Intel i7?.............?

I was in the act of ordering my alienware m17x when I came across Falcon Northwest and was blown away but there machines. But there just way to expensive. But I came across a proccessor called the Intel i7 and wanted to know if it was better than the duo quad watchama call-it proccessor you get with the m17x and if it would work in the m17x if a bought it sepratly.