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This is one lavish laptop...
Gleefully putting every other laptop computer on the market to shame, Alienware's Area-51m is simply the fastest, most functional and most powerful portable computer you're likely to find at the consumer level.
Moreover, recent advances in technological tininess allows the Area-51m to pack more wallop than most high-end desktop PCs, making it a full fledge multimedia and computer games station (previously unfeasible on a laptop) on top of its expected utility as an over-achieving itinerant workstation.
Housed in a beefcake bi-folding chassis in a variety of spacey colors (black, even), the Area-51m is loaded with awe-inspiring components, to wit:
- a 15" UltraXGA 1600x1200 LCD Display (way high resolution)
- an Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz 533MHz FSB w/ 512KB Cache Processor (and the hi-performance Heatsink/CPU Cooling Fan needed to keep such a speed demon from melting);
- up to 1 Gigabyte (whoo!) of DDR PC-2100 RAM;
- a 40GB IBM Travelstar hard drive;
- an ATI Mobility RADEON 9000 64MB DDR 3D graphics card (unmistakably unsurpassed graphics performance);
- a Sound-Blaster Compatible 3D audio card;
- a DVD / CD-RW combo drive (which means users can access ROMs, watch movies or burn CDs with out swapping out drives);
- dual bay support for multiple drives, a floppy disk drive and/or a second battery;
- an Ethernet adapter and dial-up modem for high or low speed Internet connectivity.
The Area-51m also comes standard with an "Audio DJ system," a front-mounted hardware interface that allows for CD playback even though the computer itself is turned off (which makes it an oversized portable CD player).
Of course, each Area-51m can be custom configured to individual needs and tastes--though the stock specifications are exactly suited to those with a penchant for the crème-de-la-crème. Regardless, it is innately modifiable so owners can easily upgrade the CPU, memory, hard drive, and optical drives anytime after initial purchase.
Weighing in at almost 10 pounds--an approximate weight equivalent to a small industrial anvil--, the Area-51m is in no dainty traveling tech dandy either. Fortunately, Alienware includes a graciously accommodating Targus backpack custom made for just such heroically proportioned devices. (This also makes the whole kit and caboodle perfect for the hardcore gamer and frequent attendee of "LAN Parties," dedicated gatherings where everyone brings their entire computer to a single location, networks them all together and then plays games against each other. As mentioned, this comparatively small computer system packs more wallop than most desktops--but doesn't need three men and a reefer truck to tour.)
With such a heft of rip-roaring components, the Area-51m also boasts a stronger power supply (which equates to better performance) than the 90-watt industry standard. All Area-51m notebooks come equipped with an authoritative 120-watt AC power adapter. Hence, running the thing at full throttle is easily accommodated when jacked in to an electrical outlet. Running at half-throttle unplugged is still a remarkable experience, and will use less battery juice. Either way, users are assured that power needs are more than accommodated.
And, as with all Alienware computers, the Area-51m is not just a collection of state-of-the-art-parts slapped into a chassis and sent to market. Each system is manually bench tested, run through punishing paces, tweaked and optimized to ensure glitch-free and maximum performance before it ships to each individual customer.
Hence, this is not just the laptop that will get you through college or a couple of years of business travel. The Area-51m screams longevity. What's more, it does much more than simply compute on one's thighs; it is a high tech productivity and entertainment extravaganza that knows no equal. And it does Windows--XP Professional, to be exact.
Reviewed: Nov. 08, 2002
Type: Computer, Hardware
From: Alienware
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