The thing with Alienware notebooks is that they have always been every gamer's dream. Even hardcore console gamers who would swear by an Xbox or a PlayStation would stop and take a bow to one of these machines. And why not? They pack enough processing power and memory to put even some graphic designing machines to shame.
But over a period of time, the Alienware lineup had become a bit, well, stale. Designs had become monotonous, and the 14-inch models continued being a bit skimped down. But now with a fresh lineup, the new Alienware 14 is on par with not just the Alienware 17, but also the likes of Razer Blade or the older Samsung Series 7 Gamer notebooks.
So we knew that we just had to try out this notebook to see if the refreshed specs and components lived up to the promises. And after a week of hardcore gaming, here's what we can say about the Alienware 14.
Little fat glowing Alien!
It’s thick, this one! At 1.6 inches, it’s as thick as a MacBook Air and a MacBook Pro lying on top of each other. But I’m not complaining at all, because this thick design encases a very efficient heat management system. The massive fan array at the bottom sucks in a lot of air and the exit vents are at the back. This translates into a heavy performer with scary specs that is absolutely comfortable for lap use. That said, the nearly three kilos of bulk that it carries, makes the Alienware 14 a back-breaker. And about three hours into Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the fan started making more noise than the carbine I was firing in the game.
Nonetheless, the refreshed design has smoother lines, more curves around the edges and the lighting scheme has also gotten better. There’s more glow on the back of the lid and along the sides. Yes, we gamers love our glowing laptops! The screen has been given a matte treatment instead of the traditional glossy LED backlit one, and we think that this is a welcome change as it reduces glare significantly.
As far as the ergonomics are concerned, the compact (just in terms of diagonal measurements) form factor takes some getting used to. They keys are packed a bit tight, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll love it. The keys have a crisp response, and while playing Prototype, which involves a lot of keyboard mashing, the keyboard is as good as an external, gaming specialised one.
ET packs power!
Yes, this baby has some serious performance! It’s packed with fresh-off-the-line Haswell chips – the 4th Gen Intel Core i7-4700MQ quad-core 2.4GHz processors can take on anything. And I mean anything! And to add to that awesomeness you get a choice of RAM, starting at 8GB. We got the 16GB model, and playing games like Need for Speed: Most Wanted or Battlefield 3 is a breeze. And guess what, we even played Crysis 3, and the NVIDIA GeForce 700 series graphics made rendering look as smooth as roller skating on a marble floor. The Full HD IPS panel reproduces colours brilliantly, and although it does wash out at wider viewing angles, it compensates for that in terms of brightness that makes it possible to use it even outdoors (although we really don’t think we would sit on a park bench and play Counter Strike: Source).
For storage, you get the traditional 750GB spinning Hard Drive, but that’s an edge over paltry SSDs the competition offers. Agreed, that the SSDs offer faster boot-ups and all, but a bigger storage is beneficial considering the fact that all the newer games are downloadable and come with downloadable content as well, which take up a lot of space on disk.
While the base model comes with a slot-load DVD burner, the top model (that costs nearly 30k more) contains a Blu-ray drive. And all models have ample ports – three USB 3.0s, HDMI out, one each of headphone, mic and headset 3.5mm ports, Gigabit Ethernet and a multi-card reader. What more would you want?
The battery life, though, is pathetic at just over a couple of hours. Within this form factor, the manufacturers could have packed a bit more juice. It’s heavy as it is, so a couple hundred grams more wouldn’t have made a huge difference. And while we’re talking about packing in stuff, better speakers would make it to the top of the list.
Final shot
So, should you really get this ET home? Yes, because its performance is from out of this world. Forgive the pun, but it really is. Name any genre, with as much heavy graphics as you can think of, and the Alienware 14 will be able to handle it. Yes, it’s a fat Alien, but that’s the price to pay for retaining so much awesomeness. Just remember to carry a backpack with extra strong shoulder straps.
Rs 1,18,490 onwards
Love – Awesome performance, splendid graphics
Hate – Bad battery life, too heavy