Alienware m17x and m15x Gaming Laptops Unveiled at NYC Event

Today Alienware unveiled its new Area-51 m17x and m15x gaming laptops. The m17x is a 17" screen monster while the m15x is a 15" screen notebook. Both offer dual Nvidia 8800m graphics cards and Intel Core 2 Extreme 2.80GHz processors. And yes, the cliche "out of this world design" holds true too. The only bad news is that the m17x and m15x won't be available until Q1 of 2008.

Unveiling of the m15x and m17x

Alienware Area-51 m17x

Here's a quick system overview of the M17x:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme processor (2.80GHz)
• Memory: up to 4GB DDR2 667MHz
• Graphics: Dual Nvidia GeForce 8800m GTX/Dual Nvidia 8700M GT
• Optical Drive: Blu-Ray burner
• Storage: Up to 640GB with RAID 0 plus an expandable Smart Bay hard drive option
• OS: Windows Vista Ultimate
• Display: 17-inch Widescreen UXGA (1080p)
• Design: Available in black or silver with SkullCap lid (groove style lid) or Ripley (smooth with single groove in the middle) lid

Skullcap design

Ripley Design

Some other points to note, you can get up to 1GB of dedicated graphics memory if you run the 8800M cards in SLI mode. There's the ability to have up to 3 hard drives with a total storage capacity of 640GB when you use the expandable Smart Bay. Alienware has introduced a new design dubbed "Ripley", you can also go with the classic Skullcap design. Quicktouch controls make it easy to control accessing wireless, volume and other media.

So how much will an m17x notebook cost if you were to trick it out nicely? Here's an example configuration that was captured last week when the configuration page was leaked on Alienware.com:

• SKULLCAP 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD with Clearview Technology - Black
• Dual 512MB NVidia GeForce Go 8800M GTX - SLI Enabled
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor X7900 2.8GHz - Extreme Edition (4MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
• 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz - 2 x 1024MB
• Intel Turbo Memory (1GB) - Accelerate Data Transfer Speed
• Genuine Windows Vista Ultimate
• Internal Digital/Analog (ATSC) MiniCard TV Tuner with Express Card Media Center Remote Control
• 400GB (200GB x 2) 7,200RPM (16MB Cache)
• 2x Blu-ray Writer/DVD±RW Burner
• Internal Wireless a/b/g/n with MIMO Technology
• External Creative X-Fi Xtreme Audio Card
• Customizable AlienFX Keyboard with Numeric Pad
• Alienware® Odyssey Backpack
• Price: $5,628.00 (before taxes)

Yes, that's a lot of money, but imagine the power of such a machine! Unfortunately, Alienware announced today the release date will not be until during the first quarter of 2008, with no specific date set, so put away that credit card until after Christmas.

Alienware Area-51 m15x

The Alienware m15x is the more mobile gaming notebook release, having a 15" screen as opposed to the 17" screen of the m17x. It offers 8800M GTX graphics like the m17x, but not in SLI. The great news is that Alienware has integrated a feature called BinaryGFX in which a user can switch between integrated graphics and dedicated graphics depending on your need. If you're looking to do some hard core gaming, use the dedicated graphics. If you just want to type up a term paper, switch to integrated to save on power.

Here's a System Overview of the Alienware m15x

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Extreme
• Memory: up to 4GB DDR2 667MHz
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 8800M GTX
• Optical Drive: Blu-Ray burner
• Storage: Up to a 320GB SATA drive plus an expandable Smart Bay hard drive option
• Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate
• Display: 15.4" WidescreenUXGA (1080p)

The 320GB of storage is achieved using a single internal hard drive and then adding a second hard drive with the hot swappable Smart Bay. You can again choose between the classic Alienware Skullcap design or the new sleek Ripley design. The "StealthMode" that Alienware offers on the m15x allows you to switch between integrated and dedicated graphics.

Nvidia 8800M Graphics Card Announced Today

The Nvidia 8800M GTX card was officially released today to coincide with the release of these new Alienware laptops that provide the option of stuffing two of these cards inside. Though we don't know exactly how well these DX10 graphics cards will run, some claims from Nvidia indicate 3DMark06 scores will run into the mid-9000's:

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Based on Nvidia's claims, notebooks with the 8800m GTX should be able to get approximately twice the performance of the GeForce Go 7950 GTX. A single 8800M GTX should also be roughly the same speed as GeForce Go 7950 GTX SLI. Can you imagine the performance of the 8800M GTX in SLI? But then, imagine the sad battery life you'll get on any notebook with such a configuration!

More pictures and video of the m15x and m17x

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