Picked up this model on clearance.. same as the loaded spec but a 3080 w/out the Ti. Small complaints aside (oof that trackpad size), it's hard to pass up at $1999 USD. Still tempted to cancel and get an M18 for the insane screen size and larger aspect ratio... but I'm really in love with the aesthetics of the x15 R2, so will likely end up with both at some point. Thanks for the great review (as always)!
I had this laptop and it was the worst. So many quality control problems and it always have its rans ramped even for normal use. Had to go through 4 replacement until I went to Lenovo
350 grams heavier and the gamer aesthetic means it is not a Blade competitor. I have a hard time seeing someone who wants to buy a Blade seeing this as an alternative. This very much competes with the G15/M16/5i Pro where value is a bigger driving factor.
And soldered RAM. The Razer Blade 15 has socketed RAM despite being overall being SMALLER than the x15! And of course the QC issues Dell/Alienware have faced and have not dealt with...
Exactly. I had a Blade after other gaming laptops. Once you have that premium MacBook Pro level of quality and minimal design, you just don't look at any of the others the same.
I just brought this laptop 2 weeks ago. When doing lights tasks there is no fan noise. I'll watch RU-vid and browse the internet in peace. Even when I'm playing games the fan isn't consistently loud. About every 30-45 minutes the fan will be loud for maybe 5 minutes and then it kind of sounds like white noise.
I just brought x15 (12700h + 3070ti + 16g ram 1t ssd + 1080p 360hz) from bestbuy. They're having a sale in my area for $300 off, so the total is $2399. (the same spec on AW site acutally needs $2600).
@@AC-mj1pr i have the same build , and being an owner for a year now, i am satisfied with it, all games are a breeze to it but it tend to overheat so i bought an external cooler, but overall not regretting it
Yeah I don't understand the obsession with trying to make technology thinner. I'd rather have a laptop with good performance and cooling (and running quieter) than one which is thinner.
If you change the sound profile from Alienware to Shooter in Alienware Command Centre, the bass and overall sound improves significantly...for some reason Alienware made their default Alienware sound profile with extra treble and hardly any bass...
Lenovo Legion is awesome in that regard. Always on sale after a month or two and quite competitive in specs and high GPU power limits. Not to mention no QC issues on my unit (there were QC hinge issues on the 2020 Legion 7i, but they've been fixed on 2021 onward) and the AMD Advantage 2022 Legion 7 I have was a steal for $1800 on sale for a AMD Ryzen 7 6800H and AMD Radeon 6700M. The only issue I had was with the Wi-Fi card on my unit, but after I replaced it with a $30 Intel AX210, no issues whatsoever...
I decided to go with the RTX 3070 and a regular FHD display. Don’t think that the chassis would be able to handle the heat of anything more powerful. Will be lowering the frame rate of the screen for a cooler experience as well. If all goes well, should last half a decade as my main gaming console.
Looks cooler than the Razer Blade 15? That really depends on your perspective. As an IT tech, I bought an RB15 specifically because it has great hardware and port selection, but doesn't look like a gaming laptop (aside from the green USB ports and logo light, which can be disabled). This Alienware, while a lot more simple in design than some of their other products, still looks a bit "gamer", and that cooling bump behind the screen looks quite large. At the end of the day, while I wouldn't worry about standing out bringing my RB15 into a professional meeting, I would definitely think twice about bringing this x15 R2. Also, personally I really don't enjoy the look of when the chassis sticks out behind the display hinge.
This laptop is a joke. Soldered RAM 15 inch laptop, poor battery life, buggy AWCC, 16:9 screen, poor QC, and high price, and I'd go for Legion any day of the year.
Alienware Command Center is the absolute worst. Would never buy another Alienware after dealing with that absolute crap. Had to uninstall and re-install just to get the ability to change my fan speeds back. Ultimately, I was able to change the fan speed the first week I had it and then never again. Sold my M15 for a Razer Blade 15 and couldn’t be happier.
The legion slim 7i gen 7 is basically this laptop minus all the cons you listed. Lenovo also seems to have done some magic with the 12700h cause I get around 9-10 hours on battery. Hope you get the chance to review it.
legion slim only have 100w gpu wattage, this goes up to 140w. most people buy gaming laptops for performances in mind, you lose too much with legion and intel 12700H is ultimately worse than amd for battery life, if one wanted battery life they should go for an zephyrus instead legion slim anyways, thats ligher at 1.9kg and packs a higher 120w wattage on the gpu.
@@nizarkadri3109 because he is lying, legion slim have much less configurations to offer, and the 3070 only goes up to 100w while x15r2 goes up to 140w (even the base 3060 model gets 125w) which is far better than the legion on the same 2,3kg weight.
Cost too much, too many QC issues, base model is a joke compared to other companies' laptops at that price point, and for the cost of the top model I m better off getting the Razer anyway.
@@cameronbosch1213 I have the 2021 Legion 5 with AMD/RTX 3070. Great laptop. Plus ASUS and other companies have great laptops at this price point that runs circles around this thing.
Tbh I have studied a little bit because I want to get a good laptop for this winter. This laptop is good if you have a lot of money. The base starts at 2599 euros in Europe I guess in USA it's little bit cheaper. Then the options to upgrade it are kind of bad... If you get a 3070Ti and 32GB with the i9-12900H it goes to more than 3000 euros... and if you want the standard i9, 3070Ti, 32GB, 1TB and a 2K screen it goes to the 3600 euros... which the Slim 7i kinda knocks it off at least for me... Like if you want a slim laptop, there is much options cheaper
I bought this too and to me the display looked really pale yellowish like when you turn on the night mode , I tried everything to remove the warmer tone, do you have same issue? I contacted dell support and they said display is made to look like this. I really doubt if thats the case
Since they're close to the same price new I'd say the 4080 version since it has a larger screen and better temperatures under thermal load. I've been on the lookout for a used 3080 version on Ebay though because I don't want to spend $3000 on a laptop.
x16 seems the better choice, if for no other reason, the bigger aspect ratio... unless you get a really good deal on a clearance x15. Looking at the two available today, the x16 would cost me $500 more for roughly the same performance and doesn't seem like good value unless I wait and catch a sale.
It's the obsession to make it thin, most likely. Solder the ram on and it's one less challenge for the design team to work around while trying to pack everything inside. I'm sure greed plays a role too, as it forces you to buy ram from them at time of purchase. Personally, I don't care so long as it's a reasonable amount like 2x16=32gb dual channel, that's sufficient for me for the next five years... stopped me from buying a 2022 Asus M16 though since the one sold through BestBuy is stuck with one 8GB stick (other is replaceable for 40GB total but then, no dual channel). I did end up with an X15r2 but only because it was loaded and on clearance.
I've seen all the complaints in the comments, and while the Slim 7i Gen 7 seems a lot better, you cannot get above an RTX 3060, which is personally my biggest gripe.
Wow, I know it can get really hot, but, man, Dell really pushes this thing to its absolute limit. It's fast, it competes with Strix Scar, this is an impressive feat to me. Now let's be real, guys. If you want the most performance and bang-for-the-buck, just go Lenovo Legion. It is so obvious and no one argues with that (you don't have to bring up Lenovo Legion in every review, you know?). Lenovo Legion has been the king of Price/Perf for... who knows how long (forever?). Alienware x15 is a premium luxury laptop, it is not for Price/Perf, and the cost is not gonna be low. As the VDO said, it competes with Razer Blade 15 (some people say they don't? what?). This product is for people who are not so tight on budget and they have extra money to spend. They want something that looks cool and different from others because most people are gonna get Lenovo Legion (right?). Also, Lenovo Legion is all metal (which has good quality/durability) but it is not new and still looks plain/boring. My complaints about Alienware x15 are: - 15.6" is not small (esp with the extended back), but it has too few ports - Cannot opt for Cherry MX ULP keyboard Otherwise, Alienware x15 R2 is good in my book 🙂
The benefit to the Razer is you still look like you have a more generic laptop, especially for people who don’t know about Razer. You show up with one of these and I’m pretty sure you’ll get judged immediately
Getting a lenovo legion 7 or slim 7 is a much better bang for your buck compared to alienware. Not only it is superior in build quality (all metal), the software and hardware aren't plauged with qc issues. Never going back to alienware again.
Before you said thinnest, you should also emphasize that this 15" laptop has a very big 'ass' that makes it significantly deeper than a blade 15. And x15 does feel quite flappy based on my experience with it in showroom. So, yah, blade 15 and x15 are too different to be compared.
Great review! Can this unit charge via USB-C? I understand it would be considered an underpowered charger, but sometimes when traveling there would definitely be a convenience factor to consider. I have the x14 and love that I can charge it via USB-C. Thanks!
@@TheVideos253 huh?! WTF are you talking about? I can't tell whether or not it's supported on this particular laptop based on documentation but charging of laptops via USB-C is very much a thing, albeit at a lower wattage than the dedicated power adapter. I've seen USB-C charging at 65w, 100w, and even some Dell laptops will take 130w... but that's a serious reduction from what the power supply can provide, which would be necessary for more intensive tasks like actively gaming. USB-C charging is common for a slower over night charge or for getting some juice while web browsing or using Office apps or whatever.
Hey i got this one just a few days, i play the god of war ragnarok in ultra, the only problem is the battery goes from 96% to 10% in an hour, is that common?
Going down this route of timed obsolescence since they started releasing the M15-17R2 variants, these models will keep on overheating due to concaving issues with the heatsinks causing airgaps. Especially now that they're using the so called "Element 31" which could probably be the Honeywell 7950 phase changing pad, at some point in time it may leak out and cause shorts onto the motherboard. Another issue are these soldered ram, as it could fail if it's placed surrounding the CPU or near the GPU and when it's exposed to high temperatures. End users could possibly end up with Memory Warning issues on Dell's Support Assist before booting onto their OS. Another Russian roulette of a device like the Asus G15/M15 and the Strix G15/17 that are using liquid metal and that's applied by machine rather by hand.
Im testing x15 r2 outlet, i9 32 2tb rtx 3070ti. Charging, power efficiency mode, just watch 1 tab youtube the temperature always around 60-70, but the body is very hot. Super hot near the screen and warm around touchpad. When not charging, its around 50 degree but still feel hot
You've got an insane amount of performance coming from components that emit massive amounts of heat (80c for GPU and 100c for CPU combined is enough to bake a cake in an oven!!!!) into a space that's less than 25mm in height...OF COURSE IT'S GOING TO GET HOT!! Get a GOOD laptop cooling pad - Not one of those stupid 5 or 7 fan things from amazon - use an external keyboard and mouse, and finally, use headphones if the fan noise bothers you...But the moral of the story is: You should have done your research. If the heat is REALLY a problem for you, go into device manager in windows, and disable the 3070ti if you're not gaming...Just don't forget to enable it again before you launch a game.
I wish there were a browser add-on to scrutinize RU-vid comments the way you can check Amazon reviews.. so much pro-Legion in this comments section that I'm seriously wondering it's not actually a marketing ploy, astro-turfing fake comments to praise another brand/model. Legion does seem to get good reviews, but all these comments are highly suspicious.
1. There should be manual settings to have the CPU capped at 75watts while allowing the GPU to ramp up to 130w. I mean that more balanced CPU and GPU power balance makes sense if you're playing CS:GO and the like but many other games will load the GPU way more the CPU won't be a bottleneck just yet. No to mention you may get a 15in or 14in laptop for portability but hook it up to an external monitor at home. Even Total War games run on multiple cores so they're not as dependent on high clocks as old games...I mean they still benefit, but it's not like Shogun 2 where overclocking from a 3.3ghz base clock to 3.8ghz (ie the stock boost clock, but now you just run at that speed permanently) and you get smoother gameplay even on a GTX660. 2. If the Xx14 can run longer on battery with the same processor why the hell can't the X15 with a bigger battery. It can't all just be the screen - the BIOS is probably sending much more power than you'd need when only using it on battery. Also didn't Dell already figure out how to shut down the P-Cores when running on battery without going into the BIOS on one of their ultrabooks with the P-series chips? I was holding off on Alienware and Dell G waiting for them to implement this on the gaming stuff. 3. I'm still not over how a thin laptop with a long arse end is what is considered "portable." Sure it's not a problem for some people for daily use ie people who use bike messenger bags, and I'm one of those...on weekdays. On weekdays I'm gonna have to rant about how I did not switch to mirrorless to just end up using a huge backpack designed to take a 17in laptop just so this and similar laptops will fit. Or maybe I should blame bag manufacturers for having laptop+cam bags grow in all dimensions instead of, ya know, taking into account that some people like big laptops but don't use pro lenses (much less DSLRs) and so a bag that doesn't look like I'm gonna sleep where I'm hiking or just flat out make me feel what being Leonardo or Donatello is like (but with a tripod instead of a weapon).
I so wanted to love this laptop. but it was broken put of the box. The very first time I turned it on the the keyboard was unresponsive. I called Dell support and we worked on it for several hours but to no avail. They sent out a tech to replace motherboard and daughterboard and it worked for a day or two and then hours and hours on another Tech support call where the had me download a windows 11 to a flash drive and they reinstalled all the updates and special drivers, worked for a day or two and then they same thing again and windows failing to reboot. I just wanted them to either fix it next time or give me a new one but all they would say is that they would review options at that time. I had already spent hours and hours and figured if they don't offer better support than that it's best to get rid of it while I can still return it. At almost 3000.00 dollars and the lack of manufacturer support it simply wasn't worth the risk. So anyway, does anyone know of something similar or at least better support?
Because Type-C PD (Power Delivery) is limited to max 100w...This laptop requires 240w due to the higher rated components, to both power the laptop under load as well as sustain the battery charge level at the same time.
What's to compare? Any dedicated gaming PC is going to offer more wattage, a dedicated discrete GPU, etc. A Macbook is focused on creators at best, and will either be M1/M2 or they stopped at 9th or 10th gen Intel. The Apple silicone doesn't even have a discreate GPU (although they are getting competitive numbers where they can). Apple did just introduce a new way to port games over, so there may be a future where such a comparison is possible, but that announcement is only a week old as I write this and a long long way from games running natively on the platform without an emulator. And even then, you still wouldn't be supplying the necessary wattage to be truly competitive while comparing benchmarks. Apple Macbook Pros are better compared to something like Dell's XPS line.
I have this laptop but it has a Core i9, RTX 3070 Ti, 1080p 360 Hz, 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD. Quite powerful but it has a really mediocre yet loud set of speakers.
