Alienware m15 R2 Palms-On Assessment: The Subsequent Evolution

Gaming laptops are advancing at a cutthroat tempo, and Alienware isn’t letting its foot off the pedal anytime quickly. Its latest replace to the m15 and m17 laptops, although, simply is perhaps its most fun.

They not solely characteristic the most recent high-end gaming elements on the within, the outside design has been utterly reworked. From eight-core processors to OLED screens, the Alienware m15 R2 has loads supply, beginning at a base value of $1,500. Are these new laptops the flagships Alienware wants?

A brand new period of Alienware

The Alienware m15 lastly looks like a gaming laptop computer with its personal id.

We liked what Dell did with the huge Alienware Space-51m, a 17-inch gaming laptop computer with desktop elements that the corporate launched earlier this 12 months. Past simply its efficiency, it carved out an superior new design language, gaining affect extra from THX 1138 than Alien.

Wealthy Shibley/Digital Tendencies

The clear traces, clean surfaces, and white shade choices have been introduced over to its extra mainstream gaming laptops, together with each the m15 and m17. It’s a brand new path for not solely Alienware, however gaming laptops total. It’s not making an attempt to mix in with non-gaming laptops just like the Razer Blade. As an alternative, it reveals that gaming laptops may be engaging and authentic. The ring of sunshine across the laptop computer’s posterior vents is among the many most pleasant lighting components we’ve seen on a gaming laptop computer but.

Past the look, the m15 has lower some heft. It’s barely thinner and lighter than earlier than, selecting to make use of magnesium alloy to lighten the load. four.75 kilos isn’t the lightest gaming laptop computer on this planet, and its zero.79 inch thickness units no data both, however it’s a giant improve from the place Alienware laptops have been simply a few years in the past.

It’s not mechanical, however you’ll nonetheless just like the keyboard

The keyboard is new, and Dell says it’s used quite a lot of engineering assets to good the texture. It doesn’t use mechanical switches, however the keyboard has a 1.7mm journey distance and an outlined actuation level to supply tactile really feel. The keystrokes didn’t really feel mushy, as many rubber dome keyboards do.

It’s a giant improve from the place Alienware laptops have been simply a few years in the past.

The m15 corrects a draw back to its predecessor by together with full-size arrow keys, which players will recognize. Eliminated, nevertheless, is the quantity pad, which is now solely featured on the bigger m17 mannequin. The keys have per-key RGB backlighting, which is all customizable by way of the Alienware Command Heart software program.

The touchpad is best, too. It’s carried over from the XPS laptops, which are likely to have extra responsive surfaces.

The Alienware m15 R2 features a modest array of ports. On the again you’ll discover your HDMI, mini-DisplayPort, Thunderbolt three, proprietary Alienware Graphics Amplifier, and DC Energy. On the left facet is a USB-A three.1 Gen 1 port, an RJ-45 ethernet port, and a headphone. In the meantime, the suitable facet has two extra USB-A ports. I recognize that many ports are positioned round again, which keys wires out of the way in which. 

Loads of energy, relying on what you select

As a result of the Alienware m15 is a bit thick, you’d anticipate it to outperform its rivals. Alienware representatives appeared assured that the cautious tuning of its elements and beefed up thermals will do the trick. There’s loads of additional vents, that’s for positive. They’re positioned on virtually each doable floor, together with a gorgeous new honeycomb design throughout the highest of the keyboard deck.

The brand new m15 options Ninth-gen Intel Core processors, starting from the quad-core Core i5-9500H as much as the Core i9-9980HK. That best choice is an unlocked eight-core course of that may increase as much as 5.0GHz. In contrast to the Space-51m, these are cell processors and might’t be swapped out sooner or later.

Wealthy Shibley/Digital Tendencies

There’s a legion of graphics choices, although the underside ones aren’t as interesting. Your choices are a GTX 1650, GTX 1660 Ti, RTX 2060, RTX 2070 Max-Q, or RTX 2080 Max-Q. The m15 R2 comes with both 8GB or 16GB of DDR4 RAM and begins with a 256GB SSD for storage. Twin-storage choices can be found, maxing out at 4TB.

Until you’re solely enthusiastic about informal gaming, you received’t love the efficiency.

There’s all kinds of choices for shows, beginning with the usual 1080p 60Hz mannequin. From there you may soar to a 1080p display screen with a 240Hz refresh fee, which would be the best choice for many players. On the highest finish, you may snag a 4K 60Hz OLED display screen. Each the 240Hz and OLED choices have Tobii eye-tracking built-in.

Alienware presents loads of choices, however we’re a bit hesitant concerning the backside rung. Extra premium manufacturers like Razer have moved to six-core processors and 16GB of RAM to make sure a stable gaming expertise throughout the vary. The Alienware m15’s $1,500 base mannequin may appear to be a superb deal on the floor, however until you’re solely enthusiastic about informal gaming, you received’t love the efficiency. That stated, we’ll have to carry our last judgements for after we get the laptop computer in for our full evaluate.

Each the Alienware m15 and m17 might be accessible beginning on June 11, 2019, begin at $1,500.