Alienware m17 R4 evaluate | Laptop computer Magazine
How do you enhance on one of many finest gaming laptops in the marketplace? I imply, it already has loads of energy, an improved cooling system, and top-of-the-line gentle reveals you’ll discover on a gaming laptop computer. So what else is there? The keyboard. Alienware teamed up with famend keyboard producer, Cherry, so as to add a Cherry MX ultra-low-profile keyboard to the combination, thus making the Alienware m17 R4 the world’s first with this keyboard.
Just like Cherry’s Blue switches, the brand new keyboard is simply as comfy as a daily mechanical keyboard and nearly as clicky. Throw in all of Alienware’s standard bells and whistles and also you’ve acquired a humdinger of a gaming laptop computer. Nevertheless, as with most premium gaming laptops, cash goes to be a barrier for many of us.
Alienware m17 R4 pricing and availability
I clickety-clacked my approach by means of this evaluate on the $3,066 model of the Alienware m17 R4, which has a 2.4-GHz Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, 32GB of RAM, twin 512GB PCIe m.2 SSDs, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 16GB of VRAM, a 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel show with a 360Hz refresh fee, and a Cherry MX keyboard.
The $1,799 base mannequin steps the configuration all the way down to a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-10870H CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB PCIe m.2 SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU with 6GB of VRAM and a 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel show with a 360Hz refresh fee. The $2,279 midtier unit provides a 512GB PCIe m.2 SSD and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM.
Alienware m17 R4 design
The Alienware m17 R4’s Legend design exudes simply as a lot intergalactic stylish as the primary time I noticed it. Nearly the whole lot of the chassis is fabricated from magnesium alloy whereas the lid and undercarriage are executed in Alienware’s resplendent Lunar White. A big block “17” is stamped onto the lid’s bottom-left nook with that enormous backlit alien head hovering close to the highest nearly like an all-powerful pressure. In the meantime, the underside options giant honeycomb-shaped vents. The laptop computer’s rear is black and tapers ever so barely into rounded edges highlighted by the massive LED gentle strip lining the world.
The laptop computer inside reveals extra of that enchanting Lunar Gentle end with its slight pearlescence that makes up the keyboard deck. A quite giant touchpad is centered beneath the G and H keys within the huge deck. Above it sits the brand new Cherry MX keyboard, glowing turquoise simply ready for me to customise it. The facility button sits within the top-right nook amidst a row of vents that mimick the honeycomb sample alongside the underside of the system.
Weighing 6.8 kilos and measuring 15.7 x 11.6 x 0.9 inches, the m17 is thinner than each the Origin Eon17-X (8.3 kilos, 15.7 x 12.5 x 1.7 inches) and the MSI GE76 Raider 10UH (6.4 kilos / 15.6 x 10.6 x 1.1 inches).
Alienware m17 R4 ports
When you may have a battlestation of this caliber, you’d anticipate an abundance of ports. The Alienware m17 R4 doesn’t disappoint with two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A ports and a microSD card reader on the correct.
Alongside the left facet, you may have one other USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A port, gigabit Ethernet and the headset jack. And within the rear, you’ll discover a Thunderbolt 3 port, an HDMI 2.1 port (a primary for the road), a mini DisplayPort 1.4, the proprietary Alienware Graphics Amplifier port and the ability enter.
Alienware m17 R4 show
The Alienware m17 R4’s 17.3-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel show isn’t tremendous high-res, nevertheless it makes up for it with a 360Hz refresh fee which, mixed with Nvidia’s G-Sync expertise, means silky-smooth rendering with nearly no enter lag. I put it to the check as I performed Management. The gray surrealist space through the Salvador boss struggle took on the unnerving reddish-orange that alerts Hiss possession. The lurid shade helped convey out among the finer particulars, just like the cracks within the columns, as I ducked for canopy in opposition to an incoming assault.
I watched the trailer for The Outdoors Story and actor Brian Tyree Henry’s coral shirt instantly drew my eye and enhanced the reddish undertones in his heat brown pores and skin. Particulars had been clear sufficient that I simply noticed the knit sample in his beige sweater together with the tiny eyes on the black buttons.
Testing for vividness, we realized the m17 R4 was beneath the 85.5% DCI-P3 shade gamut premium gaming laptop computer common, at 78.9%. Nevertheless, that was extra vivid than the 78% and 53.9% posted by the Eon17-X and Raider, respectively.
Throughout our brightness analysis, the m17 R4 hit 293 nits, which is best than the Raider (276 nits) and Eon17-X (251 nits), however not the 324-nit common.
Alienware m17 R4 audio
Identical to earlier programs, the Alienware m17 R4 has a pair of two-way audio system, consisting of a tweeter and woofer with discrete good woofer expertise. And it knocks –– at the least it did on Lil Nas X’s “INDUSTRY BABY.” Nearly immediately, my smallish lounge/eating room was crammed with boisterous trumpets and a good quantity of thump from the bassline –– all of which was happening with out dampening the snares and the claps. Lil Nas X and Jack Harlow’s vocals had been crisp and heat, letting this mid-summer bop be the temper it really is.
Someway, the eerie noises that I’ve grow to be used to when taking part in Management began giving me the heebie-jeebies once more on the m17. The nonsensical rambling appeared to dig into my cranium similar to the Hiss meant. The Shatter model of the gun had a pleasant, weighty growth and the whirring noise that accompanies my psychic powers was clear, and dialogue between Jesse Faden and Bureau survivors was heat and balanced.
Alienware m17 R4 keyboard
And now women, gents and my non-binary loves, that is the place the rubber hits the street. This marks the primary time Alienware groups up with Cherry to supply its laptops with a mechanical keyboard. And when you’re a fan of mechanical keyboards that go clickety-clack within the evening, you’re in all probability conversant in Cherry and its line of keycaps starting from Blue to Silver. The laptop computer’s Cherry MX keys are most just like Blue, the clickiest of Cherry’s key switches.
The ultra-low-profile keys are significantly slim, at the least by Cherry’s customary. After going by means of over 160 prototypes, the collaboration yielded a change that’s solely 3.5 millimeters tall in comparison with Cherry’s standard 18.5mm. The result’s a change with a two-piece keycap construction that delivers 1.8mm key journey rated for 15 million keystrokes. They’re additionally self-cleaning, which ought to assist guard in opposition to the errant mud and crumbs that discover their approach into the switches and gum up the works.
Typing on this keyboard feels pretty much as good because it sounds. As a fan of loud mechanical keyboards, the Cherry MX switches had been absolute music to my ears as I established my typing rhythm. My fingers had been buoyed upward after each faucet, like they had been on mini trampolines. And once I took the 10fastfingers typing check, I hit 85 phrases per minute, my highest rating thus far.
Plus, you possibly can customise the lighting, which I promptly switched to the Rainbow Wave preset in Alienware Command Middle. It’s right here that you would be able to additionally set macros, launch video games, overclock the CPU and GPU, and alter the audio presets.
Measuring 3.2 x 4.1 inches, the glass touchpad felt good and {smooth} in opposition to my fingertips. Home windows 10 gestures resembling pinch-zoom, two-finger scroll and three-finger faucet had been correct and agile.
Alienware m17 R4 gaming, graphics and VR
Recreation first, ask questions later. With an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU with 16GB of video reminiscence, it’s an enormous process to make the Alienware m17 R4 stumble. I’ve but to perform it. Once I performed Management, the laptop computer gave me a median of 104 frames per second on the very best setting at 1080p on DirectX 11 with minimal effort. Dropping all the way down to medium boosted the body fee to 123 fps.
The gaming laptop computer placed on fairly the present throughout our benchmarks, beginning with Murderer’s Creed Odyssey the place it notched 76 fps. That’s greater than the 63-fps premium gaming laptop computer common in addition to Raider’s (RTX 3080 GPU) 73 fps. Nevertheless, it couldn’t push previous the Eon17-X (RTX 3080 GPU), which pulled 83 fps.
We noticed the m17 attain 105 fps on the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark, crushing the Raider (100 fps) and the 80-fps class common. However the Eon17-X was as soon as once more the victor with 117 fps.
The Alienware achieved 125 fps on the Grand Theft Auto V check, outpacing the Raider’s 120 fps and the 95-fps common. The Eon17-X scored just a few frames greater at 131 fps.
Switching over to Metro: Exodus, we noticed the m17 receive 89 fps on the DirectX 11 Extremely check, beating the 67-fps common and the Raider’s 85 fps, however not the Eon17-X’s 93 fps. On the RTX iteration of the check, the Alienware pulled 70 fps, surpassing the 59-fps common. Nevertheless, each the Raider and Eon17-X carried out higher with scores of 77 and 79 fps, respectively.
In the course of the Far Cry New Daybreak check, the m17 R4 produced 98 fps, protecting the Raider and the common (90 and 88 fps) at bay, however not the Eon17-X (126 fps). On the Borderlands 3 benchmark, the Alienware acquired 100 fps, tying the Raider and beating the 74-fps gaming laptop computer premium common. The Purple Lifeless Redemption 2 check yielded comparable outcomes with the m17 scoring 84 fps, edging out the Raider’s 82 fps and demolishing the 63-fps common. The Eon17-X hit 63 fps.
Alienware m17 R4 efficiency
The Alienware m17 R4 has an overclockable 2.4-GHz Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, 32GB of RAM and twin 512GB PCIe m.2 SSDs. I threw 55 Google Chrome tabs on the m17, some working both Google Docs or Sheets, others working YouTube or Twitch, and others on random information websites. The pocket book took all of it with no whisper of lag.
The m17 carried out admirably on our efficiency exams as nicely, scoring 8,101 on the Geekbench 5.4 total efficiency check, crushing the 6,870 premium gaming laptop computer common. Nevertheless, armed with an overclockable desktop Intel Core i9-11900K CPU, the Eon17-X leveled the sphere with 10,575.
After we ran the Handbrake check, the Alienware transcoded a 4K video to 1080p in 6 minutes and 51 seconds. That’s sooner than the Raider (7:24, Intel Core i7-10870H) and the 7:42 class common. Nevertheless, the Eon17-X tore by means of the check at 5:27.
In the course of the File Switch check, the m17 R4 duplicated 25GB of multimedia recordsdata for a switch fee of 1,303.7 megabytes per second. This was a clear win for the Alienware, which scorched the 851.3MBps common. With their respective 1TB SSDs, the Eon17-X and Raider solely managed 1,288.5MBps and 1,076.8MBps.
Alienware m17 R4 battery life
All that overclockable energy can wreak havoc in your battery life. After we ran the Laptop computer Magazine Battery check (steady net browsing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness), the Alienware m17 R4 lasted solely 2 hours and 20 minutes. That’s longer than the Eon17-X’s time of two:07, however not by a lot. The Raider lastly got here out on prime, clocking in at 5:20, and was the one system to beat the 4:20 premium gaming laptop computer common.
We noticed even decrease scores after we ran the PCMark 10 UL battery check which loops a 3D-render scene till the laptop computer finally dies. The m17 gave a time of 1:26 whereas the Eon17-X delivered 1:16 and the Raider lasted for 1:52.
Alienware m17 R4 warmth
Identical to different iterations of the m17 R4, the Cherry MX version options Alienware’s proprietary Cyro-Tech cooling resolution. Along with the 66 fan blades for each the processor and graphics card and 4 copper-alloy warmth pipes, every system has the corporate’s new CPU vapor chamber expertise. Whereas a gaming laptop computer won’t ever run as cool as an ultraportable, the Cryo-Tech does assist issues from getting too sizzling beneath the collar.
After taking part in Management for quarter-hour, we measure key factors on the laptop computer. The touchpad stayed beneath our 95-degree Fahrenheit at 77 levels. The center of that clicky keyboard, nevertheless, hit 107 levels whereas the undercarriage reached 108 levels.
We gave the pocket book time to chill down and ran a fullscreen HD video for one more quarter-hour and measured once more. The touchpad stayed at 77 levels whereas the keyboard’s heart hit 93 levels. The laptop computer’s backside measured 95 levels.
Alienware m17 R4 webcam
As stellar as every part else on the Alienware m17 R4 is, the webcam is without doubt one of the few issues that would use enchancment. The 720p shooter does a fantastic job on shade accuracy, capturing my mahogany pores and skin and my grey shirt. It even captured the brilliant orange on the root of my locs, signaling it’s time for one more go on the dye.
The sharpness leaves one thing to be desired as my check photographs had been rife with visible noise. In search of a fantastic webcam, take a look at the Dell UltraSharp Webcam and the opposite really useful shooters on our Greatest Webcams web page.
Alienware m17 R4 software program and guarantee
Alienware outfitted the pocket book with its common suite of branded software program. We’ve already mentioned Alienware Command Middle. However the m17 R4 additionally has Alienware Cell Join, which helps you to entry your smartphone from the pocket book’s 17.3-inch display screen.
Alienware Replace retains your BIOS, drivers and firmware up-to-date whereas Digital Supply retains your Alienware and Home windows 10 software program up to date. There’s additionally My Alienware, which has Alienware Help, a instrument that places you in contact with a tech assist consultant in case you’re experiencing any issues.
Third-party gamer-centric apps Killer Management Middle and Nvidia GeForce Expertise spherical out the expertise and allow you to prioritize community bandwidth and optimize your video games’ settings for gameplay.
There are, after all, just a few items of bloatware, together with Hulu, Cooking Fever, Fishdom and Twitter.
The Alienware m17 R4 comes with a one-year restricted guarantee. See how Alienware fared on Tech Help Showdown and Greatest and Worst Manufacturers, our annual particular experiences.
Backside Line
Dell, and by proxy Alienware, are grasp tweakers. The businesses by no means relaxation on their laurels and are all the time working to make one thing higher. This time round, it’s the keyboard. By teaming with Cherry, Alienware has widened the sport between the Alienware m17 R4 and its challengers. Not solely is it ridiculously highly effective with its overclockable Core i7 processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, nevertheless it’s beautiful to play video games on a beautiful show with its super-high refresh fee. And now it’s acquired that extraordinarily clicky, comfy keyboard.
Nonetheless, if energy is your primary concern, it’s worthwhile to take a look at the Origin Eon17-X the place you possibly can customise to your coronary heart’s content material, and even use a desktop CPU. Nevertheless, all that customizability will come at a price. However when you’re searching for energy, a beautiful panel and clicky, comfy keys, the Alienware m17 R4 is the laptop computer for you.
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