Verdict: How to cram an fx-57 and geforce 7800 gtx into a laptop
If you've ever used a laptop as your main gaming rig, then you probably know what it feels like to be the forlorn figure at the LAN party who
has to run the game at the 'utter pants' graphics settings and receive dirty looks from your desktop-owning pals for slowing down the gameplay.
Traditionally, laptops are all about compromise. In this imperfect world
of heat and weight, manufacturers have to sacrifice some performance
in the name of practicality, and this usually means that good graphics in 3D games are crossed off their list
of priorities.
Nobody seems to have told Alienware this though. The Aurora m7700's configuration list includes almost the full range of AMD's single- and dual-core Athlon 64s, including
the FX-60, and you can partner your CPU with the quickest mobile Nvidia graphics cards on the market. Our review model came with an Athlon 64 FX-57 CPU, a GeForce Go 7800 GTX, 2GB of PC3200 RAM and a 100GB 7,200rpm hard drive. Less interesting (but still important) features include a DVD writer, and both 10/100 and wireless LAN.
If it looks familiar then it's because we've been here before. The Aurora m7700 is the AMD version of the Pentium-powered Area-51m 7700 , which included
a fully-fledged desktop CPU, a 17in high-resolution screen and a large, powerful graphics card. The Aurora's weight, therefore, at almost 5kg, plus the essential 1kg power brick, is in familiar, back-straining territory.
Back in Issue 21, in the middle of 2005, it was easy to dismiss the concept of heavy gaming laptops as ludicrous and impractical, but since then, they've grown in popularity,
with machines such as the 4kg Rock XtremeCT executing the concept surprisingly well. So, with AMD CPUs having the reputation of running cooler and quicker in games than their Intel nemeses, has Alienware learned from its mistakes and finally delivered the ultimate 'mobile' gaming platform?
Well, Alienware certainly seems to think so. The company has stuck a glowing blue alien's
head on the top of the lid, incorporated some of
the brightest blue LEDs available into the fascia, and painted the whole thing metallic blue, before attaching an equally extravagant - albeit not blue - price tag. To be fair, the lustrous paint job is nicely done, although the sci-fi styling won't be to everyone's taste.
A PC isn't just a fancy case and spec list, though, and sadly, it soon becomes apparent that any mobile gaming fun still has some drawbacks. Regardless of the 1,920 x 1,200 TFT's undoubted sharpness and colour clarity, unless it's in a room that has soft lighting, it can be distractingly reflective, as it's coated in
a glossy finish similar to that of Sony's X-black panels. Also, after an hour spent gunning down the Strogg, your wrists will be sweaty, the vent on the left-hand side of the case will be almost painfully hot to touch, and your head will certainly thank you for turning off the laptop and its overworked fans, and lying down in a quiet room for a bit. It
all makes you feel sorry for the poor components trapped inside, probably longing for a breezy midi-tower. So far, so familiar.
Unfortunately, heat and noise aren't the only disappointing factors of the Aurora. We scratched our heads in amazement, as we wondered why Alienware decided that it was necessary to place three blindingly bright LEDs just below the screen. Either the display is designed for aliens with higher levels of light tolerance, or Alienware has something against eyes. Either way,
it's quite embarrassing having to tape
a piece of cardboard to the front of your new £3,000 laptop, just so you can look at your screen in comfort.
Gripes aside, spend any amount
of time with the Aurora and it reveals plenty of positive attributes too.
Hooking up some Logitech Z-5500 Digital speakers to the S/PDIF out and dimming the room lights, for instance, revealed the Aurora to be a quite capable home theatre system. The crisp, bright colours of the widescreen, 16:9 aspect panel meant that the European landscapes of 'The Bourne Identity' looked as beautiful as they should, while the fast action of fighting remained clear, without any blurring. Audio-wise, the car crashes and frenetic music of the Mini chase were competently handled, although as it's an AMD system, the on-board audio is AC97, not Intel HD. The Aurora has a decent array of outputs, and Alienware also offers the option to upgrade to a Creative Audigy 2 PCMCIA card if you feel the need.
Another positive feature of the
Aurora is its above average upgradability. The user manual explains in detail how to upgrade
the RAM, hard disks, optical drives, PCMCIA cards, and even the CPU if
you want. It's certainly refreshing to see that the age of the non-upgradable laptop may finally be coming to an end.
PERFORMANCE
When someone hands you an Athlon
64 FX-57-powered Alienware, it would be rude not to immediately plug in a USB mouse and break out the first-person shooters.
The GeForce Go 7800 GTX is seriously impressive. It's the same GPU as used in the Rock XtremeCT, and it's remarkably similar to its desktop namesake, with 24 pixel pipelines,
a 400MHz core and 256MB of GDDR3 memory clocked at 550MHz (1.1GHz effective). All of this helps the Aurora
to run F.E.A.R. looking at its best.
The frame rate is acceptable,
and the 1,920 x 1,200 screen copes admirably when scaling down to the more reserved, non-native resolution of 1,400 x 1,050.
Quake 4 also looks fantastic on the Aurora, and even at 1,600 x 1,200, you can easily max out the detail for a sublime, widescreen sci-fi treat. The game ran at a silky-smooth 60fps when AA was turned off at this resolution, and the vibrant colours, speed and clarity of the display easily matches the quality
of expensive desktop screens.
Of course, a true desktop replacement in this price range should also offer great 2D performance, and this was where the Rock, with its 2GHz Pentium M 760 CPU proved to be a little on the slow side - well, at least
in comparison to the Alienware.
In contrast, the FX-57 inside the Aurora could almost be heard laughing, as it speedily ran up a great score of 1.40 in the Paint Shop Pro test. Understandably, the single-core CPU struggled slightly with DVD encoding, delivering a modest score of 0.63, but at 2.8GHz, the FX-57 redeemed itself with a score of 1.29 in the multitasking challenge.
The overall score of 1.11 proves that laptops don't have to be slower than desktop PCs. However, the mobile hard disk and VIA chipset mean that the Aurora falls slightly short of the 1.18 that the FX-57 managed using a S-ATA II Samsung hard disk and nForce4 SLI motherboard in the CPU Labs test. Overclocking to improve the scores is out of the question with an already baking laptop.
CONCLUSION
This laptop may be too hot, heavy, expensive and noisy for any sensible person, but this doesn't stop it being fun, and it certainly packs a punch if you're prepared to live with its faults. It's also as close as you'll get to a complete desktop package in a laptop. Unlike other laptops based on practical mobile CPUs, you can choose from almost the full range of AMD's desktop arsenal.
However, the Aurora isn't really a laptop. With a bright 17in, 16:9 screen and top-spec components, the battery drains very quickly, and the drastic throttling of the components in 'battery mode', means that real 'gaming on the go' is a pipe dream, unless you get a seat on the train with a large table and power socket.
You pay an incredibly hefty premium for portability that, at over
6kg, isn't that great. If you really can't be doing with the trailing wires and heavy monitor of an SFF-based system, then this laptop may give you what you want - simplicity. But to be honest, this purchase would probably be made
with the heart rather than the head.
If you've fallen in love with the idea
of having the 'element of surprise' at
a LAN party, consider that the Elite-listed Rock XtremeCT is cheaper, lighter, cooler, altogether less 'showy' and, crucially, offers almost identical performance in GPU-dependent games. It also has a better choice of screen resolutions - 1,680 x 1,050 is
a better fit for the GeForce Go 7800
GTX than either of Alienware's options (1,920 x 1,200, or 1,440 x 900).
That said, the exciting features and upgradability of the Aurora m7700 mean you can't dismiss it totally, and
as with the Area-51m, you could get hooked if you're not careful.
