What is the Alienware 14?
Alienware is one of the brands that still tackles the 'gaming laptop' segment with any seriousness. The Alienware 14 is the latest version of its most popular gaming laptop, replacing the M14x. It's a 14-inch laptop that's just about small enough to still qualify as a laptop, but which is fast enough to run all the latest games at decent settings.
Alienware 14 - Price and Features
Prices start at £1,099, and even this 'entry-level' version comes with a seriously fast (on paper) spec. That price includes a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor, a latest generation Haswell core that runs at 2.4GHz as standard; 8GB RAM; a 750GB, 7,200rpm hard drive; and an Nividia GeForce GT 750M with 1GB of dedicated memory.
There is one serious problem with the base level spec, however, and that's the screen. Its 14-inch frame has a measly 1,366 x 768 resolution, which considering the price is distinctly old hat.
Not satisfied? In that case you'll have to stretch your budget further to the £1,299 version, which includes a decent 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. That's a big improvement, of course, but it's a lot extra to pay for it. The base version ought to stretch to 1,600 x 900, at least.
That mild disappointment aside, there's plenty of useful features worth highlighting. First among them is the Killer NIC Ethernet and Wi-Fi modules, which are specifically designed with gamers in mind and reduce latency. The £2,000 version adds 802.11ac Wi-Fi, too.
All models come with the same 750GB hard drive as standard, but there are SSD options as well. One option is to add a 64GB caching module to work with the standard drive, but those with the wallets to match can opt for a 512GB standalone config.
The £1,099 and £1,299 versions both stick to the standard 1GB GT 750M graphics chip, but there's the option to upgrade to the Nvidia GeForce GTX 765M with 2GB dedicated memory, too. The latter is standard on the £1,999 version, as is a frankly ridiculous 16GB of RAM.
Alienware 14 - Design
We can't add much more about the specs without testing the Alienware 14 properly, but Alienware laptops are just as much about design as performance.
In recent years Alienware has reigned in its most outrageous tendencies, and the result is a very classy looking laptop with a ridiculous amount of lighting to customise.
This includes the keyboard (obviously), the lid, accents around the edges and now the whole touchpad. There are 10 programmable 'zones' in total, and a barely believable 10 trillion lighting combinations to play with. Have fun.
We can't help feeling then backlit touchpad is a step too far, but the amount of control over the lighting is impressive. You can have more or less any colour combination you choose, including a rainbow like effect on the keyboard if you have no taste at all. And, even without the lighting, this is a seriously well-made and attractive machine.
First Impressions
Alienware has set the standard for gaming laptops for a long time, and that doesn't look like changing with the Alienware 14. It looks great, has excellent specs and a hefty price tag to match. We have serious reservations about the low resolution on the entry-level version, however. If you asked us to choose between crazy lights and a decent resolution screen, we'd choose the latter every time. In fact, we'd recommend ignoring that version entirely.
The Alienware 14 is available to order now.
