Filed under: HDTV, Home Entertainment, Media PCs

It was under two years ago when we initially caught wind of Alienware’s Hangar 18, and while the outfit seemed pretty bullish about the thing just 12 months ago at CEDIA, things have apparently went south. As of right now, the Hangar 18 website simply redirects back to the company’s homepage, and CSRs are now informing inquiring consumers that the HTPC is simply no longer available for purchase. We know, this thing was overkill in every sense of the word, but it’s not like that’s stopping Niveus, Exceptional Innovation and all those other guys from making headway. So long, Hangar 18 — we barely knew ya.

[Thanks, Aaron]

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

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Filed under: Laptops

Some five months after NVIDIA took the Saran Wrap off of its professional-oriented Quadro FX 3600M, along comes Alienware patting itself on the back. Why? Because its Area-51 m15x is the first 15.4-inch laptop on planet Earth to offer said card, giving users who practically live in CAD, DCC or other visualization applications an option to still look 1337 (and tap into the occasional 3D game) on their lappie. Unfortunately, such graphical prowess will add $600 to the cost of your rig over the standard 256MB GeForce 8600M GT, but no one ever said that dancing on the cutting edge was cheap.

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Filed under: Laptops

Not to crack open a can of worms or anything, but we’re honestly curious to see what the legions of Area-51 m15x / m17x owners would change about their machines. When launched, both rigs were fawned over for their top-notch specifications, but the m15x hasn’t seen the warmest of receptions from its owners. As you well know, the 17-inch sibling just now started landing on doorsteps everywhere, and we’re genuinely hoping that it doesn’t present those same cracking issues as found on the aforesaid m15x. Beyond defects, we also want to hear what you’d change about a flawless m15x / m17x. Whittle down the weight? Change up the style? Swap out a few components? Go on and let ‘er rip in comments below.

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Filed under: Laptops

If your neighbor ordered one of these monstrosities, you probably felt the ground shake when the freight carrier dropped this bad boy off at his / her doorstep. If you were stuck in the cubicle during that whole ordeal, however, here’s a gentler news flash: Alienware’s brawny m17x gaming laptop is shipping right now. Initial reports from early adopters include phrases like “So huge!” and “Brobdingnagian!,” which is pretty much right in line with what we were expecting to hear.

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Filed under: Laptops

Judging by the multitude of problems experienced by Area-51 m15x owners, we can’t say we’d recommend said laptop without reservations, but those dead set on picking one up now have yet another design option to choose from. Yeah, the sleek Ripley motif is peachy for the milder sect, but those seeking something a bit more flamboyant will certainly appreciate the new Skullcap option (pictured). Initially, Skullcap will only be offered as a free option in silver, but if demand necessitates, we can certainly envision the company busting out the paint gun.

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

NVIDIA just launched its new GeForce GTX 280 graphics cards earlier today, but you know the crazy kids over at Alienware don’t like to wait for the latest and greatest — Dell’s gaming division has already announced Area-51 configurations that include the new cards. The Area-51 7500 will support one GTX 280-based card, while the top-of-the-line Area-51 ALX will offer a three-way SLI option that’s sure to render an image of your empty wallet in no time — it’s a $1,700 option. No word on when these are scheduled to ship, but seeing as the cards are out tomorrow, we’d guess it’ll be soon.

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Filed under: Desktops

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

Dell’s plans for Alienware and the XPS line are getting a little clearer, even as rumors swirl — a post on the company’s Direct2Dell blog today says that the XPS and Alienware dev teams are going to be integrated, and that the XPS line will go in “new directions,” hinted at by the m1330 and XPS One. Furthermore, you can now buy the Area-51 m9750 gaming laptop direct from the Dell website in addition to the Area-51 m15x, which doesn’t seem all that wild to us — we’re more interested in why Dell picked the super-geeky XPS brand to be its “premium” line. Ever heard of friendly, guys?

[Via CNET]

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Hot on the heels of the news that Dell is axing its XPS gaming line to focus attention on Alienware, we’ve got word that Alienware will intro a new, low-end model soon. Clearly aiming for a bigger chunk of the market, the eyeball-shattering-system makers will offer a $1,699, AMD-powered desktop, featuring 4GB of RAM, a 2.2GHz quad-core 9550 Phenom X4 CPU, and two ATI HD 3870 X2 graphics cards. The system will be based around the AMD 790FX chipset, which will be served up on an ASUS motherboard. In a feat of absurd cliché, Alienware spokesman Marc Diana claimed, “It’s not your granddaddy’s AMD system. We’re talking top-of-the-line quad core.” The PC will be available sometime in the next two weeks, so stay alert.

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

We’ve got some news that’ll make a PC gamer or two weep: the Wall St. Journal is reporting that as of next month Dell will be dropping four models of XPS performance PCs to focus solely on pushing Alienware. Certainly no surprise though, we’ve been waiting for this move since they picked the company up back in 2006. Of course, there will be certain challenges, namely how Dell will keep its Alienware brand separate (read: pristine) — as its done since the acquisition — yet be able to offer performance PCs on its site alongside the rest of its machines. It’s also unclear what will happen to is XPS line of laptops, since those are big sellers as well, but we’ll all have to wait patiently for the bomb to drop before knowing for sure what Dell’s cutting and what they’re not. [Warning: subscription required]

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Filed under: Laptops

For most, Alienware’s AlienNetwork debut was somewhat of a letdown. Nevertheless, at least one good thing did come out of the whole event, and that’s the availability of the m17x gaming monster. This 17-inch beast of a laptop finally has its own dedicated page, and yes, you can get your order in starting today. Packed within, you’ll find your choice of Intel Core 2 Duo processor, twin GPUs for that sweet SLI action, a WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) display, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, oodles of hard drive space, a dual-layer DVD writer (or optional Blu-ray burner), enough ports for you and your cousin and a 12-cell battery that’ll likely last an hour on a good day. Sadly, this Crysis destroyer starts at $2,949 (and breaks the $5k mark with ease), and it looks as if units won’t start arriving until late May at best.

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Alienware’s AMD-powered Aurora ALX picked up CrossFireX support just as soon as it went live from ATI, but it has taken a few weeks for the technology to make its way over to the iconic Area-51. Said gaming rig is now available with ATI CrossFireX, meaning that you can take advantage of all four GPUs across a pair of Radeon HD 3870 X2s. Full release posted after the jump.

Continue reading ATI’s CrossFireX now offered on Alienware Area-51 gaming PC

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Check it: AMD’s potent Phenom 9850 processor, which had a fairly impressive showing during its recent benchmarking test, has teamed up with a pair of ATI’s Radeon HD 3870 X2s to bring the Aurora desktop back on the scene. Available now and starting at just $999, Alienware’s (potentially) “value-priced” gaming rig can be equipped with one of four AMD CPUs, a liquid-cooling system, twin 512MB 3870 X2 GPUs, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a few terabytes of HDD space, a Blu-ray reader (or burner if you’ve got the cash), an optional (but totally necessary) Killer K1 gaming NIC, Ageia PhysX processor and your choice of colored enclosures. Of course, speccing this beauty into a rig worth gloating over will easily set you back four large or so, but hey, you only live once, right?

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Filed under: Laptops

Well, it looks like that recently released BIOS update may not have been the cure-all solution that many Alienware M15x users were hoping for, with at least some of ‘em now reporting that the update did nothing to fix the so-called “downclocking” problems that many were experiencing. Adding further confusion to the situation is that many users, as evidenced by the discussion on the Notebook Review forums, initially seemed to think that the update had fixed the downclocking problem, only to discover that it had reappeared a week or so later. For its part, Alienware is apparently aware of the ongoing problems and one rep from the company has even chimed with offers of help in on the forums, although there’s no indication as to when the problem might be fixed once and for all.

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Filed under: Laptops

Drop those pitchforks m15x owners and prepare to update, Alienware just released a fix to your overheating (and downclocking) problems. A new beta BIOS — X29b P3A30 — features a few tweaks including the ability to spin-up the fan to a new 5400rpm max. So more noise for more speed; sounds like a reasonable trade-off to us. Unfortunately, the new BIOS is only available if you email area51_m15x@alienware.com for a copy. A general release is expected shortly. Until then, however, it looks like all m15x shipments are on hold. Ouch.

[Via Laptop, thanks Kris J.]

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Filed under: Desktops

Clearly not wanting to lose its status as the most reliable purveyor of nasty gaming rigs, Alienware has re-upped its infamous Area-51 desktops with NVIDIA’s latest graphics champ (the GeForce 9800 GX2) and the company’s burning hot nForce 790i mobo. Or so we’re told in a thrilling press release. The bottom line is this, you can now drop major bank on a seriously up-to-date system that will have friends and foes alike drooling, plotting your murder, or (at the very least) asking to get their game on. Truck over to the site to see the myriad configurations available… but you might want to hide your credit cards first.

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Filed under: Desktops, Gaming

Believe it or not, Alienware’s Aurora ALX rig was boasting quad SLI support two whole years ago. After yesterday’s official launch of ATI’s CrossFireX technology, now the ALX has another partner in quad GPU crime. Dubbed the Area-51 ALX CFX, this rig features a 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9650 processor, up to 4GB of RAM, a bevy of HDD choices, optional Blu-ray burner, a 1,000-watt power supply and of course, twin 1GB Radeon HD 3870 X2 cards (four GPUs in all). Granted, this thing will run you at least $5,649 as a CrossFireX-equipped rig, so think carefully if slicing into your son’s college fund is really worth 4x the graphical mayhem.

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Filed under: Laptops

The mothership has already started slapping Penryn chips in lappies, so it was only a matter of time before Alienware followed suit — yep, here’s the Area-51 m15x laptop, now with your choice of T- and X-series Core 2 Duo processors. Stick with the standard 2.5GHz T9300, upgrade to a 2.6GHz T9500 for $275, or throw caution (and $650) to the wind with the 2.8GHz X9000 Core 2 Extreme option. No word on whether that edge lighting is actually enabled on these bad boys, but hey — you’ve still got those Penryn bragging rights, yeah?

[Thanks, Alienwarez]

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