Alienware M18x

The Alienware brand and PC gaming is synonymous, and with good reason. For the past 15 years people Alienware This churning out high-end gaming systems, and thankfully they continue so. The outfit's flagship laptop, the M18x ($ 4,529 direct), is full of over-the-top parts and presented in a sharp-looking chassis complete with tricked-out lighting effects and a killer 18.4-inch display. You'll pay more at the pump for high octane notebook and not getting a lot of battery life, but for those players wishing LAN party dominance it was an easy decision: The M18x Alienware M17x eclipses last year Choice as our Editors' with cost-no-object (over $ 3000) gaming laptop.

Design and Features
When we reviewed the M17x last June , we were wowed by the overall design of the laptop and rubber - like the matte finish . This time around the design team decided to shroud the Alienware M18x with an anodized aluminum housing with Space Black finish that is really more of a metallic dark gray than black . The familiar illuminated alien head adorns the lid, while the presence of base sports two threatening - looking backlit grilles . The front end has a Corvette - like shape that makes it look like a notebook fast standing still .
With a pair of heavy - duty lid hinges and the aluminum shell , the M18x has a solid look and feel that is best described as built like a tank . Speaking of which, monster weighs in at a hefty 12.9 pounds and 2.13 inches thick . The power brick alone weighs close to 3 pounds and measures 1.5 x 3.7 x 7.6 inches ( HWD ) , so unless you plan to make it part of your exercise regimen , this laptop probably will not see much travel .

The 18.4 - inch display is a thing of beauty , featuring edge -to - edge glass over black bezels , a 1920 by 1080 resolution , and outstanding color quality and black levels . The glossy anti -glare reflective coating can be under certain lighting conditions , but it Punches up the colors and provides a good wide angle viewing . A 3 - megapixel webcam embedded in the bezel above the screen and an illuminated Alienware logo centered at the bottom bezel .

Everything about the M18x is large , including full - sized keyboard . The latter has a dedicated number pad off to the right and five programmable keys AlienTactx left . The keyboard keys are quiet and responsive , as is the touchpad and dual mouse buttons assembly embedded in rubbery keyboard deck . A set of flush - mounted media player keys resting on top of the keyboard . There is also an eject button for the slot loading Blu - ray drive , a Wi - Fi on / off switch , and the far right , a key Alienware Command Center .

Like the M17x , the M18x offers myriad lighting effects , all controlled by AlienFX utility the Command Center . Here you can set up a lighting scheme for the keyboard with four different zones and assign different colors for each backlit components, including front grilles , the alien head lid decoration , the touch pad , power button , and the control of the media . There are 20 LED color palette so that you can change the lighting scheme to suit your mood . The Command Center is the home of AlienTouch ( touchpad settings ) and AlienFusion ( power management ) utilities and is also where you can program the key AlienTactx .

The M18x is full of features . Is by means of two fast ( 7200 rpm ) 500GB drives configured for RAID 0 for a total of 1TB of storage capacity Storage . Wireless- N and Bluetooth are also part of the package as an internal 5.1 sound solution and a Klipsch speaker system that you can crank up without worrying about distortion . In addition to the Blu - ray drive, hold the right side of the chassis are two USB 2.0 ports , an HDMI input ( a rarity to be Included also M17x ) , an eSATA / USB combo port , a MMC/SD/MS- Pro card slot , and an ExpressCard reader . Over on the left side you will find a pair of headphone jacks , S / PDIF and microphone line - in jacks , two USB 3.0 ports , VGA , HDMI , and Mini DisplayPort input , and a Gigabit Ethernet port . As always , Alienware will leave off and preinstalls bloatware Windows 7 Home Premium ( 64 - bit ) , the Alien utilities, including AlienRespawn restoration tool , and steam