Alienware M17x Spotted With Sandy Bridge
Alienware laptops sporting Intel's Sandy Bridge processors were caught on film teasing 3DMark06.
Last week Engadget stumbled across images over on the Notebook Review forums revealing unreleased Alienware M17x notebooks running Intel's next-gen Sandy Bridge processors, appearing just one month ahead of Intel's official release.
According to the post, 3DMark06 showed that the 2 GHz Core i7-2630QM model using Intel's integrated HD graphics scored 15,940 whereas the model sporting a 2.2 GHz i7-2720QM with AMD Radeon HD 6900M graphics scored 20,155. Another model using a 2.3 GHz i7-2820QM chip and Nvidia's GeForce GTX 460M GPU received a score of 16,957.
Outside the benchmarks, the notebook looks mighty tasty and offers the usual batch of features including 4 USB 2.0 ports, HDMI-out, DisplyPort and VGA outputs, an 8-in-1 card reader, one eSATA/USB 2.0 combo (2-in-1) with PowerShare, an ExpressCard slot, an IEEE 1394a 4-pin port and more.
Current Alienware M17x models start at $1799 and feature hardware such as Intel's Core i7 940XM processor @ 2.13 GHz, up to 8 GB of DDR3 memory, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5870 or Nvidia Geforce GTX 285M graphics, 17-inch WUXGA or WXGA+ displays, up to 512 GB of internal storage and more.
Based on the 3DMark06 scores, is Intel's integrated graphics finally catching up with AMD and Nvidia mobile GPUs?
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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COLGeek Dear Santa,Reply
I have been a good boy this year. Please drop one of these off at my house when you are in the neighborhood.
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COLGeek -
Bolbi Great news for Intel if the benchmark reflects real-world performance. I can't wait to see the comparison between Sandy Bridge and AMD's upcoming Fusion APU.Reply -
neilnh According to all evidence from other benchmarks and common sense, the 16k score was from a model with Optimus and a Discrete GPU (probably a GTX 460). Optimus tricks 3dmark into thinking it's dealing with an integrated GPU, then when the benchmark starts, the discrete card kicks in. Please Tom's, don't spread silly rumorsReply -
kayvonjoon The sandybridge is neat , but I would definitely choose a GTX285 over an integrated graphics accelerator ,even if it differs slightly in 3dmark score. And also a GTX480 or GTX570 would make an excellent upgrade to the M17x lineup.Reply
I LOVE Alienware but their products are too overpriced. -
scook9 Why are you using a DX9 benchmark to talk about DX11 hardware.....Reply
Otherwise very interesting to see a refresh is already pretty much done. -
mavroxur Is it just me, or does anyone see a problem with the 3dmark scores? They smell funny. Intel integrated scoring that close to the 460M?Reply -
Darkv1 I'm not sure I buy the whole Intel graphics catching up thing. I'll believe it when I see a full battery of benchmarks and real world tests. Until then I will continue to laugh whenever I see Intel and integrated graphics in the same sentence.Reply