alienware

Rounding up the Intel Core i7 desktops

As you may have read, we are impressed by Intel's Core i7 965 Extreme Edition desktop processor. It's fast not only because of the chip itself, but also because of the changes Intel made to the way it interacts with your system memory. Such chip-specific information is great for the DIY crowd, but what about those of you less inclined to build your own PC?

We've spent the better part of November reviewing Core i7-equipped desktops, five to be exact. The highest-end model, the $8,000 Falcon Northwest Mach V, set records on every desktop benchmark in our arsenal. The surprisingly affordable Dell Studio XPS and Gateway FX6800-01e also impressed us, not only with their relative speed, but by allowing up to six system memory sticks, in the case of the Dell, or by allowing you to add two 3D cards in an sub-$1,500 desktop with the Gateway. Both of those upgrade options speak well of the flexibility afforded by Intel's new Core i7-supporting X58 chipset. We also loved the Gateway's tricked-out chassis.

In between, we saw a Core i7-based Alienware Area-51 X58 with 2TB of traditional hard drive storage, as well as a pair of Samsung solid-state hard drives. That's a truly impressive amount of hardware, even for its $6,500 price tag. We just wish there was an overclocking option with that system. And finally, Velocity Micro's upper-midrange Edge Z55 impressed us as PCs from that company often do, with its workman-like design and superior performance for the dollar.… Read more

Alienware offers discounts on selected systems

According to I4U, Alienware will soon be offering a $200 instant discount on the Area 51 m17x Notebook (which starts from $1,999) and the Area 51 790i Desktop (which starts from $1,349). This deal will be available from November 26 until December 2, and free shipping is available until December 31.

We reviewed the Alienware Area 51 m17x in September and were really impressed with its performance. However, $200 isn't that much of a deal for this kind of beast, but if you're a fan of the systems then I guess you can't look a … Read more

When Blu-ray and laptops collide

If you're waiting for Blu-ray players to dip below the $99 mark before replacing your DVD player, let us offer an alternate solution: a Blu-ray-equipped laptop.

While Blu-ray drives first appeared on huge laptops with 18.4-inch screens that were capable of displaying 1080p video, we've now seen Blu-ray drives on laptops as small as the 11-inch Sony Vaio TT. With an HDMI port becoming an increasingly popular laptop feature, you're able to easily connect a laptop to an HDTV for HD movie playback. And with Blu-ray player prices dropping, you don't necessarily need to break … Read more

Intel officially launches Core i7, pricing

Intel's next-generation microarchitecture has arrived. Officially.

Intel made the debut of the Core i7 processor official on Monday afternoon, launching the processor at an event in San Francisco. PC makers, including Dell and Gateway, quickly followed suit with announcements.

"The Core i7 processor speeds video editing (and) immersive games...by up to 40 percent without increasing power consumption," the Intel said in a statement.

Combining the i7 with super-fast solid state drives will lead to significant jumps in performance, according to Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group. "When … Read more

Intel Core i7 processors hit online retailers

The Intel Core i7 processor is being bid up at online retailers--about a week before its official launch.

Though Intel isn't slated to launch the Core i7 processor until November 17, processors are ready for order at online retailers. The Core i7 represents the vanguard of Intel's new Nehalem microarchitecture.

PC Connection is selling the 2.66GHz Intel i7-920 processor with 8MB of cache memory for $334. The sales status is currently "on order." The official pricing from Intel--its pricing will likely be updated early next week--is expected to be lower at about $285 for the … Read more

Week in laptops: Fujitsu displays, Toshiba GPUs

What a week: a historic American election, driven by the Internet! Holograms--make that "holograms"--on TV. Three GPUs in a single laptop.

OK, so not all headlines are created equal. But many folks (in the United States, at least) seem to still be catching up on non-election news. If that describes you, read on for the laptop news you missed while you were wearing out your F5 key on the CNN home page.

First, as Americans were lining up at polling places, Fujitsu unveiled three new LifeBooks: the N7010, which has a 16-inch primary display as well as … Read more

Alienware's charmingly cheap CrossFireX laptop tested

We just got our hands on Alienware's latest laptop, the 17-inch M17. It's an offshoot of the popular Area-51 M17X, which impressed us earlier this year with its twin Nvidia GeForce 9800 GPUs and striking new design.

The new M17 (minus the "x") system trades Nvidia graphics for ATI (including a multi-GPU CrossFireX option) and also includes optional Intel Quad Core 2 Extreme CPUs.

We tested a relatively inexpensive (and not terribly exciting) configuration, which for $1,999 (starting price: $1,399) included dual ATI Radeon HD 3870 GPUs and a dual-core, Penryn-class Core 2 Duo … Read more

Intel debuts new Core i7 desktop CPU

Intel takes the wraps off a brand new desktop CPU family today. Core i7, formerly named Nehalem, will hit stores and desktop vendors' config pages before the end of the month, but reviews with benchmark and pricing information had the greenlight this morning.

We ran our own tests and found the flagship $999 Core i7-965 Extreme chip is the new fastest game in town. The usual round of enthusiast sites also found lots to like about both this chip and the other members of the new Core i7 family. A required new motherboard will add $300 to the price of … Read more

Gaming on a (relative) budget: Alienware's new M17 laptop

PC gaming giant Alienware announced a new addition to the company's gaming laptop lineup on Monday, taking a somewhat sharp turn from the recent M17x model. The new M17 (minus the "x") system trades Nvidia graphics for ATI (including a multi-GPU CrossfireX option) and also includes optional Intel Quad Core 2 Extreme CPUs. Those new parts drive the price up quite a bit, but a more basic config is actually very affordable (at least when talking about Alienware), starting at just $1,399.

The M17 skips the recent slab-like redesign of Alienware's laptop line, and goes … Read more

Intel Core i7 chip reviews arrive--yes, it's fast

Updatd on November 3 at 9:00 a.m. with additional information about Dell Core i7 systems.

Intel's Core i7 processor will first appear in fast gaming desktop PCs, as reviews arrive confirming its speed advantage over the Core 2 architecture.

The first comprehensive reviews hit Monday leaving little doubt that Intel's Nehalem chip architecture will greatly surpass anything Intel offers now.

Reviews cover the Core i7-965 Extreme Edition used with Intel's "SmackOver" motherboard, aka the DX58SO Extreme.

Core i7 processors expected to launch later this month include 2.66GHz (Core i7-920) and 3.20GHz (… Read more