GROUP TEST: High-speed laptops

There is an amazing amount of choice nowadays in the laptop market. Intel’s Sandy Bridge processors have meant that the kind of cutting edge performance once restricted to multi-thousand dollar machines is mainstream.

Top of the line Core i7 processors are commonplace, delivering fantastic quad core performance with respectable battery life, and a combination of improvements in Intel’s on-CPU graphics cores and a prevalence of automatic graphics switching means that you no longer need a specialist gaming laptop just to play some casual Call of Duty.

As you look through the next lot of pages keep in mind that many of the models tested are available in a variety of specifications. We’ll also let you in on a little secret: while laptop manufacturers have immense influence on build quality, software, battery life, specs and the overall experience of a laptop, performance is purely down to components. This means you can fairly easily extrapolate from our benchmark results just how a particular combo of hardware will perform in a different model of laptop..

While AMD has laid down a challenge at the Core i3 end of the market with its A series APU, the first retail laptop powered by the A series turned up days before this article went to print. Once more arrive we’ll take an equivalent look at the A series laptops, but it is important to keep in mind that they don’t have the CPU grunt of the Core i7 models in this group test.

Alienware M14x

A 14in laptop that delivers awesome gaming power – just lose the expensive SSD

Just when you thought all laptops were looking the same these days, Alienware’s arresting M14x grabs the attention. It oozes brooding menace, finished in soft-touch matte black and lit up by the glow of its backlit keyboard and chassis lights. Its sculpted looks owe as much to supercar design as to the average PC hardware.

It doesn’t only trade on its looks, either: despite being one of only two 14in laptops in the group, at 2.87kg the M14x weighs more than some of the 17.3in monsters. That will put a serious dent in plans to lug it around in a bag, but the heft also makes for a resoundingly sturdy chassis. There isn’t a hint of give in the base and all we could grapple out of the rest was a slight flex in the display’s hinge.

That such design comes with a daunting price tag is hardly a surprise, but the M14x is a class act. Performance from the quad-core Core i7 CPU puts it among the frontrunners for all-out speed in our Real World Benchmarks, and the 256GB SSD makes for a system that boots into Windows with impressive haste.

This isn’t the main focus, though. The M14x is designed with power-hungry gamers in mind, and they’ll be delighted to learn that the Alienware didn’t disappoint. Thanks to an Nvidia GeForce GT 555M chipset, the M14x eased its way to 45fps in our Medium Crysis test, leaving room to up a few settings while keeping things playable.

Despite all that power, the Alienware M14x boasts impressive reserves of stamina. Optimus graphics-switching technology allows Intel’s integrated graphics to take the helm during less frantic moments, so the M14x lasted a surprising 6hrs 17mins in our light-use battery test.

It’s the Alienware’s ability to flit between roles that really impresses, however. Task it with the latest first-person shooter and it’s in its element: there’s plenty of power, a set of loud, crisp Klipsch speakers, and the glossy high-resolution display keeps everything looking pin-sharp. When you feel the need for a break, the keyboard’s nigh-on perfect layout and lovely feel make for a laptop that’s just as happy tapping out a document, and the battery life means it keeps going for longer than you’d rightfully expect.

The two USB 3 ports at the sides allow for blazingly quick transfers – perfect for backing up a large games collection – and HDMI 1.4, mini-DisplayPort and D-SUB make it easy to hook up to a monitor or HDTV.

It’s difficult to fault the M14x: it’s a beautifully built machine and, crucially, one that can be tailored to fit a slightly more modest budget. Our advice? Do away with the ridiculously expensive SSD.