Nobody can declare proper now that Dell has been sleeping on the job. The earlier iteration of Alienware’s flagship 17.3-inch gaming laptop computer has barely been out for a 12 months, and Dell is already pushing forward with a shiny new model, naturally packing the most recent in hard-to-find GPUs.
Yes, the brand new Alienware x17 R1 is a full-blooded RTX 3080 laptop computer beneath its modern chassis, backed up by a robust octa-core Intel processor and all the opposite inside {hardware} probably the greatest gaming laptops and probably the greatest Alienware gaming laptops wants. All of that is wrapped up inside a fastidiously redesigned exterior, promising to blow its predecessor out of the water. Of course, that efficiency comes at a worth; our evaluate mannequin breaks by means of the $3,000 / £3,000 barrier and general choices begin their costs at round $2,200 / £2,100.
Design
While it’s not a wild reimagining of the long-lasting Alienware laptop computer design, the x17 R1 does have one distinctive hook that grabs the attention as quickly as you boot it up. The trackpad – a uninteresting black rectangle on earlier fashions – is now a vibrant RGB quadrilateral! Shockingly, this doesn’t enhance your gaming efficiency, but it surely positive does look good.
Elsewhere, the RGB lighting seen in older iterations remains to be kicking. In addition to per-key RGB throughout the keyboard, the Alienware emblem glows gently and a big ring of lighting surrounds the ports on the rear of the chassis. The exterior end is a clear, acquainted white (sorry, ‘Lunar Light’) whereas opening the lid reveals a black inside, all the higher to showcase all that RGB – and to focus your eyes on the on-screen motion.
The hexagonal venting above the keyboard additionally makes a return from earlier variations, however hidden beneath it’s a new proprietary cooling system. Dell reckons it is a fairly large deal; 4 inside followers and a specially-designed thermal interface materials signifies that the x17 R1 ought to run cooler than its ancestors – though the bar is admittedly low there.
Features
Specs
Processor: Intel Core i7-11800H
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080
Memory: 16GB DDR4 RAM @ 3,200MHz
Display: 17.3-inch, 120Hz, 4ms
Resolution: 3840 x 2160
Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Ports: 1x HDMI, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 1x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C, Micro SD, Mini DisplayPort 1x RJ45 Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm international headset jack
Connectivity: Killer WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2
OS: Windows 11 Home 64-bit
Weight: 3.02kg
While it may be bought with a traditional 1080p show, our evaluate mannequin of the x17 R1 has a 4K panel with a 120Hz refresh fee and 4ms latency. And what a stunning display it’s; colors are extremely vibrant and vibrant, and gaming landscapes look completely gorgeous with the facility of probably the greatest graphics playing cards, the RTX 3080, behind them.
In addition to the spectacular show, Dell provides prospects some completely different choices for the keyboard too. Our unit has a standard laptop computer membrane keyboard, which feels fairly good for each typing and gaming, however for an additional hundred or so {dollars} or kilos, you may spring for a mechanical model utilizing Cherry MX ultra-low-profile switches for a superior gaming expertise – one thing that evokes the texture of probably the greatest gaming keyboards.
Joining the GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card is an Intel Core i7-11800H CPU, 16GB of high-speed RAM, and a 512GB SSD. The latter two of those are upgradable to 64GB and 2TB respectively, though that naturally results in an extra worth hike.
The new cooling system signifies that a number of the ports have been repositioned to the rear of the laptop computer, leaving simply the charging port and headphone jack on the left and proper sides respectively. At the again, we’ve obtained a wholesome choice: Two every of USB Type-A and Type-C (one in every of which is Thunderbolt 4 enabled), HDMI 2.1, microSD, Ethernet, and mini DisplayPort.
Beyond that, there’s not a lot else to spotlight; the x17 R1 is already a powerhouse, and it doesn’t want many bells and whistles to point out off. Killer Wi-Fi 6, an IR webcam with Windows Hello assist, and a TPM 2.0 chip for Windows 11 assist all serve to spherical off the package deal.
Performance
Benchmarks
We put the Alienware x17 R1 to the take a look at on some well-known benchmarking workouts, and this is the way it matched up:
Firestrike: 18,061
TimeSpy: 8,040
Cinebench CPU: Multi (Index): 1,686
CrystalDiskMark: 2348MB/s learn; 1427MB/s write
Tom Clancy’s The Division 2: Ultra at 4K: 59 fps; Ultra at 1080p: 112 fps; High at 4K: 70 fps; High at 1080p: 128 fps
Metro Exodus: Ultra (RTX) at 4K: 28 fps; Ultra (RTX) at 1080p: 59 fps: High at 4K: 58 fps; High at 1080p: 106 fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Highest at 4K: 58 fps; Highest at 1080p: 99 fps: High at 4K: 64 fps; High at 1080p: 119 fps
Total War: Three Kingdoms: Ultra at 4K: 32 fps; Ultra at 1080p: 92 fps; High at 4K: 45 fps; High at 1080p: 118 fps
It ought to come as no shock to anyone that the Alienware x17 R1 is among the many better of the very best in the case of gaming laptop computer efficiency – pushing the likes of the very best gaming PCs even, and echoing the extent of efficiency that you just’d get from Alienware gaming PCs, too. Although the Shadow of the Tomb Raider take a look at gave us some unexpectedly low outcomes throughout 1080p testing, we discovered that the x17 R1 by no means dipped under 60fps at 1080p and 1440p resolutions in any of the video games we examined.
At 4K, we get a barely completely different story, however nothing that actually shocked us. This compact RTX 3080 can’t fairly sustain with its chunky desktop siblings, but it surely nonetheless provides unimaginable efficiency for a laptop computer GPU. Everything we examined was playable above 30fps at 4K, with esports titles like Overwatch operating comfortably above 60fps. Engaging RTX settings in appropriate video games did lead to a efficiency tradeoff, however not as unhealthy as we noticed in previous-gen GPUs.
The processor appears to be holding the x17 R1 again considerably in sure video games; for instance, technique title Total War: Three Kingdoms is CPU-bound, and didn’t carry out fairly as effectively in benchmarking as the opposite video games we examined. To confirm this, we monitored processor temperatures and in addition examined Total War: Warhammer II, which noticed related outcomes and a toasty CPU.
So, how does that flashy quad-fan cooling system maintain up? Well, this laptop computer actually does get heat whereas operating video games, and in ‘efficiency mode’ the followers are extraordinarily noisy (although not noticeable in case you’re carrying a high PC headset for gaming). We’re not satisfied that the brand new cooling setup is basically that significantly better than older fashions, however intensively stress testing the CPU and GPU didn’t see us hit dangerously excessive temperatures so it does a minimum of work fairly effectively.
An even bigger situation for us was the fan noise whereas idling or operating non-intensive applications. Even simply sitting on the desktop with the system powered on produces fairly a high-pitched whine that may doubtless show irritating for some customers. Whether it is a results of the quad-fan configuration is unclear, but it surely wasn’t as pronounced in older Alienware laptops.
Should you purchase the Alienware x17 R1?
Despite its noisy followers, the Alienware x17 R1 is a beast of a gaming laptop computer that may function a perfect desktop alternative for any severe gamer. Not solely does the subtly altered chassis look improbable, however the gaming efficiency is top-notch, appropriate for probably the most demanding video games in superb, vivid 4K.
Our greatest qualm in regards to the x17 R1 is prone to be shared by many potential patrons: the blistering £3K+ price ticket. It does include a 12 months’s premium tech assist from Dell however the truth is that it is a severely costly laptop computer. The likes of an RTX 3060 laptop computer or an RTX 3070 laptop computer are going to be simpler on the pockets, however in case you’ve obtained the money and need the very best, although, the x17 R1 blows its predecessors out of the water.
We’re additionally rounding up all of the greatest Razer gaming laptops in the marketplace proper now in case you’re in search of extra slimline designs.
If so, we would additionally advocate testing the greatest gaming desks and the greatest gaming chairs for a full setup.
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