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Configuration
Our sample of the Alienware 17 is based around one of the most powerful mobile processors currently on the market, the Intel Core i7-4800MQ. This boasts a 2.7 GHz clock speed, increasing to 3.7 GHz in turbo mode. It is a quad core model which supports Hyper Threading, so there are 8 logical cores available. Our machine also features 16 GB (4x 4GB) of DDR3 RAM clocked at 1600 MHz.
Alienware has chosen to configure this particular machine with a single nVidia GeForce GTX 780M which is the most powerful mobile discrete solution currently available. This features 4 GB of GDDR5 memory and is clocked at 771 MHz. The Alienware 17 is also available with the nVidia GTX 770M or 765M if you elect for one of the more basic models. The system also features Intel HD 4600 integrated graphics which you can switch to to maximise battery life. This will require a reboot, though, so isn't particularly convenient.
Our review sample of the Alienware 17 is configured with a 256 GB solid state drive for the operating system and an additional 750 GB hard drive for storage. This gives a total capacity of approximately 1 TB which should be enough for most users. If not, there is a spare hard drive bay in the system which you could install a further hard drive in.
Alienware supplies the notebook with some programs pre-installed, however they are mostly useful utilities used to control things like the onboard LED lighting.
Testing Methodology
Today we are going to use a combination of synthetic and real world benchmarks to showcase the performance of the Alienware 17.
Specification
- Display: 17.3″ (439.42 mm) WLED FHD Anti-Glare Display (1920 x 1080).
- Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780M with 4GB GDDR5 (SLI).
- Processor: Intel Core i7-4800MQ Processor (6MB Cache, up to 3.7GHz w/ Turbo Boost).
- Memory: 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz.
- Hard Drive: 750GB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s.
- mSATA Storage: 256GB mSata SSD Boot.
- Optical Drive: Slot-Loading Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVDRW, CD-RW).
- WIFI Card: 5G WiFi Broadcom 4352 802.11n/ac and Bluetooth 4.0.
- Keyboard: Backlit Keyboard UK.
- Warranty: 1 Year NBD with Premium Phone Support.
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit.
Software:
- PCMark 7
- 3DMark
- 3DMark 11
- 3DMark Vantage
- SiSoft Sandra 2013
- Cinebench R11.5
- CrystalDiskMark
- Cyberlink MediaEspresso 6.7
- VLC Media Player
- Performance Monitor
- Unigine Heaven Benchmark
- Super Pi 1.5 Mod
- CPUID Hardware Monitor
- CPU-Z
- GPU-Z
- WinRAR
- DiRT Showdown
- Battlefield 3
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
ASUS do some great gaminmg machines too, and they cost a lot less than Alienware, but at least Alienware put a lot of effort into the looks as well, which is important.
Great machine, I own one, been using it now for gaming for a month. runs a bit hot on my knee, so I use it more on a desk.
The problem with Alienware laptops, of which I have had many, is the hinges wear out so soon. If anything needs replacing it is absurd at costs.