and rigidity, Dell says.
As for what's inside, there are sixth-generation Intel Core i7 CPUs (not the next-gen "Kaby Lake") with the flagship 17-inch model getting an overclocked, "k-series" option, Dell says. The 15- and 17-inch models carry 1080p IPS screens with 120Hz refresh and G-sync support, plus 2667 MHz DDR4 RAM. The larger models have Dell's "TactX" keyboards with 2.2mm of travel, RGB LED key lighting and simultaneous multi-key press support (up to 10 keys at once).
To be as tech-cool as possible, Dell added Windows Hello cameras to all models, letting you log in just by putting your face in front of the screen. It also added Tobii eye tracking tech that can do a few new tricks. They'll disable the keyboard backlight when you look away from the screen, for instance, and even let you lock or unlock the device using your eyes. Much as with MSI's laptops, it will "detect your gaze [and] allow you to record and export your gaze pattern as a coaching tool to help improve you gameplay."
Dell hasn't revealed the all-important pricing yet, but the 15- and 17-inch models arrive in the US on September 30th and hit the UK by October 4th. The 13-inch model will be available in both countries sometime in November.
