Using a 17 inch laptop in these days is somewhat of a strange sight, unless we are talking about the Alienware 17. Regular tendencies tend not to apply so well when we take into discussion the gaming scene. Here the preference goes in the line of “big and bad”, those machines that can perform like crazy. Alienware decided to replicate its dreadnaught, the Alienware 17, with an AMD-Powered counterpart.
Equipped with an AMD Radeon HD R9 M290X and an 1920 x 1080 anti-glare screen, this option of the Alienware 17 comes at a cheaper price, roughly 300 euros cheaper than its NVIDIA brotherly-figure. Considering that this latest GPU from AMD doubles on the video RAM, 4GB opposed to the GeForce GTX 860M’s 2GB, this baby is a hell of deal.
The design of the Alienware 17 is nothing to be surprised of. The angular shape of the machine allows for custom lighting zones, as well as for the implementation of the full-aluminium lid and the magnesium alloy base. Alienware reports that the usage in metal materials in the product have increased considerably, but overall the device weighs in at about 113.4 grams lighter than the previous version. The new keyboard model in the Alienware 17 is using a switch-based board that sits atop of an aluminium plate, while the whole touchpad is illuminated, opposed to just its borders.
The uniqueness of the Alienware machines, implicitly of the Alienware 17, allows the usage of a large spectrum of lights to illuminate different parts of the device. The company dubbed this feature AlienFX, and it is available on the Alienware 17 with a wide array of customization options. For example, you can illuminate the keyboard in four different colors, as it has four distinct zones of individual illumination. Also, if for example you would want the bottom lining to shine purple and the lining on the lid to be green, go ahead and do just so, it is by all means possible. That is just the tip of the iceberg though. If you would so desire, through the AlienAdrenaline tool, you can set a distinct tempo of color pattern transformation to suit different games or applications.
All in all, the Alienware 17 delivers as it promises; like an alien. Its color-changing features make it look like a veritable shape-shifter, almost making you believe it’s magic. Also given the fact that Alienware decided to double it up with an AMD-powered device, rendering it cheaper and more effective in terms of video RAM, you could say it is quite a rainbow-shooter. Rainbows and unicorns, a 17-inch breed of pure awesomeness, I can personally say it’s worth its spicy price. It will set you back between $1,600 and $2,200, depending on configuration.