Review: Alienware x15 R1 gaming laptop
Insatiable player appetites during the pandemic have seen Dell release the x-series in its Alienware gaming range.
Insatiable player appetites during the pandemic have seen Dell release a new series in its Alienware gaming range.
The Texan company has introduced an x series – the 15-inch x15 and 17-inch x17. They offer thinness, new cooling technology, and high performance.
Gaming laptops throw caution to the wind with very fast screen refresh rates, super fast processing and high-end graphics.
This week I tested an Alienware x15 R1. These units are not cheap: $3698.99 and $3993.99.
Dell and Alienware are up against Razer, ASUS ROG, HP Omen and Lenovo Legion in this market.
However, neither of the two standard Australian models are at top-of-range. They don’t feature the 11th generation Intel Core i9 11800H nor the Nvidia GeForce RTX (ray tracing) 3080 graphics card available on high-end US models.
The $3698.99 model starts with an 11th generation Intel Core i7 11800H Tiger Lake processor launched in Q2 this year. You get a lower performing an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card, 16GB of memory, a 512GB solid state drive and 15.6-inch full HD display – not a 2K or 4K display.
Pay $295 more and you get the same processor with a better 3070 graphics card, double the memory and 1 Terabyte of storage. Paying an extra $295 is worth it.
Both standard versions come with Windows 11 installed.
Dell’s Australian site doesn’t offer the faster Core i9 processor or the better 3080 graphics card that you can get in the US.
This will matter to dedicated gamers wanting an edge.
My x15 review model is thinner than previous series but heavy at about 2.3kg. The large lip below the screen and keyboard footprint makes it long for a 15-inch laptop. The screen is positioned in front of the rear section leaving a backward facing lip.
The fact I can flex the screen makes it feel a tad fragile. There are more than 70 honeycombed shaped vents at the top front and back designed to aid cooling. Alienware has introduced a new cooling system involving a “thermal interface” made from gallium-silicone and a quad fan with smart controls.
Still, when I put this laptop through its paces testing its graphics with GFXBench, it gets very warm on my lap.
The connectivity is offered mostly on the back of the laptop rather than the sides. You get 1xUSB-A, 2xUSB-C (one with Thunderbolt 4), HDMI 2.1 and a microSD card reader. The only side connections are a headset jack and DC-in power connector.
There is no Mini DisplayPort or Ethernet socket as on past models. You do get a USB-C to Ethernet cable in the box.
There is plenty of room on the rear of the x15 R1 for more ports and Alienware could have provided more, although the available space inside the laptop might be a different matter.
There’s also a 1080p front-facing camera which supports Windows Hello face recognition.
The keyboard is spacious and typing is relatively quiet. It’s not a standard keyboard; functions share keys such as Home/Prt Scrn and End/Pause. You gain dedicated sound keys on the right hand side.
Performance is at the heart of the x15 R1. Geekbench reported 1539 and 8605 for single and multi-core performance while the graphics test with GFXBench returned 9248 frames at 144 frames per second with the Aztec Ruins high tier test, a better result than with last week’s 16-inch MacBook Pro.
The 360 hertz display and graphics card managed frame rates as fast as 376 frames per second which is why dedicated gamers playing fast moving games would bother with this laptop.
However, Alienware provided a review unit with that 3080 card and Core i9 processor which is not currently available here in Australia. The review unit was more powerful and more highly specced than what Alienware offers to the Australian public at present. My x15 R1 had a 2K screen and 3080 graphics card so these very good results are misleading.
I expressed my displeasure about reviewers being given laptops that are faster than what the public can buy. It makes benchmarks meaningless.
I was told this is a supply problem. “Due to higher than expected global demand and longer than normal shipping times, the Alienware x15 and x17 with 3080 graphics are currently out of stock and not available for sale on our website. Once we catch up with the current backlog of orders, we will once again start selling the systems,” says an Alienware spokesperson.
Nevertheless laptop reviewers need to have review systems that people actually can buy if comparisons are to be meaningful.
Some who have reported on using the 3070 graphics card say it is fast enough for a full HD screen but not everyone is happy with it, with one reviewer describing it as limiting. If you buy a 2K machine you’d want a 3080 card to get the most on a high resolution screen from what is an expensive buy.
For many gamers the x15 R1 with a full HD screen will do the job in spades, but if you want the very best of this model, you need to wait for local supply or buy from the US.
Price: From $3698.99.
