Three years in the making, the new Alienware 17 and Alienware 18 notebooks arrive at a time when gaming is under the spotlight. Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 have thrown new attention on mainstream gaming, but the Dell-owned PC gaming specialist isn’t willing to concede the power crown so readily. Alongside the new
Alienware has a new gaming notebook range, the result of three years of development, and the Alienware 14 may well be our favorite. “Significantly evolved” from the already eye-catching design of the old model, the new Alienware 14 – the “M14x” nomenclature has been retired, Alienware GM Frank Azor says, since nobody outside of the
Hot on the heels of refreshing its X51 gaming desktop, Dell is sharing the news gamers have really been waiting for. The company just unveiled some fresh Alienware laptops, complete with a new look and even a new naming scheme: Alienware 14, 17 and 18. As you’d expect, they step up to Haswell processors, the latest NVIDIA graphics and 802.11ac on some models, but the real story is that they’ve received a serious makeover, the first in six years. For starters, Dell ditched the ol’ plastic body and moved to a metal chassis with an aluminum lid and magnesium alloy chassis. As befits an Alienware, there are LEDs aplenty, including lights around the edges and a touchpad that fully lights up. And though the alien logo on the lid always glowed, that color is now customizable like other zones on the laptop. Speaking of the keyboard, you get 10 color zones on the 17 / 18 and five on the 14, and it promises improved travel, too, thanks to some retooled key caps. Dell also added Klipsch speakers, backed by Dolby Audio Theater. On a more practical note, the vents have moved to the back edge, as far as possible from gamers’ hands. All told, it’s a nicer design, but if you were expecting these guys to be thinner or lighter, you’re going to be disappointed: the dimensions haven’t really budged.
Moving on to performance, Dell added some macro keys on the larger models, with the 18 supporting up to nine, and the 17 allowing for four. All come standard with a quad-core Core i7 processor, though they won’t each be configurable with the same range of CPUs. 750GB of HDD storage is the minimum, and SSDs will be available too. On the 14, in particular, you can add up to three HDDs, while the two larger notebooks have room for four. Graphics-wise, NVIDIA’s GTX 765M (2GB) is standard on the 17 and 18, while the 14 starts with a 1GB 750M. And on the 18 you get two GPUs by default, in an SLI setup. The Alienware 17 and 18 come with 802.11ac WiFi, while the 14 packs a Killer Wireless-N 1202 radio. As for displays, they’re all IPS screens (non-touch), and while 1080p is offered on all, it’s only standard on the 18 (the 14, in particular, starts with 1,366 x 768, blech). They’re all available now, with starting prices pegged at $1,199 for the 14, $1,499 for the 17 and $2,099 for the 18. A Core i5 version of the 14 is also on the way, and will start around $1,099. Hopefully we’ll review one of these soon, but until then have a look at some hands-on photos, a detailed spec table and a trio of promo videos, all embedded after the break.
In May, Turtle Beach shouted from the hilltops that it snagged Microsoft’s blessing to craft Xbox One headsets, and now it’s ready to show off the actual hardware. Based on the outfit’s Seven Series, the pair of XO Ear Force cans will be available at the console’s launch and feature 3.5mm jacks, detachable boom mics and deliver surround sound through wired connections to controller adapters. At $149, the XO Seven boasts a “premium finish,” on-ear cups with noise-isolating memory foam cushions, interchangeable speaker plates and a breakaway cable with an in-line mic for use with mobile devices. Liberating $99 from your wallet, however, will net you the more budget-friendly XO Four, which can also be used with devices outfitted with 3.5mm ports.
Bringing other platforms into the mix, Turtle Beach unveiled a trio of Call of Duty: Ghosts-branded headsets, but remained mum on pricing. The wireless Ear Force Phantom boasts dual-band WiFi, rechargeable batteries and compatibility with the Xbox 360, PS3 and mobile devices. The wired Spectre and Shadow are presumably less pricey, and play nice with PC and Mac as well. Sure, E3 may be a video game bonanza, but comic fans are getting some love with an Ear Force Seven headset embellished with Marvel branding, a red accent and swappable speaker covers with different characters.
Gallery: Turtle Beach Xbox One headsets
Filed under: Gaming
Well, it pays to stick around a launch venue as the cleanup crews begin to roll out. We just caught a glimpse of Sony’s brand new PlayStation 4 following the company’s press event tonight, and it’s really quite stunning. We were only able to view the console from a right angle, but we did manage to make out a dark black glossy finish up top, with a gray matte panel just below. It’s difficult to judge depth from the side, but from this front view at least, we definitely liked what we saw.
A small silver PlayStation logo is positioned towards the bottom of the glossy panel, representing the only branding visible from this side of the device. There’s a Sony logo on the left side as well, as you can see in our gallery below. It’s really quite a sleek design, so even though you may opt to toss the console away in a cabinet, it’ll look just fine sitting out, too. Unfortunately Sony staffers ushered us out after snapping this shot, so that’s all we’ve got for now. We’ll be hitting up the company’s booth bright and early tomorrow morning, though, and you better believe we’ll be back to share our full hands-on impressions then.
Gallery: Sony PlayStation 4 eyes-on
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Maurice Jones-Drew doesn’t want to be a distraction for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
His health and a potential legal issue make that unavoidable, though.
Jones-Drew held a 15-minute news conference Monday but didn’t say much about an alleged bar fight over Memorial Day weekend. Jones-Drew spoke to reporters a day before the team opens a three-day, mandatory minicamp because he “would rather get it done today than take away from what these guys are doing.”
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In my judgment, based on what I know from the media thus far, Snowden is neither a hero nor a traitor, but he is most certainly a criminal who deserves serious punishment.
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The Electronic Entertainment Expo’s pre-show press day is almost over, but there’s still one more thing we have to do: put Sony’s E3 presentation into context. Take a moment to let Joystiq and Engadget bend your ear about Sony’s announcements, the bombs it dropped on Microsoft, and what it all means for this console generation and the rest of E3. Hit the break to join our intrepid livebloggers in action.
Update: The stream is over — but stay tuned, we’ll be uploading an archived version of the wrap-up for your viewing pleasure later tonight.
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