09/23, 1:05pm
Intel Core i7 mobile now official
Intel at its second Developer Forum keynote officially unveiled its first Core i7 processors for notebooks. Once codenamed Clarksfield, the quad-core processors share the same Nehalem architecture and 45 nanometer process as the desktop part but are designed to consume much less power, although more at peak than the Core 2 Quad. The top-end Core i7 Extreme consumes 55W where regular quad Core i7 mobile chips will use 45W.
more
09/23, 9:20am
Alienware Core i7 notebook and new Area/Aurora
(Updated with more specs and links) Alienware this morning touted a symbolic milestone as the first company to ship a notebook with Intel's mobile Core i7 processor. The 15-inch m15x can be equipped with a 2GHz Core i7 920XM that not only gives it a quad-core processor but should support Hyperthreading for as many as eight effective cores. Despite the clock speed, the system should outrun the Core 2 Extreme and many higher clocked dual- and quad-core older systems.
more
09/22, 2:30pm
Alienware revamping PCs tomorrow
Alienware announcements slated for Wednesday and teased in recent days should include sweeping updates to three of its core product lines, a last-minute leak today shows. The company plans to unveil a redone m15x gaming notebook and is said by Engadget to be reworking both the Area-51 and Aurora gaming towers as well as their high-end ALX variants. Actual specs are unknown but are likely to involve revamped AMD, Intel and NVIDIA hardware, such as Intel's mobile Core i7 quad-core and new Radeon HD 5800 graphics.
more
07/22, 4:55pm
Alienware Experience due
Gaming PC maker Alienware on Wednesday said it would open its first store at the Micro Center near New York City. To be called The Alienware Experience, the store will be a try-only boutique like Dell's few locations and give visitors the chance to experience Alienware's gaming hardware firsthand, albeit without the option of buying systems in-store. The first 500 visitors will get special Alienware T-shirts, gift bags and 2GB USB drives. Those who participate in the LAN games will also have at winning extra prizes including PC games, speakers, keyboards, mice and headphones.
more
07/17, 11:55am
Alienware M17x Nebula Red
Alienware late last night quietly added a new, special version of its M17x gaming notebook. The Nebula Red version switches to a bright, anodized red aluminum for the outer shell, including the bottom and sides. The backlit keyboard should also come with red illumination, although as with regular models the keys can be changed in software to one of many colors in the visible spectrum.
more
07/01, 7:40am
Alienware OptX AW2210
Alienware today quietly introduced its own desktop display built both for gaming and movie viewing. The OptX AW2210 is intended as a multi-role display with a 21.5-inch, 1080p LCD that has not only DVI for computers but, in a rarity for the class, dual HDMI ports. Viewers can hook up a pair of HD sources like a Blu-ray player or game console and maintain their native aspect ratios without losing access to the computer.
more
05/29, 7:55am
Alienware M17x 2009
Alienware today tipped its hand early and showed its reworked version of its flagship M17x gaming notebook. The 17-inch system has the brand's typical array of customizable lighting but is modernized, particularly in its graphics: in addition to supporting up to two GeForce GTX 280M chipsets in SLI for desktop-level performance, it has a GeForce 9400M chipset that it can switch to for conserving power when the notebook is on battery. Processors are also updated and scale up to quad-core Intel Core 2 Extreme chips.
more
11/19, 3:55pm
Alienware intros gaming PC
Alienware on Wednesday announced it has released the Aurora Online Gaming Edition desktop PC. The tower is meant to improve the online gaming experience thanks to the inclusion of a Killer NIC K1 network card from Bigfoot Networks that claims to reduce lag and deliver smoother, more responsive online gameplay. The PC includes AMD's Phenom X4 9950 CPU rated at 2.6GHz and also sports 4GB of RAM.
more
11/16, 11:15pm
Intel Ships Core i7
Intel is starting the week by officially shipping its first Core i7 processors. The technology is just the seventh major x86 architecture from the company and is designed more explicitly for multi-core processors than the earlier Core 2 architecture. It marks the return of Hyperthreading from the Pentium 4 and allows each core to theoretically run two program threads at once; the overall processor also has the option of a Turbo Mode that can disable as many as three cores and overclock the remaining cores for apps that depend only on one or two threads.
more
11/13, 2:35pm
Alienware Area-51 750i
Alienware on Thursday veered away from its normal high-end audience to unveil the Area-51 750i. The system is the company's least expensive gaming tower but comes with the same lightable casing, wiring and stronger power supplies as more expensive Area-51 models; only the individual components dictate its price, and the system can be scaled upwards to include some of the better features from Alienware's catalog, such as liquid cooling and noise damping.
more
11/03, 11:05am
Alienware M17 Quad Core
After a short teaser campaign, Alienware has revealed an upgrade to its M17 desktop replacement notebook that boosts its all-around performance. The 17-inch system can now go quad-core and has the option of a 2.53GHz Core 2 Extreme for those gamers who would prefer multi-thread performance over sheer clock speed; a 2.26GHz Core 2 Quad is also an option for less demanding tasks.
more
10/16, 6:40am
Best Buy to sell Alienware
Dell has announced that its subsidiary, Alienware, will be offering a version of its Aurora gaming desktop computer at Best Buy stores. Although the Aurora systems are considered entry level for the company, the particular version to ship to the retail stores will include many of the improved components above the base model available directly from the manufacturer. Best Buy hopes to drive sales by letting consumers "experience Alienware first hand," according to Keith Bryan, director of desktop computing.
more
08/13, 3:15pm
Dell to End Separate XPS
Dell is phasing out its distinct XPS line in favor of its regular brands, the company has revealed today. While not explicitly saying it will discontinue the XPS label outright, the name will now be folded into the Inspiron and Studio systems as a high-end trim level. The stylized Studio line will effectively replace the XPS for most purposes, Dell's worldwide marketing chief Mark Jarvis says. The official doesn't provide a motivation other than to suggest the move is part of "brand consolidation" that trims the number of labels at Dell.
more
08/12, 12:55pm
Alienware adopts 4870 X2
Dell's high-end gaming division, Alienware, has announced that it will be adopting AMD's new Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics card effective immediately. The card combines two GPUs into one board, and features 2GB of DDR5 RAM as well as DirectX 10.1 support; maximum performance is rated at 2.4 teraflops. Due to its size the card is only being offered in the company's three desktop systems, the Area-51, Area-51 ALX and Aurora.
more
07/29, 2:00pm
AWare m15 Quadro FX 3600M
Alienware this afternoon turned its m15x gaming notebook into a 3D modeling workstation with the introduction of an option for NVIDIA's top-end Quadro FX 3600M chipset. The portable is the first 15.4-inch notebook anywhere to hold the graphics chip and uses the extra headroom for much faster work rendering 3D effects, CAD, or other projects in DirectX 10 or OpenGL 2.1 without having to resort to a 17-inch desktop replacement or else a slower graphics chipset.
more
07/08, 11:30pm
Samsung MLC 128GB SSD Ship
Samsung tonight said it has started mass production of 128GB solid-state drives based on multi-level cell (MLC) technology that should dramatically reduce the cost of switching to flash storage in notebooks. By using a new implementation of the format, the Korean firm says it has managed to provide inexpensive storage without hurting the relative speed that would otherwise need a faster but expensive single-level cell drive: any of the new drives can read at 90MB per second and write at 70MB per second, making them faster than most any notebook-class rotating hard drive and faster than earlier SSDs.
more
05/22, 1:05pm
Alienware Area-51 ALX
Dell's Alienware division has once again refreshed its top-of-the-line gaming PC, the Area-51 ALX. At the center is the option of a quad-core, 3.2GHz Core 2 Extreme processor, overclocked for even greater performance to 4GHz; to avoid corresponding overheating problems, Alienware has equipped all ALX computers with liquid cooling. Motherboards, meanwhile, can now be configured with up to 4GB of 1,600MHz Corsair DDR3 RAM.
more
05/14, 12:35pm
Dell denies XPS phase-out
Dell has no plans to eliminate its XPS line of computers, a company representative says. On Monday the Wall Street Journal reported that Dell intends to phase out four of its XPS gaming systems, on the basis that they are eating into sales of its newly-bought Alienware division. Dell is said to be in tough financial circumstances, having lost its former dominance in PC sales to chief rival HP. In April the company revealed plans to fire at least 8,800 people, and close its desktop manufacturing plant in Austin, Texas.
more
05/12, 11:35pm
Dell XPS gaming PCs EOL'd
Next month Dell will begin phasing out four of its popular XPS gaming systems, in favor of the high-end PCs that are part of its recently acquired Alienware PC line. The surprising move is part of its continued turnaround efforts--along with an expected design overhaul in its Inspiron line-- after slipping behind rival HP in overall PC sales and struggling to achieve profits in consumer PCs, the Wall Street Journal reports. With the focus on the Alienware line, Dell says that a combined gaming design and development unit will focus on the seven current Alienware models, which has lost some "mojo," according to one analyst. Dell also noted that the gaming market, which focuses machines with high-end processors and GPUs priced at nearly three times the price of the average consumer PC, is strategically important because gamers' purchasing decisions influence other PC buyers.
more
04/30, 12:50am
Alienware m17x laptop
Alienware today unveiled the m17x, a gaming behemoth stuffed into the confines of a 17-inch wide screen laptop, featuring an option of Intel Core 2 Duo Extreme processors and dual Nvidia graphics cards. The hefty, sleek laptop uses a high-definition screen, featuring a resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels, with up to 4GB of dual channel DDR2 memory, and up to two hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration for up to 1TB of storage. The m17x also has space for a third modular hard drive or DVD burner.
more
04/15, 6:50pm
Aurora with Phenom 9850
Alienware recently updated its Aurora gaming desktop to include an upgrade option for the AMD Phenom 9850 Black Edition processors, which feature the latter company's HyperTransport technology. The Phenom 9850 is a quad-core processor that provides users increased system bandwidth and true multitasking, while also supporting up to four ATI CrossFireX video cards. In addition, users can run either 32-bit or 64-bit applications without additional hardware, and the processor's Cool'n'Quiet technology reduces power consumption, heat output and noise.
more
03/24, 1:55pm
Alienware Area-51 3.2GHz
Quickly following on the heels of its GeForce 9800 GX2 update, Alienware on Monday afternoon refreshed the Area-51 gaming tower to add Intel's 3.2GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9770 as its best processor option. The new speed eclipses the 3GHz limit set by the older system and also brings with it a faster 1.6GHz system bus; the extra bandwidth helps keep traffic going to all four cores and also more properly feeds the DDR3 memory.
more
03/18, 2:45pm
Alienware Area-51 9800 GX2
Alienware this afternoon upgraded its Area-51 gaming tower to take advantage of NVIDIA's latest speed boosts. The new system uses NVIDIA's just-introduced nForce 790i Ultra SLI mainboard and now has the option of the GeForce 9800 GX2 for video. The combination not only provides the fastest gaming performance from a single card, according to Alienware, but also adds more breathing room for expanded performance: the new nForce platform freely allows more CPU overclocking in its BIOS than earlier Area-51 models and also provides extra bandwidth for peripherals through PCI Express 2.0 as well as DDR3 memory.
more
03/18, 11:15am
SSD Notebook Failure Rates
At least one major computer manufacturer is encountering an unusually high rate of failure among notebooks equipped with solid-state drives (SSDs), according to a report by analyst group Avian Securities. Declining to name the company in question, manager Avi Cohen of the research firm claims that a major PC manufacturer is seeing returns of at least 20 percent and as much as 30 percent of the SSD systems it sells. Most of these, or up to 20 percent, are from drives which failed outright, though Cohen doesn't say whether this stems from the storage itself or the controller chip, which manages data transfers between the SSD and its host computer.
more
03/05, 12:55pm
Alienware ALX CFX
Alienware today claimed to have one of the fastest gaming desktops yet with the ALX CrossFireX. The system is one of the first from a major PC builder to use AMD's CrossFireX technology to pair up two of its twin-chipset Radeon HD 3870 X2 cards in a single system. The four-GPU setup is enough to supply nearly four times the performance in ideal conditions and 2GB of total video memory. Users can also use official drivers to overclock the entire setup if they like, Alienware says.
more
02/20, 4:05pm
Gtwy., Alienware go Penryn
In the wake of Dell's addition of Penryn to Inspiron notebooks, systems from Gateway and Alienware have also been upgraded with the Intel processor technology. Alienware's Area-51 m15x has been given the option of a 2.5 or 2.6GHz Core 2 Duo, or else a 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme; its display measures 15.4 inches, and costs start at $2,149. Gateway's contribution is the 17-inch P-171X FX, which uses a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo chip and is priced at $2,000. The company adds that an M-series notebook will also be equipped with Penryn "in a few weeks," but refuses to disclose further details. [via Crave]
more
01/11, 8:20am
Alienware m15x Ships
Alienware today quietly began shipping the m15x, its new-era gaming notebook. Besides a new minimalist look with a backlit keyboard, the portable is the first 15.4-inch system to include performance parts normally reserved for 17-inch desktop replacements; with custom orders, users can fit a 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme while the top-end system includes a 512MB GeForce 8800M GTX that matches the performance of better desktop cards. It also makes room for a second hard drive bay for those who want such options as a 64GB solid-state drive for performance without compromising on a larger hard drive.
more
12/13, 11:15am
NVIDIA 3-Way SLI Graphics
Attempting to gain an edge over its close rival AMD, NVIDIA today introduced three-way SLI for particularly high-end gaming systems. Using the company's nForce 680i SLI mainboard for Intel systems as well as video cards using either a GeForce 8800 GTX or an 8800 Ultra chipset, the technology allows three video cards to team up for 3D acceleration on a single display where only two were possible in the past. The extra performance translates almost literally to a 2.8X jump in speed over a single card and means that even very demanding games such as Crysis can run both at full detail and at the highest resolutions without waiting for newer hardware, NVIDIA says.
more
