Alienware M15 2022 – Expert Reviews, Speed, Processor, And More
Dell Alienware M15: Is This The Ultimate Gaming Laptop?
The Dell Alienware M15 laptop is one of the latest gaming laptops related to in the year 2021. Great top-of-the-line specifications for a computer are set to provide the ultimate performance for a great (but high) price. It looks and feels excellent overall with a stylish design and a killer RGB backlit mechanical keyboard (my favorite aspect of the laptop).
But is it as good as it seems? Let’s find out!
Alienware M15 Specifications
The main features of the Alienware M15 are:
Display
The Alienware M15 has a 17.3” display. The screen has full ultra HD support with a resolution of 4K (3840×2160 pixels). When it comes to gaming, it provides great visual fidelity and fluidity with its 360 Hz refresh rate, which has a snappy response time of 1ms.
In addition, it has support for Advanced Optimus and Comfort View Plus modes. It also has NVIDIA G-SYNC support that removes all instances of screen tearing.
Processor
This laptop packs the latest AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor. This has a 20 MB memory cache, supported by the use of 8 cores that gets threaded 16 times to maximize performance. It also has the Turbo feature, which overclocks the processor to a maximum of 4.9 GHz.
Graphics Card
The laptop has the 16 GB GDDR6 variant of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card. This is one of the newer graphics cards in the market released for the series of RTX graphics cards. It provides users with lifelike lighting quality that newer video games in the market are using to provide ultra-quality graphics.
It is also one of the market’s best cards, outperforming several of its competitors like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, which still runs the weaker RTX 3060.
RAM
This laptop is no slouch when it comes to memory. This laptop provides DDR5 64 GB RAM, divided into 2 x 32GB slots. The support for 4800 MHz dual-channel memory makes this laptop super fast. It beats the Razer Blade 15 In this sector.
Storage
If you want to look for storage to help save all your files, then you will get lots of them. The Alienware M15 has a 4 TB PCIe NVMe SSD card that is fast enough to boot up your laptop and load all your applications and your folders in a flash.
Battery
The integrated six cells, 86 W battery of the Alienware M15 may appear as a downer for a system with such high specifications. While the battery is still impressive enough on its own, it might struggle to handle your long gaming sessions. It will also heat up drastically if you spend long hours in professional and creative work.
Keyboard
The CherryMX ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboard will provide enough clicky sounds to satisfy your ear if you are a typing enthusiast. In addition, each key comes equipped with the AlienFX RGB lighting system, which makes your keyboard glow in different colors.
The best part is that each key is multi-color coded, meaning each key supports more than one light and can be changed as per your preferred color and light settings. It also has anti-ghosting and n-key rollover functions to ensure that all your keypresses get registered.
Touchpad
The multi-touch gesture touchpad with integrated scrolling is one of the best features of this laptop, albeit it is available in many other laptops like the Acer Predator Helios 300 laptop. This makes scrolling easier than before on a touchpad because it has a separate scrolling section in the touchpad, which does joot require using two fingers to scroll up or down.
Speakers
If you want loud music, you just need to hit the play button if you want loud music. This laptop has the Realtek ALC3254 speakers on both sides. This provides great music and lets you hear every sway of the wind and tree leaves in the highest fidelity, enough to please the hardcore audiophiles.
Camera
The front camera records 720p videos at 30 fps in FHD. In addition, the RGB-IR camera (with 240 Hz QHD and a 360 Hz FHD panel) is perfect for all your business meetings and classes on Skype or Google Meets using video chat.
Alienware M15 Review
After using this laptop for almost two weeks, exploring every detail of this laptop. After testing this laptop to its max limits to see how much load it can handle, here are my findings:
Build Quality And Design
The build quality and design of the Alienware M15 are impeccable. The laptop is built like a tank, which anyone can guess based on how heavy and solid it feels. Weighing a bit over 3kgs, it may feel heavier on your backpack but will feel right as you get used to the weight.
The RGB mechanical keyboard with CherryMX keys feels great to type. The keys are sturdy and provide great feedback on each keystroke, making the satisfying clicky noise when you start typing. In addition, the textures on the trackpad feel soft and perfect for my regular use, making each movement on the pad precise and accurate.
If you want to know how to change keyboard color on Alienware M15, you can press a dedicated keyboard RGB button on top.
Sound And Display
The 17.6” 4K ultra HD screen has a vibrant color gamut and is perfect for playing games at the highest quality. The 360 Hz refresh rate makes you better as a competitive eSports gamer since your movements will become snappier and more responsive than the average gamer. Plus, the screen looks great with less space left on the sides.
The speakers are pretty decent, but nothing to write home about. With good low-end bass and mid-end treble, songs sound great when played through them. However, gaming sounds sound crispier compared to other laptops like the Acer Nitro 5.
Connectivity
There are two type-A USB ports with an extra type c USB port that provides lots of device connectivity options. HDMI 2.1 port and an RJ545 ethernet port are the standards amongst all laptops. They are solid and have no issues connecting with all the devices. This is primarily in the case with the 3.5mm headphone port, where my headphones fit perfectly.
Battery Life
The battery life of the Alienware M15 is where it gets fewer marks from me. It gets heated up pretty fast, even compared to the lower-end Alienware X14 laptop. Therefore, my long gaming sessions were curt short (ending at only 2 hours while unplugged) with this underperforming battery.
Performance
This gaming laptop is a beast when it comes to gaming and software performance. With its top-shelf AMD Ryzen processor and RTX 3080 GPU, this laptop provides great performance in all fields. All my games ran at high FPS (more than 80 for most) at the highest quality, with my productivity applications like the Adobe Creative suite and FL Studio suffering from no lags at all.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Yes, it’s worth it but beware of the battery since it drains quickly and heats up quickly.
Yes, it’s worth it for gaming, but keep it plugged into the charger at all times.
The Alienware X15 is a thinner and lighter variant of the M15 with lower specifications.
You can expect this laptop to last for 3 to 4 years easily.
Final Verdict: More Power, But At What Cost?
With great specifications comes great performance. This is my motto for all gaming laptops that I wish to encounter in my lifetime. The Alienware M15 is a great laptop for gamers if you can pay the hefty price tag of $4200.
With its high-end AMD Ryzen 9 CPU and its NVIDIA RTX 3080 GPU, 64 GB RAM, and a 17.6” 4K display with 360Hz, this machine is built like a truck for competitive eSports gamers. If that’s your goal, I would highly recommend this laptop, but be mindful of its sub-par battery performance.
More Resources:
