Alienware New M15 Gaming Laptop

On top of the performance of this model, it looks pretty awesome. The solid matte black accented with a bright orange draws attention to the futuristic build of the laptop.

Customization is also important to the gamer, and with that in mind, there is a certain level of this present in the M15. For example, the chassis itself can be changed out as well as the lighting so that you can make sure the laptop matches your aesthetic.

Alienware New M15 Gaming Laptop Review

Now that we have had a quick overview of this Alienware laptop, we will get down to the nitty-gritty of the features and benefits that this laptop is designed with.

Though you will be shelling out quite a bit of money to invest in this Alienware gaming laptop, you are getting a high-quality option. The M15 is fitted with fast computing power and impactful graphics that will optimize your gaming experience.

Along with this, the laptop comes with a keyboard that offers quick responsiveness due to the spongy tactile feel. This keyboard is also fitted with four macro keys as well as a full number pad.

What's In The Box

Like with any laptop, when you open this box, you get very little extra accessories, just the meat and potatoes of what you purchased. This includes the laptop itself, an easy-to-understand user manual, and the power supply.

The user manual itself is easy to read and also houses the warranty for the unit. Inside the user manual is also all the contact information so that you can touch base with customer service if need be.

Summary of box contents:

• Laptop
• User manual
• Power cord

Features

The first thing that you see when you open up the laptop is the high-quality 15.6" screen. This screen gives you a desktop-like visual and comes with a 300Hz refresh rate. Though that is not as high quality as some of the upgraded models of this unit, the M15 also comes with a reasonable response rate.

Along with the screen, one of the first things you see is the ports, all of which are built into the rear of the laptop, making it easier to plug in and out for improved portability. When it comes to the number of ports, you have a total of many different options - three of which are USB 3.1.

The rest of the ports are distributed between HDMI 2.0 B, a mini display port 1.4, and a Thunderbolt 3. Along with those, you also have an Alienware graphics amplifier part, an audio Jack input, and an Ethernet port.

Technical Specs

• PROCESSER: Intel Core i7- 9750H
• PROCESSOR SPEED: 4.5 GHz
• RAM: 16GB
• DRIVE TYPE: SSD
• DRIVE CAPACITY: 16GB
• SCREEN SIZE: 15.6"
• DISPLAY RESOLUTION: 1920 X 1080
• TOUCH SCREEN: no
• PANEL TECHNOLOGY: IPS
• REFRESH SUPPORT: N/A
• SCREEN REFRESH RATE: 300Hz
• GRAPHICS PROCESSOR: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060
• GRAPHICS MEMORY: 6GB
• BATTERY LIFE: 2 hours and 40 minutes
• OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 10
• CONNECTIVITY: 802.11ax, Bluetooth
• DIMENSIONS: 0.8” x 14.19” x 10.86”
• WEIGHT: 4.76 pounds

What We Liked

Besides the cool look, this laptop is designed for gaming. It comes with a high-quality processor and an NVIDIA graphics card. This alone makes it well worth the investment.

On top of that, the unit comes with 16GB of storage and is designed to offer amazing connectivity. In addition, the keyboard is crafted to be comfortable and responsive, which is perfect for those gamers that like to play long game sessions.

There is even a level of customizability as there is with most Alienware products. If you are looking for a laptop with great features and personalization options, this one is worth considering.

What Could Be Better

Alienware is known for creating high-quality and top-notch performing laptops for gaming; however, there are still a few things that could stand to be done better. One of the biggest issues most people have with these laptops is the amount of money you will have to spend to purchase one.

For as much money as you would spend, you would assume that the battery life would be better, but unfortunately, that is not the case. The laptop is also fitted with a cooling system; however, that cooling system and its fans can run quite loud.

Build Quality

When it comes to the build of this laptop, the lightweight and thin frame gives it extra portability and that is perfect for the gamer that transports their laptop in bags or backpacks. The only downside is that the power brick is still very large and quite heavy which, of course, will detract a little from the portability.

Along with this, the laptop has slim borders and frames which gives the gamer more visibility for the graphics on the screen. That means that you get more range of colors as well as improve visibility.

Performance

The M15 is a true gaming laptop. Not only is the display a high resolution, but you can crank the settings up graphically to give even more depth to your gaming experience. With a high-quality CPU and graphics card, this laptop runs games amazingly.

The laptop also comes with the Alienware suite, which also lets you customize the fan lighting and other performance profiles for different games or apps. This system also will help your laptop stay up to date, which is always helpful.

Cooling System

Of course, when a laptop is running such heavy programs, you always have to think about the cooling system. In the past, though Alienware laptops have had an issue with this, the M15 runs relatively cool in comparison.

So, for the most part, the temperatures are controlled, but one area seems to have an issue with this, and that is the keyboard itself. Though the unit is fitted with a fan and does a good job, it is quite noisy, which could be an issue for some gamers.

Keyboard

Unlike many other gaming laptops which use full mechanical keyboards, the Alienware M15 designers chose to go with a membrane setup. This gives each key a tactile feel and limited travel. That being said, the overall design of the keys is quite tight, which means that there is no room for error. The keys are backlit, which gives them excellent visibility even in low-light settings.

As for the touchpad, it is pretty good as well. It is positioned in the center of the laptop so that it doesn't get accidentally touched during rapid-fire play.

Display and Sound

When looking at a gaming laptop, the display area and quality are key. For this laptop, you get a 15.6" screen with a 1920X1080 resolution. This gives the gamer a high level of brightness as well as a saturated color palette to view all their gaming exploits in. However, there is a little bit of a problem with reflection.

The M15 is topped off with built-in speakers that don't quite lend as much texture to the audio aspect of gaming. Because of the volume issues with these speakers, the best option is to invest in a good gaming headset so that you don't have to worry about the distorted sound or ruining your speakers.

Storage and RAM

Games not only take up a lot of RAM but a lot of storage and so when looking at a gaming laptop you will want to find one that is designed with a high capacity in both fields. When it comes to this Alienware model, the hard disk drive is fitted with 1TB of storage space. On top of that, it has a 128GB solid-state drive.

The RAM of this computer uses 2 x 8GB DDR4 RAM and when combined, gives it 16 GB of RAM. This is wholly adequate to allow the computer to handle many different apps and processes without any issues.

Connectivity

Connectivity is another big aspect of a good gamer laptop. Many gamers now use wireless peripherals and so having access to both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth is handy. On top of the fact that most homes now use Wi-Fi for the internet solely instead of being connected via Ethernet, having this capability is a must.

Battery Life

If this laptop lacks anywhere, it is in this particular feature. Once charged, this laptop will run for over two hours but then will need to be recharged. This makes it a poor choice for those that are gaming on the go.