Laptop Review – Dell Alienware M15x

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A laptop dedicated for die-hard fans of extreme gaming, the Dell Alienware M15x also known as the Area 51 M15x. It’s actually a revamp of the old Area 51 M15x laptop that first came out with the Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (6MB Cache, 800MHz FSB) powering its system. This processor has a high potential as it made other gaming laptops appear to be as slow as a turtle. It also has the Dell turbo boost technology that enhances its processing unit.

Currently, the Dell Alienware M15x comes with three processor options – the Intel® Core(TM) i3 mobile processor for laptops is the first level of Intel’s new processor family, followed by the Intel® Core(TM) i5 mobile processor model and the new Intel® Core(TM) i7 processor. The Intel® Core(TM) i7 is the latest and most powerful processor of all time, but the Intel® Core(TM) i5 is not going to lose a lot in processing prowess.

This Dell Alienware M15x laptop with Intel® Core(TM) i5 has two prototypes: the Intel® CoreTM i5 540M 2.53GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 3MB Cache) and the Intel® CoreTM i5 430M 2.26GHz (2.53GHz Turbo Mode, 3MB Cache). Both CPUs run on two cores, but could outrun other dual core processors, including its predecessors. That is why, even with the Intel® Core(TM) i5, this alienware laptop is considered unusually large and powerful in the gaming world and is poised to become one of the favorites of hardcore gamers with budgets not enough to acquire a similar laptop with the Intel® Core(TM) i7 in it.

The Intel® Core(TM) i5 processor on the Dell Alienware M15x feature: Intel® Turbo Boost Technology, Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology and supports Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® Technology. This system allows any Intel® Core(TM) i5 processor to run at a faster clock rate while doing tremendous processing tasks.

To compliment its speed and power, this Dell Alienware Intel® Core(TM) i5 version is loaded with 4GB to a maximum of 8GB DDR3 RAM with FSB of 1066MHz and 1333Mhz respectively. This guarantees very smooth performance even when accessing memory-hungry applications. Another important recognition is the display rendering heavy graphics applications becomes a breeze with its dedicated graphics card as the Dell Alienware M15x is installed with 1GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260M or an optional 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 240M video card.

The Dell Alienware M15x Intel® Core(TM) i5 version is available with a gamer-like chassis and there are three colors to choose from — Nebula Red, Cosmic Black and Lunar Shadow. It can store up to 250 GB of digital files and if storage is not enough, the laptop has a BD-ROM/DVD/-RW drive to burn files with.

The Dell Alienware M15x Intel® CoreTM i5 version also comes with a full HD display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels – ideal not only for gaming but also for multimedia experience.

Specs:

Central Processing Unit

Intel® CoreTM i5 540M 2.53GHz (3.06GHz Turbo Mode, 3MB Cache)
Intel® CoreTM i5 430M 2.26GHz (2.53GHz Turbo Mode, 3MB Cache)

Read Access Memory

4 GB

Storage Drive

SATA 250GB Hard Drive 7,200 rpm

Optical Drive

BD-ROM/DVD /-RW

Display Size

15.6 inches

Native Resolution

1920 x 1080

Dimension

Height: 1.92 inches x Width: 14.88 inches x 12.15 inches

Graphics Card

Nvidia GeForce GTX 260M with 1 GB VRAM

Weight

9.0 pounds
Pros

The Dell Alienware M15x with Intel® CoreTM i5 just a notch less powerful than the one with the Intel® Core(TM) i7.

The Dell Alienware M15x with Intel® CoreTM i5 is truly admirable with its awesome graphics, full HD display and a Blu-Ray ready drive.

Cons

This Alienware comes with an Internal High-Definition 5.1 Surround Sound Audio system that delivers sound adequately. With a weight of nine pounds, some people might find the Dell Alienware M15x too heavy. This doesn’t have an HDMI port, only a firewire port.

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