ALIENWARE SENTIA

IN BRIEF: The gaming specialist aims for the business user with a versatile machine

Alienware has built a reputation for itself as a company that specialises in computers for the gaming enthusiast. Therefore, it comes as something of a surprise to find that the company is aiming the Alienware Sentia (£1545 inc. VAT) at the business community and those who need to work, rather than play, on the move. The Alienware Sentia takes the same basic chassis as the MV Mobius (reviewed issue 64) but adds a number of features that make it a completely different proposition. While the MV laptop was aimed at those on an extremely tight budget, the Sentia is a style-conscious offering. The look and feel of the chassis is quite different, with the now familiar ridges and glowing alien Ð when switched on Ð of the Alienware logo. The build quality of the Sentia is extremely high, especially the re-enforced lid supporting the panel.

BRIGHT SCREEN
The 12.1-inch TFT panel takes advantage of a widescreen format, with a native resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. With a viewing screen in the standard 16:9 aspect ratio - the same as movies - there will be no banding when watching DVDs. What makes this screen really stand out, however, is the use of an enhanced panel, similar to that of Sony's X- black technology. The one area where the Sentia failed to impress was the quality of the keyboard, which proved to be rather poor. The keys are well spaced but we found that they moved a little too much in their mountings when typing. If you want to watch a DVD movie when on the move without wishing to boot into Windows, this can be done by at the push of a button, as a Linux kernel will boot instead. This function offers improved battery life in the region of 10 percent. A slot, hidden away on the underneath of the system, houses a deeply hidden USB port, which could not be reached using normal USB memory key. It can be used with an optional MP3 player.

In terms of specification, the Sentia offers outstanding performance from its 1.8GHz Pentium M 745 processor and 512MB DDR SDRAM. Our review unit also came supplied with a 60GB Hitachi hard disk. This drive runs at 7200rpm to offer improved loading and saving of applications. With a MobileMark 2002 score of 184, the Sentia has enough power to handle all workloads with ease. The optical drive, at this price point, is merely a DVD/CD- RW combination drive but this can be upgraded to a DVD-rewriter. One thing to stress with the Sentia is the lack of 3D acceleration on the system. While Alienware has built a reputation for gaming-specific systems, the Sentia comes with integrated graphics, which offers 3D performance at a minimum system level. This was borne out by a 3DMark 2001 SE score of 2477.

It is the little touches that make the Alienware laptops stand out from the crowd. Those who want to add that final flourish to their desktop and screen can apply the AlienGUise, which changes the theme design of the setup to suit your mood and preferences. The compact laptop market has long been one where looks have been as important as the usability of the system and the Alienware Sentia certainly plays into this area with ease. Add to this a level of performance that will keep you working, with a battery life to match, and Sentia will prove an impressive laptop - if you have the money to spare.

PRICE £1315/£1545 (EX/INC. VAT)
PROCESSOR Intel Pentium M 745
MEMORY 512MB DDR SDRAM
HARD DRIVE Hitachi 60GB
SCREEN SIZE AND TYPE 12.1-inch TFT
DISPLAY RESOLUTION 1200 x 800 pixels
GRAPHICS CARD Intel 855
DIMENSIONS 292 x 230 x 32mm
WEIGHT 1.8kg
PC CARDS (TYPE II/III) 1/0
WIRELESS LAN 802.11g
ETHERNET Yes
USB PORTS 2 x USB 2.0
FIREWIRE 1
STANDARD WARRANTY 1 yr RTB
WARRANTY UPGRADE 2 yr £138, 3 yr £177
CONTACT 0800 279 9751 www.alienware.co.uk

VALUE FOR MONEY 6
PERFORMANCE 8
FEATURES 6
MOBILITY 7
BUILD QUALITY 6
OVERALL 7

BATTERY LIFE 192 MINUTES
MOBILEMARK 2002 184
3DMARK 2001 2477