Alienware are so far the only company that offers notbooks with upgradable graphics chips. That's a pretty good selling point, and one that other manufacturers will soon offer. I wouldn't worry about marketing gimmicks, as alienware would not offer a notebook if it didn't meet their high standards. Alien-Ice, as far as I can see, is simply the provision of an additional air duct to supply cool air to the video card. It doesn't feature in their mobiles as far as I can tell.