•  Date Published: 11 Dec 2017
    • Intel Core i5-6300HQ
    • NVIDIA GeForce GTX 965M (2GB GDDR5)
    • 15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), IPS
    • 256GB SSD + 2000GB HDD
    • 16GB DDR4, 2133MHz
    • 3.21 kg (7.1 lbs)

    Review

    Alienware 15 R2 in-depth review

    We all know those bulky and heavy gaming notebooks that have all the horsepower needed to power up the latest games, but what if we told you that Alienware has put all the top-shelf hardware from NVIDIA and Intel and put it in a smaller 15-inch form factor notebook? Hard to believe it, but when we first reviewed the new Alienware 15 gaming machine, we didn't know what Dell has in stored for us. A few months later we are testing the Alienware 15 R2 with top-tier quad-core Core i7-6700HQ CPU and rarely seen in a 15-inch devices - NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M GPU.Not only that, but the machine offers a fair amount of storage options - one 2.5-inch HDD/SSD slot, which is occupied by a 1TB (7200 rpm) HDD and two M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD slots (one is taken by a 256GB 2280 standard). You can either [...]

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    Pros

    • Sturdy construction and sleek design with customizable LEDs
    • Good keyboard with 3 zones of LED backlight, macro keys and responsive touchpad
    • Top-shelf hardware crammed inside a 15-inch laptop
    • Various storage configurations including two speedy M.2 NVMe SSD slots with a 2280 standard
    • The screen doesn't use PWM above 25% screen brightness (with everything below 25% being way too dimmed)
    • Excellent sound quality
    • Good battery life for a gaming notebook

    Cons

    • Bulky (34 mm profile) and heavy (3.21 kg)
    • Mediocre screen quality with low sRGB color gamut coverage and low maximum brightness