Alienware M17 review
in Laptops
Verdict
Devastating speed and excellent build quality result in a tempting package - but the Asus is tough competition.
Review Date: 10 Jun 2009
Reviewed By: Mike Jennings
Price when reviewed: £2,127 (£2,446 inc VAT)
Overall Rating
Features & Design
Value for Money
Performance
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Part Code | M17-R1 |
| Review Date | 10 Jun 2009 |
| Price ex VAT | £2,127 |
| Price inc VAT | £2,446 |
| Overall rating |
|
| Features & Design |
|
| Value for Money |
|
| Performance |
|
| Warranty | |
|---|---|
| Warranty | 1yr collect and return |
| Physical specifications | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 397 x 299 x 46mm (WDH) |
| Weight | 4.400kg |
| Travelling weight | 5.6kg |
| Processor and memory | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9100 |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel PM45 Express |
| RAM capacity | 4.00GB |
| Memory type | DDR3 |
| SODIMM sockets free | 0 |
| SODIMM sockets total | 2 |
| Screen and video | |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 17.0in |
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,920 |
| Resolution screen vertical | 1,200 |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 |
| Graphics chipset | 2 x ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 |
| Graphics card RAM | 1.00GB |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 1 |
| HDMI outputs | 1 |
| S-Video outputs | 0 |
| DVI-I outputs | 0 |
| DVI-D outputs | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
| Drives | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 500GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 464GB |
| Spindle speed | 7,200RPM |
| Internal disk interface | SATA/300 |
| Hard disk | Seagate Momentus 7200.3 |
| Optical disc technology | DVD writer |
| Optical drive | Sony Optiarc AD-7590S |
| Battery capacity | 6,450mAh |
| Replacement battery price inc VAT | £0 |
| Networking | |
|---|---|
| Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec |
| 802.11a support |
|
| 802.11b support |
|
| 802.11g support |
|
| 802.11 draft-n support |
|
| Integrated 3G adapter |
|
| Other Features | |
|---|---|
| Wireless hardware on/off switch |
|
| Wireless key-combination switch |
|
| Modem |
|
| ExpressCard34 slots | 0 |
| PC Card slots | 0 |
| USB ports (downstream) | 3 |
| FireWire ports | 1 |
| eSATA ports | 1 |
| PS/2 mouse port |
|
| 9-pin serial ports | 0 |
| Parallel ports | 0 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 1 |
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 |
| SD card reader |
|
| Memory Stick reader |
|
| MMC (multimedia card) reader |
|
| Smart Media reader |
|
| Compact Flash reader |
|
| xD-card reader |
|
| Pointing device type | Touchpad |
| Audio chipset | Realtek HD Audio |
| Speaker location | Above keyboard, bottom |
| Hardware volume control? |
|
| Integrated microphone? |
|
| Integrated webcam? |
|
| TPM |
|
| Fingerprint reader |
|
| Smartcard reader |
|
| Carry case |
|
| Operating system and software | |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows Vista Home Premium |
| OS family | Windows Vista |
| Recovery method | Recovery disc |
| Battery and performance tests | |
|---|---|
| Battery life, light use | 122 |
| Battery life, heavy use | 67 |
| Overall application benchmark score | 1.59 |
| Office application benchmark score | 1.59 |
| 2D graphics application benchmark score | 1.64 |
| Encoding application benchmark score | 1.49 |
| Multitasking application benchmark score | 1.65 |
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | 34fps |
| 3D performance setting | Medium |
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