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| Toys for serious gamers |
| Priyanka Joshi / Mumbai Sep 21, 2009, 00:57 IST |
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For serious gamers, gaming on ordinary laptops is a horrible experience. So, they need, rather deserve, strong and sturdy game consoles. What sets a gaming laptop apart from an ordinary one? A dedicated graphics card with as much RAM and video RAM (for handling the visuals and graphics on your notebook computer) as one can afford.
Alienware M17x
Price: Rs 1,39,000
Alienware M17x, Dell’s latest flagship gaming notebook features an anodised aluminium shell — available in silver, black and red colours — to add some beauty to an otherwise very mean and powerful machine that weighs 6 kg (with adapter).
 We tested M17x. This notebook has Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 processor, dual Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M graphics card and 8GB of RAM. The M17x has a comprehensive set of connectivity options, including an HDMI output, a display port, an eSATA port, a Firewire port, surround sound and 4 USB ports. A large 17-inch display, flush with a glass plate that covers the entire surface, renders a crisp 1920 x 1200 high-definition resolution. The keyboard gives you no grief as the keys are laid out spaciously.
But for all the video power that you get out of this machine, it also means that M17x’s battery dies out sooner than you would expect. At best, you can get it going for a little over an hour and then it has to be charged again. The M17x comes complete with Alienware’s Command Center, made up of AlienFX (lighting controls), AlienFusion (power plans), AlienTouch (trackpad customisation) and AlienSense (facial recognition-based security). Speaking of the lighting controls, there are 10 independently-controlled lighting zones, each of which can be one of 20 different colours.
True gamers will know that they have to pay more for a fully-loaded gaming laptop, and Alienware M17x surprises no one with its price tag of Rs 1,39,000.
MSI GX723
Price: Rs 80,000
If there are any other products that can challenge Alienware, then they are MSI’s gaming notebooks. The latest from MSI’s stable is the MSI GX723, which comes loaded with the Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor that has a clock speed of 2.4GHz. The graphics processing is done by the Nvidia GeForce GT 130M card. Graphically, Nvidia’s GeForce GT 130M offers some punch, and the 512MB dedicated video memory means that most games run smoothly.
 The RAM is 4GB and that’s spacious for a gaming laptop. You can also choose between a 320GB and a 500GB hard drive. Physical connectivity includes audio jacks and network ports such as Gigabit LAN, three USB 2.0 ports, a 4-in-1 card reader, an eSATA port, a Firewire port, and HDMI and VGA outputs.
Adding some more multimedia value are the five integrated speakers with high definition audio. Like the Alienware, the MSI GX723 laptop too has a 17-inch LCD screen and a high-definition resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels that promises sharp videos and images. However, the GX723 falls behind the Alienware on one count: Its brightness on screen can disappoint you. In fact, it lacks that visual oomph of a gaming laptop.
But MSI GX723 scores over Alienware when it comes to battery life. MSI has included in the GX723 an eco-engine that allows the user to switch between five different modes — gaming, movie , presentation, office and turbo drive — by the touch of a single button. This can vastly improve the battery life by optimising the processor performance according to specific usage.
The GX723 makes a reliable all-rounder with acceptable gaming performance in most game titles. It looks to be a good option for those on a slightly tighter budget as it costs around Rs 80,000 for the basic configuration.
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