Alienware M9700

Author:  Rafael Rios Date:  2006.10.19 Topic:  Notebooks Provider:  Alienware Manufacturer:  Alienware

Conclusions

We have tested many laptops at Techwarelabs and there are always Pro's and Con's to each. As the buyer you will have to list the attributes that weigh most heavily on your daily use and long term needs. Techwarelabs has put together a listing of the common Pro's and Con's of the M9700 to assist our readers with making decisions.

Pros:
- The 1920 x 1200 display is very nice. The glossy screen makes the colors jump right out at you.
- The construction and overall appearance is definitely a notch above most other laptops and will get you noticed.
- AMD Turion 64 processor is very good when it comes to mobile systems, throttleing back when on battery.
- The addition of SLI, dual graphics card performance is very impressive when it comes to gaming.
- Touchpad was slick and easy to use. Scroll pad and button pad worked flawlessly. Touchpad turn-off feature is a big plus for those that game using a mouse.
- Owning an Alienware is like driving a convertable Ferarri, you open the top just to get noticed.

P.S. Did we mention we love how it looks?

Cons:
- No Dual Core CPU options available in this model.
- Video Cards are limited to 256MB of memory. It would be nice to see 512MB offered.
- The LCD screen is so glossy it tends to reflect quite a bit.
- The coaxial connector is non-standard and no adapter cable is provided.
- Price: Over $3,000.00 for the unit we tested. (Ferarri syndrome again, but we think its worth it)

Conclusions:
The Alienware m9700 as configured for Techwarelabs review is very powerful, even with the AMD Turion 64 single processor made for laptops. The SLI gaming performance of this laptop rivals those of desktop systems quite easily. The SLI performance, excellent heat dissipation methods, cooling aspects, large 17" viewable display, large keyboard interface with numeric pad, and a touchpad that can be turned off, when coupled with the Logitech G5 gaming mouse (the mouse was provided by Alienware as one of the optional mice you can purchase with your systems) are an excellent combination for any gaming enthusiast. This laptop would be a hands down winner for any lan with its easy portability, size and weight. Although it came in at 10 lbs., this laptop is definately a desktop replacement and not difficult to carry around to your local lan event. Techwarelabs was very pleased to see the advent of the SLI desktop replacement laptop offered with Alienware's excellent quality to boot, but we were disappointed to see that this SLI version did not have a Core 2 Duo variant offered with SLI during the time of our testing. Other than our comments regarding the DVD/CD tray style used, we at Techwarelabs can highly recommend this laptop for the serious gaming enthusiast. Coupled with Alienware's warranty, support programs and supplied CD/DVD support media, it would be difficult not to make your next gaming laptop an Alienware one. With that in mind we have given the laptop the Editor's Choice Award.