Who Is Information technology For?

The Alienware xv is a decent gaming laptop. Information technology's non the best I've tested, just it offers a skillful drove of hardware at a reasonable cost, and that's what most consumers are after.

One of my favorite aspects to Alienware laptops is their design, especially in recent years. The Alienware 15 R3 looks like a functioning workhorse, but it doesn't become overboard with 'gamer' elements. The consistent use of soft-touch blackness plastic effectually the chassis looks understated and impressive, while the silver metallic hat retains Alienware'due south signature design. There'southward a ludicrous corporeality of LED lighting effectually this laptop, also, although it can all be used to customize the design to suit your style.

The Alienware 15 is also decked out with an excellent selection of ports in a layout that makes sense for desk-bound use. Windows Hello functionality is congenital in, which adds to the overall parcel, and it supports Tobii center tracking as well (although this is more often than not a gimmick). The keyboard, while somewhat mushy, sports a bully layout and skilful travel distance. On the flip side, at three.49kg the Alienware 15 is a large and heavy laptop of this size.

My review unit was kitted out with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 and an Intel Core i7-6700HQ, which delivered good performance. While a GTX 1060 laptop from MSI with well-nigh-identical hardware did consistently outperform information technology by a not-insignificant margin, the Alienware 15 offers a lot of ability for high-quality 1080p gaming. Users upgrading from a GTX 970M or slower should see massive functioning gains in a like form cistron and power envelope.

The surface area of the Alienware fifteen that disappointed me the well-nigh was the cooling solution. The Alienware fifteen is a large laptop with prominent heatsinks, yet it doesn't practise a bully job of cooling the GPU, equally it often reached due north of 90°C during gaming sessions. The libation is too very loud, and while the loftier-RPM fan keeps chassis temperatures downward, you'll need headphones to finer block out the dissonance while gaming.

The 1080p 120Hz Thou-Sync display included on my review unit is well suited to gaming, particularly with the GTX 1060 that can often hit n of threescore FPS at this resolution. Chiliad-Sync is a fantastic inclusion and keeps games polish in all situations; it'south disappointing this feature isn't included with the more than expensive 4K display option. While the high-refresh display is the best option for gaming, its TN structure delivers poor colour quality and viewing angles.

The 15" GTX 1060 laptop market is highly competitive, and there are several strong offerings from known manufacturers like Asus, MSI and Gigabyte. The configuration I reviewed – 16 GB of RAM, 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, GTX 1060, 1080p display, and a Cadre i7-6700HQ – is possibly the about common, and for $1,575 the Alienware fifteen slots only above the $i,500 Asus GL502VM and $1,500 MSI GE62VR Apache Pro. Depending on your design and feature preferences, the Alienware 15 is a solid choice here.

For some users it might be worth checking out the entry-level $1,349 model as well. At this toll, the Alienware 15 is i of the cheapest GTX 1060 gaming laptops of this size on the marketplace, and the customizable design allows easy RAM and storage upgrades.

Shopping shortcuts:

  • Alienware fifteen R3 on Amazon
  • Alienware 15 R3 on Newegg
  • Alienware 15 R3 on Dell.com

The Alienware xv with the GTX 1070 inside is less competitive: Asus, for example, has a $1,600 ROG Strix GL502VS with hardware only a $ane,950 Alienware 15 can provide. That'due south a significant price discrepancy, and so I'd merely opt for the higher-end models if you tin can find 1 that'south provides particularly good value. The $2,200 configuration, for example, is a respectable price compared to a similar offering from value-friendly Gigabyte.

Pros: Bonny pattern with lots of customizable lighting. Highly configurable hardware options offer both value and performance. Solid 1080p gaming experience from Nvidia's GeForce GTX 1060. Supports Windows Hello.

Cons: Heavy chassis with a beefy, loud and largely ineffective cooler. 3 to five FPS slower than a similar GTX 1060 laptop we tested. GTX 1070 model tin can be expensive.