Alienware M17x
Notebook Specifications
Notebook: Alienware M17xProcessor: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300
Graphics Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI 1024 MB
Display: 17.0 inch, 16:10, 1920x1200 pixels, glossy: yes
Weight: 5.75kg
Price: 4500 euro
Average of 16 scores (from 21 reviews)
Reviews for the Alienware M17x
Source: IT Reviews
Notebook manufacturers will often promote their high-end models as being capable of playing the latest 3D games, but as soon as you whack up the detail and resolution settings they usually buckle under the pressure. The M17x from Alienware, however, is totally justified in calling itself a gaming notebook. In fact, as you'll soon find out, it's powerful enough to make most desktop PCs look utterly worthless. It's expensive, bulky and just a little bit noisy, but if you're after a gaming laptop and money is no object, you won't get much faster than the Alienware M17x. Those with less change in their pockets can scale down some of the components to make it more affordable.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 09/11/2009
Rating: price: 40% performance: 80% emissions: 40%
Source: Notebookreview.com
The M17x is without a doubt a superb gaming notebook, leading the desktop replacement market in build quality and design. The M17x has an effective cooling system that kept it cool during our testing, and we liked the AlienFX lighting system and different case color options. The switchable graphics are handy and equates to good battery life (2:15). Our biggest issue with this machine is the subpar screen, which is out of place on a machine of this caliber. Other than the screen we found it difficult to fault the M17x and give it our recommendation.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/02/2009
Rating: performance: 95% display: 40% mobility: 80% workmanship: 90% emissions: 80%
Source: Geek.com
Even so, the question isn’t if the M17x is a solid laptop, but rather is the M17x more than you need. Starting at $1800 and easily getting over $2500 the M17x is a serious investment, and one that comes along when many sub-$1800 systems can play today’s games extremely well. Maybe you won’t be able to max out the settings or play fullscreen in two years, but you can spend significantly less and game very well. If have decided that you want the best possible gaming experience and future-proof hardware, this brings us to a final concern–the most exceptional aspect of the M17x comes in the form of those GTX 280M video cards in SLI.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 08/31/2009
performance: 90%
Source: Techradar
Alienware has provided the ultimate gaming laptop - if money's no object. Alienware is renowned for its eyecatching, high-powered gaming computers, but there has been little change in its laptops designs since its acquisition by Dell in 2006. Although this is an expensive machine, its power and feature-packed specification make it by far the best gaming laptop you can buy. Alienware had a lot to prove with the M17x and has truly set a new standard in the gaming laptop market.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/26/2009
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: CNet
The Alienware M17x configuration we tested is undeniably expensive, and a clear case of overkill for all but the most enthusiastic and wealthy of gamers. Given the calibre of components used throughout, however, we can't criticise it in terms of value for money. It's a killer gaming laptop. Opt for a slightly slower processor and scale back some of the other components, and you can get the price down to a more realistic level.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/07/2009
Rating: Total score: 85%
Source: PC Pro
The last Alienware machine to make an appearance at PC Pro, the £2,127 M17, wasn't good enough to win an award. Back then, the Asus W90 was faster, better-looking and cheaper. Alienware, however, has struck back. Its new M17x makes a fantastic first impression. The aluminium exterior, dramatically angled front edge and mesh-covered speaker grilles make the M17x look like a futuristic Blu-ray player rather than a laptop. Superb performance in one of the sturdiest and best-looking gaming laptops we've seen - worth the expense
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 08/01/2009
Rating: Total score: 83%
Source: PC Advisor
You can put a price on laptop power: the Alienware M17x desktop-replacement gaming laptop costs from £1,699 inc VAT. So to the £1,699 (and the rest) question: should you buy this sort of muscle machine? Y'know, these days it may seem ridiculous to drop so many ducats on a laptop that you can upgrade only so far - but some live in ivory towers and demand the best. Like this notebook. If you have to own the best, get the Alienware M17x - but it is a lot of money.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/31/2009
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Co-optimus
The Alienware M17x is most capable of competing with a high end desktop PCs. And while PC hardware seems to move at a really fast pace, you won’t necessarily be left behind as there’s room to expand or upgrade certain components like the processor and video cards. The overall construction makes it easy to access your components as they sit underneath two screws and a small cage at the bottom of the laptop.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/30/2009
Rating: Total score: 40% price: 95% workmanship: 80%
Source: Co-optimus
The Alienware M17x is most capable of competing with a high end desktop PCs. And while PC hardware seems to move at a really fast pace, you won’t necessarily be left behind as there’s room to expand or upgrade certain components like the processor and video cards. The overall construction makes it easy to access your components as they sit underneath two screws and a small cage at the bottom of the laptop. So now comes the time in our review where we reveal the shocker. The thing where most people seem to balk at. The price. As configured our system ran $2599 plus taxes and shipping. It’s definitely one of the most expensive 17” laptops out there. It isn't hard though to find a few discounts and promotions to knock a few hundred dollars off the price.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/30/2009
Rating: price: 40% performance: 90% workmanship: 80%
Source: CNet
With a brand-new look, and some of the highest-end tech available in a laptop, we're semi-surprised that Alienware has kept the M17x name for its newest 17-inch laptop (even if it loses the X-Files-esq "Area-51" moniker). Alienware's new version of the M17x makes some welcome design tweaks and offers the best laptop gaming hardware you can get. Just be warned: it ain't cheap.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/16/2009
Rating: Total score: 83% performance: 90% features: 80% mobility: 50%
Source: PC Mag
Most hardcore gamers couldn't care less about how a gaming laptop looks. Give them the fastest processor and most powerful 3D graphics card and let them get on with the show. While most gaming laptop manufacturers would agree (they would buy the bulkiest bare-bone chassis from a Taiwanese factory and customize it with their own parts), Alienware is the one company that goes against the grain. The Alienware M17x is the complete mobile gaming package, as its all-metallic look can stand in the spotlight with its parts.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 07/15/2009
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Comp Reviews
Alienware certainly has made a desktop replacement system that is capable of high levels of performance with the new M17x. While the base system has much more in common with a typical 17-inch laptop, Alienware offers a large number of performance enhancements including RAID drive configurations and SLI graphics. The included hybrid graphics is also useful for scaling power usage. The downside is that this is an extremely large and very heavy laptop that dwarves most 17-inch laptops, even gaming specific ones.
Single Review, online available, Short, Date: 07/13/2009
Rating: Total score: 60%
Source: Computer Shopper
Long known for its high-end, high-performance systems, Alienware continues to impress with its new M17x gaming notebook. Sporting a refreshed case design and a dizzying array of features and performance parts, the M17x sets the bar for DirectX 10 3D-gaming performance in a notebook. The fastest gaming laptop we've ever tested, Alienware’s M17x packs top-shelf components in its 17-inch frame. But dedicated gamers will have to dig very deep to afford this field-dominating PC.
Single Review, online available, Medium, Date: 07/01/2009
Rating: Total score: 90%
Foreign Reviews
Source: Gamestar
DE→ENonline available, Very Short, Date: 08/27/2009
Rating: Total score: 87% price: 60% performance: 95% features: 70% display: 95%
Source: Chip.de
DE→ENonline available, Medium, Date: 08/25/2009
Rating: price: 30% performance: 90% display: 90% emissions: 50%
Source: Digital Trends
DE→ENonline available, Long, Date: 08/20/2009
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Notebookcheck
DE→ENonline available, Long, Date: 07/22/2009
Rating: Total score: 88% performance: 97% display: 80% mobility: 56% workmanship: 94% ergonomy: 86% emissions: 77%
Source: Notebookjournal
DE→ENonline available, Long, Date: 07/10/2009
Rating: Total score: 90% price: 60% performance: 70% features: 50% display: 90% mobility: 70% workmanship: 100% ergonomy: 70%
Source: PC World Italia
IT→ENonline available, Medium, Date: 09/02/2009
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: Kiến Thức Laptop
VN→ENonline available, Very Short, Date: 08/16/2009
Rating: Total score: 80%
Comment
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280M SLI: Two GeForce GTX 280M graphics cards in SLI combination. About 0-40% faster than a single GTX 280M. Because of the SLI combination, there can be the problem of micro stuttering (around 30fps).
These cards are compareable to enthusiasm desktop graphics cards, like the 9800M GT. The cards have a similar core, as their desktop counterparts, but are clocked lower and often have less shader processors. Modern games like Age of Conan, Race Driver Grid, Call of Duty 4, Mass Effect, or Gothic 3 should run fluently with high details (Crysis should run in medium to high details).
>> Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core 2 Extreme: The fastest Core 2 Duo variants of Intel are called Core 2 Extreme. Technically, these processors are based on a Merom/Penryn (X9000) core like all other Core 2 Duo processors, too.
QX9300:
>> Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
17.0": Meanwhile the 17 inch display size is a more frequently offered standard format for desktop-replacements. The DTR-laptops can't be carried easily, need much energy but on the other side texts can be read easily and high resolutions are no problem. DTR mainly are intended for stationary usage on desks, where the weight and the energy need are unimportant.
>> To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
5.75 kg: This laptop is heavy. Especially desktop replacements with 19 inch display fit in this class of weight. This class is too heavy, even for 17 inch DTR.
Alienware: Alienware is an American computer hardware company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell. It mainly assembles for high-performance gaming. Alienware also offers for sale rebadged laptops and computer peripherals, such as headsets, computer mice, monitors and keyboards. Alienware was founded in 1996. The corporate headquarters is located in Florida. Alienware established its EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) headquarters in Ireland, in 2002. 2005, Alienware brought in upwards of $170 million USD in annual sales and launched an international in 2003 with a presence in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Costa Rica. The international market share is limited.
80.38%: This rating is to be considered as average, because the amount of notebooks with better ratings is about equal like the amount with worse ratings.
>> Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
