7/18/07 – Portable PC gaming is becoming a very hot market. Notebook computers have always lagged behind their desktop equivalents but that has changed over the last year with the introduction of multiple graphics processors for the notebook market. Alienware has made a name of themselves with gaming PCs and they continue this with the Aurora m9700. Let's take a closer look ...
Processor:
While most notebooks are now using the Intel Core processor, Alienware instead uses the AMD Turion 64 processors for the Aurora m9700. It is available with the ML34, ML37, ML40 or ML44 depending upon the amount of money you want to spend. This is a single core processor that makes it less useful for multitasking but games at this point don't utilize the extra cores. It is 64-bit compatible for the future 64-bit version of Windows Vista.
Memory:
The AMD Turion platform uses the older PC3200 DDR memory rather than newer DDR2. This isn't too much of a problem since the memory controller is built into the chip to provide faster memory access. Alienware offers users the choice of between 512MB up to 2GB of memory for the system. 512MB is really not sufficient for gaming so users will want either the 1GB or 2GB configurations for smoother gameplay.
Hard Drives:
A wide range of choices is available for the hard drives. On the low end, Alienware offers a single 60GB 7,200rpm SATA hard drive. For those looking for more performance, a single 100GB 7,200rpm hard drive is available or it is possible to get two drives with a RAID 0 array for 200GB of space. More data conscious individuals can elect to go with a redundant RAID 1 array instead. Gamers will best be served by either a single or dual 7200rpm drives for fast load times.
CD/DVD Drives:
It is pretty much standard now for notebook computer systems to come with at least an 8X DVD+/-R dual layer compatible burner. The base configuration for the Aurora m9700 comes with the 24x CD-RW/DVD combo drive that can playback DVD but only record CD media. For the cost of the system, it would be nice of Alienware to make the DVD burner standard.
Graphics and Display:
The display for the Aurora m9700 is a standard sized 17” wide screen LCD panel with the options of either a 1440x900 or 1920x1200 resolution. Most gamers will probably choose to get the higher resolution display. Driving the graphics is the choice of either a single GeForce Go 7900 GS processor or two of them in an SLI configuration. The single graphics core can drive the high resolution display for games, but the SLI setup allows higher frame rates and improved visuals perfect for games.
Networking:
One of the primary reasons to get a portable gaming system is to move it around and easily connect to networks for multiplayer gaming. Users of the Aurora m9700 shouldn't have any problems with connectivity. Dial-up connections are provided by a standard v.92 56Kbps software modem while wired connections can support gigabit ethernet. Both the 802.11b and g standards are supported for wireless networking. A Bluetooth 2.0 transmitter is also included for connecting to peripherals.
Ports:
What's the point of a portable gaming platform if you can't connect items such as game controllers to it? The Aurara m9700 offers a total of 4 USB 2.0 ports and a single FireWire port. Gamers who might want a secondary display also have a DVI-D for an external monitor. An optional TV tuner is available for it to be a multimedia platform.
Software:
One area that Alienware is fairly lack in its specs is the software. They offer a very limited software bundle with the computer system beyond the Windows XP Media Center Edition operating system. In fact, only MS Works is standard. Not even an anti-virus application is included standard. Users will likely want to pick up a couple items. They even offer games as an option to go with the system.
Overall Impressions:
Alienware's Aurora m9700 is an excellent overall portable gaming system. While most companies are focusing an large 19” or 20” screens, they fail to take into consideration how portable such systems really are. This is where the smaller 17” screen really benefits the Aurora m9700 system. The surprising thing is that Alienware is still able to pack all the features into the system.
That's not to say that the system doesn't have some of the flaws of the larger gaming notebooks. Just like the larger systems, the Aurora m9700 is going to have very limited battery life. All the extra current drawn from a second hard drive, the high resolution display and dual graphics cards will limit the systems use to places where a power power is readily available.
The Aurora m9700 is very much a specialized notebook as well. If you aren't looking for a notebook computer system to be used for gaming, then the system is not going to be a good match. The extra cost for the graphics systems and performance parts adds up quickly. This prices the m9700 much higher than more traditional desktop replacement notebooks.
The system can be a good multimedia platform though if the system isn't fully decked out. The multimedia options such as TV tuner can make it a good portable media platform. The price still might be higher than other systems, but it can also double as a gaming system that many multimedia notebooks may not be able to.
