Alienware just got a mid-game level up. The brand just announced that the latest versions of the Alienware Area-51m and Alienware m17 are getting screen upgrades. Both laptops will have the option of a 1920 x 1080-pixel panel with a wild 360Hz refresh rate. There is no word on pricing or availability just yet, but gamers should definitely be excited.
So, what’s so special about a high refresh rate panel anyway? In a word, accuracy. That refresh rate all but ensures buttery-smooth rendering which cuts down on image and input latency. For fans of first-person shooters, it means a potential for a better kill ratio. And fighting game aficionados can get those complicated combos in a bit faster than the competition.
Nvidia gave me a taste of the high refresh life at CES. Broken down into precision and reaction tests, I performed much better on the 360Hz panel. I still can’t explain the science behind it, but I can tell you the 360Hz panel made the 60Hz screen look slow and janky by comparison.
Alienware is being pretty tight-lipped about any other changes. But we do know that both laptops will still feature Intel 10 Gen overclockable processors and Nvidia’s powerful RTX series GPUs. Either way, we expect each system to give the competition a run for their money when they launch.
