Alienware M15 R4
The Alienware m15 R4 is one of our favorite gaming laptops, standing out with unique styling and the muscle to back it up. The new model takes a component-level revamp that uses the same chassis but adds Nvidia's GeForce RTX 30 Series "Ampere" GPUs, newly announced for laptops at CES 2021. Our unit packs an RTX 3070 which delivers demonstrable frame-rate gains over its previous generation counterparts especially at higher resolutions; making 60 fps ray tracing possible on laptop devices is now feasible thanks to these strong mobile graphics cards!
Since this isn't an improved build, I won't spend too much time on the design.
But what's different? Well for starters we have a new GPU that is so powerful it can run demanding games like Battlefield 1 at high-settings with ease and still maintain smooth frame rates. There are also some minor tweaks to RAM memory (which makes things faster) but nothing major."
The new laptop is the perfect combo of portability and power. The chassis measures 0.8 by 14.19 by 10,86 inches (HWD) which makes it a moderate size for a powerful gaming machine while also being convenient enough to carry around with you on your adventures!
The Lunar Light color scheme is the most eye-catching of this laptop. The design on it features a sci-fi aesthetic that may be divisive, but provides some unique flair and originality to your device. It also comes in Dark Side of the Moon with its gray themed appearance which can round out any room or office space you put these devices in! Whether you want an all white look for simplicity or something more dramatic like our honeycomb ventilation designs, we have exactly what you need!
This model sacrifices the high refresh rate, offering 60Hz only, in exchange for 3,840-by-2,160 resolution and richer hues of OLED technology. For some shoppers this will be a better fit than traditional monitors with their lower resolutions--though those who value fast response times may prefer other options as well.
The colors are almost too vibrant, with an OLED display that is so bright you could see it from space. The 4K resolution allows for high-quality text and fine details to be seen clearly on the screen. And while plastic may not have been what I was expecting in a $2,000 laptop; they're worth dealing with if this one of the most beautiful displays around!
The ports on the back of my laptop are tired and old. You'll find two more USB-A connectors, a microSD card slot, Thunderbolt 3 with an external graphics enclosure connector, HDMI or mini DisplayPort video outputs depending if you're using your computer for work or entertainment purposes. If you need to get up close and personal with someone over Skype then there's also an Ethernet port located just below these things.
Remember when you set fire to your computer that one time? Yeah, so does Nvidia. The company's latest GPU is called "Ampere" and its specialty appears to be with laptops running on batteries, whereas most of the current RTX lineup heavily favors desktops (or more specifically Intel Core i7-7700K CPUs). But don't worry: Ampere will not only help make battery life better but also give a performance boost for those moments where gaming without plugging in would otherwise be impossible thanks to integrated laptop cooling technology.
As the most powerful laptop on Alienware's new line, this model is no slouch. Combining a 10th Generation "Tiger Lake" Intel Core i7-10870H processor with 16GB of memory and 1TB of SSD storage, which can be configured in two 512GB drives (RAID 0) for increased speed - it should have more than enough processing power to handle anything you throw at it!
The PCMark 10 test we run simulates different real-world productivity and content creation workflows. It is a holistic performance suite developed by the pc benchmark specialists at UL (formerly Futuremark). The results of this powerfull tests yield our proprietary numeric score, higher numbers are better.
It's safe to say the performance of this laptop will last you a long time. It opens and closes programs quickly, it loads browser tabs promptly, and everything looks smooth thanks to its great SSD storage drive. This machine doesn't have anything new in terms of processing power or design; however, for day-to-day usage there is no question that your games are going be running smoothly on high settings!
We set up the laptop and do a few battery-saving tweaks in preparation of our unplugged video rundown test. We put it on power save mode (as opposed to balanced or high-performance modes) where available, turn Wi-Fi off, putting the computer into airplane mode so we can loop a locally stored 720p file of Tears of Steel with screen brightness at 50% for 10 hours until it quits.
This laptop has a ray tracing system that, while not groundbreaking on its own, is still an improved version of the laptops we highly recommend. Upgrade from your older gaming rig and you'll be thrilled with this mobility-friendly but powerful machine!
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