It's a Beast: Alienware Unleashes Core i7-Powered M15x

Gamers have a new rig to drool over, and this one packs Intel's quad-core Core i7 processor for the ultimate in performance. Today Alienware announced the M15x, a follow-up to the original Area-51 m15x system. It weighs in at a hefty 9 pounds, but this machine will eat other 15-inch notebooks for lunch.

The original m15x (note the small 'm') was marred by a few launch issues the first time around, including over-heating and cracking. But the latest M15x sports a new chassis that follows the design of its 17-inch brother, the M17x, which helps better manage thermals.

There's a lot to love under the hood of the 14.8 x 12.1 x 1.9 inch M15x, but it will cost you. For $3,524 you'll find a gamut of power hungry hardware, including the aforementioned Core i7 920XM CPU clocked at 2GHz, a 1920 x 1080 WLED display, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M GPU, a 7,200-rpm 500GB hard drive (or a 256GB SSD), 6GB of RAM (up to 8GB available), and a dual-layer Blu-ray disc drive.

If you're looking to save a few pennies, you can cut out some hardware and start with an entry level system for $1,499.