Alienware launches two new gaming desktop PC, the “Area-51 ALX” and “Aurora ALX”, both with optional 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD). SSD technology allows faster and better system perfomance, compared to standard hard drive. However, since this technology is practically new, it won’t come cheap. To be exact, you have to pay an additional $1,700 for SSD.

Area-51 ALX features an Intel Core 2 Extreme processor, dual 768MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX graphics engine in SLI mode (or GeForce 8800 Ultra if you want), up to 4TB (4 x 1TB) of SATA HDD, a dual-layer DVD burner (or opt-in for Blu-Ray burner), 8 x USB 2.0 ports, 2 x FireWire ports, and HD Surround sound audio engine. Measures 19.01 x 9.97 x 25.02-inch, the desktop PC is priced at $4,999 (base configuration).

As for Alienware’s Aurora ALX desktop PC, it has almost similar specs as Area-51 ALX, except that it uses AMD’s Athlon 64 X2 dual-core CPU. The machine costs $4,099 each.

Both Area-51 ALX and Aurora ALX desktop pcs comes with either Microsoft Windows XP Professional / MCE 2005 or Vista Home Premium / Ultimate operating system.

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Alienware has just announced the addition of 64GB SSD (Solid State Disk) onto its high-perfomance Area-51 M9750 series laptop. SSD technology allows data to be stored on a solid-state memory which eliminates seek time, latency, and other electro-mechanical delays and failures. The result is of course, faster data access, faster boot-time, and faster application launch time.

The Area-51 M9750 laptop itself feautres an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, an Intel 945PM + ICH7M-DH chipset, up to 4GB of DDR2 667Mhz RAM, either a single 512MB nVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX graphics engine or dual 512MB nVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX and nVidia nForce 100 graphics engine in SLI mode, and either Windows XP or Vista operating system. Connectivity options include Gigabit Ethernet, integrated 56K modem, Bluetooth 2.0, and 802.11a/b/g WiFI. Measures 15.65 x 11.75 x 1.5-inch and weighs 8.5lbs, the machine is also equipped with 17-inch widescreen display, 4 x USB 2.0 ports, Express Card slot, IEEE 1394 port, and a 4-in-1 memory card reader (SD/MS/MSPRO/MMC).

The price starts from $2,099 for the base configuration.

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Samsung proudly presents its new UMPC product during CES 2007, the Q1P SSD. As the world’s first ultra mobile computer to use SSD (Solid State Disk) flash memory-based hard drive, it comes with a 32GB of storage which is also 25-50 faster than traditional hard drive. Detail specs will follow later, and regarding price, the Q1P UMPC is currently available for $1,999 in US market. “Downgraded” version with no SSD, the Q1P, is also available for $1,299, while Samsung’s old Q1 UMPC can be purchased for just $999.

“With the SSD-enabled model, boot time is 25-50 percent faster than systems that employ a traditional hard drive. Overall system performance is significantly enhanced, as the SSD is capable of reading 300 times faster (53 MB/s) and writes 150 percent faster (28 MB/s) than models with typical hard drives. Furthermore, seek time (the amount of time required to find information in the system memory) is greatly reduced on the SSD-enabled model. The Q1P SSD model’s battery life is also improved, as it requires less power to run the flash-based SSD hard drive versus a conventional, rotational media-based hard drive“, Samsung claims.

The Q30 laptop is the second PC from Samsung that embedded with NAND flash-based SSD memory. The first one is the Q1 ultra-mobile portable PC that I’ve posted couple hours ago. And similar to the Q1, this laptop also has 32GB of SDD. Priced at 3,500,000 KRW (around US$3,700), Q30 is promised to deliver a complete silence during its operation, which is much better than the average notebook that generate around 30dB of operating noise.

Samsung Q30 laptop (P/N: NT-Q30-SSD) is powered by Intel Celeron M 753 (1.2GHz), 512MB of DDR2 RAM, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 chipset, and 12.1-inch WXGA (1280×768) TFT LCD screen. It is equipped with integrated 56K modem, Ethernet, and WiFI connectivity. As for the multimedia features, it has built-in DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcast) receiver for enjoying satellite TV programme, 16-bit SB Pro compatible sound card with SRS 3D sound support, and internal 2×2W stereo speaker. Measures 287.7 x 197.5 x 18.0 ~ 23.8 mm and weighs 1.14 kg, Q30 laptop is planned to hit the Korean market on early June.

For more detail specs of Q30 Laptop, check the table below.

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As I said before, Samsung is going to launch two PCs with NAND flash-based SSD. They are the Q1 ultra-mobile computer device and the Q30 laptop. Both planned to release in Korea on early June. I’ll talk the detail about each of those PCs on separate posts later.

With the usage of flash-based SSD, both Samsung’s new PCs could offer optimal portability. Standard 1.8-inch HDD used in many laptops or mobile PCs weighs around 50 grams, while the SSD weighs around 20 to 30 grams (depend on the package). They also much shock-resistant than the traditional mobile computer since the SSD is said to be able to withstand about twice of the impact that would damage a regular hard drive.

“PC models based on solid state disks have numerous advantages over traditional hard disk-based models. These include faster booting, greater durability, quieter operation, and increased battery life.“, said Kim Hounsoo, Executive Vice President of the Computing Division of Samsung Electronics, “The new Q30-SSD and Q1-SSD models are only the beginning. Samsung will continue to lead the market, introducing new portable PC models that bring these benefits to both consumers and enterprise users.”

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