Alienware shows off developer PCs

by Zack Stern { Mar 11th 2007 at 6:58PM }

Alienware launched a new developer workstation and showed off a recent laptop at GDC. The company was tucked away in the meeting rooms of the North hall, and we stopped by unannounced to ogle the hardware.

The MJ-12 8550i is the new high-end desktop machine with two quad-core Xeon processors, DDR2 memory, and other industry-leading specs. Alienware decided to ship this machine with the consumer-level Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX so that developers don't need to switch machines to test their progress. (Alienware reps even suggested getting in a game of F.E.A.R. while waiting for a recomplie.)

We asked about a dual video card configuration, and we were told that that may happen; the company is even considering a switch that would toggle between pro and consumer cards connected to a single monitor.

Keeping the desktop machine company, Alienware also showed the m5790 laptop that ships with a 2.33GHz Core 2 Duo. And Alienware is so confident in the stability of the chip that it can overclock it under warranty to 2.66GHz.

Prices for the systems vary by configuration, with the laptop starting at $1,300 and the workstation at $2,500. Of course, both are able to run thousands of dollars higher.