A number of weeks in the past we reviewed Asus’ ROG AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX gaming PC and had been left suitably impressed with it. Now it’s Alienware’s flip to be put to the check within the type of the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5. Although much less effort and time has been put into styling the Alienware m15 R5 than the ROG laptop computer that doesn’t have an effect on how nicely it video games.
Once once more I put the gaming machine via its paces with the “chore” of enjoying quite a lot of video games on it together with Battlefield V Year 2 Edition, Forza Horizon 4, Titanfall 2: Ultimate Edition, Aces of the Luftwaffe (sure, I really like this old-fashioned recreation), Moto Racer 4 and some extra. I additionally used the laptop computer as my workhorse for a few weeks and got here away suitably impressed.
Hardware and design
The design of the laptop computer seems to be like very a lot an afterthought on the surface when it’s off. The entrance lid has the same old RGB Alienware brand however little or no else. The sides and equally plain however the rear has a RGB oval round it. No color on this machine other than the RGB gentle selection. Of course it has been given a “color” identify by Alienware: Dark Side of the Moon with High Endurance Clear Coat and Silky Smooth Finish…….
As is the usual fare with most laptops nowadays the bezels across the 15.6-inch show are pretty minimal. The prime bezel this time although has a HD webcam which helps Windows Hello — useful as a result of there isn’t a fingerprint sensor wherever to be discovered on the laptop computer.
The show itself is a 15.6-inch 1080P show with a 165Hz refresh charge in commonplace mode. I examined it with quite a lot of video games and managed to simply clock up that 165Hz refresh charge more often than not. This 165Hz charge is feasible whether or not the ability cable is plugged in or not which is a pleasant bonus — one thing the ROG G15 didn’t do (it dropped to 60Hz on battery energy). Higher refresh charge shows for this laptop computer can be found in abroad markets however not right here — at this stage. Gaming didn’t miss a beat with “solely” 165Hz refresh charge and it was a refresh charge that so many video games we tried supported on this laptop computer. The show is as soon as once more a matte show making it simple on the attention when gaming in all kinds of lighting situations.
The keyboard itself could be very totally different to that within the ROG G15. As mushy and buttery because the keys had been on the G15, the clicky the keys had been on the Alienware R5. The Alienware mSeries 4-Zone AlienFX RGB keyboard is one thing it is advisable to get used to however after utilizing it for a few hours of labor I liked the journey of them with every key having fairly a little bit of journey and properly tactile to the contact. It is a laptop computer keyboard so don’t anticipate miracles, however it’s fairly respectable for gaming.
Alienware haven’t included many devoted gaming buttons for fast shortcuts for varied gaming options and performance — the one actual one being the mic mute button (which my son discovered accidentally after panicking, considering his gaming headset was damaged). The touchpad is smaller than that on the G15 but it surely didn’t trouble me one little bit — by no means whereas working and even much less whereas gaming.
Port-wise there are sufficient however the laptop computer isn’t overly endowed with ports however there may be one unusual selection — the left-hand aspect Ethernet port. The rear of the laptop computer has a USB-C USB 3.2 Gen2 port, a SuperSpeed USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A port, a HDMI 2.1 port and the ability DC in port. Unfortunately the Ethernet port isn’t on the rear which, given the variety of different ports on the rear, is a giant shock. If all of those ports are seemingly for use, why isn’t the Ethernet port there? I survived however might have finished with that port being on the rear for a nicer setup. The right-hand aspect homes a few USB-A ports as nicely to spherical out the ports.
Rear portsEthernet aspect port
There are simply two 2W audio system on the R5 which isn’t nice, particularly when you think about they’re downward firing audio system. Sitting on a desk they weren’t too dangerous (not nice although) however on a lap the audio system had been a bit muffled. As a gamer although it’s seemingly you can be utilizing headphones anyway however that is one place Alienware reduce corners, and never in a great way.
Underneath the laptop computer are extra air vents — sure there are some above the keyboard and a few small ones on all sides of the laptop computer. I didn’t have any points with the laptop computer overheating at any occasions and that was with the laptop computer working full tilt to check out the battery life.
Performance
The laptop computer is powered by the AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX chipset paired with the NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 8GB GDDR6 graphics card and 16GB of DDR4 3200MHz RAM. The RAM could be upgraded by the consumer if you want as there are two SODIMM slots. The above mixture meant that whereas gaming the laptop computer didn’t miss a beat — though don’t anticipate the battery life to not undergo with energy like this.
The model of the laptop computer we examined (with the AMD Ryzen 9) comes with a 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD which is way nicer than the 512GB included within the G15. Although you might not set up that many video games in your private machine it got here in useful permitting us to put in a large number of video games to check it out on varied kinds of video games.
The 3D mark outcomes for the Alienware R5 had been higher than that within the ROG G15 however in an actual world use they had been extraordinarily related.
Gaming
Once once more, this laptop computer is designed for gaming and though I might have appreciated extra devoted gaming keys and probably an improved native software program expertise it was nonetheless enjoyable. The Alienware Command Centre is the place you might be meant to have the ability to customise your system to your video games. You can accomplish that however to a lesser extent than you might with the ROG G15. You can alter the RGB lighting theme on a per recreation foundation however you can not alter CPU utilization and energy consumption in any nice element.
Within the library you’ll be able to change every setting for the video games however that’s simply utilizing the dropdown menus — so simpler to make use of however much less detailed.
The drawback I had with the command centre was that slightly than recognise all of the video games put in (mechanically or manually) it could solely recognise the shop’s app that was used to put in them — eg. Epic video games, Steam and so forth.
To open every recreation both use shortcuts or the app retailer you used to put in them. Once open although the video games ran extraordinarily nicely and given there may be 16GB of RAM with the highly effective AMD Ryzen 9 and the RTX3070 graphics card it ought to come as no shock.
Software
The laptop computer comes pre-installed with Windows 10 Home and the {hardware} is Windows 11 prepared. Microsoft has already stated the replace shall be free, so when that launches later this yr you’ll be able to go.
There could be very little third get together bloatware with the Alienware R5, as a substitute Alienware choosing their very own software program that can assist you get the very best out of the machine. Within their apps are nice trace and suggestions and methods and methods to tweak the machine to the way you prefer it.
Battery and energy
The 6-Cell Battery, 86WHr (Integrated) is powered by a 240W adapter — one other large adapter as appears to be the case with gaming laptops nowadays. With a rundown check it carried out okay — and simply okay.
Using it as my workhorse for marking assignments, setting exams, writing EFTM and so forth I used to be in a position to get round 5 to 5 and a half hours of battery life from it and whereas gaming I used to be in a position to get round one and a half hours. Not nice however it’s distinctively a gaming machine and with the specs talked about above and a normal refresh charge of 165Hz for the show you shouldn’t anticipate miracles.
Should you purchase it
Gaming laptops are usually not low cost. Simple as that and the upper spec you go the dearer the laptop computer. The Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R5 Gaming Laptop, within the spec we reviewed, will set you again $3,699 however if you’re prepared to compromise on a number of objects — particularly, R7 as a substitute of R9, RTX 3050 as a substitute of RTX 3070, 512GB as a substitute of 1TB — you’ll be able to choose it up for $2,159.
The Alienware R5 Ryzen 9 gaming laptop computer comes with a greater GPU, extra RAM, a webcam and an even bigger arduous drive than the Asus ROG G15 however the show has a decrease refresh charge and the design could be very primary in comparison with the G15. The G15 additionally has significantly better gaming-dedicated software program to get the very best expertise out of your laptop computer.
In the tip the Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R5 is priced about the place it needs to be. It’s not as fairly because the G15 (when off) however the specs on it are barely higher therefore the rise in worth. Would that make a distinction in actual world gaming? Unlikely though when you prefer to recreation with out your charger the power to make use of the total refresh charge on battery energy is one thing the ROG G15 couldn’t do.
The Alienware M15 Ryzen Edition R5 is a gaming laptop computer I can advocate to hardcore players however the battery life isn’t ample for these informal players who additionally need to use it as their every day laptop computer workhorse. For extra data head on over to Dell Australia and take a look at the totally different configurations obtainable.
Spec sheet:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900HXGraphics: NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 8GB GDDR6RAM: 16GB RAMScreen: 15.6-inch FHD (1080pp), 165Hz, 3msStorage: 1TB SSDPorts: 1 x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2, 3 x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x 3.5mm combo jack, 1 x RJ45 EthernetConnectivity: Bluetooth 5.2 Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 802.11ax 2×2 Wireless LANCamera: HD WebcamWeight: 2.42kgSize (W x D x H): 356 x 272 x 22.85mm
