Alienware m15 and Dell G15 gaming laptops feature AMD Ryzen for the first time
If you want proof that AMD’s Ryzen 5000 laptop CPU has really pulled it off, look no further than the new Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5, which, as the name implies, will feature an AMD CPU, for the first time. time in history. Announced Wednesday and shipping April 20 in the United States, the new Alienware m15 will include an 8-core Ryzen 7 5800H or an 8-core Ryzen 9 5900HX, starting at $ 1,793.98. (If that’s too rich for you, take a look at the cheapest Dell G15 gaming laptops below, which were also announced Wednesday.
Alienware m15 and Ryzen 5000: hell freezes over
Having covered Alienware gaming laptops from the start, we can tell you that AMD CPUs have never made it this far. Sure, you can say that Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, and other gaming laptops would like to have a word, but in the world of “doing it,” getting an AMD Ryzen into such a high-profile brand as Alienware is an achievement. supreme for AMD Zen. 3 cores and its award-winning Ryzen 5000 chips.
Alienware, after all, is backed by mega PC company Dell, and is one of the global brands synonymous with “games” for the general public. Who hasn’t seen their computers in product placement for movies and TV shows over the years?
Those hoping for a fully AMD Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 won’t get their wish today, unfortunately, as the laptop will offer either a Nivida GeForce RTX 3060 laptop or a GeForce RTX 3070 laptop. Both GPUs have full graphics power (TGP). 115 watts. With its support for Nvidia’s Dynamic Boost 2.0 technology, you can add another 10 watts to graphics power for those times when the CPU doesn’t need it. Both TGP ratings would place the laptop at the top of the performance scale. The bottom is as low as 80 watts for the RTX 3070 and 60 watts for the RTX 3060.
Alienware said it has improved cooling over the previous model. With its Cryo-Tech cooling, thicker liquid crystal polymer fans, and heat pipes that can balance the load between the CPU and GPU, the company promises about 12 percent more airflow.
Those who have complained bitterly about Alienware’s soldered main memory in previous versions will be happy to know that the R5 will feature a pair of SO-DIMM slots that the user can upgrade with up to DDR4 / 3200 RAM.
Display options for the 15.6-inch laptop will range from a 165Hz, 1080p panel with 3ms response rate, to a 1080p panel with 1ms response, G-Sync, and Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus. The last option is a 16: 9 panel at 240Hz refresh rate, 1ms response, and G-Sync with Nvidia Advanced Optimus. Both 1080p panels are rated at 300 nits of maximum brightness, while the 1440p panel is rated at 400 nits.
Advanced Optimus is a technology that allows you to seamlessly switch between using the power-saving MS hybrid graphics mode and the ability for discrete graphics to support Nvidia’s G-Sync. Until now, most gaming laptops have opted for one or the other. More recently, we’ve seen laptops that allow you to switch between them manually, requiring a reboot of the machine. With Advanced Optimus, you get the best of both worlds, automatically. The new Alienware m15 R5 will actually be the first laptop with a Ryzen CPU to support this feature.
The m15 measures approximately 14 inches by 10 inches, with a thickness that narrows from 0.9 inches to 0.5 inches. Depending on the configuration, the laptop will weigh between 5.3 pounds and 5.9 pounds. Some of that weight goes to the 86 Wh battery, and that’s not counting the 240-watt power block, which probably weighs a couple of pounds on its own.
The Alienware m15 will offer two keyboard options. If you like quieter keyboards, go for the 1.7mm travel, four-zone rubber dome switches. If you like to live out loud, opt for per-key RGB low-profile Cherry MX switches with n-key rollover.
AlienwareGoodbye amplifier?
Gaming laptops generally have plenty of port space, and the Alienware m15 is well supplied: 2.5 gigabit Ethernet, combo headphone jack, three USB-A ports, a full-size HDMI 2.1 jack, and Superspeed 10Gbps USB Type- C. However, one thing is missing from that list: the Alienware amplifier port. Alienware’s proprietary amplifiers allowed Alienware laptops manufactured in recent years to use external graphics. Many thought Alienware would remove the amplifier port in favor of Thunderbolt 3’s eGPU adoption, but the company supported both in its laptops. Company officials, in fact, pointed to the amplifiers’ higher bandwidth as a huge advantage over Thunderbolt 3. With the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5, eGPU support actually drops to zero, as it doesn’t include a port either. Thunderbolt 3.
You’d think the amp port would be a standout feature for the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5, but that collides with one of the few weaknesses of Ryzen CPUs: the lack of PCIe bandwidth. On Intel-based H-class CPUs, Alienware would split half of the x16 lanes to support the amplifier. Like the Ryzen 4000, the Ryzen 5000 is limited to x8 lanes of PCIe Gen 3.0 support. Alienware may not be able to use the same amplifier design without a lot of reengineering.
AlienwareDell G15 Ryzen Edition: budget Ryzen gaming laptop
The new Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 sounds good, but that starting price obviously doesn’t help those on a bigger budget. That’s where Dell’s G15 gaming laptops come in, offering either a Ryzen edition or an Intel-based version. Also announced Wednesday, the Dell G15 with Intel will go on sale on April 13, starting at $ 900. The Ryzen edition will arrive on May 4 with the same starting price.
The Intel G15 features a 10th generation quad-core Core i5-10200H or a 10th generation six-core Core i7-10870H, along with a GeForce GTX 1650 or GeForce RTX 3060.
The Ryzen edition offers either a 6-core Ryzen 5 5600H or an 8-core Ryzen 7 5800H. The only GPU option listed is a GeForce RTX 3060.
The memory capacity for both ranges from 8GB to 32GB. However, the Intel version maxes out at DDR4 / 2933, while the Ryzen version will log RAM up to DDR4 / 3200.
G15 laptops vary slightly with port selection. Both have three USB-A ports, a full-size HDMI port, and Gigabit Ethernet. The Intel GeForce GTX 1650 version and the Ryzen edition also feature USB-C ports, but Dell lists DisplayPort support for the Ryzen version only. The Intel version with GeForce RTX 3060 converts the USB-C port to a Thunderbolt 4 port.
Both Intel and AMD laptops feature a smaller 56-watt-hour battery, but one option is a higher-capacity 86-watt-hour battery. The display options appear to be the same for both versions: 1080p, 16: 9 panels with a refresh rate of 120 Hz with a maximum brightness of 250 nits or 165 Hz with a maximum brightness of 300 nits.
Dell
