Alienware M17x gaming laptop revealed in all its thick, dual-GPU glory

The beast from front and back.

(Credit: Alienware)

With E3 around the corner, gaming news is breaking left and right. Perhaps it should come as no surprise, then, that details on Alienware's M17x gaming laptop broke a little earlier than next weekend's onslaught of pixels and polygons. And indeed, Friday morning, the full profile of Alienware's All Powerful laptop has surfaced--ahead of schedule, and ready to steal a little weekend limelight while it can.

It's big. And thick--2.11 inches thick, to be precise. At 11.6 pounds, and 15.98 inches by 12.65 inches, the M17x comes with a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo P8600 (which can be upgraded to a Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core) and up to 8GB of DDR3 RAM. And it can be outfitted with dual 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M GPUs (it starts with a single 1GB GeForce GTX260M, but why not dare to dream?). The hard drive capacity goes up to 1TB, or half a terabyte of solid-state. A nine-cell battery, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Blu-ray-upgradable optical drive round out the package. And, of course, there's the 1920x1200 17-inch screen.

It's thicker than Texas toast.

(Credit: Alienware)

In case you're clamoring for audio/video options, the M17x includes HDMI, VGA and DisplayPort, as well as 6.1 audio out.

As you can see, glowing red lighting is everywhere, including the keyboard, trackpad, and considerable grille, fairly screaming, "I'm a gaming laptop" to anyone who dares approach this beast's cooling vents. Carry this one out of your dorm/bedroom at your own risk.

We'll report more on this when we've actually played with one here at the lab. But the All Powerful promise looks to have been kept. Prices start at $1,799, but if you want the maximum upgrades we've listed here, look for a credit card with a line much higher than that.

[Sardonik]

Real men build their own gaming desktops, but damn that's a nice gaming laptop.

[streamline35]

Agreed. I never could've gotten a better price for the machine I built a year ago (~$1000, q6600 2.4 ghz core 2 quad, 4 gb ram, gtx 260 (recently upgraded from 8800gt).

[JRKhoury]

Yeah I spent roughly 900CAD to get an AMD Phenom II X4 945, an Asus M4-A78T motherboard, a 2GB Sapphire ATi Radeon HD 4870, and 6GB of DDR3-1600 memory, and it is strong enough to play any game and will likely blaze through games for the next four years at least. That and putting the PC parts together is remarkably satisfying.

[streamline35]

Nice build JRKhoury - And I agree with your last statement about how great it is to actually build the PC yourself. Not only is it extremely satisfying, it allows for as much customization of (and upgrades to) your PC as you could ever want. And to top that off - it's very educational. Nothing helps you understand the basics of your computer better than to completely build it yourself. You'd be surprised what a useful skill it is. The computer I built for myself (in my post above) was my first build ever - kind of a test machine. Since then, I've built 6 or 7 computers at work, one for my grandmother, and two for friends whose old computers died.

[mnl1121]

yeah its great to build your own gaming desktop but this is a laptop. If you want portability, not as in gaming in the car, more like taking it to a gaming tournament or something then this is the way to go. You can't build laptops yourself so this is really your only option.

[ElSuperBeasto]

11.6 pounds isn't what I would call portable... But this sounds pretty powerful. Wonder what the price would be for max specs.

[forever4now]

I'm not a gamer, so excuse me if the question sounds silly, but:

Why would I buy this instead of say an Xbox 360 or a PS3?

Portability? Better graphics? Better games?

The consoles are far less expensive, so there must be something I am missing.

[tipoo_]

Well, all three of the things you mentioned. Although for portability, you may want to look elsewhere instead of getting this lapcrusher.

[C433Z]

Here are some reasons off the top of my head:

-a keyboard and mouse usually are the best controller.
-Some games like Starcraft and Diablo are also exclusive to pc's.
-Online gaming is almost always free (exceptions are MMO's like World of Warcraft).
-And graphics can be better when you have nice enough computer.

For me it's the use of a keyboard and mouse. As for the reason for buying an uber-expensive Alienware laptop? Beats me; it's a colossal waste of money.

[pizzahutmaster]

Don't forget it is also a computer.

[streamline35]

I wouldn't recommend getting that for gaming over a console (unless you can really afford it). However, I would recommend a ~$800 gaming desktop over a $400 console.

-Keyboard and mouse > controller (for most situations)
-Much better graphics (on just about anything with a discrete graphics card)
-More games
-Online is free (except for some MMO's, but consoles don't even have those in the first place)
-Much more customizable
-Most importantly, it's a computer. You probably need one anyway, so why not spend an extra couple hundred (same as you'd pay for a console) for a far superior gaming experience.

[pithenumber]

if you buy a console, you also have to buy a computer
$300 console+$600 computer=$900
$800 gaming computer+nothing=$800

save cash, better graphics
but I don't really see why people buy gaming laptops though

[deecee]

PC's are good for games, epsecially strategy and more in-depth games, but nothing beats the simplicity of using a simple controller to play a first person shooter on the living room couch over the 65 inch LCD TV!! Console and PC's each have their place in gaming...

[pithenumber]

@deecee
I prefer keyboard mouse for fps, but I think fighting games really shine on consoles

[superaznman]

wow. two bad they havent come out with an i7 based laptop. lol.

[tipoo_]

Another company did though, google it.

[JRKhoury]

The i7 mobile chips haven't been released yet man. You can be sure Alienware will be ready within a month of their release.

[frobation]

well put it this way.....this laptop will last you about 2, 3, 4 and mayb 5 years nd still be high tech especially if you keep it up-to-date in concerns of RAM nd graphics....

but with the PS3 nd XBOX it has its days and then you gotta buy the new version and so on...
so really: spend more, PLAY MORE!!!!! WOOOT
i have an alienware btw ITS OWNAGE :P

[rnaoncfixd]

Umm... The 360 and the PS3 have been around for about 4, almost 5 years now and developers have yet still to tap in to the full potential of both systems. So... what's your point?

Also, Alienware is overpriced and to get more bang for your buck, you should build your own. If I spent the same amount on an Alienware as I would on parts, I could end up with a computer that's almost twice as fast.

[streamline35]

agree with rnaoncfixd - if you buy a console at the beginning of its days, it will last as long as a good gaming PC before you need to upgrade to a newer model. I much prefer PCs over consoles, but that's just a fact (there are plenty of other good reasons to get a PC over a console).
And yes, as mentioned, alienware is quite overpriced - building your own is of course the most cost effective, but even other boutique vendors seem to a be a bit more reasonably priced.

[pithenumber]

I wouldn't put that on my lap if I were you

I'm sticking with the good ol' midtower and a non gaming laptop that is actually portable

[niko_osokin]

That thing is damn ugly.

[BlitzBoy1120]

Alienware makes some pretty great gaming computers, but that is a giant laptop.

[streamline35]

They are nice, but completely overpriced. You could build one of their $2k computers yourself for somewhere just north of $1k

[cwlqwp]

man i could build a computer that looked like that, but i can only build one with the same specs. oh well that will have to be good enough

[Josh BSN]

I had an alienware laptop several years back. Thing overheated like crazy - the best thing that happened to me was it getting stolen - insurance took care of most of it, I spent 1/3 on a hp laptop that ran 90% as fast and had a couple grand left over.

[FireyIce01]

Gaming Laptop. Now that's an oxymoron.

[viper396]

Why would a person buy an Alienware laptop? .....Why do some people buy Mercedes Benz's for commuting when a cheaper Toyota can do the same job? Think about it.