David Flynn25 October 2009, 10:35 AM
Dell’s ‘extreme gaming’ brand will make its mark in Australia this week with the launch of new Core i7-based rigs. Let’s just hope the strong Aussie dollar keeps prices sane...
Alienware’s new Core i7 gaming PCs are set for local release, with a mid-sized notebook running a Core i7 mobile processor and two desktops available with optional factory overclocking which nudges close to 4GHz.
Dell, which owns the premium Alienware gaming brand, is holding an invitation-only launch this coming Wednesday afternoon at The Altitude Restaurant, atop Sydney’s towering harbourfront Shangri La Hotel – and as any strategist knows, one key to victory is to seize the high ground.
The star of the show is expected to be the Alienware m15x, a laptop with a 15 inch screen and Intel’s mobile Core i7 920XM ‘Extreme Edition’ 2GHz processor.
But this is no ‘thin and light’ machine: the m15x has an airflow-friendly 4.8cm thick chassis and tips the scales at 4kg, in part due to the sizeable battery. But what do you expect when the powerplant alone draws up to 55 watts?
US pricing currently starts at US$1,499 for a lower-spec model based on the Core i7 720QM (which starts at 1.6GHz but peaks at 2.8GHz in ‘turbo mode’) backed by 3GB of RAM and Nvidia GeForce GT 240M graphics with 512MB. Adding the Core i7 920XM, which redlines at 3.2GHz, bumps this to US$2,399.
The kicker, however, is going to be how much ‘sticker shock’ there will be on the local price tags. US prices don’t include any sales tax, of course – this varies from state to state, unlike out single national 10% tariff. But with the Aussie dollar now perched at US92c, let’s hope for a fair shake.
On the desktop, Alienware is likely to showcase both the compact Aurora mini-tower and full-size Area 51 systems. These can sport twin graphics cards and are available with Intel’s original high-end Core i7 900-series powerplants, from the 2.66GHz Core i7 920 to the 3.33GHz Core i7 975 Extreme Edition.
Customers can also order these with a factory-overlocked Core i7 975 which peaks between 3.6GHz and 3.86GHz.
Once again, let’s hope the Aussie dollar (and Dell’s local pricing matrix) does us justice, as the kick-off cost for the Alienware desktops stretches from a relatively modest US$1,299 for the little Aurora to $3,999 – and yes, that’s still a ‘starting price’ for the fire-breathing Area 51 ALX.