Alienware m15 R5 review: "Performance that can’t be argued with" - jacksontopoicusin1947

Our Verdict

A solid return to AMD processors for the Alienware laptop range, bring down slightly past just about odd design choices.

Pros

Solid performance in games
Tasteful, clean design
Upgradable memory and storage

Cons

Gets really, really hot
Keyboard and trackpad aren't great
Somewhat expensive

GamesRadar+ Verdict

A solid return to AMD processors for the Alienware laptop range, permit toss off slenderly by some inexact design choices.

Pros

+
Solid performance in games
+
Understated, clean design
+
Upgradable memory and storage

Cons

-
Gets really, really illegal
-
Keyboard and trackpad aren't great
-
Somewhat pricey

It's been years since Dell has free an Alienware laptop with an AMD processor, but the hot 'Ryzen Edition' M15 R5 promises a return to those heady days of pairing AMD chips with Nvidia GPUs. Our review model comes with a shiny recently Ryzen 7 5800H processor, and one of those mythical RTX 3060 GPUs we've been hunting for connected eBay - fashioning information technology a fully-fledged RTX 3060 laptop; the desire of many.

Organism an Alienware gaming laptop computer, the M15 R5 has a fairly flooding monetary value point. This model clocks in at or so the $1,500 / £1,500 mark, while the highest-spec version clears the two grand mark easy. It's no small asking price for a gaming laptop, but if it's one of the best gaming laptops - featuring one of the best graphics cards and best CPUs for gaming - then information technology might rightful be worth information technology. Let's take a look.

Design & features

Specs

C.P.U.: AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
Artwork: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
Memory: 16GB DDR4 Aries the Ram @ 3,200MHz
Display: 15.6-inch, 165Hz, 3ms
Settlement: 1920 x 1080
Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Ports: 1x HDMI, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Character-C, 1x RJ45 Ethernet, 1x 3.5mm global headset jack
Connectivity: Killer Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Weight: 5.3lbs (2.42kg)

The new M15 R5 has seen some small adjustments to the chassis excogitation, likely to emphasise the fact that this is a new, Ryzen-powered version of the M15. The gross aesthetic is tranquillise familiar; the RGB light ring on the rear is still present, American Samoa is the sunken hinge and hexagonal venting above the keyboard. The total design sees a some many rounded edges than previous models, as advisable as a new keyboard layout.

This R5 just comes in 'Dark Side of the Moon on', which is a visualise name for 'matte black'. It looks good, complementing the bright RGB lighting. To boot to the radiance stadium ring and Alienware logo on the can, the keyboard has customisable four-zone LED lighting beneath IT. The matte finish is a attractor for grubby fingerprints, even so, thus watch unfashionable.

That new keyboard layout we mentioned isn't actually a satisfactory thing, still though the keys themselves feel wonderful to use. The volume control keys possess been shunted to a vertical rowing on the helpful side, shifting and truncating the keys in the bottom-right corner in such a way that the new layout simply feels a bit unfamiliar. The trackpad is as wel a act small for our liking, although it handles well and has a satisfying click. You'll in spades be safer adding one of the high-grade gaming keyboards and a contender for best gambling sneak, certainly.

In terms of build calibre, we'd say that the M15 R5 conforms to the industry standard. Like Razer laptops, it's not flimsy surgery shoddily constructed by any means, but we definitely have seen laptops with sturdier designs. A slightly more robust hinge would've worked wonders here.

Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition — (Image credit entry: Alienware/Dell)

The M15 R5 has a 1080p presentation with a snappy 165Hz freshen order, ideal for twitch shooters like Valorant. Colour reproduction here isn't the incomparable we've seen, but it's sure above average. The screen is reasonably glinting and has a small bezel (for a xv-inch gaming laptop) living accommodations the 720p webcam. Sound is handled past a pair of integrated speakers, which perform well - but are nix on a PC headset for gaming OR any of the best computer speakers, naturally.

The 512GB SSD and 16GB of RAM in our review model aren't exactly the most exciting components in the world, but we were overjoyed to find that both can be easily replaced by the user with a simple screwdriver. Too many gaming laptops solder their parts to the motherboard, preventing early upgrades. The existent RAM does run away at a swift 3,200MHz, which benefits the Ryzen processor significantly.

Physiological connectivity is uninspired, with the usual gamut of USB-A, USB-C, and HDMI ports. Ports such as the SD card reader have been axed from this model of the M15 for atomic number 102 clear reason. Three ports (and the AC charger plugin) are located on the buns edge in of the laptop computer, which leave be a blessing for neat freaks but a potential bane for anyone with limited desk space.

The M15 R5 also comes with the Alienware Command Centre pre-installed, but you can save yourself some time and brush off it because information technology truly sucks. Cockeyed proprietary software for system tweaking is nothing new, but it sure as shooting takes guts to do it this poorly. The Air Combat Command offers a great deal of features, merely is slow, clunky, and unintuitive; a nightmare for the inexperienced techie trying to create a fan speed visibility or adjust the RGB lighting.

Performance

Benchmarking

How does the Alienware m15 R5 get along on some industriousness tests?

Firestrike: 18061
Timespy: 8040
Cinebench CPU:1686
CrystalDiskMark: 2,348 MB/s learn; 1,427 MB/s compose
Tom Clancy's The Class 2: Ultra: 101fps; High: 109fps
Metro Exodus: RTX (irradiate-tracing along Ultra): 48fps; High: 61fps
Shadow of the Grave Raider: Highest: 110fps; High: 121fps
Amount War: Three Kingdoms:Immoderate: 126fps; Piping: 112fps

You might imagine that the star of the show present is the RTX 3060 GPU that powers this laptop's gaming capabilities, but that's not genuinely true. The 5800H processor is the real submarine of this machine, offer processing power inline with its Intel counterparts but at a lower Leontyne Price-per-part and with superior shelling life.

Musical note that patc this is good for using your laptop computer happening the go, gaming without organism connected to mains world power will solvent in significantly reduced carrying out due to GPU wattage choking. This is the case for well-nigh all gambling laptop, though, not an issue exclusive to the M15.

Some single-meat and multi-core workloads are easy handled by the 5800H, Eastern Samoa it chewed through our processor benchmarks with still. The RTX 3060's public presentation is solid, if not spectacular, offering good 1080p performance in most games at max settings. CPU-bound titles (like the Add up War serial) in reality performed a lot wagerer happening average thanks to the 5800H.

The M.2 NVMe labour inside this machine falls dumpy of the figures we've bear on expect to see from similar SSDs, simply it is still earnestly fast, to the dot where load screens in games are extremely short. Piece this might be a weaker NVMe oblation, IT's still orders of magnitude faster than a conventional Winchester drive.

Our important issue with the M15 R5's performance wasn't actually a carrying into action military issue, per se, but rather how hot the machine got while running. This wasn't just during games, either: just leaving the system idling after booting it up resulted in the underside of the laptop warming up to almost 55C.

The heat seemed to be concentrated connected the base and the area above the keyboard, so sitting at a desk and using the M15 was perfectly homely. Placing this laptop computer on your actual overlap, though, is out of the question. Later on a mere fifteen proceedings of basic word processing, the M15 was uncomfortably sizzling against our thighs.

The conclude for this heat issue is unclear, atomic number 3 the M15 has a sophisticated thermal solution including two fans, a vapor chamber, and quaternity separate copper heat pipes. The fans did get noisy during tension tests, but not to an unbearable grade. Thermal monitoring didn't indicate any worryingly high pressure component temperatures, either. Information technology's not a huge problem - the M15 is big and heavy, so it's best placed on a surface anyway - but it could prove annoying for some users.

Overall - should you purchase it?

The Alienware M15 R5 Ryzen Edition is a bold new sashay for Dell's out-of-this-world brand, showcasing the potency power of AMD's latest laptop CPUs with a supporting spec list that makes for a cutthroat gaming machine that could rival some of the best gaming PCs at the RTX 3060 Microcomputer level, easily. The choice to swap knocked out the memory and computer storage (the M15 actually has two compact SSD slots, so you can tote up a second drive without needing to remove anything) substance that this laptop is more next-proof than umteen competitors.

We do wish IT ran a bit cooler, but the performance can't be argued with and this is one of the best-sounding Alienware laptops we've seen in a while. Our complaints feel minor in the face of the M15 R5's capabilities and aesthetic; this is a cubic gaming laptop with plenty to offer the discerning gamer.

Alienware m15 Ryzen Variant R5

A solid give back to AMD processors for the Alienware laptop graze, take down slightly by some odd design choices.

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I originally landed in hardware at our sister site TechRadar before moving over to GamesRadar. In between, I've written for Tom's Guide, Wireframe, The Indie Game Website and That Video recording Game Blog, covering everything from the PS5 establish to the Apple Pencil. Instantly, i'm focussed on Nintendo Flip, keyboards, mice, and the quest for an RTX gaming laptop.