An Alienware spokesman told me that they expect a lot of interest in their high-end PC desktops, but even more interest in the gaming laptops that line the walls of the sizable booth.

The PC has motorized heat vents, both sides of the computer pop off, there are battery-powered lights inside and and behind the computer, and you can slap up to six hard drives in the PC, all without touching a screwdriver.

Sure, I could build a comparable PC for less money on my own, but it wouldn't be nearly as pretty, and it could potentially explode. As a former PC tech, I can really appreciate not having to worry about such things. It's like buying a fast food hamburger instead of cooking your own, only yours might burst into flame and fill your apartment with smoke. This has happened to me, with both burgers and computers, so the analogy is just perfect.

One day I shall own one, but it will be a far off day, when the new Alienware M15x laptop, which they are calling "The most powerful 15-inch gaming laptop in the universe" is a mere memory, and the Aurora and Aurora ALX, which are respectively the most upgradeable and powerful MicroATX systems Alienware has created will be replaced with wristwatch-sized models.

They're also introducing two new machines in their Area-51 line, with factory overclocked Intel Core i7 processors, but at this point I am beginning to sound like an advertisement, and that's what official press releases are for. Just know that the Aurora's and the M15x are available for order today, and the Area-51 models will be showing up in the coming weeks. Check out the official blurbs below for specs and stats.

Alienware M15x – The most powerful 15-inch gaming laptop in the universe. Sporting Alienware's acclaimed new mobile ID which debuted with the M17x laptop, the M15x offers Alienware performance in a compact package guaranteed to appeal to mobile enthusiasts and hardcore gamers on the go. The first Alienware laptop to feature a mobile Core i7 processor, the M15x also offers a 1GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260M GPU* and up to 8GB DDR3 1333MHz memory* to take on, and dominate, even the most intense game titles. Prices start at $1,499 and additional technical specifications are here.

Alienware Aurora and Aurora ALX – The Aurora is most upgradeable and the Aurora ALX is the most powerful MicroATX desktops Alienware has ever created. Featuring the latest Intel® Core™ i7 processors, including an optional Extreme Edition overclocked** to 3.6GHz, the Aurora line of desktops are designed to deliver the power needed for hardcore gaming, pro-level HD audio and video editing, 3D animation and more. To crank up your gaming performance, Aurora and Aurora ALX have options for dual 1GB ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics cards, up to 24GB DDR3 1333MHz memory[asterisk] or 12GB DDR3 1600MHz memory, respectively, and up to 2TB of hard drive storage – all in a compact, MicroATX chassis for taking up less desk space. Prices start at $1,299 and additional technical specs are here.

Alienware Area-51 and Area-51 ALX designed for extreme gamers and tech enthusiasts who demand only the latest, most advanced equipment, the Area-51 line of desktops features Intel Core i7 processors factory overclocked* to an intense 3.86GHz for peak performance. To max out your graphics benchmarks, these systems offer the quad-GPU power of dual NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 295 graphics cards. Other featured specs include up to 12GB DDR3* memory clocked at 1333MHz or 1600MHz, respectively, and six easy-access, cable-free hard drive bays that support both 7,200RPM and 10,000RPM drives, solid state drives and RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10 configurations. Prices begin at $1,999.

"You've seen the Invasion videos, now prepare yourself for landfall. Stay locked to Alienware's facebook page to receive daily updates from the Tokyo Game Show."

We'll be on hand to see just how far down the shaking goes once news of Alienware's announcement hits ground zero outside of Tokyo.

In the meantime check out the official website for the upcoming news and this video.

Call me crazy, but my money is on a new gaming laptop.

All Powerful [Alienware]

Coming in at 21.5 inches, it's a "gaming" monitor in that it's got stuff normal people wouldn't want/need in a display, such as 2x HDMI ports and a whopping 4x USB ports. It's also got an 80,000:1 contrast ratio and can output in 1920x1080, so yeah, it's basically a small HDTV, only without the TV tuner part.

But the most attractive thing about it is that it looks, well, not ugly. Like Alienware awoke 9 years too late to find the 21st century's design tastes to be a place of restraint, and subtlety. I still wouldn't buy it, of course - I prefer the extra real estate on my 24" display to bells and whistles - but in a first for an Alienware product, I won't make fun of it, either.

Alienware OptX AW2210 21.5-Inch Gaming Monitor Goes 1920x1080, Actually Isn't Hideous [Gizmodo]

We say "absolute minimum" because there are hardware options for the thing that may prove too tempting to pass up on. Like, in addition to the dual 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M graphics cards and Intel Core 2 Extreme Quad-Core CPU, you can cram as much as 8GB of DDR3 RAM into its guts. You can also opt to have either a 1TB HDD or 512GB SSD for storage. And you can top all that off with a Blu-Ray drive, which should look rather nice on the machine's 1920x1200 display.

As with most Alienware gear, the unit itself won't look quite as nice, but then, you're paying for brute force here, not aesthetics.

Alienware's 'Allpowerful' m17x Obliterates Crysis With Dual 1GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M Graphics Cards [Gizmodo]

Citing an internal memo they obtained from an Alienware employee, it's said that the group will be closing both of its dedicated manufacturing plants (in Miami and Ireland), with production to be shifted to parent company Dell's factories. These closures will be accompanied by layoffs, though Alienware - while confirming the closures - refuse to put a number on how many will be affected.

Since it's two entire facilities being closed down, it's probably "a lot".

Strangely, the move comes at the exact same time the company plans to expand its operations, with Alienware gaming computers expected to be released in 29 new markets across 17 new languages in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America over the next 12 months.

Alienware Plans Worldwide Expansion; Layoffs, Too [ExtremeTech, via Big Download]

19th March 2008 - Alienware's flagship system, the Area-51 7500, has received a full overhaul and has re-launched as the Area-51® desktop. Alienware, the leading manufacturer of high-performance desktop, notebook and entertainment systems, stands for excellence and advancement in the PC gaming and home computer markets, and the Area-51 continues to leads the market in desktop innovation. Now featuring the NVIDIA® nForce® 790i Ultra SLI®-based motherboard as well as an NVIDIA GeForce® 9800 GX2 dual GPU single graphics card, the Area-51 supports the most robust gaming platform in the industry

"The Area-51 is every gamer's dream system," said Brian Joyce, Senior Vice President at Alienware, "With support for PCI-Express 2.0, DDR3 memory, a completely open and higher BIOS overclocking than its predecessor and now the industry's most advanced graphics solution, the Area-51 sets the pace for desktop performance. Everyone else is just trying to keep up."

The nForce 790i Ultra SLI is the motherboard that gamers and enthusiasts have been waiting for. It is the only nForce platform to support DDR3 memory up to 2GHz for record-breaking memory speeds. Compatible with 1600MHz FSB Intel® CPUs, it also provides the Area-51 with the impressive next-generation Intel 45 nanometer CPU capabilities. Best of all, the nForce 790i Ultra SLI allows for NVIDIA 2-way, 3-way and Quad SLI technology for unmatched visual computing.

One of the most exciting editions to the revamped Alienware Area-51 is the inclusion of the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 graphics card. Housing dual GeForce 9800 GPUs, the 9800 GX2 delivers SLI power on a single card. Up to 50 percent faster than the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra, the GeForce 9800 GX2 is the fastest consumer graphics solution on the planet. Teamed with the nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard, the 9800 GX2 delivers the most lifelike high definition PC gaming, the highest possible frame rates, and ultra-smooth Blu-ray Disc® playback.

"We're excited about the introduction of the next-generation Alienware Area-51, which incorporates the upper echelon of PC components to deliver the ultimate visual computing experience," said Ujesh Desai, general manager of the consumer GPU business group at NVIDIA. "The sheer genius of the GeForce 9800 GX2, which sets new performance records for consumer PC graphics, paired with the extremely overclockable nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard, delivers an unbelievable and unbeatable platform for enthusiasts and gamers alike."

"Alienware users expect top-tier graphics," said Joyce. "By blending the NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2 and nForce 790i Ultra SLI motherboard technology with Alienware's unique and superior architecture, we can continue to deliver the best each and every time."

For more information on the Alienware Area-51 desktop, please visit: www.alienware.co.uk/790i

Cnet has posted their the nominees for their annual best of CES Awards. The awards include a gaming category which lists, this time around, a wireless nunchuck from Nyko, Gateway's FX gaming desktops and that mammoth Alienware curved monitor everyone is going gaga over.

Hit the jump for the run down of the three gaming nominees and the link to see Cnet's full write up on the products and the entire Best of CES nominee list.

Nyko Wireless Nunchuck
The Nintendo Wii uses a wireless remote to begin with, but that remote still manages to use a cord half the time. Most Wii games use both the Wii Remote and the Wii Nunchuck, an analog stick peripheral that plugs into the base of the remote via a long cable. Nyko first cut the Wii cord with the Wireless Sensor Bar and is taking away yet another tether with the Wireless Nunchuck. The Nyko Wireless Nunchuck connects to the Wiimote via a little wireless dongle that clicks into the controller's accessory jack.

Gateway FX7020
Gateway bowed two new gaming desktops at the show today, the high-end FX540, and the more modest FX7020. The former is an update to Gateway's year-old customizable, semi-high-end Intel-based PCs. The FX7020 packages a quad-core AMD Phenom chip in to a relatively affordable $1,099 package. Gateway's FX7020 represents the type of PC we expect to see a lot of in 2008: the $1,000 to $1,500 gamer that finally has the graphics horsepower to handle the newest 3D PC games.

Alienware's Curved Display
Alienware put on what it termed a "technology statement" in Vegas tonight with the aptly named "curved display." That's its unofficial name. It also has no price yet, and no release date more specific than "second half of 2008." What we can tell you is that after the brief minute or so we spent with this monitor, we think high-end PC gamers are going to be excited for it. The specifics are that it's a rear-projection DLP screen that can run at a resolution of 2,880x900 pixels (wider than a 30-inch LCD, but not quite as tall).

Best of CES [Cnet]

Wanna win that computer? Read this. Do it. Contest closes to entries November 12th at midnight EST. Specs after the jump:

Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz 8MB Cache 1066MHz FSB Operating System (Office software not included): Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005 - With no Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner

Chassis: Alienware® P2 Chassis with AlienIce™ 3.0 Video Cooling and 1000 Watt SLI Capable Power Supply - Space Black Chassis Customization : Alienware® Standard System Lighting - Astral Blue High-Performance Liquid Cooling: Alienware® Standard System Cooling

Motherboard: Alienware® Approved NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard

Memory: High-Performance 800MHz DDR2 SDRAM - 1GB - 2 x 512MB System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7,200 RPM w/ 8MB Cache Primary CD ROM/DVD ROM: 18X Dual Layer DVD±RW/CD-RW Writer w/ Nero Software Suite Graphics Processor: Single Graphics Processors - 768MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800 GTX

Monitor: No Monitor

Sound Card: High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio

Keyboard: Alienware® USB Full-Size Keyboard Mouse : Alienware® Optical 3-Button Mouse with Scroll Wheel

Warranty: 1-Year AlienCare Toll-Free 24/7 Phone Support w/ Onsite Service Alienware Extras: Alienware® Mousepad Alienware Extras: AlienInspection - Exclusive Integration and Inspection - $100 Value - FREE!

Alienware Extras: AlienWiring - Exclusive Internal Wire Management - $100 Value - FREE!

Now that his two biggest competitors have been absorbed, some PC enthusiasts, like me, don't consider them boutique PC makers anymore. Reeves says he, and likely everyone else on the planet, was surprised by the Voodoo/HP deal, but that he hopes the purchase, and Alienware's purchase, will help streamline the process of getting enthusiast hardware to the mainstream gamer.

We found that as Alienware grew, they strayed further from the enthusiast/custom/boutique market. The Dell deal seems to have clinched that. It works out well for us because essentially we're serving two different markets. Alienware may be sleeping on a big bed of money these days, but it hasn't seemed to come at our expense...the net effect on us is neither Dell nor Alienware seems to be on our turf anymore, and strangely, their combined impact on us is less than it used to be with Alienware alone.

HP's aquisition of Voodoo PC seems to be structured much more effectively, and if it works, it could keep the rest of the boutique market on its toes. It appears HP understands that a boutique's real value isn't from volume, but as a proving ground for showing off new technologies and getting real-time enthusiast feedback. And most importantly, filtering enthusiast PC ideas to mainstream products quickly. Another Web site likened it to HP buying a Formula 1 team. In that sense, they could be very valuable to all of us enthusiasts by bringing enthusiast PC thinking to more mainstream customers.

The good news is that Reeves says that he doesn't seen Falcon getting bought up anytime soon. They've passed on a number of "opportunities" because they want to keep Falcon NW boutique. Brian Crecente

Interview: Falcon Northwest CEO Kelt Reeves on the HP-Voodoo PC deal [Alpha]

Now that both Alienware and Voodoo PC have been bought out by huge, faceless corporations, I no longer count them on my list of PC builders that I'd buy from. They're dead to me, sorry, that's just the way I am.

But who's left? It used to be that Alienware topped my list, but even before the buy-out they were going a little too corporate for my taste. Then I started eyeing Voodoo, but I can't stand HP.

So you've got Falcon Northwest and who? Maybe Hypersonic, but I'm not to up on them? Or are the days of small, fantastic, PC builders who understand and cater to the gaming market dead and gone?

Who's on your list for next hot PC builder, or do you think there's no such thing anymore? Brian Crecente

Falcon Northwest Hypersonic PC

Looks like everyone wants a premium PC gamer rig manufacturer under their wing. First, Dell bought Alienware; now, HP is picking up VoodooPC. According to Ars Technica:

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but VoodooPC CEO Ravi Sood and his brother Rahul will be joining a new gaming business unit within HP's Personal Systems Group. Rahul Sood describes the two companies as "complimentary opposites" and believes that VoodooPC's expertise with gaming and high-end PCs combined with HP's "innovations, scale, and leverage" will result in "some of the most compelling machines money can buy." (No word on whether HP was monitoring his phone lines and home network as he composed his blog post announcing the deal.)

It's nice to see these companies try to court gamers, but not at the ridiculous premium prices of these silly, overpriced and gaudy neon rigs. Florian Eckhardt

"http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060928-7863.html">HP goes shopping, comes home with VoodooPC [Ars Technica]

While no word has been officially released from either Dell or Alienware, we heard from a reliable source this morning that the purchase has indeed gone down. Speculation began on March 5 after a blog post by Voodoo PC CEO Rahul Sood. The new source, a contact at a high-end vendor who requested anonymity, claims that two of his company's suppliers confirmed that the deal has been done, and he also claims that his company has received an influx of resumes from Alienware employees.

An Alienware PR representative did not deny the claim but instead forwarded us a prewritten statement from the company that said: "At this time, Alienware will not comment on any speculative stories or rumors concerning Dell and Alienware's association. While we do believe that news stories like this are ultimately a strong positive reinforcement of the Alienware brand and the company's success, we will not comment on speculation or potential future events. As always, Alienware is committed to offering consumers and businesses with the best high-performance, innovative PC products on the market and we remain manically focused on that goal."

Dell did not return calls asking for comment.

Interesting. I was just telling a friend that I thought Alienware was getting a bit too mainstream for its own good. It's hard to court the hardcore gamer audience with such a big name, I think.

It looks like companys such as Voodoo and Falcon Northwest are going to have to step in.

Unconfirmed: Dell Buys Alienware [Cnet]