Instead, we decided to pit it against some ridiculous homemade tests to try and trip it up. Converting a full, 1080P HD movie between formats and containers took a mind-blowing 38 minutes, compared to an incomplete attempt on a desktop PC left running over night. The system was pushed to host three simultaneous LAN multiplayer games; slowed only the network lag and without showing any signs of difficulty with all three windows opened at once. Even Crysis – the PC killer – ran at full resolution and all graphical enhancements at over 30fps during battle scenes, while Company of Heroes topped 40fps at maximum settings. Portal, and the other Orange Box games, caused us to spit tea and laugh as they ran into triple figures.

The benchmarks are apparently impressive (for a scientist), but from the gamer’s perspective, the CPU horsepower displayed games as we never thought we’d see them – the kind of liquid playability and beauty that game developers assume people will never be able to appreciate in their creations. Suffice to say it’s not going to run out of breath for a long while, and we can’t wait to see the quality of the first PC game that finally manages to push the m15x beyond its limits.

But silicon polish isn’t the only way Alienware have managed to cater more for the portable gamer. Connectivity has also been taken into account with the built in Bluetooth and 802.11 B, G and N. Having the latest standard of wifi super-speed integrated into the machine is a testament to the longevity Alienware is clearly intending the m15x to enjoy – this isn’t a machine they want you to replace in 12 month’s time.

This kind of adaptability is a theme that runs throughout the careful design. The DVD drive is mounted in a hot-swappable bay, allowing you to trick out the m15x with a variety of exciting extras. It can be swapped for a Blu-Ray RW drive, second hard drive, solid state hard drive and even a supplementary battery – catering for every conceivable requirement from gaming on the go to running a portable power office.

HD movie fans will undoubtedly have perked up when hearing about the Blu-Ray drive add-on, so the HDMI output will really grab some interest. Rather than the usual VGA output most laptop’s have boasted for a long number of years, Alienware took a bold move with the m15x by replacing the standard monitor connector with the new HD TV standard. And it’s a move that pays off. The convenience of a single, quick plug to get your PC games up on the living room HD TV is an absolute blessing, and the ease of flicking between the monitor and TV (and, indeed, using both displays should some strange necessity require it) brings this 15” beast closer to the realm of games consoles than most any computer has managed before it.