Alienware M17X Good Gaming Laptops

Alienware is a subsidiary of Dell. It specializes in gaming desktops and laptops and other graphics-intensive applications as well. Alienware offers M11x, M15x, ​​and M17x product lines for its gaming laptops.

In this article, we’ll take a look at their highest performing product line, the M17x laptops.

Alienware M17x gaming laptops feature the most powerful Intel mobile processor. It is using the latest Intel Core i5 and i7 processors that feature Intel Turbo Boost Technology for dynamic on-the-fly overclocking to deliver the speed needed for high-end gaming. It also features ATi CrossFireX dual GPU graphics to deliver the best gaming experience. According to the alienware website at the time of writing, the starting price of the M17x gaming laptops is USD 1,799 in the US and SGD 3,499 in Singapore. The difference in price is due to the different default specifications offered on the website of both countries.

Let’s go over the technical specifications of the M17x gaming laptops.

Starting with their processors, Alienware only offers Intel processors. On its Singapore website, it offers Intel Core i7-740QM (default) and can be upgraded to Intel Core i7-840QM and i7-940XM processor options for a price. On the US website, it offers Intel Core i5-520M (default), upgradable to Intel Core i5-540M, i7 720QM, i7-820QM and i7-920XM processors for a price. These are Intel’s latest i5 and i7 product lines and should work well for any type of gaming requirement.

It ships with the Windows 7 operating system. As far as gaming is concerned, this shouldn’t be a concern. Most of the new games are compatible with Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

For graphics or video card or GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), M17x comes with CrossFireX Dual 1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon HD5870. There is also a single 1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon HD5870 option and a single 1GB GDDR5 ATI Mobility Radeon HD4870 option. You cannot have too much video memory. The graphics card handles the graphics processing for your computer. By increasing video memory, the use of CrossFireX allows 2 or more graphics cards to work together to improve system performance, giving you smoother, sharper, more detailed graphics. Games now have highly detailed graphical effects such as shadows, 3D reflections, and will require an increasingly powerful graphics processor to ensure the best gaming experience. ATI is a company acquired and owned by AMD since 2006. Its main competitor and the other major player in the graphics card market is NVIDIA’s GeForce.

M17x gaming laptops come with MacAfee antivirus. While antivirus is not an aspect to consider for gaming laptops, it is very important as there are many viruses, trojans and worms that could easily infect your laptops while accessing the internet.

For its memory, M17x gaming laptops come with 4GB (2x2GB), 6GB (2GB+4GB) and 8GB (2x4GB) 1333MHz or 1067 MHz DDR3 SDRAM. More memory increases overall system performance. It allows more space for the laptop to store currently used data and allows your computer to run more applications at the same time. It’s a general rule of thumb for laptops running Windows Vista or Windows 7 to have at least 2GB of RAM. For gaming laptops, the more memory the better.

For the display, the M17x gaming laptops come with HD display. Offers a 17.0-inch UltraSharp WUXGA (1920×1200) RGBLED display with TrueLife or WideXGA+ 17-inch 1440 x 900 (US only). A bigger screen with high resolution will give a better gaming experience with the next generation graphics that gaming has to offer. Alienware laptops also come standard with a 1.0 MP webcam and digital microphone array.

M17x gaming laptops come with a 640GB 7200 RPM SATA (320GBx2) hard drive. It can also be upgraded to a 1TB 7200RPM SATA hard drive (500GBx2). There are also 128GB, 256GB and 512GB solid state drive options available. Solid-state drives are less susceptible to physical shock, are quieter, and have lower access time and latency. However, the price is much more expensive than a hard drive. For now, the solid state drive may not make much of a difference to the gaming experience. There are load time improvements for games that use a solid-state drive, but that in and of itself may not justify the hefty price tag you have to shell out. To store more data, videos, images and install more programs, choose a larger capacity hard drive.

The MX17x gaming laptop comes with an 8X DVD+/-RW drive with DVD+R Double Layer write capability Optical Drive, Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card or Intel® Ultimate N WiFi Link 6300 a/g/ Draft-n 3×3 MIMO, internal high-definition 5.1 surround sound audio, 9-cell lithium-ion battery, and AlienFX illuminated keyboard. It features a QuickTouch system control panel and features a responsive keyboard. The design of the case and the laptop is also very stylish and nice. Plus, it comes with 1-year Premier Full Coverage 1-year service (Singapore) or 1-year On-site service after remote diagnosis (US). In my experience, it’s good to consider upgrading to a longer plan, as it saves you the hassle of worrying when your laptop breaks down.

Looking at all the specs, M17x is really an excellent gaming laptop. If it fits into your budget, it’s definitely worth considering.