Alienware M15: compact gaming laptop with ample opportunities for upgrade
Alienware gaming laptops have always stood out for their powerful cases. This not only made their appearance recognizable and memorable, but also made it possible to use durable materials and serious cooling systems. However, time passes, and now in the trend of mobile solutions, including gaming. The answer to this challenge was the new Alienware M15 - a completely new laptop in the model lineup of the brand. Much easier and more compact, but at the same time not losing those key advantages for which fans love this series. It is about him that we want to tell you in detail today. Welcome under the cut!
Alienware M15 next to the already familiar to many users of Alienware 15 R4 and 17 R5 looks very interesting. Almost like David next to Goliath, but everyone here is, of course, good in his own way. M15 takes moderate dimensions - a computer with a 15.6-inch display weighs 2.16 kilograms with a thickness of 2.1 centimeters. This is the level when the laptop becomes portable enough to take it with you without much difficulty. For comparison, the Alienware 15 R4 weighs slightly less than 3.5 kilograms, and the 17-inch model does about 4.5.
Familiar with gaming laptops, not by hearsay, readers rightly notice "but it is not the easiest and thinnest in class!". True, the developers did not aspire to this either. They did not pursue records, but tried to preserve not only the corporate identity, but also to make the computer stable — minimization should not in any way lead to a drop in quality.
')
Virtually the entire computer case is made of magnesium alloy - for example, the case of "top" SLR cameras is made of the same material. Main advantages: strength combined with lightness and wear resistance. The cover has a matte, very pleasant to the touch surface, and it can be not only bright red, like the model that came to us for review, but also silver. Without a recognizable head of an alien, which has long been the Alienware logo, the case, of course, also did not go off. When you turn on the laptop, his eyes and contour begin to glow.
And, at the same time, in our opinion, the computer turned out not quite catchy. By his appearance, of course, it is clear that he is a game player, but it will hardly be embarrassing to sit with such in the office or take on meetings. In this place, do not rush to condemn us with the phrase “what can be meetings with a gaming computer ?!” - in addition to gamers, the staff of video production studios love and appreciate this technique very much. Well, in any case, universality is always good.
The working panel around the keyboard is matte soft-touch coating. Fingerprints remain here, but are visible only upon close inspection. But the glossy insert in the upper part above the keyboard may not please everyone, because here the handprints are much more noticeable. The frame around the screen is also glossy, to the left and to the right is rather thin, but there is no top and bottom yet. There is much to strive for in the future.
On smooth surfaces, the Alienware M15 stands securely and firmly. Four thin, but at the same time wide rubber legs cope with anti-slip protection very successfully.
The lid on the weight keep reliable metal hinges, and when closing it is additionally attracted to the body with magnets. You can flip the screen back about 160 degrees, and in no one of the selected positions will it in any way outweigh the working panel. The lid itself, when pressed, does not bend, and when opened, it does not walk like a wave from side to side. On the whole, it is difficult to complain about the build quality of the Alienware M15 - as we already wrote above, special attention was paid to this point during development.
According to the established tradition, connectors on Alienware notebook cases are located not only on the side but also on the back. From him and begin. Here are collected all the main interfaces for connecting external monitors and projectors: HDMI, mini DisplayPort and USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 support. Also here is the input for the power adapter.
Another unusual wide connector is the Alienware Graphics Amplifier Port. It is needed in order to connect to the laptop a powerful external box with some serious video card inside. Accessory brand, and in Russia, unfortunately, is not officially sold. Looks like this:
The Alienware M15 has an Ethernet port, a full-sized USB 3.1 and a combined audio connector on the left side.
On the opposite side there are two more “big” USB 3.1 ports.
Compared to the Alienware 15 and 17, the Alienware M15 has a completely new keyboard. The keys are no longer adjacent to each other, they are island. At the same time, a full-fledged digital block with narrower buttons appeared on the right side of the main block of keys. Additional buttons for recording macros are now not five, but four, and on the left side of the keyboard panel they moved into place directly above the number pad.
If this laptop becomes the first Alienware gadget from the user, then the keystroke is unlikely to get used to. But after the “big” 15-inch and 17-inch laptops already mentioned above, the feelings will be different. At least simply due to the fact that the depth of depression here is less: 2.2 mm in Alienware 15/17 and 1.4 mm in M15. From the point of view of gaming, this is a compromise, but a significantly reduced thickness of the body requires sacrifice. But from the point of view of long typing, this is more likely even a virtue - typing this review on the M15 keyboard was extremely convenient. Another plus in terms of versatility.
The only obvious disadvantage for some users here can be except that the buttons F1-F12 reduced not only in height but also in width, as well as ESC, Home, End and Delete. Our experience has shown that you can get used to this, but do not rule out that you have a different opinion on this matter.
Since the computer is gaming, then, of course, it was not without lighting. You can control the diodes in the pre-installed Alienware Command Center program - you just need to update it via the Windows Store after buying a laptop. The main part of the keyboard is divided into three zones, the backlight of each of which can be configured separately. The digital block is one more, already the fourth in a row, zone.
Also, two Alienware logos have their own backlight diodes. One of them is on the lid of the M15 outside, the second is exactly above the keyboard panel and at the same time acts as a power button. In addition to being able to choose a color from the entire RGB range, you can also choose different effects: ripple, blink, wave, etc. There is a separate mode for those who do not like all this entertainment with diodes. It is called simply and concisely: “standard blue”. The brightness of the backlight is adjusted using a special slider all in the same Alienware Command Center in a very wide range.
The touchpad in the Alienware M15 rather office. Again, in order to reduce the size under the touchpad, there are no more separate buttons to simulate a right and left mouse click. The entire panel itself has now become one big button. But the touchpad area has become larger. In games, as well as from any other touchpad of any other laptop, the panel is quite useless. But in office affairs, she honestly keeps the bar at a level “strongly above average”: the finger slides easily on the floor, positioning is very accurate, and multi-touch gestures are fully supported.
Alienware M15 in all configurations designed for the Russian market runs on an Intel Core i7-8750H processor. This is a very successful and well-proven 6-core chip in various gaming laptops with support for 12 computation threads. The frequency varies from 2.2 to 4.1 GHz, the TDP level declared by the manufacturer is 45 W. If you compare this solution with the previous chip of the same class and the more powerful i9-8950HK, then in the Cinebench R15 you get these results:
In addition to the Core i7-8750H, the Alienware M15 came to us for the test with two 8 GB RAM bars, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card in the MAX-Q design, a 1 TB HDD and a 512 GB SSD. This “hardware” is expected to show good results in the overall test of the performance of the PCMark 10 system. Below we present the obtained results in all three tests (Express, Standard, Extended) in comparison with other Dell computers previously tested specifically for Habr. Especially, the fact that the laptop scores most points in the most complex and long test Extended draws attention to itself. This is an additional hint that it can be not only gaming, but also used in creative production.
We’ll not say anything about the HDD speed, we’ll just provide a screenshot from the CrystalDiskMark 6 test. Such components can’t be surprised for a long time: it’s just a place to store large amounts of data and nothing more. With SSD, the situation is more interesting - speed indicators are not a record, but, at the same time, quite high. Neither in games, nor when copying and downloading files, this drive will definitely not become a bottleneck of the system.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card in the “lightweight” design of the MAX-Q is such a reasonable compromise between good power and power consumption, as well as heat dissipation. In terms of performance, from the full-fledged mobile 1070, it is literally lagging behind by 10-12%, but at the same time it still copes with all the current modern games. We tested the M15 with this discrete graphics in several projects, and in all of them the FPS level at high settings exceeded the cherished “60 frames per second” mark. Often the same happens at the maximum settings, although there are exceptions in which the FPS can fall to a range of 40-50 c / s. For example, in a very fresh Metro: Exodus and relatively fresh Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
We also give a separate comparison of the Alienware M15 with the GTX 1070 MAX-Q with the economical gaming laptops Dell - G3 15 and G5 15 with the GTX 1050 Ti and 1060 MAX-Q, respectively - in the 3D Mark Fire Strike and WoT Encore gaming benchmarks.
In idle mode, the Alienware M15 makes almost no sounds. As the load increases, the fans may first quite suddenly make themselves felt, but then their noise will gradually decrease in proportion to the complexity of the task. On average, you can navigate to the mark of 40 decibels. This is when the cooler is clearly audible near, but the volume is not distracting and not annoying. During games, of course, the noise will be higher and with a very heavy load can reach up to 50 dB. By the standards of compact gaming laptops, this is slightly above average. However, all this is relevant for the standard factory settings: if necessary, experienced users may well do undervolting (this is, however, at their own peril and risk), turn off TurboBoost and eventually make the laptop more quiet.
The temperature indices of the Alienware M15 are also noticeably higher than those of many office laptops that are familiar to many. In idle time, the temperature of computer surfaces, as a rule, does not exceed 30 degrees. During games at maximum settings in some places (above the keyboard and in the same place, but on the lower side of the PC), the temperature may approach 50 degrees. For long-term gaming marathons, we recommend in addition to a laptop to buy any - even the simplest - cooling pad.
The display diagonal of the Alienware M15 is 15.6 inches, the resolution is absolutely the same in all configurations - 1920x1080 pixels, the matrix type is also IPS. But at the same time the update rate can be different: 60 Hz in the basic versions and 144 Hz in the advanced ones. If you mostly prefer measured and quiet games like Civilization and Total War, then there is not much point in pursuing a high frequency of the sweep. But if you prefer dynamic games like CS and any other shooters, then it can be a useful help. We will not tell another story about how this will incredibly bleed your skill - a lot of copies are broken in discussions about it. But about the fact that the picture becomes smoother, and playing as a result because of this is simply more pleasant, no one seems to have any doubt.
Of course, for configurations with a screen with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, we recommend the GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card. It is much better than the GTX 1060 of the lower configurations, reveals the potential of such a display and at the same time does not drop FPS in games much.
Another important advantage of Alienware M15 displays is the low response time of up to 12 ms by IPS standards when the white pixel is replaced by black and back. This also has a very positive effect on the image in dynamic game projects, where it is extremely important that the image on the display be updated as quickly as possible. This is also very useful when watching a video.
The color gamut of the IPS panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz reaches almost 90% of the sRGB range, so you definitely won't have to complain about the disadvantages of color rendition. The experience of IT browsers who have already met this laptop shows that if you spend a little time on calibration, it will be even better. The maximum brightness level noticeably exceeds the 300nit mark, which can conventionally be considered perfectly comfortable for normal work behind a laptop indoors. In principle, even on the street, if you want to work, you can, but this is hardly the same gadget with which you want to do it often. With viewing angles is also a complete order - it’s painful to pick up “that very single” position of the display for sure does not have to, you can deflect it to absolutely any convenient angle, except for very extreme ones, and everything that happens on the screen will be perfectly visible.
Concluding the conversation about the display of Alienware M15 just in case, we draw attention to the fact that there are also configurations of this laptop with matrices with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels. They are not officially shipped to Russia. But such a screen is, for example, in one “top” version of Alienware 17 R5.
Another important advantage of the Alienware M15 is a very flexible upgrade option by modern standards. This is also due to the fact that the developers wanted to make the computer as thin as possible, but without prejudice to the design. While many ultra-thin laptops of competitors have their memory soldered to the board, here you can easily replace it yourself. And to access the compartments for M.2, the SSD does not have to be pulled out of the laptop the entire board, spending a lot of time for disassembly - just unscrew a few screws and remove the bottom cover. And this is the picture that opens before you.
First, you can replace the 2.5-inch HDD-drive - as a more capacious, and on the SSD in a similar form factor.
Secondly, the SSD is always used as a system drive, which is installed in slot M.2 2280. Also right next to it is another compartment M.2 for an additional drive. It turns out as many as three places for data storage devices - great!
For RAM there are two slots. In the lower versions, one RAM bar is used with 8 GB, in the middle - two bars of 8 GB each, and in the older ones - two of 16 GB each.
You can also replace the wireless adapter yourself.
With autonomy for gaming laptops, things are usually so-so, but the Alienware M15 is a pleasant exception to the rule. Despite the fact that only modifications with a 60 W * h battery are supplied to Russia (there are still versions without a compartment for the HDD, due to which the battery is more capacious - 90 W * h, we may also bring them, but a little later), even they keep hearty. The test for the full discharge of the battery running with infinite repetition of Full HD video at maximum brightness discharged the battery in exactly 4 hours. If you deal exclusively with office work on the M15 and do not resort to using discrete graphics, then 8 hours a gadget is quite capable of holding out.
The Alienware M15 version with GTX 1070 graphics is quite large power adapter with a capacity of 180 watts. It weighs about 600 grams. A noticeable increase in the total weight, but the video card is also powerful here. From 0 to 90% of the laptop is charged with it for an hour, and for a full charge it will take 90-100 minutes. The M15 with the GTX 1060 inside has an adapter that is not as powerful (150 W) and, as a result, more compact.
Alienware M15 does not pursue ultra-compact, but at the same time, remains at the same time and quite portable, and powerful enough solution for games in all modern AAA-projects in Full HD resolution. However, the computer has retained all the features of the brand, including excellent build quality, and offers very flexible upgrade options by modern standards. In addition to gamers, this laptop can also be safely recommended to everyone involved in video editing and 3D graphics.
The cost of Alienware M15 starts at about 120,000 rubles . This budget includes a configuration with a Full HD screen with a standard refresh rate of 60 Hz, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 video card, 8 GB of RAM and a bundle of 1 TB and 128 GB HDD + SSD, respectively. The processor, we recall, is the same everywhere: this is a six-core Intel Core i7-8750H. Versions with a GTX 1070 graphics card and a screen with an increased scanning frequency start from 160,000 rubles and often include 512GB SSD plus at least 16GB of RAM. Modifications with GeForce RTX graphics will appear on the Russian market in late April - early May.
You can purchase a laptop from our many distributors. Regarding large orders of these computers or any other Dell and Dell EMC equipment, we, as always, recommend contacting us directly with private messages on Habré. And you can ask questions about already purchased products in our official group on VK . Thanks for attention!
Appearance and ergonomics
Alienware M15 next to the already familiar to many users of Alienware 15 R4 and 17 R5 looks very interesting. Almost like David next to Goliath, but everyone here is, of course, good in his own way. M15 takes moderate dimensions - a computer with a 15.6-inch display weighs 2.16 kilograms with a thickness of 2.1 centimeters. This is the level when the laptop becomes portable enough to take it with you without much difficulty. For comparison, the Alienware 15 R4 weighs slightly less than 3.5 kilograms, and the 17-inch model does about 4.5.
Familiar with gaming laptops, not by hearsay, readers rightly notice "but it is not the easiest and thinnest in class!". True, the developers did not aspire to this either. They did not pursue records, but tried to preserve not only the corporate identity, but also to make the computer stable — minimization should not in any way lead to a drop in quality.
')
Virtually the entire computer case is made of magnesium alloy - for example, the case of "top" SLR cameras is made of the same material. Main advantages: strength combined with lightness and wear resistance. The cover has a matte, very pleasant to the touch surface, and it can be not only bright red, like the model that came to us for review, but also silver. Without a recognizable head of an alien, which has long been the Alienware logo, the case, of course, also did not go off. When you turn on the laptop, his eyes and contour begin to glow.
And, at the same time, in our opinion, the computer turned out not quite catchy. By his appearance, of course, it is clear that he is a game player, but it will hardly be embarrassing to sit with such in the office or take on meetings. In this place, do not rush to condemn us with the phrase “what can be meetings with a gaming computer ?!” - in addition to gamers, the staff of video production studios love and appreciate this technique very much. Well, in any case, universality is always good.
The working panel around the keyboard is matte soft-touch coating. Fingerprints remain here, but are visible only upon close inspection. But the glossy insert in the upper part above the keyboard may not please everyone, because here the handprints are much more noticeable. The frame around the screen is also glossy, to the left and to the right is rather thin, but there is no top and bottom yet. There is much to strive for in the future.
On smooth surfaces, the Alienware M15 stands securely and firmly. Four thin, but at the same time wide rubber legs cope with anti-slip protection very successfully.
The lid on the weight keep reliable metal hinges, and when closing it is additionally attracted to the body with magnets. You can flip the screen back about 160 degrees, and in no one of the selected positions will it in any way outweigh the working panel. The lid itself, when pressed, does not bend, and when opened, it does not walk like a wave from side to side. On the whole, it is difficult to complain about the build quality of the Alienware M15 - as we already wrote above, special attention was paid to this point during development.
Interfaces
According to the established tradition, connectors on Alienware notebook cases are located not only on the side but also on the back. From him and begin. Here are collected all the main interfaces for connecting external monitors and projectors: HDMI, mini DisplayPort and USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3 support. Also here is the input for the power adapter.
Another unusual wide connector is the Alienware Graphics Amplifier Port. It is needed in order to connect to the laptop a powerful external box with some serious video card inside. Accessory brand, and in Russia, unfortunately, is not officially sold. Looks like this:
The Alienware M15 has an Ethernet port, a full-sized USB 3.1 and a combined audio connector on the left side.
On the opposite side there are two more “big” USB 3.1 ports.
Input Devices
Compared to the Alienware 15 and 17, the Alienware M15 has a completely new keyboard. The keys are no longer adjacent to each other, they are island. At the same time, a full-fledged digital block with narrower buttons appeared on the right side of the main block of keys. Additional buttons for recording macros are now not five, but four, and on the left side of the keyboard panel they moved into place directly above the number pad.
If this laptop becomes the first Alienware gadget from the user, then the keystroke is unlikely to get used to. But after the “big” 15-inch and 17-inch laptops already mentioned above, the feelings will be different. At least simply due to the fact that the depth of depression here is less: 2.2 mm in Alienware 15/17 and 1.4 mm in M15. From the point of view of gaming, this is a compromise, but a significantly reduced thickness of the body requires sacrifice. But from the point of view of long typing, this is more likely even a virtue - typing this review on the M15 keyboard was extremely convenient. Another plus in terms of versatility.
The only obvious disadvantage for some users here can be except that the buttons F1-F12 reduced not only in height but also in width, as well as ESC, Home, End and Delete. Our experience has shown that you can get used to this, but do not rule out that you have a different opinion on this matter.
Since the computer is gaming, then, of course, it was not without lighting. You can control the diodes in the pre-installed Alienware Command Center program - you just need to update it via the Windows Store after buying a laptop. The main part of the keyboard is divided into three zones, the backlight of each of which can be configured separately. The digital block is one more, already the fourth in a row, zone.
Also, two Alienware logos have their own backlight diodes. One of them is on the lid of the M15 outside, the second is exactly above the keyboard panel and at the same time acts as a power button. In addition to being able to choose a color from the entire RGB range, you can also choose different effects: ripple, blink, wave, etc. There is a separate mode for those who do not like all this entertainment with diodes. It is called simply and concisely: “standard blue”. The brightness of the backlight is adjusted using a special slider all in the same Alienware Command Center in a very wide range.
The touchpad in the Alienware M15 rather office. Again, in order to reduce the size under the touchpad, there are no more separate buttons to simulate a right and left mouse click. The entire panel itself has now become one big button. But the touchpad area has become larger. In games, as well as from any other touchpad of any other laptop, the panel is quite useless. But in office affairs, she honestly keeps the bar at a level “strongly above average”: the finger slides easily on the floor, positioning is very accurate, and multi-touch gestures are fully supported.
Hardware component and performance
Alienware M15 in all configurations designed for the Russian market runs on an Intel Core i7-8750H processor. This is a very successful and well-proven 6-core chip in various gaming laptops with support for 12 computation threads. The frequency varies from 2.2 to 4.1 GHz, the TDP level declared by the manufacturer is 45 W. If you compare this solution with the previous chip of the same class and the more powerful i9-8950HK, then in the Cinebench R15 you get these results:
In addition to the Core i7-8750H, the Alienware M15 came to us for the test with two 8 GB RAM bars, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card in the MAX-Q design, a 1 TB HDD and a 512 GB SSD. This “hardware” is expected to show good results in the overall test of the performance of the PCMark 10 system. Below we present the obtained results in all three tests (Express, Standard, Extended) in comparison with other Dell computers previously tested specifically for Habr. Especially, the fact that the laptop scores most points in the most complex and long test Extended draws attention to itself. This is an additional hint that it can be not only gaming, but also used in creative production.
We’ll not say anything about the HDD speed, we’ll just provide a screenshot from the CrystalDiskMark 6 test. Such components can’t be surprised for a long time: it’s just a place to store large amounts of data and nothing more. With SSD, the situation is more interesting - speed indicators are not a record, but, at the same time, quite high. Neither in games, nor when copying and downloading files, this drive will definitely not become a bottleneck of the system.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card in the “lightweight” design of the MAX-Q is such a reasonable compromise between good power and power consumption, as well as heat dissipation. In terms of performance, from the full-fledged mobile 1070, it is literally lagging behind by 10-12%, but at the same time it still copes with all the current modern games. We tested the M15 with this discrete graphics in several projects, and in all of them the FPS level at high settings exceeded the cherished “60 frames per second” mark. Often the same happens at the maximum settings, although there are exceptions in which the FPS can fall to a range of 40-50 c / s. For example, in a very fresh Metro: Exodus and relatively fresh Assassin's Creed Odyssey.
We also give a separate comparison of the Alienware M15 with the GTX 1070 MAX-Q with the economical gaming laptops Dell - G3 15 and G5 15 with the GTX 1050 Ti and 1060 MAX-Q, respectively - in the 3D Mark Fire Strike and WoT Encore gaming benchmarks.
In idle mode, the Alienware M15 makes almost no sounds. As the load increases, the fans may first quite suddenly make themselves felt, but then their noise will gradually decrease in proportion to the complexity of the task. On average, you can navigate to the mark of 40 decibels. This is when the cooler is clearly audible near, but the volume is not distracting and not annoying. During games, of course, the noise will be higher and with a very heavy load can reach up to 50 dB. By the standards of compact gaming laptops, this is slightly above average. However, all this is relevant for the standard factory settings: if necessary, experienced users may well do undervolting (this is, however, at their own peril and risk), turn off TurboBoost and eventually make the laptop more quiet.
The temperature indices of the Alienware M15 are also noticeably higher than those of many office laptops that are familiar to many. In idle time, the temperature of computer surfaces, as a rule, does not exceed 30 degrees. During games at maximum settings in some places (above the keyboard and in the same place, but on the lower side of the PC), the temperature may approach 50 degrees. For long-term gaming marathons, we recommend in addition to a laptop to buy any - even the simplest - cooling pad.
Display
The display diagonal of the Alienware M15 is 15.6 inches, the resolution is absolutely the same in all configurations - 1920x1080 pixels, the matrix type is also IPS. But at the same time the update rate can be different: 60 Hz in the basic versions and 144 Hz in the advanced ones. If you mostly prefer measured and quiet games like Civilization and Total War, then there is not much point in pursuing a high frequency of the sweep. But if you prefer dynamic games like CS and any other shooters, then it can be a useful help. We will not tell another story about how this will incredibly bleed your skill - a lot of copies are broken in discussions about it. But about the fact that the picture becomes smoother, and playing as a result because of this is simply more pleasant, no one seems to have any doubt.
Of course, for configurations with a screen with a refresh rate of 144 Hz, we recommend the GeForce GTX 1070 graphics card. It is much better than the GTX 1060 of the lower configurations, reveals the potential of such a display and at the same time does not drop FPS in games much.
Another important advantage of Alienware M15 displays is the low response time of up to 12 ms by IPS standards when the white pixel is replaced by black and back. This also has a very positive effect on the image in dynamic game projects, where it is extremely important that the image on the display be updated as quickly as possible. This is also very useful when watching a video.
The color gamut of the IPS panel with a refresh rate of 144 Hz reaches almost 90% of the sRGB range, so you definitely won't have to complain about the disadvantages of color rendition. The experience of IT browsers who have already met this laptop shows that if you spend a little time on calibration, it will be even better. The maximum brightness level noticeably exceeds the 300nit mark, which can conventionally be considered perfectly comfortable for normal work behind a laptop indoors. In principle, even on the street, if you want to work, you can, but this is hardly the same gadget with which you want to do it often. With viewing angles is also a complete order - it’s painful to pick up “that very single” position of the display for sure does not have to, you can deflect it to absolutely any convenient angle, except for very extreme ones, and everything that happens on the screen will be perfectly visible.
Concluding the conversation about the display of Alienware M15 just in case, we draw attention to the fact that there are also configurations of this laptop with matrices with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels. They are not officially shipped to Russia. But such a screen is, for example, in one “top” version of Alienware 17 R5.
Upgrade Opportunities
Another important advantage of the Alienware M15 is a very flexible upgrade option by modern standards. This is also due to the fact that the developers wanted to make the computer as thin as possible, but without prejudice to the design. While many ultra-thin laptops of competitors have their memory soldered to the board, here you can easily replace it yourself. And to access the compartments for M.2, the SSD does not have to be pulled out of the laptop the entire board, spending a lot of time for disassembly - just unscrew a few screws and remove the bottom cover. And this is the picture that opens before you.
First, you can replace the 2.5-inch HDD-drive - as a more capacious, and on the SSD in a similar form factor.
Secondly, the SSD is always used as a system drive, which is installed in slot M.2 2280. Also right next to it is another compartment M.2 for an additional drive. It turns out as many as three places for data storage devices - great!
For RAM there are two slots. In the lower versions, one RAM bar is used with 8 GB, in the middle - two bars of 8 GB each, and in the older ones - two of 16 GB each.
You can also replace the wireless adapter yourself.
Battery life and charge
With autonomy for gaming laptops, things are usually so-so, but the Alienware M15 is a pleasant exception to the rule. Despite the fact that only modifications with a 60 W * h battery are supplied to Russia (there are still versions without a compartment for the HDD, due to which the battery is more capacious - 90 W * h, we may also bring them, but a little later), even they keep hearty. The test for the full discharge of the battery running with infinite repetition of Full HD video at maximum brightness discharged the battery in exactly 4 hours. If you deal exclusively with office work on the M15 and do not resort to using discrete graphics, then 8 hours a gadget is quite capable of holding out.
The Alienware M15 version with GTX 1070 graphics is quite large power adapter with a capacity of 180 watts. It weighs about 600 grams. A noticeable increase in the total weight, but the video card is also powerful here. From 0 to 90% of the laptop is charged with it for an hour, and for a full charge it will take 90-100 minutes. The M15 with the GTX 1060 inside has an adapter that is not as powerful (150 W) and, as a result, more compact.
How much and where to buy?
Alienware M15 does not pursue ultra-compact, but at the same time, remains at the same time and quite portable, and powerful enough solution for games in all modern AAA-projects in Full HD resolution. However, the computer has retained all the features of the brand, including excellent build quality, and offers very flexible upgrade options by modern standards. In addition to gamers, this laptop can also be safely recommended to everyone involved in video editing and 3D graphics.
The cost of Alienware M15 starts at about 120,000 rubles . This budget includes a configuration with a Full HD screen with a standard refresh rate of 60 Hz, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 video card, 8 GB of RAM and a bundle of 1 TB and 128 GB HDD + SSD, respectively. The processor, we recall, is the same everywhere: this is a six-core Intel Core i7-8750H. Versions with a GTX 1070 graphics card and a screen with an increased scanning frequency start from 160,000 rubles and often include 512GB SSD plus at least 16GB of RAM. Modifications with GeForce RTX graphics will appear on the Russian market in late April - early May.
You can purchase a laptop from our many distributors. Regarding large orders of these computers or any other Dell and Dell EMC equipment, we, as always, recommend contacting us directly with private messages on Habré. And you can ask questions about already purchased products in our official group on VK . Thanks for attention!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/447872/
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