I was so excited to get the Alienware m15 R4. It really is one of those ground breaking devices that could get me to ditch the Desktop PC I have in my office. I should mention that I like gaming, but I am not hardcore enough to build my own PC. Also, I use my laptop for editing photos, surfing the web, watching video, etc. What I have wanted for years is a great "all-arounder" and this is the first laptop I have had that fits the bill.
The specifics of my build:
With 10th Gen Intel Core processors enabling 8-cores and 16-threads of multi-threaded performance, the latest generation of Alienware m15 goes beyond its predecessor.
The specifics of my build:
With 10th Gen Intel Core processors enabling 8-cores and 16-threads of multi-threaded performance, the latest generation of Alienware m15 goes beyond its predecessor.
- 15.6-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 300Hz 3ms 300-nits 100% color gamut
- 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10870H Processor
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 Graphics
- 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD
- 16GB DDR4 2933MHz Memory
- 4.65 pounds
- 20.5mm thin
- made with premium magnesium alloy
Initial Impressions
Right out of the gate, I messed around with the Alienware app that allows you to change the LEDs on the keyboard and on the back, so you can have your own individual style. There are also settings for individual games as well as some thermal, audio and battery settings.
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Note: I may get paid commissions for purchases made through any links to Amazon products on this page. Also, I get some products for free to review from Amazon (though, I do have to pay taxes on them).
The port situation is pretty good. However, I wish it had an SD input rather than a microSD slot. This means that if I want to move files from my camera's SD card, I am back in dongle-town. That being said, they have ports you don't see on many modern laptops including USB 3.2s, Security cable, network port, USB 3 PowerShare port, headset port, HDMI, mini Display port, External Graphic port, power port, and a Thunderbolt 3 port. The power cable itself has a huge power brick hanging between the two ends, but it is fairly flat, so it would be easier to fit in a bag than if the brick was built into the plug.
The 300Hz display looks great and creates a silky smooth gaming experience. It is a mat finish which is nice to keep reflections at bay! Of course, if you are going to be away from power for a while, it makes sense to move it down the 60Hz setting to help save battery life. The battery life out of the box is pretty bad... maybe 2 hours. So you have to be careful with settings if you are going to be out and about with it. It has USB-C charging, but your typical power bank isn't going keep it fully charged. I have a large imuto power bank (we take on Jeep trips) that can put out 60 watt of power over USB-C PD2.0, so it can put up a fight in a pinch. It can charge it completely if you aren't using the laptop to play games or using it for other challenging tasks.
I really like the keyboard. It has a lot of travel compared to my 2016 MBP. I also have a couple PC laptops and this is my favorite out of all of them. The trackpad is a little stiff in comparison to my MBP, so I am still getting used to it.
I really enjoy the USB-C Thunderbolt port. I mentioned above that the laptop will charge off of this port, which I find very useful when I want to use it in my office with my Samsung Thunderbolt Ultra-wide display. For office work, I can use one cable to run the display while it also charges the laptop. That being said, the laptop takes a lot more power in with its power cable, so keep that in mind if you want to use it for gaming.
The 300Hz display looks great and creates a silky smooth gaming experience. It is a mat finish which is nice to keep reflections at bay! Of course, if you are going to be away from power for a while, it makes sense to move it down the 60Hz setting to help save battery life. The battery life out of the box is pretty bad... maybe 2 hours. So you have to be careful with settings if you are going to be out and about with it. It has USB-C charging, but your typical power bank isn't going keep it fully charged. I have a large imuto power bank (we take on Jeep trips) that can put out 60 watt of power over USB-C PD2.0, so it can put up a fight in a pinch. It can charge it completely if you aren't using the laptop to play games or using it for other challenging tasks.
I really like the keyboard. It has a lot of travel compared to my 2016 MBP. I also have a couple PC laptops and this is my favorite out of all of them. The trackpad is a little stiff in comparison to my MBP, so I am still getting used to it.
I really enjoy the USB-C Thunderbolt port. I mentioned above that the laptop will charge off of this port, which I find very useful when I want to use it in my office with my Samsung Thunderbolt Ultra-wide display. For office work, I can use one cable to run the display while it also charges the laptop. That being said, the laptop takes a lot more power in with its power cable, so keep that in mind if you want to use it for gaming.
Performance
As for performance, I ran it on a few games and it looked and performed great. I ran some benchmarks right out of the box without any changes and they came back in the PassMark 89th percentile which is pretty awesome for a laptop. Keep in mind, my version has 16GB of RAM, so you may get even better performance if you go with 32Gb. I provided a couple screenshots, but you can probably change some settings to get even better gaming performance. Be aware that the fans did some some spinning during my tests. However, the speakers are great and do a good job of drowning out the noise.
Wrap Up
All in all, this is the first laptop that I have used that has this type of performance. For me, it can replace my desktop PC and my old Windows laptop. I don't want to go into the organization benefits to having one computer for everything, but this makes it easier to transition from one space to the other. My only complaint is the battery life, but I am usually near an outlet, so it isn't enough to kill my enthusiasm since this is a true desktop replacement for my needs. All in all, I would recommend this for all but the hardcore gamer. For most others, this will be the perfect laptop that they can take from room to room or on vacations...assuming they have a power outlet nearby.
Upsides
Fairly Lightweight
Powerful
300Hz 15.6 inch Screen
Cool gamers style design with many personal options
Very versatile thunderbolt port
Several other useful ports
Gaming
decent speakers
Downsides
Battery life
Can get loud with fans spinning
Can get warm, though thermals are good for such a small case
No dedicated SD card slot
Soldered RAM
Fairly Lightweight
Powerful
300Hz 15.6 inch Screen
Cool gamers style design with many personal options
Very versatile thunderbolt port
Several other useful ports
Gaming
decent speakers
Downsides
Battery life
Can get loud with fans spinning
Can get warm, though thermals are good for such a small case
No dedicated SD card slot
Soldered RAM
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