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

(Credit: Alienware)

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 back to an older chassis, similar to the one we saw in last year's Area-51 m9570 model. Also missing is the amusing (but not terribly practical) M17x lighting system, which could illuminate the keyboard, touchpad border, and other parts of the system with different colored lights. This new model has just a simple backlit keyboard.

We just got our hands on a test system that includes a 1,920x1,200 display, dual ATI Radeon HD 3870 GPUs, 64-bit Vista, 3GB of RAM, and a 7,200rpm 160GB hard drive for $1,999. We're running some initial tests right now, and will let you know how it compares to the $6,000 M17x we looked at, as well as our recommended budget gaming laptop, the $1,399 Gateway P-7811FX. (If you're curious, our CPU is a Core 2 Duo P8400. Upgrading to a Core 2 Quad Q9100 would be an extra $850, and upgrading to a Core 2 Extreme Quad QX9300 is a $1,200 upgrade).

[Zarland]

I seriously don?t get the idea why people still buy gaming pc that are made by companies such as Alienware or Voodoo. Most pc game enthusiasts are knowledgeable enough to piece up their own computer without much problem by buying the parts themselves. For 60% or less the price tag asked by Alienware, I can assemble a pc just as good by getting parts from online store such as Newegg.

[da5id2]

Try building a high end LAPTOP for a reasonable price and without driving yourself crazy. Regarding the desktop market, I completely agree with you. However, this article is about a laptop and there simply isn't an easy and affordable way to build your own laptop.

[NPSF3000]

2 Things, believe it or not these high end machines are actually bought by companies etc(video editing, realtime performance (eg concerts), audio and 3d) so there is a market for the products, and it is easier for a casual gamer with money of someone who like the case and design etc to get an alienware.

There is a differance between gamer and PC enthusiast....

Still, I do agree with you, build your own desktop for most gamers. If you want a laptop alienwares is high performance and belive it of not - very competitive...