Alienware m17x Revision 3 Buying Guide

The Alienware m17x offers no holds barred power from a traditional gaming brand in a traditional desktop replacement form factor. But, the m17x also brings some new things to the table like a 3D laptop screen, or NVIDIA Optimus for those that prefer portability and battery. 

The flexibility of the 17 inch form factor lets you have a full keyboard and two hard-drive slots for maximum expandability. Graphics card options are good, although surprisingly the best performance options can only be had from the lowest end model because of the 3D capability being seen as the “best” option. Coming standard with the latest Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor multitasking is sure to be smooth and fluid.

Gaming with the three graphics options available for the m17x are all quite excellent, it is just a matter of how excellent. If you just have to get your hands on a 3D laptop then your choice is quick because it is only available with NVidia GeForce GTX 460M. Gaming with this card is fairly good, although will choke on the more graphically intensive games when maxed out. Crysis at full 1080p on high settings averages sub 30 frame rates that make it un-playable at full resolution. But scale back the resolution or settings and all modern games should be quite playable with medium settings and medium resolution. 

The lowest end graphics card is a modest option if you’re on a budget. With performance slightly worse than the GTX 460M it will run your games, but honestly just go for the upgrade if you can. Interestingly the top of the line graphics card is only available on their lowest spec laptop, but it won’t fail to impress. Expect to see impressive frame rates from the Radeon HD 6970M even in Crysis with settings on high and resolution at max. Bump it up to ultra and you will see some choppy frames at the high action moments, but still quite impressive for a laptop.

Lowest Trim m17x

This option offers the most expandability but also the least included features. It is the only option in the lineup to include the Radeon HD 6970M graphics card, the most powerful option for this laptop lineup. The processor options probably won’t net you much in games, but they would help if you’re trying to do CAD or video editing on the computer. Hard drive options are plentiful and somewhat confusing. RAID offers good speed but poor reliability. If even one of the hard drives fails then all of your data is lost, but it is almost twice as fast as a single hard drive.

The optimal setup would be one regular hard drive for storage and an SSD drive for speed, but the SSD drives are quite expensive and Alienware doesn’t even offer this as an option. Shame on them. If you order a single conventional hard drive you could definitely add another drive later once the SSD prices come down a little bit more. The stock 4GB of memory should have you covered for most gaming needs, but if you want to game while keeping many other programs open then the upgrade to 6GB would be recommended. 

Wireless card upgrades are a nice option if you will be in areas of poor signal strength because the MIMO technology will help ensure solid reception at distance, but if you’re going to be using your Wi-Fi mostly in a small apartment or at a well covered campus then it is unnecessary. The upgrade to a 1080p screen is a matter of preference, but would certainly make those games look nice if you have the highest end graphics option.

High Trim m17x

This is basically the lower end trim with some added features. It upgrades storage to RAID 0 640GB and offers 6GB of RAM over 4GB. If those are the only upgrades you want to do it saves a bit of cash, but it cuts out the better graphics card unfortunately.

3D m17x

This is basically the lowest end trim plus everything you need for 3D gaming. It doesn’t have the upgrades of the High trim though. This is a good option if all you want is the 3D gaming capability of this platform.

The Bottom Line

Nice features like HDMI input for gaming consoles, optional Blu-Ray player for viewing movies on that spacious HD screen, USB 3.0 ports, and much more make the m17x a pretty full featured. With a weight of almost 12 pounds this isn’t a travel laptop, but definitely a serious workhorse. Combine that with the standard Alienware features like zoned, adjustable lighting, sleek looks, and a custom laser engraved nameplate and the m17x is a solid choice for serious gamers or power users of all walks.