The star of the show is the GeForce GTX 880M, which is Nvidia's most powerful mobile chip. As always, the rest of the Alienware specification is nothing to sniff, either - there is a core i7-4700MQ processor, eight gigabytes of RAM, SSD and a Full HD screen.
Alienvare 17 Design & Build Quality
This machine follows the familiar shrill blueprint that we expect from Dell gaming notebooks. The body is made of an anodized aluminum housing and coated with a matte black finish and edges of the machine are covered with dramatic angles and menacing openings.
The black body is an attractive counterpoint to the Alienware extravagant lighting - an area where Dell gaming notebooks have always overtaken the competition. The 17 has a light ring around the bottom, illuminated logos, keyboard backlighting and a glowing trackpad. Each of these LEDs can use the AlienFX app, which can be customized for different colors, patterns and transitions and even different ads depending on how you are using the laptop.
Gigantic chassis Alienware has plenty of room for ports. The edges of the house a total of four USB 3.0 ports, both HDMI and mini-DisplayPort outputs, three audio jacks for surround sound, a slim-line DVD-ROM drive, and Gigabit Ethernet (powered by a killer Ethernet chip) , Inside, there are also dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.
A machine of this size will not probably carted in a backpack all that is often between houses and LAN parties are struck, so we are pleased that the build quality is good. The Alienware body is as strong as it looks, and the 9mm thick cover barely budge when pressed, that help should protect the screen - which is great improvement over the flexible panels we find on most other systems.
The problem with all of this is the size and weight. The 17 tips the scales at 4.1kg and it is 48 mm thick when its rubber feet are included. Here you will find a well built backpack, want to lug around the Alienware, and it is convenient one of the largest gaming notebooks we've seen: slightly slimmer but a little heavier than the MSI GT70, and only a little less than the Asus G750JX. It is also a world away from the likes of the still very powerful Alienware 14 and Schenker XMG P304.
The base can be easily removed, the access to the memory slots and hard drive bays. Both memory slots were full on our configuration, but you could certainly exchange them for even higher capacity units. Meanwhile, one of the hard drive trays is empty. Elsewhere, each component and heat sink available, including the Wi-Fi card, the battery and the core chips, and many screws are counted in the correct order to facilitate disassembly.
Alienware 17 Screen & Sound Quality
Screen of 17 has many of the qualities that we like to see on a gaming system. It has a matte finish, has a Full HD resolution and there is no sign of Touch compatibility.
The quality is fine, but the benchmark results of the Alienware does not quite rival. The 326 nit brightness is slightly lower than the 343 nit result of MSI GT70 and the Alienware 0.41 nit black level could not with the GT70, either. The contrast ratio of 795: 1 is enough to games at the top give appropriate black levels and good impact, but the MSI, Schenker and the minor alien all offer a better contrast.
The Alienware 17 to the color temperature is too warm, but it's not so far from 6,500K cause problems and the sRGB coverage of 89.7% is good - a high number that did not fall within an area. The average Delta E of 7.03 is bad, and the maximum Delta E of 12.94 is even worse. These two results are far behind competitors, and both mean that colors do not look as lifelike as possible.
Panel of 17 has its good points - the matte surface, resolution, brightness and contrast are all fine - but it's hampered by bad results elsewhere and the strength of competition.
Speakers are not as big a deal as it used to, thanks to the popularity of headsets, but that does not stop Dell including the loudest speakers we've ever heard on a gaming notebook.
The ear-destroying volume is tuned not of great quality, though. The mid-range is the loudest thing here, but it's too flat and lifeless, crowded with tinny high-end noise graciously into the background. Bass is also underwhelming. The Alienware has an enormous volume, but that's not enough games sound their best - we would still prefer a headset.
