Alienware M17x Gaming Notebook, Amped with Ivy Bridge and GeForce GTX 680M, Hands-On Sneak Peek

Killer gaming notebooks, sort of like over-the-top gaming PCs, make no apologies for being almost completely impractical but full of awesome.  Sure, you wouldn't expect to drag this boat anchor around airports at almost 12 lbs., unless you were looking for some moderate cardio work to compensate for those long, near motionless strategy meetings.  And you wouldn't expect to remain untethered from the wall for very long, during those all night frag-a-thons, though you might get away with it under a little less strenuous web browsing stroll.

No, luxury desktop replacement gaming notebooks like the Alienware M17x do one thing; they bring a whole lotta gaming whoop-ass, a big bodacious display and cutting-edge technologies, packaged into a semi-portable notebook form-factor. 

Recently, Intel stepped out with their latest generation of 22nm Ivy Bridge mobile CPUs and NVIDIA followed quickly with their Kepler-based GeForce GTX 680M. Cojoin the two in an Alien body and as you'd expect, you're looking at out-of-this-world style and performance.  Dell's Alienware division did just that with their M17x line of gaming notebooks.

Refreshed with the latest in mobile technologies from Intel and NVIDIA, the Alienware M17x has been re-spawned and we're going hands-on here in this alien autopsy sneak peek...