Alienware 17

Pros Very Good 3D performance. Quad Core Haswell processor. 1080p screen. Cool lighting effects.

Cons Big and Bulky. Expensive. Low battery life. Bottom Line The Alienware 17 is a little pricey, but it's a powerful imposing gaming rig that can be taken from room to room or to a friend's house. It will serve you well on the game grid.

By Joel Santo Domingo

The Alienware 17 ($2,799) is a large-screen gaming rig for those who have a few bucks to spare. It has the power to run games at full 1080p resolution, and games look brilliant on its 17.3-inch screen. It's not the most portable thing in the world, but it will serve well in on the game grid.

Design and Features
The Alienware 17 resembles its larger counterpart, the Alienware 18 ($4499), with a dark grey/silver chassis measuring a stout 2 by 16 by 12 inches (HWD), and weighing in at a hefty 9.16 pounds alone. Add the power adapter, and you're talking about 11.25 pounds of travel weight. This isn't a system that you're going to lug around on your daily commute, unless you're a sponsored gamer on tour. Contrast this with the 0.66-inch thick Editors' Choice Razer Blade (2013) ($2,000), which weighs in at a svelte 4.1 pounds alone. Essentially, the Alienware 17 is made for situations where the larger 17.3-inch screen will make a difference, like when you need to show off or if you really need to see detail on the screen.

The Alienware 17 follows the usual Alienware ID, with an ovoid alien head on the lid, backlit with a couple of diagonal lines cut into the lid. The Alienware logo below the screen is backit as well, as if you could forget what kind of laptop you're using. The keyboard, trackpad, and side and front panels are also backlit, and you can use the AlienFX control panel to put one of 20 colors in 10 zones (for example, the trackpad is a zone). It's kind of gimmicky, but it differentiates the Alienware laptops from competitors like the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate ($2824), which offer less color choices. Granted, the Maingear gives you more options for the chassis itself, with a range of automotive paint colors. But the Alienware brothers will stand out more in a darkened room.

The Alienware 17's keyboard and trackpad are quite responsive. The keyboard is comfortable, and its springs are soft enough to help alleviate fatigue. The S key has a tactile mark on it to help center your fingers in the standard WASD pattern in a darkened room. You'll likely use a mouse during FPS sessions, but the backlit trackpad is centered under the palm rest for gamers who like using that interface. The system doesn't have a touch screen, but Razer has its Razer Edge Pro ($1450) for users that prefer touch gaming. Two physical buttons below the trackpad give you tactile action buttons.

You can hook your mouse up to one of the four USB 3.0 ports, two on either side of the laptop. The system also includes a HDMI port, mini-DisplayPort, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and a Blu-ray reader for your movies. The keyboard has a full numeric keypad to the right, along with some of the programmable multi-function keys above. The Alienware 18 understandably has more mutlifunction buttons than its smaller brother, but the majority of gamers won't suffer unless they are moving down from the system's big brother.

The system comes with a 17.3-inch 1,920-by-1,080 resolution full HD screen, which is a good match for the system's Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M graphics and slot-loading Blu-ray player. The system comes with 16GB of system memory, a 750 GB data drive, and a 256GB mSATA SSD as a boot drive. The SSD helps initial boot times, coming back from sleep, launching apps, and general performance. We asked Alienware to install Windows 7 Ultimate instead of Windows 8, since most games don't take advantage of the Windows UI yet. The system comes with a 1 year basic Alienware warranty.

Performance
The Alienware 17 is a powerhouse system, capable of butter smooth gameplay at medium quality settings. However, at higher quality settings at native resolution, the frame rates slow down a bit. We saw 39 fps on our Aliens vs. Predator game test and 36 fps on our Heaven gaming test, both at native resolution with quality settings up at close to maximum. While this means both games are mostly playable, it still means that you'll have to go for a slightly more expensive gaming system like the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate for smooth gameplay with all the eye candy turned on. At the multimedia tests like Handbrake video encoding and our Photoshop CS6 tests, the Alienware 17 won out over the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate. However, we'd probably be remiss if we were to recommend the Alienware 17 solely on its multimedia merits.

Thanks to its SSD boot drive and general performance, the Alienware 17 returned an excellent day-to-day score on the PCMark 7 test. About the only outright disappointment was the short two hours, fifty five minute run time on our battery test. This is less than half the time the Razer Blade (2013) was able to muster (6:52). 2:55 is a few minutes less than the runtime of the standard version of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Alienware 17 is certainly a statement that you are at least somewhat serious about your gaming. The Alienware is still attractive, with good scores on the gaming tests. However, a short battery life and the fact that only a bit more money will get you a gaming rig like the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate that will play smoothly at native resolution. This fact and a short battery life in such a bulky system keep the Alienware 17 from earning top marks among midrange gaming laptops. If it had just a bit more gaming juice, the sacrifice in portability might have been worth it, but alas it just misses the mark. The Razer Blade (2013) holds on to its midrange gaming title due to its extreme portability.

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Alienware 18

Pros Great performance. Smooth gameplay/SLI graphics. Cool lighting effects. Nice 1080p HD screen. Features include everything but the kitchen sink. Large capacity SSD+HDD. 32GB of memory. HDMI is an in/out port. 802.11ac WiFi.

Cons Bulky. Heavy. Short battery life. Bottom Line Big, bulky, and ostentatious as heck, the Alienware 18 is the ginormous gaming laptop you want to use to show off your riches on the game grid.

By Joel Santo Domingo

The Alienware 18 ($4,499, direct) gaming laptop is an unapologetic show of opulence and riches. It has the power to play AAA gaming titles at full 1080p HD resolution with all the eye candy and quality settings turned up. It will even interface with a pair of external monitors and give you surround multi-monitor gaming out of the box. If you're a gamer of means, then the Alienware 18 is the gaming system you can use to show off, whether you're in the country club, upscale artisanal coffee shop, or over at your buddy's mansion. It's our new Editors' Choice for high-end gaming laptops.

Design and Features
The Alienware 18 has been totally redesigned from the older Alienware M18x ($4529) chassis, but it is still undoubtedly an Alienware creation. The system retains touches like the Alienware silver alien head logo on the lid, though now LED-backlit diagonal lines cut into the lid join it. The trackpad itself is now fully backlit, though it doesn't have an etched logo like the Razer Blade (2012) ($2,499). At the very least, it's an improvement over the trackpad on the M18x, which is only ringed by light. Bucking the trend toward one-piece trackpads, the Alienware 18 still has two physical mouse buttons below the keyboard.

Speaking of lights and the keyboard, the Alienware 18 retains the multiple-zone AlienwareFX lighting system. There are 10 different zones that can be lit in different colors, and the lighting system supports full spectrum color changes. If you want the keyboard keys in a bright aqua green but the sides of the system in burnt orange, you can do that. If your game supports it, the lighting can give you visual cues on player status, pulsing to a slowing virtual heart beat if your hit points are running low. The keyboard is comfortable to use and has a full numeric keypad on the right. The Start key is to the left of the space bar, bucking the trend for gaming laptops to have their Start key on the right side, as seen on systems like the former Editors' Choice Origin EON17-SLX ($4405) and the EuroCom Scorpius ($5297).

Alienware's pre-loaded utilities help the gamer by optimizing the laptop for each game or program. For example, instead of manually quitting programs you usually have open like Word or Excel, you can set the system to auto-quit those programs when you start up a Bioshock Infinite session. If you launch Team Fortress 2, the system could automatically bring up your favorite IM client so you can talk to your teammates. AlienFusion controls the power management on the system, so it can bring everything up to full power for gaming sessions, but shut parts of the system down for quieter browsing sessions or watching videos.

The Alienware 18 has an 18.4-inch 1,920-by-1,080 full 1080p HD screen that is quite clear and makes watching Blu-ray movies a pleasure. The system comes with a Blu-ray reader that can also read and burn DVDs and CDs. Of course, viewing HD videos online is a pleasant experience, limited only by your connection to the Internet via the system's 802.11ac Wi-Fi or Gigabit Ethernet port. Other ports include four USB 3.0 ports (two on either the left or right side), a SD card reader, a mini-DisplayPort, and a trio of audio ports for mic, headphone, and headset. The reason there are three is some gamers preferred headphones have two leads (mic and headphone) while others have a single lead (headset).

The last notable port is the system's HDMI port, as you'd expect the port acts as a HDMI-out for use with an external monitor. What's unexpected is that the same port can be switched to HDMI-in, so you can continue to use the system as an 18-inch HD display after the PC internals inevitably become obsolete. The laptop is nominally user-serviceable, as there is a service manual available on Dell's website. You can remove the battery for replacement, but it requires a screwdriver to remove the bottom plate. Thus, we still consider the Alienware 18 to have a sealed battery because it is a 10- to 20-minute procedure to replace the battery as opposed to the traditional few seconds with a regular removable battery. Likewise, you can access the hard drive, optical drive, system memory, etc. for further upgrades/replacement, though this configuration is mostly maxed out to begin with.

The Alienware 18 comes without any pre-loaded apps aside from the Alienware utilities to control the screen, lighting, and energy usage. This is a good thing, since hardcore gamers hate performance robbing utilities like anti-virus and firewall programs. Our review unit came with Windows 7 Ultimate, which is the prime choice for most gamers. Windows 8 is available, but since the system doesn't have a touch screen, that's not our recommended configuration. The system came equipped with 32GB of memory, which is more than enough for today's games and programs.

The system also comes with a 500GB mSATA SSD as the boot drive, with a 750GB 7,200rpm SATA hard drive for data storage. This is perfect for the gamer, since he probably won't fill the 500GB SSD too quickly, and will still have the 750GB for storing downloaded videos and games that he doesn't play as often. The SSD boots fairly quickly and launches apps and games in seconds. The whole shebang is portable, but you won't be holding it on your lap for long without support: the system weighs 12.02 pounds alone. The system comes with a one-year basic warranty.

Performance
The Alienware 18 is a powerhouse system. With its new fourth-generation Intel Core i7-4900MQ, 32GB of system memory, 500GB SSD boot drive, and dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M graphics cards, the Alienware 18 destroyed the competition on the game grid. It returned the highest, smoothest frame rate scores that we've seen on both Aliens vs. Predator (89 fps, maximum quality) and Heaven (87 fps, max quality). Likewise, the system is able to dominate on both 3DMark11 tests we ran. The Alienware trumps the Eurocom Scorpius, Origin EON17-SLX and the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate ($2,824) on all the 3D based gaming tests. The Alienware 18 is no slouch on the multimedia tests either, though Origin is able to eke out a very slim lead on those tests. Keep the Alienware 18 close to a power outlet: short battery life of 1 hour 58 minutes isn't enough for a long gaming session. Besides, you'd want full power for your gaming sessions.

The Alienware 18 is a huge gaming laptop, but it throws performance, features, full-featured keyboard, smooth trackpad, customizable lighting, lots of I/O ports, and a great screen into the mix. It's the high-end gaming portable gaming rig you'd want if you want to show off, and if you can afford the just under $4,500 price tag. The Alienware 18 beats the Origin EON17-SLX on flash, performance, features, intimidation, and looks. That's a recipe for our latest Editors' Choice for high-end gaming laptops.

View the original article here

Alienware 18

Pros Great performance. Smooth gameplay/SLI graphics. Cool lighting effects. Nice 1080p HD screen. Features include everything but the kitchen sink. Large capacity SSD+HDD. 32GB of memory. HDMI is an in/out port. 802.11ac WiFi.

Cons Bulky. Heavy. Short battery life. Bottom Line Big, bulky, and ostentatious as heck, the Alienware 18 is the ginormous gaming laptop you want to use to show off your riches on the game grid.

By Joel Santo Domingo

The Alienware 18 ($4,499, direct) gaming laptop is an unapologetic show of opulence and riches. It has the power to play AAA gaming titles at full 1080p HD resolution with all the eye candy and quality settings turned up. It will even interface with a pair of external monitors and give you surround multi-monitor gaming out of the box. If you're a gamer of means, then the Alienware 18 is the gaming system you can use to show off, whether you're in the country club, upscale artisanal coffee shop, or over at your buddy's mansion. It's our new Editors' Choice for high-end gaming laptops.

Design and Features
The Alienware 18 has been totally redesigned from the older Alienware M18x ($4529) chassis, but it is still undoubtedly an Alienware creation. The system retains touches like the Alienware silver alien head logo on the lid, though now LED-backlit diagonal lines cut into the lid join it. The trackpad itself is now fully backlit, though it doesn't have an etched logo like the Razer Blade (2012) ($2,499). At the very least, it's an improvement over the trackpad on the M18x, which is only ringed by light. Bucking the trend toward one-piece trackpads, the Alienware 18 still has two physical mouse buttons below the keyboard.

Speaking of lights and the keyboard, the Alienware 18 retains the multiple-zone AlienwareFX lighting system. There are 10 different zones that can be lit in different colors, and the lighting system supports full spectrum color changes. If you want the keyboard keys in a bright aqua green but the sides of the system in burnt orange, you can do that. If your game supports it, the lighting can give you visual cues on player status, pulsing to a slowing virtual heart beat if your hit points are running low. The keyboard is comfortable to use and has a full numeric keypad on the right. The Start key is to the left of the space bar, bucking the trend for gaming laptops to have their Start key on the right side, as seen on systems like the former Editors' Choice Origin EON17-SLX ($4405) and the EuroCom Scorpius ($5297).

Alienware's pre-loaded utilities help the gamer by optimizing the laptop for each game or program. For example, instead of manually quitting programs you usually have open like Word or Excel, you can set the system to auto-quit those programs when you start up a Bioshock Infinite session. If you launch Team Fortress 2, the system could automatically bring up your favorite IM client so you can talk to your teammates. AlienFusion controls the power management on the system, so it can bring everything up to full power for gaming sessions, but shut parts of the system down for quieter browsing sessions or watching videos.

The Alienware 18 has an 18.4-inch 1,920-by-1,080 full 1080p HD screen that is quite clear and makes watching Blu-ray movies a pleasure. The system comes with a Blu-ray reader that can also read and burn DVDs and CDs. Of course, viewing HD videos online is a pleasant experience, limited only by your connection to the Internet via the system's 802.11ac Wi-Fi or Gigabit Ethernet port. Other ports include four USB 3.0 ports (two on either the left or right side), a SD card reader, a mini-DisplayPort, and a trio of audio ports for mic, headphone, and headset. The reason there are three is some gamers preferred headphones have two leads (mic and headphone) while others have a single lead (headset).

The last notable port is the system's HDMI port, as you'd expect the port acts as a HDMI-out for use with an external monitor. What's unexpected is that the same port can be switched to HDMI-in, so you can continue to use the system as an 18-inch HD display after the PC internals inevitably become obsolete. The laptop is nominally user-serviceable, as there is a service manual available on Dell's website. You can remove the battery for replacement, but it requires a screwdriver to remove the bottom plate. Thus, we still consider the Alienware 18 to have a sealed battery because it is a 10- to 20-minute procedure to replace the battery as opposed to the traditional few seconds with a regular removable battery. Likewise, you can access the hard drive, optical drive, system memory, etc. for further upgrades/replacement, though this configuration is mostly maxed out to begin with.

The Alienware 18 comes without any pre-loaded apps aside from the Alienware utilities to control the screen, lighting, and energy usage. This is a good thing, since hardcore gamers hate performance robbing utilities like anti-virus and firewall programs. Our review unit came with Windows 7 Ultimate, which is the prime choice for most gamers. Windows 8 is available, but since the system doesn't have a touch screen, that's not our recommended configuration. The system came equipped with 32GB of memory, which is more than enough for today's games and programs.

The system also comes with a 500GB mSATA SSD as the boot drive, with a 750GB 7,200rpm SATA hard drive for data storage. This is perfect for the gamer, since he probably won't fill the 500GB SSD too quickly, and will still have the 750GB for storing downloaded videos and games that he doesn't play as often. The SSD boots fairly quickly and launches apps and games in seconds. The whole shebang is portable, but you won't be holding it on your lap for long without support: the system weighs 12.02 pounds alone. The system comes with a one-year basic warranty.

Performance
The Alienware 18 is a powerhouse system. With its new fourth-generation Intel Core i7-4900MQ, 32GB of system memory, 500GB SSD boot drive, and dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 780M graphics cards, the Alienware 18 destroyed the competition on the game grid. It returned the highest, smoothest frame rate scores that we've seen on both Aliens vs. Predator (89 fps, maximum quality) and Heaven (87 fps, max quality). Likewise, the system is able to dominate on both 3DMark11 tests we ran. The Alienware trumps the Eurocom Scorpius, Origin EON17-SLX and the Maingear Nomad 17 Ultimate ($2,824) on all the 3D based gaming tests. The Alienware 18 is no slouch on the multimedia tests either, though Origin is able to eke out a very slim lead on those tests. Keep the Alienware 18 close to a power outlet: short battery life of 1 hour 58 minutes isn't enough for a long gaming session. Besides, you'd want full power for your gaming sessions.

The Alienware 18 is a huge gaming laptop, but it throws performance, features, full-featured keyboard, smooth trackpad, customizable lighting, lots of I/O ports, and a great screen into the mix. It's the high-end gaming portable gaming rig you'd want if you want to show off, and if you can afford the just under $4,500 price tag. The Alienware 18 beats the Origin EON17-SLX on flash, performance, features, intimidation, and looks. That's a recipe for our latest Editors' Choice for high-end gaming laptops.

View the original article here