Alienware 15 R3

Date Published: 12 Jan 2018
Report a mistake

CPU: Intel Core i7-7820HK
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q (8GB GDDR5X)
Display: 15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 120 Hz, TN
Storage: 1000GB SSD + 1000GB HDD
RAM: 32GB DDR4
Weight: 3.49 kg (7.7 lbs)

Pros

Incredibly sturdy construction, clean and sophisticated design
Fairly thin (just 25 mm)
Good keyboard and touchpad
Good IPS panel
Supports up to 3 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs
Not a bad cooling solution considering the form factor and the demanding hardware
Surprisingly good battery life (for the no G-Sync model)

Cons

CPU and GPU underclocked by default, third party software needs to be installed for overclocking
A bit loud under load
Heavy (3.5 kg)
G-Sync is optional and most units come with only 60Hz displays
The screen uses PWM from 0 to 99% brightness (our Health-Guard profile fixes that)

Alienware 15 R3 - Specs

CPU

Intel Core i7-7820HK 22

CPU Performance #22

Excellent

Intel Core i7-7820HK (@ 3.8GHz) 1.5%
Intel Core i5-8400H 2%
Intel Core i7-7820HK
AMD Ryzen 7 3750H 0.3%
Intel Core i7-8705G 0.7%

GPU

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q (8GB GDDR5X) 8

GPU Performance #8

INSANE!

NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q 1.6%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 (Laptop) 3%
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Max-Q (8GB GDDR5X)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 (8GB GDDR5) 2.5%
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 (Laptop) 6.5%

Display

15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 120 Hz, TN

HDD/SSD

1TB SSD PCIe NVMe + 1TB HDD, 7200 rpm

M.2 Slot

2x 2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 + 1x 2242 PCIe 3.0 x2 NVMe See photo

RAM

32GB DDR4

Windows 10

Battery

68Wh, Li-Ion, 4-cell

Body material

Aluminum, Magnesium alloy

Dimensions

389 x 305 x 25.4 mm (15.31" x 12.01" x 1.00")

Weight

3.49 kg (7.7 lbs)

Ports and connectivity

1x USB Type-C 3.1 (3.1 Gen 2), Thunderbolt 3, DisplayPort, HDMI
1x USB Type-C 3.0 (3.1 Gen 1)
1x USB Type-A 3.0 (3.1 Gen 1), Sleep and Charge
1x USB Type-A 3.0 (3.1 Gen 1)
HDMI
VGA
DVI
Displayport mini
Card reader
Ethernet LAN 10/100/1000 Mbps
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Bluetooth 4.1
Audio jack 2x 3.5 mm jacks for headset and external microphone
External graphics port for Alienware Graphics Amplifier

Features

Web camera 720p HD
Microphone Dual-Array Microphone
Speakers 2x 4W
Security Lock slotNoble lock
2x RAM slots

More Alienware 15 R3 configurations

DISPLAY: 15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 120 Hz, TN

Name	15.6”, Full HD (1920 x 1080), 120 Hz, TN
Diagonal	15.6"
Pixel density	141.21 ppi

Panel Type	TN
Resolution	1920 x 1080
Becomes "Retina" from	24 inches (62 cm)

Alienware 15 R3 in-depth review

Alienware is back with the latest and craziest 15-inch gaming laptop - the Alienware 15 R3. It sports all the hardware you'd expect from a high-end gaming laptop and even surprises with exceptional performance for a 15-inch machine. But aside from the crammed up hardware inside, the laptop will please even users with a more sophisticated taste for design, build quality and overall user experience. Spoiler alert: the Alienware 15 R3 is just as impressive as the 17-inch Alienware 17 R4 that we[...]

Read the full review