Alienware Small Laptop

[Munir Junker]

Alienwaregaming laptops have been top tier for years now, but other brands have caught up. As it stands, Alienware is an expensive option with configurations (particularly of the more premium X-Series) often costing far more than cheaper machines. However, the engineering and build quality of these machines is among the best in the business. Whether or not Alienware is the best brand for you comes down to your budget and how you want to use your machine. For portability? No, Alienware isn't the best. For a static rig designed for raw power? This could be the right brand for you.

At first glance, Alienware laptops might seem overpriced - you'd be justified in calling them the 'Apple' of gaming. However, they earn that price tag with accessibility, ease-of-use, and smart design that sets them apart from other manufacturers.

Alongside fierce technical capabilities that allow them to run today's games at their best, Alienware gaming laptops come ready-made and good to go, without a thoughtful design in both engineering and aesthetic.

Happily, Alienware is keen to make sure there's something to suit your budget as well. The official website lists a variety of builds with different costs, allowing you to pick and choose what you want. And if you decide you should have opted for more power down the line? It's often easy enough to open the case and upgrade your rig yourself.

The best Alienware gaming laptops offer some incredible power, but they can be pretty pricey. Outside of sales (and we do see a lot of sales) new releases can climb well into high-end ranges, especially once you start throwing RTX 4080 and RTX 4090 graphics cards around. However, compared to the rest of the market, the value proposition in these rigs can often outweigh their higher prices. They remain popular among PC players for good reason, with a solid quality build and excellent engineering.

To help break the choice down a little, we've rounded up a shortlist of all the best Alienware laptops available right now. Based on our own testing, and the components up for grabs in each model, this list is compiled from both hands-on experience and price-checking competitors for value for money. These are some of the best gaming laptops on the market, especially in their upper configurations.

The Alienware M18 marks the brand's return to big-screen gaming laptops, but it does so much more than slap an 18-inch display across its hulking chassis. This is a powerful machine running the latest components but still managing to stay within a reasonable price tag.

Design: Let's get one thing out the way first, this is a giant laptop. Its 18-inch display has to be housed with something after all. However, we were surprised that the M18 doesn't feel as big as it should, thanks to its curved lines and particularly effective sloped front lip. Compared to the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18, a fairly boxy design, this thing feels sleek. We're not getting carried away here, though - this is still a 4.23kg machine so regular transport is out of the question.

Everything else remains as you would expect from Alienware. Yes, that embossed number and cool gray lid, hexagonal grills and narrow keyboard all feels a little tired now, but it's an aesthetic that works and remains subtle while still giving you that RGB glow.

Features: That 18-inch display is going a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to features. It's an expansive panel and the best option for anyone after the best Alienware laptop for pure immersion. You've got two display options, a 165Hz QHD+ model and a super speedy 480Hz FHD+ model. It would have been nice to see a split down the middle here, as Asus, Razer, and MSI all offer QHD+ panels in this size with a 240Hz refresh rate.

Nevertheless, motion remains slick and the overall picture is still solid - if a little darker due to the matte coating. You'll also find an expansive selection of ports to play with, an impressive 1080p webcam, and a super tactile keyboard with a full-sized number pad built in.

Performance: The M18 also benefits from have a wide range of configuration options - far more than Asus's competitor. That means you can run from an i7 / RTX 4060 model all the way up to Intel's turbo charged i9 processors and RTX 4090 graphics. We had a top end build in for review, and were blown away by the results. The M18 nearly bested the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (the most powerful gaming laptop we've ever had our hands on), offering some benchmark numbers that skirted a little higher than Asus overall.

Yes, Alienware has made some sacrifices along the way - in screen, speakers, and portability - but if you're after a desktop replacement that really can take over your setup, you're in the right place.

Verdict: The Alienware M18 isn't without its drawbacks, but if you're after Dell's biggest and best rig you've come to the right place. With a massive range of configuration options, and the power to draw all the best parts of those components out, this is our favorite Alienware laptop overall.

We've gone with the same Intel Core Ultra 7 / RTX 4070 configuration as our test unit for this one, but dropped the 32GB RAM we tested down to 16GB. This is already a mid-range level of power, so you can feel free to cut some costs in the RAM department to keep things under $2,000.

The latest generation Alienware M16 R2 brings design changes to the forefront of the lineup, but has also dropped higher-end GPUs from its configuration lineup. The resulting RTX 4070 rig is tuned for excellent 1080p play and solid high-settings QHD+ play, with an expansive screen and one of the best keyboards we've seen in a gaming laptop so far. This is the best value Alienware gaming laptop on the market right now, making it the right option for most casual players.

Design: Alienware has finally listened and dropped that annoying back shelf off its M16 gaming laptops. That means you're getting a normal-shaped machine that can easily fit into a backpack or slot into a desk setup. The thing is, that's not even the best part. We were surprised by just how luxurious the new model feels under hand. Of course, you're still getting the rock solid build quality expected from this brand, but with a matte soft-touch main deck, incredibly tactile feeling keyboard, and a more compact feel overall this feels like a marked step up from previous iterations.

Features: Yes, the M16 R2 does tap out at an RTX 4070 GPU, but you're getting a full 175W TDP model here which means you're getting some healthy juice at the same time. That's not something all 16-inch models boast. A 240Hz QHD+ display keeps things humble with a solid panel but without extra HDR or variable refresh rate features to break the bank. Plus, we've still got an excellent array of ports (handily split between the sides and the back) to keep everything connected as well.

Performance: The Alienware M16 R2 can outperform slimmer models and cheaper, larger devices in more clinical benchmark tests like Fire Strike and Time Spy, and in fairly demanding titles at both high and ultra settings. However, it does struggle with more complex tasks, like Returnal's benchmark. These heavier games can run at a smooth 60fps with a few graphical tweaks, though, and with a strong 1080p performance there's excellent flexibility baked in.

Verdict: The Alienware M16 R2 is more of an all-rounder than a storming gaming device, but if you're looking for a workhorse productivity machine that can also turn its hand to fairly demanding games it's a gem. This is the best value for money on Alienware's shelves overall right now, making it the best choice for most players.

Dell refreshed both the x15 and x17 back in 2022, though even today these are not cheap rigs. That said, paying for luxury certainly has its benefits - this was one of the best looking and feeling Alienware laptops we've ever had our hands on. Plus it's certainly not as pricey as the 17-incher.

Design: If you're familiar with the Alienware X-Series nothing's going to shock you here. The crisp white shell of our test unit made the already super slim form factor feel all the more slick, and that 2.2kg is a feat of considerable engineering considering the components underneath. The inset hinge does add a little more to the footprint overall, but it's not as egregious as some of the more recent Alienware gaming laptops, and the RGB LEDs keep everything looking sharp in the meantime.

Features: The Alienware X15 R2 brings with it Intel's new 12th generation processors, the capacity to build up to that Nvidia's RTX 3080 Ti GPU, and extra attention paid to the LEDs running along the back of the chassis. It's still the slimline, highly powerful rig we've all come to welcome onto the premium shelf, but refreshed to keep up with 2022's components.

With four fans and the brand's 'Element 31' cooling solutions under the hood, Alienware has paid more attention to keeping things running smoothly. Unfortunately, it's still not quite enough to keep those temperatures down - the x15 R2 still runs particularly hot at full whack, with some impact to performance after around an hour of gameplay. Still, you're getting a gorgeous screen up top, a handy rear IO placement, and a snappy tactile keyboard - though the mechanical option will cost you extra.

Performance: If you do want to go all out in your configuration, you're in safe hands here. Our RTX 3080 Ti test unit posted some seriously impressive numbers - outpacing the Razer Blade 15 in industry testing and storming through in-game benchmarks. Three figure framerates were the norm in titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Total War: Three Kingdoms, with more demanding games like Metro Exodus and Red Dead Redemption 2 still posting well above 60fps at Ultra settings.

Verdict: You're still getting that sleek form factor, Intel 12th generation chipset, and radical RTX 3080Ti opportunities, but without dropping an insane amount of cash like you would with the 17.3-inch version. Don't get us wrong, these are still premium machines - but with prices cutting slightly under those of the 17-incher things are that little bit more reachable here.

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