Alienware m17x Nebula Red Laptop Review
The Alienware 17 is thinner and lighter than any 17 inch laptop we’ve created before, but that doesn't mean we skimped on performance. It’s crafted with aerospace-inspired carbon fiber filled surfaces that add stiffness and durability, and copper heat sinks that enable proper cooling.
So when it comes to making a great laptop for gamers, a company must deliver a stellar package — a big, high-resolution display, sturdy hardware components and a muscular graphics card — all in a machine that won’t break your back when you tote it to a LAN party.
For awhile, specialty game computer companies Voodoo and Alienware were neck and neck, but HP bought and eventually shutdown Voodoo. Alienware, however, was picked up by Dell and continues to flourish under the Texas PC maker’s wing. Among many offerings, Alienware’s M17x has been an industry favorite since the machine’s debut in 2009.
This 17-inch, high-definition notebook is stuffed with a quad-core Core i7 CPU and a top-of-the-line AMD graphics card. The keyboard is roomy: The keys feel don’t have flex to them, to avoid that squishy button feeling. Add to that high-quality speakers that are considered “some of the best we’ve heard on a laptop,” says LaptopMag.
Alienware makes smaller versions of this laptop, too, for a little less cash. But to us, it doesn’t make sense to get a gaming notebook smaller than 17 inches, because extra screen space is just one of those things that makes gaming better.
Now that Voodoo is no longer, Alienware’s closest competitor is Origin PC, a Miami-based company founded by former employees of Alienware. Origin has a compelling competitor to Alienware’s M17x: the Eon 17-S, also a 17-incher. To make a long explanation short, the main difference is, Origin overclocks both the CPU and CPU for you. This is a fine alternative, but from our research, Alienware’s M17x earned higher reviews among game-hardware enthusiasts for its overall build quality and speed. Despite being bought out by Dell, Alienware still makes the best gaming laptops.
KEY SPECS
Display:
17.3-inch,1920-by-1080-pixel resolution
Processor:
2.3-GHz Intel Core i7
Memory:
8GB RAM
Storage:
256GB solid-state drive
Graphics:
AMD Radeon HD 6970M, Intel HD, 2GB video memory
Weight:
9.6 pounds
Media:
Blu-ray optical drive, 3-in-1 card reader
