Alienware laptops: now with SLI.

The original performance laptops now come with enough graphical might to challenge current performance desktops.

We’ve seen some laptops that are trying to coax us into ditching our desktop PCs recently. Core2 Duo processors are now mobile, the screens are really big and detailed, and the whole things are portable. Just.

Regardless of your opinion regarding laptops that will crush you if you put them on your lap, it’s worth knowing that one of the original performance laptop makers have jumped on the SLI bandwagon. We are talking about Alienware and its new Aurora m9700.

It’s based on the AMD Turion 64 Mobile processor and the Nvidia Geforce Go 7900GS. In a decade, this could be an iconic snapshot of tech before the AMD/ATI merger. But for now, it’s safe to assume it will blow many desktops out of the water.

The standard price for the standard configuration is currently $3385.95, from Alienware’s suspiciously Dell-esque website. This does not include SLI by default. Or a DVD burner. And only a 60GB drive.

By the time you add in the components you could -- but don’t want to -- leave at home, you’re at $4365.95. That gets you a DVD burner, 120GB of storage, 2GB of RAM (because there’s no excuse to have the same amount of system memory as total video card memory) and the second 256MB Geforce Go 7900 GS. And there’s still space for a second hard drive, RAID-able if you’d like it.

HD video can be displayed natively, on the 17” 1920 x 1200 screen. It uses the awful/fantastic (depending on your alliance) shiny layer that increases brightness at the expense of reflections.

It may be missing a Core2 Duo Processor, but it’s still quite intimidating. And if that still doesn’t interest you, there’s a free T-shirt in the box. Alienware’s Australian site for the m9700 is here.