Game review: Alienware Aurora m9700 - Dallas Morning News

Alienware Aurora m9700

$3,400 as configured (AMD Turion 2.2 GHz processor, 1GB RAM, dual Nvidia Go 7900 GS graphics cards, 17-inch 1920x1200 screen, 240GB hard drive)

MOBILE DESKTOP: Ultra-high-end laptops used to be mediocre gaming platforms, hindered by hardware several generations older than the stuff humming inside even average desktop computers. But as Alienware's m9700 proves, top-flight notebooks are now just as good for gaming as all but the most absurd desktop supercomputers.

SMART DESIGN: The m9700 was clearly designed by engineers fluent in the needs of gamers. The DVD drive is located along the front edge of the unit, leaving ample space for USB ports on both sides ? so righties and lefties can plug their mice in wherever they prefer ? as well as the speaker input jacks, Ethernet port and headphone jack.

SPEED DEMON: Fortunately the m9700 is just as sturdy as a gaming experience. I averaged a steady 31 frames per second in Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter with all the graphical settings maxed out. I couldn't get the game to recognize the laptop's native resolution ? it topped out at 1280x1024 ? but that's probably the game's fault.

BOTTOM LINE: The resolution on the screen is actually better than the best high-definition television standard ? 1080p ? so it would have been nice to see a high-def Blu-ray or HD-DVD drive included to really make that screen shine. Other than that, if you can stomach the hefty price tag, this thing screams.

Victor Godinez - Dallas Morning News