This is the latest valid coupon on the brand new Alienware M18x R2, worth an additional $50 off plus free shipping. It is valid for all Alienware systems configured at $1,099 or more, meaning that all M18x R2 configurations are eligible.

The second revision of Alienware’s 18-inch model can now be upgraded all the way up to a dual-GPU configuration  with two Nvidia GTX 680M graphics cards in SLI. The second best options is two of AMD’s top GPUs, the Radeon HD 7970M in CrossFire mode.

There are countless other alternatives to customize the Alienware M18x to your liking; besides the powerful GPU combinations and the 3rd-gen Core i7 CPU up to the i7-3840QM with a clock rate of up to 3.8 GHz, it can also be equipped with the new mobile 1866 MHz RAM and dual or even triple-drive configurations with SSD storage in RAID 0.

The base configuration includes an 18.4-inch panel with 1920×1080 pixels, powered by an Nvidia GTX 660M graphics card from Nvidia’s latest 28nm Kepler lineup. However, the fastest configurations of the M18x are considerably more powerful. There are two other single-GPU configurations, including one GeForce GTX 675M or GTX 680M, but also dual-GPU options that will propel the M18x R2 past most high-end desktops on the market. The top-tier solutions are two Radeon HD 7970Ms or two GTX 680Ms, the latter of which is the most powerful mobile GPU solution on the market.

If you want lots of RAM–32GB to be precise–that can also be arranged with 4x 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 modules. You can get it with two types of RAM; either 1600MHz or the faster 1866MHz DDR3 that is also available with the M14x R2. With dual high-end SSDs in capacities up to 3x 512GB, the M18x R2 will most likely max out the SATA 3.0 (6GBps) interface. Selecting two identical drives lets you get them pre-configured in RAID 0, which nearly doubles performance. If you don’t feel like paying the premium for 100% flash-based storage, you can opt for much more cost-effective but fast hybrid storage in the form of an mSATA solid state cache drive, available in 32 GB or 64 GB capacities.

One of the other key features in the new Alienware lineup is of course the latest Ivy Bridge (3rd-generation Core) processors from Intel. The M18x R2 has options for any of the currently available quad-core mobile Core i7 CPUs, starting with the i7-3630QM (2.4 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 3.4 GHz), the i7-3740QM (2.7 GHz, Turbo Boost up to 3.7 GHz), or the i7-3840 (2.8 GHz, Turbo Boost 3.8 GHz).

All in all, the Alienware M18x, if fully equipped, is the most powerful laptop currently available that uses only mobile components. It’s a big one, but nevertheless portable and delivers performance that exceeds quite a few high-end and expensive desktop computers.