Alienware Area-51 m17x

Alienware Area-51 m17x is one of those laptops that can easily replace your desktop and surprise with the gaming performance.

Intro:
Area-51 m17x is a very customizable and available in several different configurations laptop that may not be cheap, but is unbelievably powerful for a desktop replacement. The computer is perfect for watching Blu-ray movies, playing the latest games, not to mention chatting online or writing documents. The laptop has all ports that you might need and even built-in 7-in-1 memory card reader.


Area-51 m17x pros:
+ Excellent gaming performance
+ 1920 x 1200 17-inch display
+ Interesting design
+ Built-in 2 megapixel camera
+ HDTV Tuner
+ Good speakers
+ Available also with Solid State Drive

Area-51 m17x cons:
- Poor battery life
- Average wireless performance
- High price


The design:
Area-51 m17x measures 2.1 x 16.1 x 11.5 inches and weights 10.5 lbs. The laptop has a 17-inch glossy display working in resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 which maks it perfect for watching HD movies. Above the screen you will find the 2 megapixel webcam, as well as two microphones for videoconferencing. The keyboard is very comfortable and responsive with a few touch responsive keys for Wi-Fi, volume, Bluetooth, Stealth Mode and Command Center. Area-51 m17x features also a full size number pad. Both the keyboard and the number pad are fully backlit. On the left side of Area-51 m17x are the headphone/microphone jacks, the power jack, S-video, audio out, three USB 2.0, optical audio, an HDTV Tuner and a Smart Bay for swapping drives. On the right side is the 7-in-1 memory card reader, HDMI, FireWire A/B ports, Ethernet jack and additional USB port. The manufacturer came up with a nice customization settings, so you can change the color of the backlighting depending on whether your laptop is plugged in, or not. You can also make the keyboard flash every time you get an e-mail.

Performance:
Area-51 m17x does a great jog with even the most demanding games. Thanks to the fast CPU (up to 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme) and 4 GB of RAM the laptop achieves truly great results. Although it all depends on the configuration you choose you really shouldn’t expect any lags or glitches in games such as Crysis, Call of Duty 4, or Flight Simulator X. I was only a bit disappointed with the wireless performance which all in all was not bad, but I expected a bit more considering the price of this laptop. Also the battery life is poor and the Area-51 m17x lasts for about 70 minutes of browsing the web, which means it would be even less if you played a 3d game.
All in all, Area-51 m17x is one of the fastest laptops available at the moment and can surely replace any desktop.

Selected Area-51 m17x features and specifications:
Operating Systems
•    Windows Vista® Home Premium
•    Windows Vista® Ultimate
Processors, Chipset & Memory
•    Intel® Core™2 Duo Processors (6MB Cache, 800MHz FSB)
•    Intel® Core™2 Duo Extreme Processors (6MB Cache, 800MHz FSB)
•    Intel PM965 + ICH8-M Chipset
•    Up to 4GB Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz

•    2 dedicated SO-DIMM slots for Dual Channel DDR2 Memory
Graphics & Video
•    NVIDIA GeForce Series
High performance for the game and entertainment enthusiast. 
Dual Graphics Cards – DirectX 10 Enabled!
◦    256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
◦    512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT
◦    512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTX
•    NVIDIA Quadro FX Series
Powerful mobile solution for the advanced 3D creative professional. 
Single Graphics Cards – DirectX 10 Enabled!
◦    512MB NVIDIA Quadro FX 3600M
•    Connectivity
◦    Video in: Integrated HD TV (ATSC) Tuner (Coaxial) - optional
◦    Video/TV out: One HDMI 1.2 Connector
◦    TV out: One S-Video out connector
Storage
•    Single Hard Drive
◦    5400 RPM - Up to 320GB SATA with NCQ
◦    7200 RPM - Up to 200GB SATA with NCQ
•    Dual Hard Drives in RAID 0
◦    5400 RPM - Up to 640GB (2 x 320GB)
◦    7200 RPM - Up to 400GB (2 x 200GB)

◦    Solid State - Up to 128GB (2 x 64GB)
◦    Combination Solid State and Storage Drive
•    Hot-Swappable Third Hard Drive available with SmartBay
•    Optical Drives
◦    8x Dual Layer CD-RW/DVD±RW

◦    8x Dual Layer CD-RW/DVD±RW w/ LightScribe Technology
Networking
•    Wireless Connectivity
◦    Internal Intel PRO Wireless 4965 b/g/draft-n Mini-Card
◦    Integrated Bluetooth 2.0
◦    Wireless and Bluetooth On/Off capacitive touch buttons
•    Wired Connectivity
◦    Integrated Gigabit Ethernet RJ-45
Audio

•    7.1/5.1 Digital High-Definition Audio (8 Channel)
•    Two Speakers with SubWoofer
•    Connectivity
◦    1x Auto-sensing headphone jack
◦    1x Auto-sensing microphone jack
◦    1x Auto-sensing line out
◦    1 TOSlink Optical Audio
LCD Panel
•    17” Wide Screen WUXGA 1920 x 1200 with Clearview (1200p HDTV resolution support)