Laptops may be outselling desktop computers these days, but when it comes to running the latest 3D games, most hardcore players still prefer table-bound towers. Why? Because they typically outperform their mobile counterparts, they're easier to customize and upgrade, and - perhaps most importantly - they're usually a lot cheaper. Still, there are plenty of dedicated gaming notebooks available, and we've test driven a few to see how they fare playing some of the most graphically sophisticated games around.

Note that the varying features, configurations and prices of the machines we looked at keep them from being direct competitors with one another. The machines here were chosen to illustrate the diversity of portable hardware available to hard-core gamers. The general comparisons made here are simply to help gauge differences in performance and features relative to size and price.

Alienware Area-51 m15x

With its 15.4-inch screen and (relatively) light 3.5-kilogram mass, Alienware's Area-51 m15x was the smallest notebook in our test pool.

It's also the only one that could realistically double as an office laptop, thanks to a chic silver case that doesn't immediately scream "gamer geek." Well, at least it doesn't until you switch on the customizable lighting effects for its keyboard, screen, control panel and logos - this ups the notebook's nerd-cred in the blink of an eye.

Alienware Area-51 m15x Of course, the m15x's standing among geeks who took the time to check out the hardware specs was never in much doubt to begin with. The m15x is the first 15.4-inch notebook to feature Intel's Core 2 Extreme X9000 chipset. The unit Alienware provided for our tests had a blistering 2.8 GHz processor with a six-megabyte cache and 800 MHz front-side bus. For those who get lost when people start quoting tech specifications, all you need to know is that it's the fastest processor you can get in a non-oversized notebook.

The m15x is also the only laptop in its size class to sport NVIDIA's Ge-Force 8800M GTX graphics card, which has 512MB of discrete memory (memory dedicated to the graphics system instead of shared with the computer's processor). The 8800M GTX is widely recognized as one of the most powerful mobile graphics processing units (GPUs) available right now. Performance is further boosted by four gigabytes of DDR2 RAM, combined with another gigabyte of Intel's TurboCache memory, which keeps commonly-used data closer to the processor for quicker access.

The end result? The m15x plays games real good.

The performance was the best, in fact, of any laptop in our evaluation group when running a series of benchmark tests. It was the only notebook that ran the game Gears of War at high resolution (1,920-by-1,200) with all of its graphical bells and whistles turned on while retaining a perfectly playable frame rate, for example. The m15x also scored the best on a benchmark test using the visually complex strategy game World in Conflict, churning out an average of 50 frames per second with graphics detail set to medium.

Our evaluation unit also came with some quirky bonus features, including: a secondary six-cell battery that can be plugged into the optical drive slot to double the unit's run-time (we got a little over one hour of gaming out of its primary battery); the ability to switch between the high-powered graphics system and less-powerful built-in motherboard graphics to conserve power at the touch of a couple of buttons; and functionality to program the machine's decorative lights for more practical purpose - making them, say, flash when new Outlook e-mail arrives.

Simply put, it's a desirable piece of gaming gear.

The only major downside? A $4,858 price tag.

You can whittle the price down by downgrading features like the Blu-ray drive and dropping the optional secondary hard drive that came with the unit we reviewed. But if you want to keep its powerful innards intact, you're going to have to reconcile yourself to dealing with a stratospheric charge on your credit card.

Dell XPS M1730

Don't be fooled by the fact that Don Cheadle's character in the cooler-than-cool hipster flick Ocean's 13 was using a Dell XPS laptop; to appreciate the over-the-top design of the Round Rock, Texas-based computer maker's XPS M1730, your aesthetic sensibilities need to be unambiguously geeky.

This beast of a notebook weighs nearly five kilograms, comes in a variety of multi-coloured plastic cases, and is plastered with XPS logos (there's even one on its touchpad).

Dell XPS M1730 Still, pull one out at a LAN party and your fellow gamers will know you mean business — especially once they see the curious Logitech GamePanel LCD embedded in the machine's chassis just above the keyboard. It's a small display that can be used to track information regarding hardware performance (memory use, processor load and so on), and in certain games it can show stats for things like your points and the number of bullets you've fired (handy for bragging rights).

The XPS M1730 was the only notebook in our test pool that came with a dual graphics system, meaning that it has two graphics processors working in tandem to generate the images on the screen (as opposed to a traditional single graphics card configuration). The GPUs in the notebook we tested were NVIDIA GeForce Go 8700Ms, which support DirectX 10 and have 256MB of dedicated graphics memory. Alone, they aren't as powerful as the GPUs in the other notebooks we tested, but their combined clout helps the XPS M1730 keep up with notebooks sporting more advanced graphics cards.

Other hardware highlights include an Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 processor running at 2.8 GHz, 4GB of DDR2 RAM, and AGEIA's PhysX Accelerator. The PhysX is a processor that works to improve the physical environments of many games by focusing specifically on running operations related to effects like explosions, smoke, dust, and debris to make them look more realistic.

During our World in Conflict benchmark, which forced the test machines to render plenty of detonated detritus, the XPS M1730 achieved an impressive 47 frames per second — pretty much on par with Alienware's m15x.

However, our tests with other games proved the M1730 to be a slightly less impressive performer. Gears of War, with graphics settings maxed, needed to have its resolution bumped down from 1,920-by-1,200 to 1,440-by-900 to achieve comfortable playability. A bit disappointing, but this sort of performance still places Dell's flagship gaming laptop well above the vast majority of laptops out there - and most desktops, too.

Plus, the XPS M1730 comes with a (slightly) more palatable price tag - $3,789 - than Alienware's luxurious laptop. And that's including perks like a Blu-ray drive, an HDMI 1.3 output and LED lighting effects.

Gateway P-6860FX

The odd-machine-out in our evaluation group, Gateway's new P-6860FX, costs just $1,349. That's downright cheap compared to the other gaming laptops we tried.

Gateway P-6860FX As you might expect, the trade-off is that this 17-inch desktop replacement machine doesn't exactly have the same sort of hardware as its pricier competitors. Its relatively weak 1.83 GHz Intel T5550 Core 2 Duo processor is the biggest clue that the P-6860FX isn't in the same class as the m15x or M1730. Its lower-resolution 1,440-by-900-pixel screen is another sure sign.

Still, it packs an NVIDIA GeForce Go 8800M GTS graphics system with 512MB of GDDR3 video memory. Combined with 4GB of DDR2 RAM, this gives the P-6860FX surprisingly formidable gaming chops.

As to be expected, the P-6860FX fared the worst in our World in Conflict benchmark, but the 37 frames per second it cranked out still made for a perfectly playable game. And while we were forced to lower significantly the resolution and detail of the game Gears of War, we found a sweet spot at medium settings that made for an acceptable gaming experience.

The P-6860FX may have forced some concessions in the video settings when playing more hardware-intensive games, but it shone when running the less demanding but still visually impressive Call of Duty 4. In that game, it delivered a silky-smooth frame rate with all of the graphics settings set to maximum and displayed at medium screen resolutions.

And Gateway's budget notebook even comes with a few non-game-related features that aren't necessarily standard on notebooks in its price class, including an HDMI 1.3 output, Bluetooth, and Wireless-N networking.

The P-6860's greatest downfall? Design.

Its black case with copper accents is inelegant and easily smudged. And the dash of orange, glowing buttons sprinkled above the keyboard are a poor man's substitute for the customizable lighting options found in higher-priced gaming notebooks.

Plus, aside from its 17-inch screen, there seems little reason for the machine to be so big and heavy (it tipped the scale at more than 4.1-kilograms). Given the display's relatively low resolution for its size, Gateway would have done better to use a clearer, smaller screen and reduce the P-6860FX's bulk.

Still, these are minor complaints, considering the performance delivered for the price paid. Chew on this: for the same price as Alienware's m15x, you could buy three P-6860FXs, a dozen brand new games, and still have enough spare change to pick up the tab for pizza and beer when you invite a couple of friends over for an all-night LAN party.

It's enough to make one wonder just how much the ability to see every last detail in the scars on your grunts' faces in Gears of War is really worth.

The author is a Toronto-based freelance writer who specializes in technology.