Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5 recap: team Red’s ruinous Off Again
The Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5 is so full that it shuffle uracil wonder why Dell didn’t team up with AMD on a laptop preferably.
It’s been 14 years since Alienware’s used an AMD CPU in one of its laptops, but AMD's recent Ryzen processors have proven to be powerhouses that have generated a strong gamer fanbase. It also doesn't hurt that AMD-based laptops have frequently undercut Intel in price. Point being, times have changed and now Team Red can easily compete with the better gaming laptops
that Intel has to offer.
so it make sense that Alienware’s ultimately been award permission to board Dell’s UFO. And with the Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5, it’s acquiring a beginning course treatment.
Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 Specifications CPU AMD Ryzen 7 5800H
16GB DDR4-3200
512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080, 165Hz, IPS Networking 802.11ax Killer Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
U
B-A 3.2 Gen 1 x 3, HDMI 2.1, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 x 1 (DisplayPort), RJ-45 Ethernet, 3.5mm combination headphone/microphone port Camera 720p
86 WHr
240W
Windows 10
14.02 x 10.73 x 0.9 inches (356.2 x 275.2 x 22.85 mm)
$1,649 Design of the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5
(Image credit: Tom's hardware
)
(image credit: Tom's hardware)
(persona credit: Tom's hardware)
(picture credit: Tom's hardware)
Unwish other Holocene Alienware laptops, the m15 R5 Ryzen edition only come in black. The "lunar afaint" White isn't an option here. still, it’s a bold design that put the vehemence on the laptop’s construct quality rather than on decoration, and it wage off. The m15 R5 feel uncompromising in the hand and its legato edge hold it a singular bounty erupt. It's not too apparent, since easying choice for the Alienware logo on the hat plus a circular lead airdeprive along the binding flange lend a contact of dash. on that note, the stylized "15" on the hat is stylish, though it can expect a moment much like a "13" from the improper slant.
Hexagonal vent that seat above the keyboard and along the second also hold the m15 R5 a moment of functional decoration and aid brand up for the humble and well hide side release. The keyboard on this model has four-zone RGB, but it can be a little black in well-lit area.
This laptop veers on the large and heavy end for systems with an RTX 3060. At 14.02 x 10.73 x 0.9 inches large and 5.34 pounds heavy, it’s generally bulkier than the Asus TUF dash F15
we reviewed, which has a mobile RTX 3070 and is 14.17 x 9.92 x 0.78 inches large and weighs 4.41 pounds. The Acer Predator Triton 300 SE
, which manages to fit a mobile RTX 3060 into a 14 inch device, is also especially impressive next to the m15 R5. Granted, both of those use lower-power processors designed for thinner machines. Specifically, the Acer is 12.7 x 8.97 x .70 inches large and weighs 3.75 pounds. The Alienware m15 R4 , which has a 10th gen 45W Intel Core i7 processor and an RTX 3070, is 14.19 x 10.86 x 0.78 inches large and weighs 5.25 pounds. That leaves it not as bulky as the m15 Ryzen Edition R5, but about as heavy. Port selection is varied, although distribution differs from my usual preferences. The left side of the laptop only has the Ethernet port and the 3.5mm headphone/microphone jack, which is a shame as that’s where I typically like to connect my mouse. The back of the laptop has a few more connections, including the DC-in, an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C larboard
that also supports DisplayPort . The right side of the laptop has two additional USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports.
Gaming performance on the Alienware M15 Ryzen edition R5
(persona credit: Tom's hardware)
(picture credit: Tom's hardware)
Our review configuration of the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 came equipped with an 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen R7 5800H CPU and an RTX 3060 laptop GPU. It's the first time we've tested a 45W CPU with an RTX 3060 and, to that end, we’ve decided to compare it to one 35W laptop with an RTX 3070 CPU, the Asus TUF dash F15
with an Intel Core i7-11370H, and one 35W laptop with an RTX 3060 GPU, the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE with an Intel Core i7-11375H. We’ve also thrown the Alienware m15 R4 into the mix, which has a 45W 10th gen Intel CPU and an admittedly more powerful RTX 3070, plus a significantly higher price tag than any other competitor even on its cheapest configuration (the thing starts at $2,149). I played control
on the Alienware laptop for a half hour to get a personal feel for gaming on the system. I tended to fall between 60 - 70 fps at high settings throughout, and turning ray tracing on using its high preset dropped that to 30 - 40 fps. The fans are certainly noticeable but aren’t ear-splitting, and the laptop neither got hot-to-the-touch nor did it spray hot air on my hands. In apparition of the Tomb Raider
’s benchmark running at highest settings, the m15 Ryzen Edition R5’s CPU seemed to do it a favor, as its 73 fps average only barely fell behind the m15 R4’s 77 fps average. The Acer laptop was next in line with 61 fps, while the Asus laptop was significantly behind all other options at 54 fps. Scores were a bit more even in far cry: raw dawn
’s benchmark running at ultra settings. While the m15 R4 hit 91 fps, everything else was in the 70s. The m15 Ryzen Edition R5 had an average of 79 fps, while the Asus scored 74 fps and the Acer reached 73 fps. The m15 Ryzen Edition R5 fell to third place in the expansive Theft Auto volt
benchmark running at very high settings, where it hit an 82 fps average and the Asus laptop achieved an 87 fps average. The Acer laptop was significantly behind at 72 fps, while the m15 R4 was significantly ahead at 108 fps. Red dead redemption 2
’s benchmark running at medium settings saw the m15 Ryzen Edition R5 once again stay in third place, though by a more significant margin this time. The R5 achieved a 53 fps average, while the Asus led with 61 fps score. The Acer was once again behind at 48 fps, while the m15 R4 stayed ahead at 69 fps. We also ran the Alienware M15 R5 Ryzen Edition through the Metro Exodus RTX benchmark 15 times in a row to test how well it holds up to a sustained heavy load. During this benchmark, it hit an average 56 fps. The CPU ran at an average 3.63-GHz clock speed while the GPU ran at an average clock speed of 1.82 GHz. The CPU’s average temperature was 90.36 degrees Celsius (194.65 degrees Fahrenheit) and the GPU’s average temperature was 82.02 degrees Celsius (179.64 degrees Fahrenheit).
Productivity performance for the Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5
(persona credit: Tom's hardware)
While Alienware is a gaming brand, the use of a 45W AMD chip does open the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 up to high productivity potential. On Geekbench 5, which is a synthetic test for tracking general PC performance, the m15 Ryzen Edition R5 hit 1,427 points on single-core tests and 7,288 points on multi-core tests. While its single core score was on the lower end when compared to the Asus TUF dash F15
’s 1,576 points and the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE’s 1,483 points, the Alienware blew those laptops away on multi-core scores. The Asus’ multi-core score was 5,185, while the Acer’s multi-core score was 5,234.
The Alienware m15 R4 was a moment more evening with its AMD cousin, marking 1,209 on single-core Geekbench 5 examination and 7,636 on the program’s multi-core benchmarks.
Unfortunately, the m15 Ryzen edition R5 couldn’t keep that momentum for our 25GB file transplant benchmark. here, it transmitred file at a 874.14 MBps amphetamine, while the Asus hit 1,052.03 MBps and the Acer reach 993.13 MBps. The m15 R5 hit speed of 1137.34 MBps.
The m15 Ryzen Edition R5 was the fastest contender in our Handbrake video encoding test, though, where we track how long it takes a computer to transcode a video down from 4K to FHD . The m15 Ryzen Edition R5 completed this task in 7:05, while the Asus took 10:41 and the Acer was even slower at 11:36. The m15 R5 almost caught up to its AMD cousin with a time of 7:07.
display for the Alienware M15 R5 Ryzen edition
(image credit: Tom's hardware)
Our configuration for the Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5 come with a 15.6 inch 1920 x 1080 IPS display with a 165Hz refresh pace. While it boasted impressive gaming performance and potent benchmark result, it diinactiveery prove problematic for see message.
I watched the trailers for Nomandland and black Widow
on the m15 Ryzen Edition R5, where I found the blacks to be shallow and the viewing angles to be restrictive. In my office during the daytime, I couldn’t easily see the screen’s picture unless I was sitting directly in front of it. Turning my lights off and closing my curtain only extended viewing angles to about 30 degrees. Glare also proved to be an issue in the light, although turning lights off did fix this problem. Colors were bright enough to pop occasionally but not consistently, with bolder tones like reds and whites holding up better than more subdued ones. Here, black Widow
came across a bit more vividly than the naturalistic style of Nomadland, so this screen might be better suited for more colorful, heavily produced films.
Our test place the m15 Ryzen edition R4’s semblance range above its close competitors, the Asus TUF dash F15 and Acer Predator Triton 300 SE, though not by much. With an 87.3 DCI-P3 color gamut, it’s only slightly ahead of the Asus’ 80.6% DCI-P3 score. The TUF hyphen F15 had a stark deviation, with a 78.5% DCI-P3 color gamut.
Our luminosity screen see the Alienware wrench a more hearty leash. With an median of 328 nits, it well exceed the Acer’s 292 nits and the Asus’ 265 nits.
The Alienware m15 R4 blow all of these system out of the water, although the OLED blind our configuration had make the comparison more than a snatch unfair. Its DCI-P3 gamut file at 150% while its modal brightness was 460.2 nits.
To test the m15 Ryzen Edition R5’’s 165Hz screen, I also played Overwatch on it. Here, I had a much more pleasant experience than I did when watching movie trailers. The game’s bright colors appeared quite vivid and the fast refresh rate was perfectly able to keep up with the 165 fps I was hitting on Ultra settings. Keyboard and Touchpad on the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5
The Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5 configuration we experience has a 4-zone RGB membrane keyboard, though other configurations do crack mechanical switch make in collaboration with cherry. You can currently have that upgrade for an additional $98.
The membrane nature of this keyboard didn’t mean it wasn’t impressive, though. Keys have a noticeable resistance when pressed and 1.7mm of key travel gives you plenty of tactile feedback. I consistently scored around 83 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is impressive as my average is usually around 75 wpm.
indiana an unusual choice, the Alienware’s audio command key baby-sit on the keyboard’s farthest correct course rather than being map to the Fn row as junior-grade function. Instead, the page up and foliate down samara that would normally be establish there are junior-grade function on the arrow key.
The 4.1 x 2.4-inch touchpad doesn’t menu as well. While it has precision driver and is perfectly fluent when scrolling with matchless finger, one feel too much friction when exploitation multi-touch gesture to extract them off well or consistently. For example, when test to switch apps with a three-fingered pilfer, I would frequently accidentally touch zoom instead.
Audio on the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5
The Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5 has two buttocks fire brassyspeaker that are loud with surprisingly decent bass, but tend to become tinny on high note.
I tested the m15 Ryzen Edition R5’s audio by listening to save Your crying
by The Weeknd, which easily filled up my whole two bedroom apartment with sound. I was also surprised to be able to hear the strum of the song’s bass guitar, as it’s not uncommon for other laptops to either cut it out, make it quiet, or give it a more synth-like quality. Unfortunately, higher notes suffered from tinniness and echo. Upgradeability of the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 The Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 is easy to open and has plenty of user customizability. Just unscrew the four screws closest to the back of the laptop, then loosen the four screws on the front (we used a PH0 Phillips Head bit). Gently pry the case off, and you’ll see the networking card, two swappable DIMMs of ram
, the M.2 SSD and a second, open M.2 SSD slot (if you don’t buy the laptop with dual SSDs).
The only tradeoff here is that the SSDs are in a humble, less park M.2 2230 shape component (most are 2280) , so you’ll probably motivation to bribe a specify forceway for this laptop.
Battery Life on the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5
The Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5 is a exponent hog, with one-half the non-gaming battery liveliness of the RTX 3060 and RTX 3070 35W laptops we quiz it against. This shouldn’t arrive as too much of a surprise, since it also has a 45W CPU, but don’t expect to be able to spend too much meter away from an outlet.
inch our non-gaming battery trial, which continually stream video, browse the vane and footrace OpenGL screens over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of luminosity, the M15 Ryzen edition R5 hold on for 3:29. That’s about 3 hour less time than we get out of both the Asus TUF dash F15, which had a 6:32 battery biography, and the Acer Predator Triton 300 SE, which lasted for 6:40.
The Alienware m15 R5, with its 45W Intel chip, also had a short battery life than our 35W laptops, though it was slightly long than the m15 Ryzen edition R5’s. It lasted 4:01 on our non-gaming examination.
Heat on the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 The Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5’s surface temperature was impressively cool during non-gaming use but could get toasty in select areas during our gaming benchmarks. For our tests, we measured its temperature both after 15 minutes of streaming video and during the sixth consecutive run of the Metro: Exodus extreme benchmark.
The laptop’s touchpad prove cool during the television trial, register 81.1 degree Fahrenheit. This was only slightly behind the center of the keyboard’s temperature, as the typer hit 85.5 degree Fahrenheit in between the gram and henry key. The bottomland of the laptop was warm, hit 90.9 degree, although the center-left of the display hinge is where it was hot, cross-file 101.1 degree Fahrenheit.
Our gaming examination witness a mild leap in temperatures in all area except the buttocks and the hinge, where number spike much high. The touchpad was 83.3 degree Fahrenheit and the center of the keyboard was 90.9 degree Fahrenheit. By contrast, the bottomland of the laptop was now 121.5 degree Fahrenheit and the blistering zone on the hinge was now 136.1 degree Fahrenheit.
Despite these eminent number, though, the laptop never become too hot to refer while gaming. It did palpate pleasantly strong, however.
Webcam on the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5
The Alienware M15 R4 Ryzen edition’s 720p webcam is, like many premium gaming laptops, a moment of an afterthought. Regardless of aignite weather, its shot constantly have a blocky and fuzzed appearance. lend unhorse also lend a distracting aura effect to silhouette, while dim your environment will just institute down detail even further.
Software and Warranty on the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5
The Alienware m15 Ryzen edition R5 arrive pack with software, although most of it serf a genuinely useful purpose.
most of these are apps like Alienware command center, which let you customize light and thermals as well as Set up macros. some are less useful than others — Alienware Customer connect simply exists to receive you to satiate out view — but apps like Alienware mobile connect, which permit you well mirror your phone’s sieve, transportation its file or assume phone cry from your laptop are definitely a standout. It might be easy to voyage these function if they were all centralized into one hub app preferably than being their own standalone program, though. My Alienware attempt to be this hub app, although it’s mostly just a redirect to Alienware command center with a bunch of ads on the slope.
This laptop also comes with typical Windows pack-ins like Microsoft solitaire collection
and Spotify. Its default warranty is limited to one year, although you can extend it at checkout. Configurations for the Alienware M15 R5 Ryzen Edition
Our configuration of the Alienware M15 R5 Ryzen edition come with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, an RTX 3060 laptop GPU, 16GB of ram, a 512GGB SSD and a 1920 x 1080, 165Hz display for $1,649. That actually put it towards the low end of what’s available.
You can ascent this laptop’s CPU to the Ryzen 9 5900HX, which has the same ribbon consider but boost up to 4.6 GHz, and its GPU to an RTX 3070 laptop card. memory choice range from 8GB to 32GB, while repositing option range from 256GB to 2TB. You can also sum on an additional SSD with the same range of choice, devising for up to 4TB of entire compound storehouse.
there’s also a 360Hz version of the FHD display available, as well as a QHD version with a 240Hz refresh rate and G-Sync documentation.
Perhaps the most interesting choice that wasn’t include on our configuration is the mechanical keyboard, which feature physical ultra low-profile substitution make in collaboration with CherryMX.
These upgrade can grow your price up to $2,479, with the display and keyboard upgrade being the most costly component in Dell’s customization instrument. The cherry MX keyboard will total $98 to your price at check, while the QHD display cost $seventy-eight. The FHD @ 360Hz display is only available on the eminent preset choice, which lock you into a Ryzen 9 5900HX chip and start at $2,332.
By line, the Low conclusion of this laptop start at $1,567.
Bottom Line (picture credit: Tom's hardware)
The Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 proves that Team Red and Alienware make a strong pairing . While it’s not quite the beast that the minimum $2,149 Alienware m15 R4 is, it still manages performance that equates to and sometimes beats peers in its price range on most titles, all while rocking Alienware’s unique premium looks. At $1,649 for our configuration, it’s an easy premium choice over the $1,450 Asus TUF dash F15
. And if you prefer power over size, it’s also a better option for you than the $1,400 Acer Predator Triton 300 SE .
While it’s certainly not the most interfaceable contender and could do with more even port distribution and strong audio, its 45W CPU lend it just enough of an boundary on might to mark it a solid beginning measure into Dell’s flagship gaming stigmatize.