Alienware 15 Gaming Laptop Review: Hedging Its Bets
There are both cheaper and more powerful entry-level gaming laptops out there, but the Alienware 15 walks that tightrope between price and quality.
The Alienware 15, a recent addition to Dell's gaming laptop lineup, offers a reasonable balance of performance and cost in today's expensive hardware market. This entry-level model from Alienware doesn't try to stand out with flashy design elements, instead opting for simplicity. Its keyboard and chassis share a design aesthetic with the Alienware Aurora laptops, featuring a sleek keyboard and durable materials.
The laptop's curved vents just below the lid add to its visual appeal and contribute to a non-clunky feel when open. The 0.9-inch thickness, mainly due to the lid, prevents the device from appearing bulky when in use. The screen, while not the highest quality, has a 165-Hz refresh rate and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Its resolution of 1920 x 1200 is adequate for the price point, but the lower-quality panel results in subdued, desaturated colors.
Dell's connectivity options are comprehensive, featuring two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and an Ethernet jack. However, the majority of these ports are located on the left side, with only the headphone jack and the remaining USB-C port on the right. The laptop's 15.3-inch display is its most significant drawback, as the panel's quality falls short of higher-end models.
You can expect washed-out colors and a sickly green tint on white webpages. For those willing to invest more, the Alienware 16 Aurora provides a superior display with more accurate colors, though it is $300 more expensive. The Alienware 15 features a 165-Hz refresh rate, which is ideal for its performance level. Powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 240H CPU from last year, the laptop delivers 115 watts of performance, combining the RTX 5050 and Intel processor.
Despite using an older CPU, Dell has chosen this configuration to maintain affordability amid the high prices of newer chips. A starting price of $999 is available, which includes an RTX 4050 GPU—well over three years old with only 6 GB of VRAM. However, spending an additional $150 leads to the RTX 5060 GPU, a more recent and substantial upgrade.
With an RTX 5050 configuration, the Alienware 15 handles modern, resource-intensive games like Cyberpunk 2077, Marvel Rivals, and Black Myth: Wukong at near or exceeding 60 fps in the Ultra preset without upscaling. While not as battery-efficient as integrated graphics, the laptop's performance remains impressive for its class.
Written by urgent.news from Wired's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
