Gift Guide: 12 Computers For Christmas
11. Alienware M15x
Here are 12 gift ideas for the most generous gifters: people giving computers. From cheapest ($300) to priciest ($1500), these are our picks.
Alienware M15x
$1,400
If the thought of actually giving an Alienware laptop to someone as a gift crossed your mind as you clicked to this page, you’re a thoughtful, generous spirit. To consider the M15x as a gift for a loved one (or perhaps yourself--you probably deserve it too) means serious commitment to the recipient. We say this not just because this gaming laptop starts at $1,499-- a price beyond many gift-givers’ budgets--but because of what this machine does.
Now partnered with Dell, Alienware is the largest manufacturer of gaming PCs and laptops worldwide, and they supply some of the fastest gaming rigs on the market today. That $1,499 starting point is just that—it gets much pricier. But remember: the more you invest, the more you get. Alienware ships custom ordered machines in less than a week.
Besides being one of the fastest laptops we’ve ever tested, the MX15 is sleek, stunning, and looks like a monster that eats MacBooks for breakfast. Want to intimidate people? Walk into a Starbucks or a college campus and whip out this behemoth.
But even if onlookers see only a beast, gamers will know what they’re looking at. With large hard drives for holding lots of games to faster spinning disks and even solid state drives, the M15x can be as powerful as you need it to be. Even with the base model, the newest games will look and feel great. Add in a few extra components and “great” turns into “astounding” in no time at all.
But gamers are people too, and they need other forms of entertainment. Drop in a DVD or BluRay disc and play a movie, either on the beautiful 16:9 (widescreen) display or outsource the graphics to an HDTV through HDMI. Gamers also have day jobs that take them away from the desk. “Stealth” mode lets you make this machine work longer hours. Toggle the switch to get more battery power when you’re unplugged.
Let’s face it: if you’re buying this machine for someone, you probably already know it is on their wish list. That’s because serious gamers usually know exactly what they want. Hopefully, we’ve given you a vote of confidence in your gamers’ choice and in your decision to make the purchase. --James Pikover
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Glad to see the Alienware M15x made the list. I've never been particularly fond of Dell or Alienware in the past, but it's really one of the best valued gaming laptops available on the market right now. If I recall correctly, you can configure it with a Core i7, 4GB (or maybe 6GB) od DDR3 RAM, 1920x1080 RGBLED screen, and GTX 260M for just bit more than $1700.
I don't even care about the products... I just like the chick.
She's BEAUTIFUL!
I think she'd look a lot hotter with her hair down.
Is it just me, or am I seeing any article with Sarah have 90% of the comments focused on her?
The Durabook is my kind of laptop! Make it 1920x1200, give it a 4830m, a 80GB intel x18-m (I would think they'd be more durable than standard disk drives), and make both the magnesium and rubber twice as thick.
Then shoot it with a 12 gauge full of bird shot and continue playing crysis on it after buffing the scratches out. =D
Really though, I like the Durabook, as I could leave it around my brothers or nephew without worrying about having to buy a new one.
Does it include accidental damage warranty? What about heat resistance? Does the magnesium have a protective coating on it, or if I just scratch a little paint off and leave a lighter by it, or have a peice of molten steel fly on it while welding, will the thing turn into a firebomb (the heat from magnesium combusting blowin the battery). More importantly, how bullet proof is it?
Happy holidays everyone. =D
I'd go for the ASUS RoG G71Gx. I spec'ed out the M15x vs it (and others) and it ended up being $900 cheaper with virtually the same specs. And not only this but you get the RoG-branded backpack and a customized for Asus/RoG Razor Copperhead gaming mouse as throw-ins. And the model would look even hotter holding up the Asus with it's geeky flashing case-lid LEDs, IMO. :-)
Is it just me, or am I seeing any article with Sarah have 90% of the comments focused on her?
Yeah, she's pretty hot. Didn't even read the article. Ended up wondering if I was the only one and sure enough, I wasn't.
New to Toms...
girl is Hot...Who she??...
and Artical wise , i like that Alienware is included.
But I think For me the best deal is the All in one HP touch monitor , which i am thinkin of givin my mom...She loves to cook different dishes and try all sorts of things..and I think this will make a big difference in keepin all her recieps and search for new ones online as it happens....
Thanks for a Great Artical..
HP Envy 13/15 didn't make the list??? Too bad. I know they're priced high, but they do look sexy, and the Envy 15 has some pretty impressive hardware built in.
damn ugly girl what a turn off
Why does tom's always criticize low end cards like 9400GT/GSs and HD4300 series and HD4500 series. These cards would MOST CERTAINLY get playable frame rates at medium/low settings for COD4-6 @ 1024x768 and low settings for crysis at 800x600... My old ATI X1050 played COD4 at medium settings (low shadows, textures on high) at 1024x768 @ about 28-33 fps. That same rig played crysis at an awful 24fps at 800x600. An HD4300 series card is faster than my old X1050- i know that for a fact.... unless your GFX tiers suck (from the best gpus for the money articles).
A 9400GT/GS? HD4300/4500? Really? Come on man! I've got a machine with a 9600GT that is awesome. A 9400 is for someone who just wants to add on a cheap card so they've got one.
Hell, I've got an older rig running two 7600GT's and they can run Crysis. Not great, but it works. As for straight-up low-end cards, you can do a lot better than a 9400.
Some good suggestions there. I'd rather have a MacBook Pro/Air though, although now's not the time to buy since they're towards the end of product cycles.
Wow, 12 computers and not a single one of them made by Apple! I mean, really, not a single Macbook or MacBook Pro? If you just look at sales figures alone, Tom's Guide is seriously out of touch with what many people percieve as a great computer.
Wow, 12 computers and not a single one of them made by Apple! I mean, really, not a single Macbook or MacBook Pro? If you just look at sales figures alone, Tom's Guide is seriously out of touch with what many people percieve as a great computer.
They probably don't want their Christmas gift guides to turn into Apple bashing threads like many fanatics on this site insist on.
FWIW, the model prefers Apple.
"Do you come with the laptop?"
"ohhh you hehe"
hmmm...i definitely have the $1400us to buy someone a present
but the ultimate question is .... can they play crysis?