vendredi 28 août 2015

Alienware refreshes lineup -- Intel Skylake, dynamic overclocking, and liquid cooling

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While many PC gamers prefer to build their desktops themselves, buying a pre-built solution as an alternative can be rewarding too. If you want a gaming laptop, you pretty much have to turn to a manufacturer for your computer.

If you want to buy a pre-built gaming desktop or laptop, there are plenty of options, but Alienware is one of the most attractive. Dell's gaming line has a long history and much respect from the gaming community. Today, the company announces a refreshed line of computers, some of which feature Intel Skylake processors, dynamic overclocking, and liquid cooling. Of course, they look futuristic and sexy too.

"Alienware today announced its highly-anticipated new portfolio of products, featuring the next generation Alienware X51 gaming desktop, updated Alienware 13, 15 and 17 notebooks, and, back for a limited time, the Alienware 18 notebook. The updated desktop and notebooks come on the eve of PAX Prime, one of the largest gaming events in North America, taking place August 28-31 in Seattle, Washington. The event will highlight some of the new solutions including the first look at the new Dell 27 Gaming Monitor, launching in late October", says Dell.

The manufacturer further explains its 13, 15 and 17 notebooks by saying "each updated notebook includes USB Type-C ports for USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3 technology support, plus PCIe SSD technology for significant 4GB/s throughput to ensure games, media and applications load fast. For uncompromised connectivity, Alienware implemented Killer Wireless-AC 1535 and Killer E2400 High-Performance Gigabit Ethernet controllers for improved speed and reliability while playing online games, streaming your game, or enjoying online HD video. All of these notebooks will also ship Windows 10, as well as support Windows 8.1. All Alienware laptops can extend to UltraHD 4k gaming when connected to an Alienware Graphics Amplifier featuring a 4k capable graphics card and an optional 4k display".

The Alienware Graphics Amplifier is very cool, as it allows the user to experience desktop-like 4K gaming while at home with a display. The amplifier can be disconnected when the user needs to be portable. Of course, the laptops can handle modern games with internal graphics, albeit with less performance.

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If you want a monster laptop, Dell is also bringing back the Alienware 18 for a limited time as a "Special Edition". This beast features a huge 18.4 inch WLED FHD (1920 X 1080) display. Of course, the size and weight (12 pounds!) of this behemoth hardly makes it practical for portability. For hardcore mobile gaming, it can be configured with Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M graphics cards in SLI.

The Alienware 15, 17 and 18 can all be configured with 4th-generation Haswell processors, while the 13 offers Broadwell chips. While I am sure some consumers will be disappointed to get a Haswell chip in late 2015, the processors will still offer great performance. The Alienware 17 and 18 comes with Core i7 chips standard.

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If you prefer a desktop, the Alienware X51 R3 should make you very happy. This slim gaming computer features brand-new overclocked Intel Skylake processors and liquid cooling. Enthusiasts should appreciate the specs and design of the machine.

Dell explains, "fitting into the same small form factor, the unique CPU cooling solution reduces noise output and can push the latest 6th-gen Intel Core i5K and i7K unlocked processors to peak performance. Gamers that want to go beyond the X51’s impressive Nvidia GTX 960 graphics can now enjoy 4k gaming when connected to the Graphics Amplifier and a 4K display (both sold separately), supporting discrete GPUs options including the Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan X. Memory upgrades include support for DDR4 memory, new M.2 PCIe SSDs for increased bandwidth up to 4GB/s, and USB 3.1 ports that can drastically improve throughput when attaching select devices. Now with Windows 10, the latest Alienware X51 can power more realistic graphics and smooth gameplay with DirectX 12".

Unfortunately, the base model of the X51 R3 features the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 745 with 4GB DDR3 (really, Dell?). This will not be acceptable for most gamers. Instead, you can opt for an AMD Radeon R9 370 with 4GB GDDR5 or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 with 2GB GDDR5. You can also add the graphics amplifier and a higher-end card in the future, but this could prove quite costly.

If you are interested in buying one of these new Alienware machines, you can configure and buy them at the below links. Price, of course, will vary based on the specifications you choose.

Are you excited about Alienware's new lineup? Tell me in the comments.



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