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Alienware m15x: True Gaming Portability?

09:30 - Friday 8 August 2008 by Thomas Soderstrom

7. Benchmark Results: 3D Graphics
8. 3D Graphics, Continued
9. Applications: General
10. Applications: Audio And Video
11. Synthetics
12. Synthetics, Continued
13. Conclusion: Gaming Just Got More Portable

In last year’s battle-of the behemoths, Dell’s M1730 took on Alienware’s m9750, and with the exception of a few quirks, came out on top. But not everyone is ready to lug around a notebook that weighs nearly fifteen pounds with its power adapter.

Alienware’s advantage in portability among 17” gaming notebooks was still noteworthy, even if the Area-51 m9750’s battery life didn’t lend itself to truly mobile computing. The company now looks to extend its portability lead, with a smaller, lighter 15.4” unit that maintains the high resolution of the former 17” model without sacrificing battery life.

There’s another key difference in Alienware’s 15.4” model, though. While the 17” test unit contained an SLI set of graphics cards, the Area-51 m15x has only a single graphics card. Does the new configuration deliver enough horsepower to qualify as gaming-ready?

For comparison purposes, we continue to use an XPS M1730, which retains its SLI muscle. In fact, Dell has upgraded this unit with a new CPU and graphics processor, and changed a few smaller parts as well. The exterior remains unchanged from last year’s review.

The Dell XPS M1730 still looks like an Alienware design, but the Alienware m15x is clean, smooth, and dare we say, business-like? Of course the real business is gaming, so let’s take at look at the “business” inside.

System Hardware and Software Configuration
Model	Alienware m15x	Dell XPS M1730
Dimensions and Weight
Width x Height x Depth	14.5" x 1.75" x 11.75"	16" x 2" x 12"
	36.83 cm x 4.45 cm x 29.85 cm	39.37 cm x 5.08 cm x 27.94 cm
Unit & Battery	7 lb 15 oz / 3600.4 g	11 lb / 4990 g
Charter & Power Cord	1 lb 11 oz / 765.5 g	3 lb 8 oz / 1588 g
Total	9 lb 10 oz / 4365.9 g	14 lb 8 oz / 6578 g
AC Adapter & Battery
Battery I Capacity	Li-Ion 6 Cell 5200mAh	Li-Ion 9 Cell 85 Wh
Battery II Capacity	None	None
AC Adapter	120 W	230 W
Display & Graphics Controller
Display Size	15.4"	17"
Display Resolution	1920x1200	1920x1200
Graphics Controller	nVidia GeForce 8800m GTX	2x nVidia GeForce 8800M GTX SLI
System
BIOS	Phoenix vX32 P3A33 (04/11/08)	Dell A06 (02/04/08)
CPU	Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000	Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000
	2.80 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, FSB 200	2.80 GHz, 6 MB L2 Cache, FSB 200
Chipset	Intel 965PM	Intel 965GM
Memory	2x 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2	2x 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2
Hard Drives
Manufacturer & Model	Seagate ST9200420ASG	Seagate ST9250421ASG
Size	200 GB	250 GB
Performance	(SATA / 7200.2 / 8 MB / 11 ms)	SATA / 7200.2 RPM / 16 MB / 4.17 ms
Other Devices
Optical Drive	MATSHITA BD-MLT UJ-220 Blu-Ray Burner	PBDS DVD+-RW DS-8W1P DVD Burner
Floppy Drive	None	None
Pointing Device(s)	Touchpad	Touch Pad
Audio Chip	Realtek ALC885 @ Intel 82801HBM ICH8M	SigmaTel STAC9228 @ Intel 82801HBM ICH8M
Modem	None	None
WLAN	Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN	Intel Pro/Wireless 4965AGN
Connectors
PS2	None	None
USB	2x Left, 1x Right	2x Right, 1x Left, 1x B
IEEE1394 / Fire Wire	1x Right	1x Left
Serial Com Port	None	None
Parallel LPT Port	None	None
Microphone	Yes	Yes
IR Port	Yes	None
Bluetooth	None	Yes
VGA / DVI / HDMI	None / None / 1x Right	None / 1x Left / None
TV Out	None	1x Left
TV In	None	None
AC Power	Yes	Yes
PC/Express Card Slots	1x Right	1x Right
LAN	1x Left	1x Back
Audio Connectors	1x Mic, Headphone Left	1x Mic, Headphone, Line In Left
Card Reader	1x Multi Card Reader Right	1x Multi Card Reader Left
Fingerprint Security	None	None
Manufacturer Docking Socket	None	None
System Software & Drivers
OS	Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium	Microsoft Windows XP Professional
DirectX Version	DX10	DX9.0c
Platform Driver	Intel 9.0.0.1008	Intel 8.2.0.1014
Graphics Driver	7.15.11.6755 - nVIDIA ForceWare 167.55	6.14.11.6757 - nVIDIA ForceWare 167.57