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The Alienware MJ-12 m7700a ($4293 as tested) is a desktop replacement laptop that's intended for serious gamers and content creators. Our test unit arrived with an AMD Opteron 185 processor inside, a 64-bit dual-core chip running at 2.6GHz that's normally used in desktops. Loaded with two 7200rpm hard drives and 2GB of RAM, this notebook was ready for just about any content creation chores we threw at it. We ran our complement of benchmark tests on the Alienware MJ-12, we carried it around with us, and we used it in a variety of situations. Here's our review.
I was immediately impressed with the MJ-12's striking good looks. Its medium blue finish reminded me of the glossy sheet-metal on an exotic sports car, even though the case is made entirely of plastic. With its black fins and blue-backlit logo and alien head in the back, it made a strong first impression. Since this unit is intended to be a desktop replacement, I didn't groan too much at its hefty 12-pound weight, noting that those two fast-spinning 7200RPM disk drives inside, as well as a DVD burner must have added to its bulk. Yes, this notebook was heavy, but then it was configured to the hilt.
I plugged in the MJ-12 using its massive transformer, one of the biggest wall warts I've ever seen. The transformer itself weighs a hefty 38.1 ounces ? that's well over 2 pounds, further adding to the considerable weight of the system if you're actually considering taking it on the road. If you have qualms about carrying more than 14 pounds worth of computer and transformer, you might want to consider a different laptop.
Looking at the front of the notebook, I really like the multimedia transport controls, giving you volume control, pause/play, skip to the next or previous tracks, and a shuffle button. There's also a blue LED clock that matches the rest of the blue LEDs and the unit's blue finish. Its fit and finish is first-rate, and the entire package exudes quality. Yes, this is one well-put-together and stylish PC.
Firing up the PC, I was impressed with its complete quiet at first, and watching it boot up into its Windows XP Professional interface, I noticed that it was quick to start. I also like its trackpad, which has just the right amount of sensitivity and has a specific area marked off on the right for scrolling. The keyboard has an excellent feel to it, with generous key travel and just the right amount of feedback ? there's enough to know you're pressing a key but it's not noisy to the point of distraction.
Taking a look at its 17-inch screen, I was disappointed that its resolution wasn't higher than 1440x900. The current state-of-the-art in notebook screens of this size is 1920x1200, and I was hoping for more with a notebook in this over-$4000 price range. That said, the LCD was of the highest quality, with no stuck pixels or any of the glowing back light problems that I've seen on other notebooks ? the screen was evenly lit top-to-bottom and edge-to-edge all around. Running it through our DisplayMate obstacle course, all its parameters checked out beautifully. It's as good as a 1400x900 screen gets, but I think it's a shame Alienware didn't see fit to install a higher-resolution flat panel in this otherwise high-end unit.
On the positive side, I thought the notebook's 256MB NVIDIA Quadro FX Go 1400 graphics card was excellent, showing itself to be capable of even the most demanding gaming and graphics work. Perhaps gaming was the main design goal of this 1440x900 screen, where gamers will be perfectly happy with that resolution, along with its workstation-class graphics card. That graphics card was a great help in navigating our CineBench benchmarks as well, showing an OpenGL speedup of 9.99x.
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