The Core i7 processor

The Core i7 processor

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After the slew of Ultrabooks we have tested at ITProPortal, we thought it was about time we looked at something right at the other end of the spectrum. And we couldn't get much further from featherweights like Toshiba's Portege Z930-10Q and Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon than the Alienware M18x. This is a massive 18in-screen laptop (the clue is in the model name) that weighs in at a mammoth 5.41kg, and is as deep as some 13in models are wide. But it also has the kind of performance and specification that will leave many desktops cowering with inadequacy.

Being from Alienware, this is clearly a portable aimed at the (very) serious gamer, and the component parts reflect this extremely well. The M18x can be purchased with quite a hefty selection of options, too numerous to go into here, with the bare minimum beyond what most notebooks offer as their top selection. For example, only quad-core processors are available. Our particular sample sits somewhere in the middle of the range. The processor is Intel's Core i7-3740QM, a quad-core CPU with a nominal clock speed of 2.7GHz. But of course this is a rather unimportant figure, as Turbo Boost 2.0 with battery such as HP F1781A Ac Adapter, HP 298238-001 Ac Adapter, HP OmniBook 2106 Ac Adapter, HP OmniBook 6050 Ac Adapter, HP Pavilion N5500 Ac Adapter, HP Pavilion n6400 Ac Adapter, HP Pavilion XF125 Ac Adapter, HP Pavilion ZT1130 Ac Adapter, HP ED495AA Ac Adapter, HP Pavilion ZT1100 Ac Adapter, HP ACC23H Ac Adapter, HP Pavilion DV1000 Ac Adapter allows a single core to run at 3.7GHz when required, and all four cores can exceed the nominal rating at the same time. To complement this desktop level of CPU performance, the M18x comes with a whopping 16GB of 1600MHz DDR3 memory. This is as much as some 3D graphics workstations come with, and there's an option to upgrade to 32GB too.

The Core i7 processor is from Intel's Ivy Bridge range, but you wouldn't expect a system like this to rely on the latter's much-improved HD 4000 integrated graphics. In fact, the M18x is so far beyond this level it really shows how far integrated graphics would have to go to be any real challenge. Again, Alienware offers lots of graphics options, and our M18x sits near the top end with a pair of AMD Radeon HD 7970M chipsets arranged in CrossFireX parallel configuration. Each chipset has its own 2GB of GDDR5 memory, giving the M18x enough graphics grunt to drive its 18.4in display smoothly in most games at its native resolution. However, the HD 4000 chipset is still available, and you can switch to using this if you need to conserve power, although this requires a reboot, which isn't the case with Nvidia's Optimus technology.

Speaking of that screen, it is pretty impressive. This is one display for which the native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution does not equate to pixels that seem too small. Viewing angles are superb and colours are beautifully contrasted. The screen does have a glossy finish, so isn't ideal for usage in bright conditions. But whilst we would criticise this in a business notebook, the gamer's tendency to operate in near darkness makes it less of an issue. Audio is also in keeping with the huge screen. There's a Creative Sound Blaster Recon3Di chipset, and the stereo speakers are assisted by a subwoofer. You can crank up the volume and receive an experience on par with a mid-range iPod dock, but if this isn't good enough there's digital 7.1 output via the S/PDIF port and HDMI for an external surround speaker setup.