Gaming goliath that now boasts an Intel Ivy Bridge quad-core chip
Best In Class award
Alienware
is back with a bang - with a threefold attack on the PC gaming arena.
Along with the M14x and the M18x, the Alienware M17x R4 has had an Intel
Ivy Bridge-flavoured refresh for 2012.
In the 17-inch laptop gaming category the Alienware M17x is still the daddy of the bunch, with the likes of the Medion Erazer X7815, the MSI GT70 and the Samsung Series 7 Gamer playing second fiddle. And, at this point, it's only MSI that has matched Alienware by playing its Ivy Bridge hand.
Looks-wise, the Alienware M17x 2012 version isn't any different to the Alienware M17x
gaming laptop that wowed us last year. It's a colossal 17.3-inch HD
machine, complete with garish lights and a neo-industrial design that
wouldn't look out of place onboard the spacecraft Prometheus. The
exciting new additions are all buried deep within the M17x's brutish
chassis. The
most notable of these additions is the inclusion of a third-generation,
Ivy Bridge, Intel Core CPU. The model we reviewed packed an i7-3610QM
processor; a four-core monster clocked at a nominal 2.3GHz, which can be
pumped full of Intel Turbo Boost steroids to achieve a top-speed of
3.3GHz.
There
are also new graphic processing options on offer from both Nvidia and
AMD and, proving that the third-dimension fad isn't dead just yet, you
can also opt for a Full HD 120Hz 3D display.
This being an
Alienware machine, you can choose to configure the setup to match your
exact gaming needs. Prices start from £999/$1,099, with our review model
costing £1,089 in the UK and $1,274 in the US. You can seriously max
out your credit card if you decide to go for the top CPU (i7-3820QM),
extra RAM, a larger SSD hard drive and some of the other bits and bobs
on offer from Dell's gaming brand.
We managed to configure one up
to over £4,650/$3,514 before we had heart palpitations and had to stop.
And that's without touching accessories or peripherals. The smallest Alienware model, the 11-inch Alienware M11x,
has seemingly been put out to pasture, with the company telling
TechRadar that the focus going forward was on 14, 17 and 18-inch
machines.
But the Alienware M11x wasn't really a machine suitable
for a serious gaming session. For the purists, 17 inches of screen
real-estate is the bare minimum.
Specifications
The
combination of the latest generation Intel CPU technology and the latest
graphics cards makes the Alienware M17x a colossal gaming machine that
is more than capable of smashing through the latest blockbuster titles
such as Diablo III, Batman: Arkham City and Sniper Elite V2.
Our
review model was packing a quad-core 2.3GHz Intel i7-3610QM processor,
which can be topped out at 3.3GHz using Intel's second-gen Turbo Boost
technology.
Combine this with a seriously powerful GPU punch
courtesy of an AMD Radeon HD 7970M configuration and you're looking at a
top-end gaming machine more than worthy of its hefty price tag. There's
also Intel HD 4000 graphics as part of the Ivy Bridge package, meaning DirectX 11 support. You
can opt for a beefier CPU should you wish, with two more i7 chips
available for selection - with Turbo Boost-assisted speeds of up to
3.7GHz - and you can also go for Nvidia graphics with both the GeForce
GTX 675M and the GTX 660M on offer.
The impressive spec sheet
doesn't end there, however. You can select up to 32GB of RAM (our review
sample cruised through everything we threw at it, just fine, with 8GB
installed), the 17.3-inch display is of the Full HD 1080p variety and
there's a 2.1 megapixel webcam. It also has a slot-loading optical drive
on the side; the review model had a DVD combo drive, but you can opt
for a Blu-ray reader if you wish.
Buying Guide
You
might think that all of this rugged power may result in an explosion of
noise, fan activity and a heat overload but, as with previous Alienware
notebooks, this is not that case, thanks to its large heatsinks and
dual rear exhausts that provide dedicated cooling for all threads and
cores of both the CPU and GPU.
If you've not laid eyes on one of
Alienware's gaming rigs before, prepare your peepers for an assault of
colour and gare. The Alienware M17x certainly doesn't shy away from
extravagance with its unique sci-fi-esque casing and its (in)famous
AlienFX lighting system that enables you to set the backlight colours
for the keys, speaker grills, buttons, ports and logos.
If you
want a nice, calming, cool blue effect then you can have it. Equally, if
you want your Alienware M17x flashing bright red neon lights at you
continuously, like a panicking air traffic control warning system, then
that's an option too. With 512 trillion distinct lighting combinations,
we'll stop with specific examples now.
And
you'll not be found wanting when it comes to connectivity and
port-based fun. As well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0, you've also got
access to four USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI 1.4 port, a mini-DisplayPort,
Ethernet action, an SD card reader, a VGA socket, optical digital
output, separate headphone and microphone jacks, and a dedicated headset
output. It leaves no boxes unticked.
Travel-friendly the
Alienware M17x is not, however, despite the improved battery life on
previous generations of 133 minutes under stress. You'll not only need a
big bag to slide the M17x into, since it measures a chunky 410 x 304 x
44.5mm, you'll also need a strong back to handle its 4.4kg weight.
Performance
As
you'd expect with the hardcore engine room, the Alienware M17x had
little trouble dealing with any task that we threw its way. HD video was
handled with a buttery smoothness, recent games titles caused it no
signs of despair, and high-resolution photo editing was done with hardly
any fuss.
In terms of raw benchmarking scores, the Alienware M17x recorded some of the highest totals that we've seen on a mobile PC.
Most
people who decide to splash their hard earned pennies on the Alienware
M17x will be doing so with some hardcore gaming sessions in mind. And
those buyers won't be disappointed, since it has no issues with the top
settings of graphically demanding titles and you'll comfortably get
60fps+ if you turn things down just a little. There's
also a plethora of onboard configuration settings at your disposal,
including the AlienAdrenaline feature that enables you to customise your
M17x's software behaviour when certain games are running; AlienTouch,
which gives you complete control over the trackpad's sensitivity and
means less annoying accidental movements; and AlienFusion for souping up
the performance levels (or indeed, toning them down) at the touch of a
button.
Boot times are also quick, thanks to the dual SSD and HDD
setup. The machine we tested had a 64GB mSATA SSD to take care of
Windows 7 booting, as well as a 500GB HDD for storing your digital life.
You can configure the hard drive setup on your own Alienware
pretty much any way that you choose, with an array of RAID and
high-speed mSATA caching configurations available. The
audio quality of the Alienware M17x is fantastic, thanks to the
Creative Sound Blaster THX 7.1 setup and the stereo speakers designed by
audio specialist Klipsch. There are a number of pre-set equalisations
installed for you to get the most out of this setup - we particularly
liked the Crystalizer mode.
Although of the non-3D variety, the
Full HD 17.3-inch display on our review sample impressed us greatly.
It's a bit reflective so is better suited for indoor, darker
environments, but then the Alienware M17x isn't exactly the type of
laptop you'd want to take to the park with you anyway.
Viewing angles are great and colours are incredibly vibrant thanks to the 621:1 contrast ratio and 298cd/m2 maximum brightness. The
keyboard keys, whatever colour you choose to have emitted from them,
are soft to touch with a comforting rubber-like bounce that makes them
not only great for gaming but also for more day-to-day tasks such as
browsing the web, tapping out an email or knocking up a quick
spreadsheet.
The trackpad, which is offset just to the left of
centre, also has a smooth rubberised finish, and you'll not hear a peep
from either of its buttons, such is the soft travel that is provided.
Benchmarks
Cinebench: 21,321 3DMark: 23,001
Battery eater: 133 mins
Verdict
If
you've been waiting for a next-gen Intel Core gaming machine to land
then there's really no need to hang around any longer. The Alienware
M17x is a significant improvement on what was already a brilliant
machine.
The Ivy Bridge
CPU boosts performance to almost unseen-before benchmark scores, and
the latest Nvidia and AMD graphics tech packed in means that you'll have
no hassle when it comes to playing the latest must-have games.
Its
bulky frame and ostentatious exterior may make the M17x a specialist
laptop but, within the 17-inch gaming notebook market, when it comes to
the functions that it specialises in there are few, if any, rivals that
come close.
We liked
The Alienware M17x's gaudy chassis
screams high-tech performance, and you won't be disappointed when you
fire it up and get it purring.
It handles HD media and high-end
gaming with aplomb, and the build quality is a reassuring reminder of
the impressive tech that's hidden deep within the rugged chassis.
It's
difficult to get lost in a laptop like you can with a big screen TV,
but the Alienware M17x manages to completely absorb you using a combo of
its lightning-fast, vibrant HD display and the incredibly loud surround
sound setup.
We disliked
Although falling into the
category of a mobile PC just by virtue of being a laptop, you wouldn't
want to be carrying the Alienware M17x around with you for a long period
of time. Tipping the scales at a shade over 4.4kg and measuring almost
5cm at its thickest point, it would be the equivalent of lugging around
four Ultrabooks with you, or seven iPads.
Battery life still
isn't great, despite the Ivy Bridge update - although you're likely to
want to be near a mains socket when using the Alienware M17x, anyway.
Final verdict
Despite
its chunky frame and weighty anatomy, the Alienware M17x is the perfect
gaming machine and also a fantastic desktop replacement, thanks to its
impressive HD media features.
The performance is lightning fast,
there aren't many (if any) demanding tasks that seem to bother it and
you needn't worry about longevity, since it's packing a wealth of
cutting-edge, latest generation technology.
While not cheap, its
price tag is certainly comparable to its main rivals, such as the Ivy
Bridge-packing MSI GT70, and buyers will be investing in one of the best
laptop gaming experiences - if not the best - that there is.
A slim and light budget notebook with plenty of speed
The
slim Acer Aspire V5 works as a stylish alternative to Intel's Ultrabook
platform and although this machine doesn't boast the same kind of
power, it can give you a reliable computing experience for a much lower
price.
Looks-wise, this is a very attractive laptop. The silver
metallic design, slim chassis and rounded corners are combined with a
black chiclet keyboard and large touchpad with integrated buttons. It's
smooth to the touch and remains blessedly cool during use.
Even
though the chassis only measures 24mm in thickness, it still manages to
cram in an optical DVD-RW for all of your physical media needs. Once
you've got Windows 8 running here, it'll look very good indeed.
The
V5 range is available with an 11.6-inch, 14-inch or 15.6-inch screen.
Our review sample came with 15.6-inch display but even so, the machine
only weighed 2.3kg.
The emphasis here is very much on slim and
light at an affordable price. We could easily slip the Aspire V5 into a
bag and carry it around for a day without breaking a sweat.
The
screen itself is bright, and comes with a glossy reflective coating that
gives colours a darker, deeper hue that works well for movie watching.
Pixel perfect?
However,
the Aspire V5 shows its low-price roots somewhat by only packing the
standard 1,366 x 768 pixel resolution that means watching 1080p is a
stretch. We're starting to see more demand for higher resolutions and as
Windows 8 arrives and HD content becomes more integrated, the need for
HD+ or Full HD displays will grow.
Usability certainly isn't a
problem with the Aspire V5. There's a wide keyboard with a numeric
keypad, as well as a large multi-touch gesture trackpad. Because of the
slimness of the chassis there isn't much travel on the keys, although we
didn't find this too much of a problem.
The aforementioned
optical drive is a great inclusion and Acer has also found space for
three USB ports (one is USB 3.0), an HDMI port and a VGA/Ethernet combo
port.
Performance is handled by the second-generation Intel Core
i3-2367M, clocked at 1.4GHz. Although this isn't a top-tier CPU, the
Aspire V5 gets its impressive speed from 8GB of on-board memory and
should handle the transition to Windows 8 smoothly.
Graphics are
handled by the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 inside the CPU,
although there is the option to upgrade to an Nvidia GPU if you want to
use graphics-intensive applications.
Acer has included quite a
bit of software with the V5, but it's fair to say most of it you won't
use and falls firmly into the 'bloatware' category. Mysteriously,
Eurosport and Netflix are both given desktop shortcuts, but these are
paid-for services that you'll have to sign up for.
Battery life
on the Acer Aspire V5 wasn't too impressive at just 186 minutes under
extreme testing conditions. However, with responsible usage, you should
get an hour or so more when you're out and about.
If you really
value portability and speed, but aren't looking to splash the cash on an
Ultrabook for Windows 8, then this could be the perfect compromise.
Designed
from the core up as an ultra-portable gaming laptop, this packs a punch
in the processor and graphics. The Intel Core i5 3210M is a capable
workhorse of a chip that will handle all the games you throw at it, and
chew through more serious work as well. The GeForce GTX 640M GPU and low
native resolution enable you to hit great frame rates, but the
11.6-inch screen is small.
The SSD is also too small, but that's
easily rectified online. The undersized screen isn't as easy to fix
though, and we'd advise anyone looking to do work to look elsewhere.
However, as a gaming system there's a lot to love here.
The
Alienware M17x has had an Intel Ivy Bridge flavored refresh for 2012.
The most notable addition is the inclusion of a third-generation Intel
Core CPU. The model we reviewed packed an i7-3610QM processor, a
four-core monster clocked at nominal 2.3GHz, which can be pumped full of
Intel Turbo Boost steroids to achieve a top speed of 3.3GHz.
Combine
this with a seriously powerful GPU courtesy of the latest Nvidia or AMD
graphics technology and you're looking at a top-end gaming machine more
than worthy of its hefty price-tag. There's also Intel HD 4000 graphics
as part of the Ivy Bridge package, meaning DirectX 11 support.
23. Samsung Series 7 Gamer - £1,350/US$1,900 (around AU$2,060)
The
Samsung Series 7 Gamer laptop has the hardware and performance that
gamers care about, and a price tag that we would deem fair. Samsung's
custom UI, however, mostly detracts from the overall experience, short
of one or two niceties, such as being able to disable the trackpad and
Windows keys. It's also quite heavy.
From a purely processor to
pennies perspective, the Series 7 Gamer is worth the money. It's a
gaming machine capable of playing the latest titles at respectable
settings. All its case lights and fancy UI, though, make it a bit like a
party guest who arrives overdressed. You're glad they showed up, but
the bow tie they're wearing just makes them look silly.
The
Toshiba Qosmio X870's price renders it the preserve of hardcore gamers
and 3D aficionados who require the kind of power this laptop can
generate. With both the Ivy Bridge processor and Nvidia GPU firing, the
results are astounding.
Graphics are crisply rendered on the
17.3-inch screen and the Blu-ray capability and stereoscopic 3D give
this entertainment scope beyond just gaming. This is a fully-featured
entertainment machine, and although we quibble at the battery life and
divisive design, when it comes down to sheer performance, this has got
most other gaming laptops beat.
The standout feature on the Razer Blade is its Switchblade touchpad interface - a unique feature that turns the Blade's touchpad
into a fully functioning small second screen that you can use to check
your email, watch YouTube videos or amplify your gaming experience.
The
Intel Core i7-3632QM CPU is powerful, and the sound is crisp, but it is
expensive, the keyboard is a little stiff and the touchpad placement to
the side takes some getting used to. But its long battery life and
comparatively lightweight chassis makes portable, quality gaming
possible.
Sure,
there is plenty of room for super-skinny, super-slick, ultra-desirable
machines with hefty price-tags, but there is also a demand for more
affordable portable notebooks. That's where the Ivy Bridge Core
i5-toting Lenovo IdeaPad U410 comes in.
Ultrabooks aren't great if
you're looking to do some high-end gaming or intense HD video editing,
but for everything else this is a brilliant machine that is perfectly
suited to meet your digital media demands, with an extremely tempting
price tag.
The
Toshiba Satellite Z930-10X manages balances power with affordability.
Thin, light and powerful enough to handle a wide range of tasks
simultaneously, it boasts a wide range of connectivity options and an
Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor.
If you want an Ultrabook
exclusively for entertainment then we'd recommend looking elsewhere,
since it lacks a Full HD resolution and has integrated graphics and
fairly weak audio compared to other Ultrabooks. But as a mobile
workstation for offices, the Toshiba Satellite Z930-10X is an excellent
purchase.
16. MacBook Air 2012 - £930/AU$1,100/US$1,100
Although
not technically an Ultrabook, previous iterations of the MacBook Air
were the machines that inspired the creation of Ultrabooks, so we felt
it deserved to sit alongside these rivals. The 2012 MacBook Air is just
as inspiring, with an Intel Core i5 processor, faster RAM and better
connections.
It's easy for us to recommend the newest MacBook Air,
because it's a fantastic machine. But, unlike last year, there are
other impressive lightweight options out there.
Read our MacBook Air 2012 review
A
very strong first laptop offering from Gigabyte, which usually makes
components, the Gigabyte U2442 Ultrabook has a lot to recommend it.
Gamers and power users will appreciate the Nvidia graphics and 8GB RAM,
while everyday users will respond well to the lack of bloatware and
clever features such as Smart Manager.
Adding power through
boosted RAM and extra graphics while keeping the chassis down to a slim
and portable size is what this Ultrabook is about, while the screen is
well suited to both entertainment and processing tasks.
The
Acer Aspire S5 is one of the top-end Ultrabooks, packing genuine power
and marking a change for the manufacturer. If you're looking for a
primary laptop that can handle the rigours of everyday life, but be as
light and svelte as humanly possible, you've found your ideal laptop.
But
it's not perfect, with some niggles and less impressive specs,
including a storage shortage and build quality issues with the MagicFlip
I/O port. A powerful Intel Core i7 processor and bright screen make up
for such shortcomings, though.
19. Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A - £1,350/AU$1,700/US$1,420
When
Ultrabooks were first introduced by Intel, one of the first models to
show us that it could stand up to the gauntlet laid down by the MacBook Air was the Asus Zenbook UX21.
The Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A continues the styling of its predecessors,
and adds a Core i7-3517U processor, Intel HD 4000 graphics and 4GB of
RAM.
But the most notable change is its screen - a 1080p IPS
wonder that dwarfs its competition's resolution. It falls down on
battery life, so you should consider if that's a big issue for you. It's
also expensive, but its performance is admirable.
The
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon is a fantastic business Ultrabook, with one
of the most comfortable keyboards we've ever used. Fantastic build
quality and lightweight design meet top performance and a range of
useful features, such as a long battery life, huge SSD drive, super-fast
boot times and blistering processor performance.
A few niggles
with the screen and connections aside, if we chose one Ultrabook to be
our business companion, we'd pick the comfortable, high performance and
long lasting Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon every time.
