Alienware 17

Alienware has long been one of the leading names in the gaming laptop, and the 2014 version of the Alienware 17, continued reputation. The new Alienware 17 ($ 3,399, as tested) boasts an Intel quad-core processor, the latest NVIDIA graphics cards, and premium features, such as an extraordinary design, display and rich sound, and spacious storage. But while the Alienware 17 is a good, but it can not beat the performance of the Origin EON17-SLX (2014), Editor's Choice 'for high-end gaming laptop, thanks to the latter's dual GPU.

Design
The Alienware 17 is not shy about what it is: a powerful gaming laptop designed to put the premium gaming power in a semi-portable design. While mobile, it is clearly not made for carrying around for long in your arms or even stowed in a backpack. It measures 1.9 by 16.3 by 11.7 inches (HWD), and weighs a pain-inducing 9.2 pounds (11.2 pounds if you bring along the power adapter).

The rugged laptop sports a brushed-aluminum lid and a magnesium-alloy chassis, but what was probably grab your attention is the lighting. As in the previous iteration, the dark material of the chassis is contrasted with accent lighting in the lid, a Tron-like glowing strip around the edge of the chassis, a glowing touchpad, and a backlit keyboard. The keyboard itself has multiple lighting zones and a rainbow of colors to choose from. With the included AlienFX lighting controls dashboard, you can set different color schemes and assign specific shade of color to the event itself.

The 17.3-inch display is also very nice, with an anti-glare coating to eliminate reflections, and a 1,920-by-1, 080 resolution for your patronage game in full HD. Like most gaming laptop, the Alienware 17 does not have any kind of contact with support, but we'll give it a pass since our system came with Windows 7, and therefore does not need any of the Windows 8 touch capability requirements. You'll also get great audio from the two integrated stereo speakers Klipsch.

Features
With a rich selection of ports and features The Alienware 17. On the right side of the system, you'll find a slot-load optical drive (dual-layer Blu-ray/DVD +-RW), along with an integrated card reader (SD, MMC, MS / Pro), Gigabit Ethernet, and two USB 3.0 ports. On the left are two more USB 3.0 ports (one with PowerShare for charging the device), along with an HDMI port and Mini DisplayPort for connecting the monitor, a headphone jack, a microphone jack, and a power connector. There is also a case-lock slot, for physically securing the laptop when you get it in a big LAN party or similar event. Laptop is also outfitted with 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

Alienware doubles down on storage, with a 256GB solid-state drive (SSD) as a boot drive, and a larger 1TB, 5,400 rpm hard drive for storage of files. System preinstalled Windows 7 Home Premium, although you can also get customer laptop with Windows 8.1. It has almost no other program, with only a few Alienware-branded tools, such as Alien autopsy (a branded version of the recovery tool PC Doctor's), AlienRespawn (recovery and support software), and Alienware Command Center (customizations and settings). Included in the final offering is AlienFX, which gives you extensive control over the elements of custom lighting covering the laptop.

Parent company Alienware, Dell, covering the laptop using a standard one-year warranty on parts and labor. While that's fine for a normal laptop, it is a bit short for this type of machine, as they offer a lot of PC gaming boutique two-and three-year warranty.