Alienware M17x R4 review

The 17.3-inch Alienware M17x hasn't changed all that much over the last few years. It's large: the model I reviewed is 1.75 inches thick, and weighs 10.6 pounds. One could also accuse the machine of being unsightly, but I actually find it rather attractive: there are lights (and I love lights) but the effects are as tasteful or gaudy as you want them to be. The lid and palmrest are encased in a soft-touch rubber material, making them both comfortable and easy to hold. The lid's hinges are a bit stiff, but it opens to reveal that large, attractive display. The edge-to-edge glass is interrupted by rubber bumpers sitting on the edge of the display, which lend the screen a bit of cushioning when you're shutting the lid.

The port selection hasn't changed since last year's model. On the left, you'll find the Gigabit ethernet port, a VGA port, Mini DisplayPort and HDMI-out slots, a pair of USB 3.0 ports, jacks for headphones, headsets, and microphones, and a S/PDIF jack. The right side hosts the slot-loading Blu-ray player, a multi-format card reader, another pair of USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA / USB combo port, and HDMI input. The power adapter connects through the rear, keeping it out of the way. Most of the changes are internal: the M17x R4 now sports a 2.6GHz Core i7-3720QM processor, couples its meager 500GB hard drive with a 32GB mSATA solid state cache, and adds the 28nm Nvidia GeForce GTX 680M GPU. Connectivity options include 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0. For just shy of three grand I would've liked to see at least a terabyte of storage, but there are plenty of upgrade options (including a Killer Wireless-N networking card and 512GB SSDs in RAID 0) for those with deep pockets.

Now for the important bit: gaming. Unsurprisingly enough, $2,600 buys you a lot of frames per second. The machine scoffed at Just Cause 2, earning 79 frames per second at the display's native 1920 x 1080 resolution. Battlefield 3 ran at a brisk 44 frames per second on the Ultra setting, eclipsing every gaming laptop we've tested to date. I'd assumed the machine would be laid low by The Witcher 2, but that proved false: 45 frames per second on Ultra quality, though there was a bit of stuttering during a few sections of the opening sequence — the scene requires quite a bit of heavy lifting, graphically-speaking, but simple tweaks to a few of the settings (or dialing down to High quality) would get things running like a charm. All of these tests were performed while tethered to the power adapter, as the GeForce GTX 680M always throttles down when running on battery power and Intel's integrated graphics simply can't keep up.

The M17x is pretty fast out the gate: it boots from sleep in roughly 1.8 seconds, and is ready for action an average of 26 seconds after hitting the power button. It's also light on bloatware — the desktop is bare save for a shortcut to the Alienware Command Center app (should the keyboard shortcut not prove direct enough for you). Cyberlink's PowerDVD software supports the Blu-ray player, and the charmingly named AlienAutopsy and AlienRespawn apps provide system diagnostic and recovery tools, respectively. You're otherwise left to your own devices, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The M17x lasted for a total of four hours and twelve minutes on The Verge Battery Test — right on track with the similarly equipped MSI GT70 we reviewed recently. The test consists of downloading images and cycling through websites until the laptop's battery dies. My own use involves near continuous music streaming, the occasional video, and plenty of writing; the machine lasted for three hours and thirty-six minutes before I had to track down an outlet. That isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but this sort of longevity used to be rare in gaming machines.

Here's something a little less rare: the fans roaring to life whenever you try to get some gaming done. The fan noise didn't quite drown out the machine's illustrious speakers, but it certainly turned a few heads. I'd also caution against putting this laptop anywhere near your lap. The fans on the left and right sides of the machine attempt to keep the heat in check, but the metal vanity plate centered on the underside of the machine remained uncomfortably warm.