Dell Alienware 15 R4: Specifications, Tests and Review

Let us introduce you to the sophisticated laptop Alienware 15 ($1,299.99, evaluated at $1,649). The Alienware 15 reduced weight and changed color like its bigger sibling, the 17. All the normal Alienware niceties, like customizable LED illumination, are still included. With an 8th Gen Intel Core i7 CPU and overclocked Nvidia GTX 1070 graphics card, this beauty has great power and incredible features. The Alienware 15 is one of the greatest gaming laptops in this price range, despite its heat and lack of G-Sync.

Specifications of Dell Alienware 15 R4

What Is In The Box Of Dell Alienware 15 R4?

1. Dell Alienware 15 R4 Laptop: The main thing is the gaming laptop.
2. The laptop comes with a power adaptor. It generally has a power brick and cord.
3. Manuals: User manuals, setup tutorials, and warranties are usually provided.
4. Battery: Laptop batteries are normally pre-installed.
5. Accessories: Touchscreen devices may come with a stylus, cords, or adapters.
6. Cushion: For safe shipment, Alienware-branded boxes and cushioning are used to package the laptop.
7. Recovery Media: Some laptops have a USB drive or DVD to restore factory settings.
8. Optional Extras: Your purchase or promotion may include gaming accessories (mouse, headset) or promotional materials.

Overall Design Of Dell Alienware 15 R4

Darkness never looked so lovely. Alienware added Epic Black to the anodized aluminum lid, replacing Epic Silver. The laptop now has 13 illumination zones from the firm. Like the Alienware 15’s predecessor, the lid’s only lighting comes from the giant alien head in the center. The lid and keyboard deck sides have the rest of the customizable light show. The keyboard, touchpad, Alienware logo on the bottom bezel, and Alien head power button provide further illumination to the laptop.

Other keyboard deck parts are covered with a delicious, soft, soft finish. With its 7.8-pound, 15.3 x 12 x 1-inch frame, the Alienware 15 remains the heavyweight. At 6.5 pounds, the PowerSpec 1510 (15.3 x 10.8 x 1.3 inches) remains close, while the Asus ROG Zephyrus M GM501 (15.1 x 10.3 x 0.7~0.8 inches) weighs 5.5 pounds. The MSI GS65 Stealth Thin (14.1 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches) and Razer Blade (14.1 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches) weigh 4.1 and 4.6 pounds, respectively.

Also Read – Dell Alienware 17R5: An Honest Review

What Are The Ports Of Dell Alienware 15 R4?

As with other gaming laptops, the Alienware 15 has several ports, mostly at the rear. Thunderbolt 3, mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, power jack, and special Alienware Graphics Amplifier connector are there. One USB 3.1 port on the right, one on the left, a USB Type-C port, headphone and microphone connectors, and a Noble lock slot.

Display Of Dell Alienware 15 R4

The Alienware 15’s 1920 x 1080 matte display is vibrant and colourful. The ‘Night Comes On’ video showed a Muslim woman’s magenta clothing and head scarf flying in the wind, contrasting with the red-brick church’s light-blue doors. I could see Dominique Fishback’s jet-black hair’s beautiful curl pattern and her submachine gun’s cracks and scratches. Gaming on the screen looks excellent, too. I received buttery-smooth frame rates while hunting a goat and fighting wolves in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. I was fascinated by the red-orange flame I sent into the assaulting creatures’ centers, singeing fur and opening them to sword attacks.

As lovely as the action was, I wish the panel had G-Sync. Syncing display refresh rate to GPU improves render smoothness. The Alienware 15’s display produces 119 percent of the sRGB color spectrum, behind the premium gaming laptop average of 132 percent. The Razer Blade, PowerSpec 1510, and Zephyrus scored 112, 113, and 120 percent, respectively, while the Alienware 15 scored higher. The Stealth Thin was the most colorful at 150 percent. At 311 nits, the Alienware 15’s display is the brightest among competitors. The 281-nit average was easily beaten. PowerSpec 1510 was a close second with 306 nits, followed by Stealth Thin, Zephyrus, and Blade at 293, 286, and 260.

Is The Audio Good To Go?

Loud front-firing Alienware 15 speakers can fill my medium-sized conference room. I listened to The Internet’s slow song “Girl,” which had deep bass, sharp percussion, pristine synths, and Syd’s seductive soprano. Highs have some distortion at maximum loudness. When I played Witcher 3, the audio improved. When I fought a nest of hungry nekkers, the vibrant violin stole the stage. Geralt’s grunts, the nekkers’ wild screeches, the tambourine, and sharp claps created a symphony of devastation that was music to my ears.

The keyboard and Touchpad

The Alienware 15’s keyboard feels like a small trampoline. Keys move 2 millimeters with 78 grams of force. That exceeds our 1.5mm, 60g requirements. The 10FastFingers test showed me typing 80 words per minute, far quicker than my typical 70. My spindly fingers could do pinch-to-zoom, three-finger push, and flick actions on the 3.9 x 2.1-inch touchpad. Few firms still employ distinct mouse buttons, which are almost as bouncy as keys. Alienware does.

Command Centre Of Dell Alienware 15 R4

The Alienware Command Centre has been your one-stop shop for keyboard and LED illumination customization, macro programming, power-management strategies, and desktop shortcuts for seven years. That and more are done using a clear, easy-to-use interface. Command Center’s initial modifications are that you can access all your games from the Home page and laptop performance settings, and you can change the background from light to dark. The Active System Theme—your customized lighting profile from Home—can also be altered.

Explore the other tabs, starting with Library, to get more specific. Command Center’s Library resembles GeForce Experience. Library pooled my Steam, GOG, and Windows games like Nvidia’s program. I could access and run all my games from one place, eliminating the effort of finding them. Want greater CPU and graphics card performance? The Fusion tab enables you to slider-overclock both components. Alienware even included a test option to guarantee your new clock speeds are stable.

Also Read – Alienware AW3423DWF Review

Command Center’s FX tab lets you customize all zones, including keyboard illumination. Alienware claims 80 quadrillion combinations can be made with the additional zones, 16.8-million-color palette, and 12 effects. You may designate your custom theme and performance parameters to launch with selected games in the Home or Library sections after making it.

Dell Alienware 15 R4 Of Gaming, Graphics, VR

Never say the Alienware 15 is a middle child, particularly with an overclocked Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU and 8GB of VRAM. While exploring Velen in Witcher 3, I saw a big bear. My fight strategy of dodges, sword attacks, and fire spells at 64 FPS on Ultra settings at 1920 x 1080 worked well. On Rise of the Tomb Raider, the Alienware 15 scored 72 fps on Very High at 1080p, above the 58-fps premium gaming laptop average. Stealth Thin and Zephyrus achieved 44 and 53 fps with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q GPUs. PowerSpec 1510 and complete GTX 1070 GPU scored 56. However, the Blade’s 1070 Max-Q graphics card managed 77 fps.

On the Hitman benchmark, the Alienware 15 broke the 86-fps category average with 92 fps. The Zephyrus came in second at 88 fps, followed by the Blade, Stealth Thin, and PowerSpec 1510 at 82, 79, and 60 fps. A few frames behind the average, the Alienware 15 scored 74 fps in Grand Theft Auto V. Still, it outperformed the Zephyrus (70 fps), Blade (66), Stealth Thin (61), and PowerSpec 1510 (60). With 82 fps, the Alienware 15 narrowly missed the 84-fps average in Middle-Earth: Shadow of War.

However, that was enough to beat the Blade’s 68 fps. Use whichever VR headset you have—the Alienware 15 easily topped out the Steam VR test at 11, matching the PowerSpec 1510 and topping the 10.2 average. The Zephyrus, Blade, and Stealth Thin followed with 10.9, 10, and 9 ratings.

Performance overall

Netflixing Luke Cage Season 2 while running a full-system scan in Windows Defender with at least 18 Google Chrome tabs open? The Alienware 15 handled that and more without a sweat. The 2.1-GHz Intel Core i7-8750H processor and 16GB of RAM make the machine a multitasking powerhouse. The laptop scored 17,109 on Geekbench 4.1, behind the premium gaming laptop average of 20,031. Zephyrus, Blade, and Stealth Thin hit 21,735, 20,256, and 18,046 with Core i7-8750H CPUs.

Remember that competitive setups have faster clocks. In 10 minutes and 28 seconds, the Alienware 15 converted a 4K film to 1080p using HandBrake, beating the Blade (11:46), Stealth Thin (12:01), and PowerSpec 1510 (14:00). Alienware’s score is respectable. Still, the Zephyrus (9:43) and category average (10:17) are better. The Alienware 15’s 256GB PCIe m.2 SSD copied 4.97GB of multimedia files in 23 seconds at 221 MB/s. That beats the Stealth Thin’s 512GB m.2 SSD’s 193.3 MBps. It wasn’t enough to meet the 472.8-MBps average, the Zephryus’ 509 MBps (256GB NVMe SSD), the Blade’s 424 MBps (512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD), or the PowerSpec 1510’s 391.5 MBps.

Is The Battery Life Good?

The Alienware 15 lasted 5 hours and 15 minutes on our battery test, which involved Wi-Fi web surfing at 150 nits. That topped the premium gaming laptop average of 3:40 and the Zephyrus’ 2:47. The Stealth Thin and Blade outlasted the Alienware 15 in 5:40 and 5:54.

Dell Alienware 15 R4 Cooling Quality

I spent 15 minutes in Witcher 3 murdering bloodthirsty nekkers and chasing goats. I then tested the touchpad, middle of the keyboard, and system underbelly and found temps of 74, 97, and 129 degrees Fahrenheit. The touchpad was within our 95-degree comfort level, but the bottom was warm. After the system cooled down, we played a 15-minute full-screen HD video and remeasured the laptop’s critical points. The touchpad was 86 degrees, while the keyboard center and bottom were heated at 102 and 113 degrees.

Webcam Of Dell Alienware 15 R4

The Alienware 15’s camera takes color-accurate photos and videos. Office fluorescent lights highlighted my bright red clothing. Graininess exists, but not enough to hide the white spray foam ceiling’s peaks and troughs.

Software & Warranty Of Dell Alienware 15 R4

Alienware 15 bloatware wouldn’t exist without Windows 10. Unfortunately, the system has Drawboard PDF, March of Empires, Candy Crush Soda Saga, and Disney Magic Kingdoms. McAfee Security, WebAdvisor, and Dolby Access, which improves headphones, are preloaded. Alienware software incorporates Digital Delivery for updates. SupportAssist monitors laptop diagnostics and allows you to increase speed, network optimization, and virus protection with a click. The Docking Accessory applications link the laptop to compatible docking stations quickly, while the Mobile link lets you use your PC to control your smartphone. Alienware Command Centre and Nvidia GeForce Experience, including BatteryBoost and Game Optimisation, are included in the Alienware 15. Killer Control Centre prioritizes and tests network bandwidth speed and strength.

Dell Alienware 15 R4 Configurations

I defeated scores of werewolves, drowners, and noonwraiths on the $1,649.99 Alienware 15, which has a 2.2-GHz Intel Core i7-8750H processor with 16GB of VRAM, a 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD with a 1TB and 7,200-rpm HDD, an Intel HD 630 Graphics GPU with an overclocked Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 GPU and 8GB of VRAM, and a 1920 x 1080 display with The $1,299.99 variant has a 2.3-GHz Intel Core i5-8300H CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB and 7,200-rpm hard drive, an Intel HD 630 Graphics GPU with an overclocked Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 GPU and 6GB of VRAM, and a 1920 x 1080 display with 60Hz refresh rate.

The top-of-the-line version costs $2,599.99 and has an overclockable 2.9-GHz Intel Core i9-8950HK GPU, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD with a 1TB and 7,200-rpm HDD, an Intel HD 630 Graphics GPU with an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU and 8GB of VRAM, and a 1920 x 1080 Nvidia G-Sync display with a 60Hz refresh.

Dell Alienware 15 R4 Pros and Cons

Should I Buy Dell Alienware 15 R4?

Your demands and tastes determine if you should buy the Dell Alienware 15 R4. Alienware 15 R4 gaming performance, build quality, and customizable RGB lights are well-known. A gamer seeking a laptop that can handle demanding games and gives a graphically rich experience might consider the Alienware 15 R4. Its premium appearance, high-quality display, and powerful graphics make it ideal for gamers. Gaming laptops are heavier, so evaluate your budget and if you value gaming above portability. Check the newest models and specs to verify they fulfill your performance criteria.

The Bottom Line

It’s hard to fault the Alienware 15. A 15-inch machine with a powerful Intel Core i7 CPU overclocked Nvidia GTX 1070, ergonomic keyboard, beautiful display, and over 6 hours of battery life costs $1,899.99. Nvidia’s G-Sync and a faster SSD would have been good for the price. Cooling might be better. The $1,899.99 MSI Stealth Thin offers comparable power and more battery life in a thinner package. For a gaming machine that’s as enjoyable to look at as it is to play on, the Alienware 15 is unmatched.

FAQs

The Dell Alienware 15 R4’s main specs?

Intel Core i7 or i9 CPUs, NVIDIA GeForce GTX or RTX graphics, and up to 32GB of RAM are typical of the Dell Alienware 15 R4.

Can the Alienware 15 R4 be used for gaming?

Yes, the Alienware 15 R4 is gaming-focused. It usually has powerful GPUs, high refresh rate screens, and complex cooling systems for intensive games.

The Alienware 15 R4 has what display options?

The Alienware 15 R4 may include FHD or UHD displays and G-Sync technology for better gameplay.

Can Alienware 15 R4 components be upgraded?

Upgradability is included in the Alienware 15 R4. RAM and storage may be upgraded; however, model-specific upgradability varies.

How cool is the Alienware 15 R4 during long gaming sessions?

Cooling systems are efficient on Alienware laptops. Advanced cooling technologies with several fans and heat pipes keep the Alienware 15 R4 cool during intense work.