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Alienware m15 review: Dell’s first thin gaming laptop doesn’t disappoint
Alienware finally made a thin and light gaming laptop, and it was worth the wait. For years, Dell's gaming brand has been pumping out powerful, but hefty gaming machines. The Alienware m15, though, is its first step towards a truly modern laptop design. And it's here just in time -- throughout 2018 we saw companies like ASUS, Razer and MSI all deliver thin new machines of their own. The m15 is a sign Alienware won't be left behind.
Gaming laptops are getting wonderfully weird in 2019
The gaming laptop renaissance is upon us. For the past few years, they've been getting thinner, lighter and more powerful, thanks to NVIDIA's 10-series Max-Q graphics cards. But this year at CES, they got truly weird and wild. Alienware's Area 51m lets you swap out its CPU and GPU, like a proper desktop! ASUS's ROG Mothership is basically an all-in-one PC masquerading as a notebook. And Acer's Predator Triton 900 has one of the craziest hinges we've ever seen.
4K OLED comes to Dell's 15-inch XPS, Alienware and G laptops
Dell isn't going to let HP be the only company with new OLED-equipped laptops. Today during its CES press conference, Dell revealed that 4K OLED screens will be coming to the XPS 15, Alienware m15 and G 15 in March. Back in 2017, the company also used OLED in the Alienware 13 to great effect. Since then, we've eagerly awaited its return. The new 4K OLED panels will support HDR, cover 100 percent of the DCI-P3 gamut and feature a 100,000:1 contrast ratio.
Alienware's Area 51m laptop has an upgradable CPU and graphics card
From the beginning, Alienware computers have been built with hardcore gamers in mind -- that explains the stylish cases and aggressive designs, which helped spark the rise of bold gaming PCs. But the Alienware brand was initially inspired by The X-Files and '90s-era science fiction, and that aesthetic hasn't evolved much since then. Now, it's time for something different. With the Area 51m -- a reference to the company's very first laptop -- Alienware is making its biggest design leap in years. And it also includes something truly innovative for gamers: an upgradable desktop CPU and NVIDIA RTX 20-series video card. It gives a new meaning to the term "desktop replacement."
You've never seen a gaming laptop like the ASUS ROG Mothership
Last year, gaming laptops got thinner and lighter. This year, they're getting wild. Take the ROG Mothership, it's ostensibly a new 17-inch gaming laptop from ASUS -- but it's actually something much weirder. Hit a button, and a huge kickstand juts out from behind the screen. And once you fold down the keyboard, you can feel free to pull it away from the screen and use it wirelessly, as if it were a massive Surface Pro. Basically, ASUS made an all-in-one gaming PC in laptop form. It brings a new meaning to the term "desktop replacement."
How to buy a gaming laptop in 2018
It used to be tough to find an ideal gaming laptop -- one that didn't feel like a sack of bricks and have awful battery life. Now we have the opposite problem: There are a ton of great options! They're huge improvements over what came before in almost every way. And, best of all, they also pack in enough power to rival gaming desktops. So how do you actually choose what to buy? It's easier than you think -- once you know what to look for.
Alienware finally made a thin and light gaming laptop
Gaming laptops aren't the lumbering bricks they used to be, as we've seen from the slew of offerings this year from ASUS, Gigabyte and Razer, all of which weigh under five pounds. But Alienware, Dell's flagship laptop line for gamers, has lagged behind with heavy cases and archaic screen bezels. That all changes with the Alienware m15, the company's first truly lightweight and slim offering. It's 14 percent thinner than the Alienware 13, all while sporting a much larger 15.6-inch display. The m15 also clocks in at 4.8 pounds, 20 percent less than the Alienware 13's 5.8 pounds (the current 15-inch is even worse at 7.69 pounds). Clearly, this is new territory.
Acer's Triton 900 gaming laptop has a truly unique convertible hinge
A few years ago, Acer gave us an intriguing twist on the convertible PC, the Aspire R14, which featured an easel-like hinge that rotated the screen. Now it's bringing that feature, which Acer calls the Ezel hinge, to a gaming laptop: Say hello to the Predator Triton 900. The company only gave us a brief glimpse at the device (it was protected by a glass case), but it looks like the screen will rotate just like the Aspire R14. You'll be able to twist it all the way around for a tent-like formation or lay it flat. The Triton 900 will also feature the latest version of the company's Aeroblade cooling technology. It looks like having a bit of space underneath the monitor will help with cooling too.
Razer's Blade is almost the perfect gaming laptop
Razer's revamped Blade stands out in a sea of great gaming laptops. It's not the lightest, and it doesn't have the most powerful graphics hardware, but it's one of the most polished notebooks we've seen this year. Razer has always positioned its Blade machines as MacBook alternatives, and this latest model is the closest you'll get to a gaming-focused MacBook Pro. And just like Apple's machines, you can expect to pay a premium.
HP’s Omen 15 gaming laptop gets a new look and a GTX 1070 Max-Q GPU
HP isn't being left behind in the gaming laptop arena. Like recent entries from ASUS, Acer, Gigabyte, MSI and Razer, HP's flagship Omen 15 is getting a slew of upgrades. That includes a slimmer case, dramatically reduced screen bezel, and even more horsepower thanks to NVIDIA's GTX 1070 Max-Q GPU. Take all of that together with the Omen's relatively low starting price of $979, and HP might have another great option for gamers without a huge budget.
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin review: A milestone for laptop gaming
There's no question that gaming laptops are more interesting than ever before. Mostly, that's due to NVIDIA's Max-Q GPUs, which allow PC makers to cram a ton of power into slim laptop cases. Last year we saw the 17.9mm-thick, 4.9-pound ASUS Zephyrus, which packed in GTX 1080 Max-Q graphics. Most recently there was Gigabyte's Aero 15X, which wowed us with its light 4.5-pound frame. Now MSI is taking its latest stab at a Max-Q design with the GS65 Stealth Thin, and it's even more impressive than what we've seen before. It weighs just 4.1 pounds, but it fits in a GTX 1070 GPU. Even though NVIDIA's laptop-graphics chips haven't changed since last year, it's clear that MSI and other computer makers are getting smarter about how they implement that hardware.
MSI's 4.1-lb slim gaming laptop has a 144hz, 15-inch screen
The race is on to making gaming laptops thinner and lighter than before. We were wowed by ASUS's ROG Zephyrus last year, which packed in an NVIDIA GTX 1080 Max-Q GPU in an incredibly svelte frame. Now MSI is taking that on directly with its new GS65 "Stealth Thin," an even slimmer addition to its lightweight gaming lineup. It clocks in at just 4.1 pounds, while also fitting in a 15.6-inch 144Hz display (which should make gameplay look incredibly smooth), an NVIDIA GTX 1070 Max-Q GPU and Intel's 8th generation Core i7 CPU.
Dell's spring lineup is filled with all-in-ones and gaming PCs
Dell's spring PC lineup is focused on all in one machines, as well as a refresh of its Inspiron gaming laptops, now known as the Dell G Series. And of course, there are also a few Alienware laptop upgrades coming too. The company's latest batch of all in ones might be compelling enough to tempt away people who are used to a traditional desktop and monitor setup. And gamers will probably appreciate having a wider variety of inexpensive machines to choose from.
HP Omen 15 review (2017): A gaming laptop for everyone
HP went big with its Omen gaming machines last year, giving us some major VoodooPC flashbacks in the process. Unfortunately, the laptops felt like a downgrade from the slick Omen gaming notebook that HP launched in 2014. This year, the company decided to turn things around. The new Omen 15 fixes everything wrong with the previous model, thanks to a more stylish design and VR headsets with enough graphics power. It doesn't stand out from the increasingly crowded gaming laptop market, but it at least allows HP to stay in the fight.
HP's Omen X is a monstrous, customizable gaming laptop
While companies like ASUS, Acer and NVIDIA are working on making gaming laptops thinner and lighter, HP is going in the opposite direction with its huge Omen X Laptop. It weighs a whopping 10.8 lbs, which is close to other 17-inch gaming notebooks. In exchange for being unable to carry it easily, you get an incredibly customizable notebook; one with enough graphics horsepower to handle anything you throw at it -- even 4K gaming.
ASUS ROG Zephyrus review: Gaming laptops will never be the same again
The ASUS ROG Zephyrus is an entirely new breed of gaming notebook. It packs the most powerful laptop graphics hardware available, NVIDIA's GTX 1080, into a chassis that's almost half the size of similar machines. Mostly that's due to being one of the first notebooks to feature NVIDIA's Max-Q design standard, which is laser-focused on slimming down gaming laptops with beefy GPUs. That does lead to some compromises, especially around battery life, but the Zephyrus is still a wonder to behold.
Acer's new gaming PCs include a VR-ready desktop
If Acer's $9,000 Predator laptop has you in sticker shock, take a breath: The company also trotted out some affordable gaming notebooks at CES. Specifically, the company is rolling out a refresh of its Aspire V Nitro laptops, outfitting 15- and 17-inch models with new seventh-generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ processors, NVIDIA GeForce 1060 or 1050 graphics, built-in Tobii eye-tracking and up to 16GB of RAM. The internals aren't the only upgrade, either: The new Nitro also features a USB-C port, a fingerprint sensor and the option for a 3,840 x 2,160 UHD display. The new models, dubbed the Nitro 'Black Edition' start at $1,199. Looking for a powerful notebook for a little less? Acer has one more choice for you.
Which gaming laptops are worth buying?
For years, the wisdom has been that if you wanted a dedicated gaming machine, you bought a desktop. Gaming components were too unwieldy to fit in a notebook form factor, and if you tried to put together a machine with desktop-caliber components, it always ended up too big and heavy to be truly portable. However, recent gaming laptops have defied that history, packing lots of power into thinner and lighter chassis. They're still not as slim as Ultrabooks, and meanwhile there's still a gap in performance versus desktop machines. Even so, your days of lugging around a large desktop tower to LAN parties are over. We've taken a look at some of the more recent entries in the race to build a smaller gaming machine to find ones that can fit your needs -- and budget.
MSI GT72 Dominator review: a worthy successor to a great gaming notebook
The last time I saw MSI's Dominator laptop, I was sick of it. There wasn't anything wrong with it, but at the time, the product name belonged to the GT70: a powerhouse gaming machine that hasn't evolved much since its introduction in 2012. Back then, I loved the machine's heavy chassis, superb keyboard and excellent sound -- but over time, the machine's aesthetic trappings began to bore me. Someone at MSI must have felt the same way: Earlier this year, the company released the GT72, a new Dominator with a whole new design. Soon after, it relaunched the machine with NVIDIA's latest graphics architecture. OK, MSI, let's see if you can make me fall in love again.
The Alienware 13 is the smallest and lightest gaming laptop in Dell's lineup
Y'all remember the Alienware M11x, right? That compact, netbook-sized gaming laptop with the glowing keyboard that made it look like a spaceship? Anyway, Dell discontinued it back in 2012, only to release several big-screen machines the following year. Well, it looks like someone at the company saw the error of their ways: Dell just announced the Alienware 13, and while it's not the brand's smallest notebook ever, it's definitely the smallest the company has put out in quite some time.
