Alienware m15 R3 Review: A Quieter, Powerful Gaming Laptop

Thin and light gaming laptops are no longer a novelty, as practically every PC maker offers their own take on the category. Some of them don’t always stand-out from the crowd, however, and can push the envelope on thermals in ever-tighter chassis designs. That is most definitely not the case with Dell’s Alienware m15 R3 though, unless you want to compare it to last year’s Alienware m15 R2. At a passing glance, this year’s refresh looks just like last year’s model. That is not a bad thing, as the new m15 R3 is a head-turning laptop with some notable improvements to this newest iteration, including a revamped cooling solution.

In short, the improvements for this refresh are not necessarily things you will see, but they make this an overall better performing laptop. That said, Dell did add a “High Endurance Clear Coat” on the exterior finish of this year’s model, which is supposed to “increase stain resistance.” We still would not recommend pawing at this laptop if your fingers are covered in Cheetos dust or anything of the sort, but in general, the coating is intended to thwart fingerprints and smudges. So, we’ll take it.

The more interesting changes are on the inside, however, and here is a rundown of the configuration we received for testing…

Alienware m15 R3 Specifications & Features

Our model sports a Core i7-10750H, which is a 6-core/12-thread chip capable of boosting to 5GHz. It also has 12MB of Intel SmartCache (read: L3 cache). This is paired with 16GB of DDR4-2666 memory and a pair of 512GB M.2 NVMe solid state drives configured in RAID 0, for 1TB total of high-speed storage.

So, there is your caveat for all this horsepower and the Alienware cachet—it does not come cheap. However, you could knock a few hundred bucks off by dropping down to a 1080p LCD display with a 144Hz refresh rate, and further reduce the price by opting for 512GB of storage and a GeForce RTX 2060. You’d still be left with a powerful gaming laptop, at a more palatable $1,603.28 (also at the time of this writing).

Alienware Themed Design And Features

There is no mistaking this laptop for anything but an Alienware system. It has a unique look, though compared to the original m15, is far less ostentatious with a more modern design language. The iconic Alienware logo sits on the lid and lights up, with the number “15” etched into the lower portion of the lid using a distinct font.

Dell offers two color options—Dark Side of the Moon and Lunar Light. We received the Lunar Light model, and quite frankly, it is a gorgeous design that our photos simply do not do justice. It also resists fingerprints and smudges well, whether because of the color scheme, materials, or that special high endurance coating we mentioned earlier.

Alienware m15 R3 Ports – Left Side

Alienware m15 R3 Ports – Right Side

Connectivity options on the sides consist of a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, 3.5mm audio port, and Killer E3000 2.5Gbps Ethernet port on the left, and two more USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports on right, along with a microSD card reader. Each side also sports a vent to expel hot air.

Alienware m15 R3 Ports – Rear

This is one of a relatively small number of laptops that jettisons some of the I/O ports to the rear. That is where you will find the HDMI 2.0b (with HDCP 2.2 support) and mini DisplayPort 1.4 outputs, along with a Thunderbolt 3.0 Type-C port, DC-in, and the proprietary Alienware Graphics Amplifier port.

Taking advantage of the external graphics option obviously adds a significant cost to the equation. It is not really necessary, except perhaps if you want to take full advantage of the 4K OLED display option, as found on our review unit. It essentially gives you the option of turning this into a desktop replacement without committing to the bulkier form factor—you could leverage an external GPU at home and leave the accessory at home when traveling.

Speaking of the 4K resolution panel on our test unit, the Alienware m15 R3 can be configured with four different display options, each one compelling in their own right. They consist of the following…

• Full HD (1920×1080), 144Hz refresh rate, 7ms response time, 300 nits, 72 percent NTSC
• Full HD (1920×1080), 144Hz refresh rate, 7ms response time, 300 nits, 72 percent NTSC, G-Sync
• Full HD (1920×1080), 300Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time, 300 nits, 100 percent sRGB
• 4K (3840×2126), OLED, 60Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, 400 nits, 100 percent DCI-P3

The 4K option is the only OLED of the bunch, and also the only one to feature Tobii eye tracking technology. This has some interesting uses, including in-game support on certain titles. Though arguably the biggest benefit is the potential for extended battery life, by automatically dimming the screen when you are not actively looking at it and then kicking up the brightness when you are gazing at the machine.

This is not an edge-to-edge (or “InfinityEdge”) display as found on some of Dell’s productivity laptops, like the XPS 15 9500. However, the bezels are not egregiously thick, either. The image quality is excellent, as is usually the case on OLED screens, and we found the brightness to be adequate—at 100 percent brightness, we measured 604 lux with our light meter.

The Alienware motif extends to the main deck. Above the keyboard sits a row of vents with a sort of honeycomb styling, separated on the right by the power button in the shape of of the Alienware logo. This lights up like the logo on the lid as well.

Same goes for the keyboard—this particular model features per-key lighting, which is a $29.40 upgrade over zoned lighting (with four customizable zones). Both options are of the RGB variety, naturally. Typing is pretty good too, for a laptop keyboard. The keys are slightly concave (0.2mm) and offer 1.7mm of key travel, with decent response and bounce. And underneath, the seamless glass trackpad with integrated scrolling and buttons works well, registering gestures and taps with consistency.

What you can’t see, but is worth noting, is the upgraded graphics voltage regulation for the Alienware m15 R3. For models configured with a GeForce GTX 1660 Ti or higher, Dell bumped up the GPU voltage regulation from eight phases to 12 phases (and six phases for the CPU). This is part of what Dell dubs Hyper-Efficient Voltage Regulation.

“Hyper-Efficient Voltage Regulation is the result of hardware engineering that enables graphics and/or processors to run at their highest levels of performance for extended lengths of time. This increases the number of total voltage regulation phases which thereby raises power signal efficiency and thermal efficiency per core,” Dell explains.

The implication here is that the Alienware m15 R3 should be able to maintain faster clocks for longer periods of time, for better performance. We’ll see if it does when we get to our benchmarks.

Opening And Upgrading Or Service The Alienware m15 R3

The general trend towards increasingly thinner and lighter laptop designs has, for the most part, come at the expense of do-it-yourself repairs and easy upgrades. This is not always the case, fortunately, it just depends on the specific make and model. As for the Alienware m15 R3, it does bring some DIY mojo to the table, with a disappointing caveat. More on that in a moment.

Opening the laptop is not overly difficult. Once on the operating table, you will need a precision Phillips screwdriver, then it is a matter of removing eight screws around the bottom panel. Once those are out of the way, find something thin to wedge into the crevice to pry the panel off (a long fingernail would probably suffice, if you are careful).

What about that caveat? It is the RAM, and specifically the inability to remove and replace or upgrade the memory. That is because Dell opted to solder the RAM to the motherboard, making upgrades virtually impossible. The good news is, the Alienware m15 R3 is only available with 16GB or 32GB (at least if configuring a model direct from Dell), either of which should be enough to last the life of the laptop. Still, it is a disappointing limitation, and it means a more costly repair on the off chance the RAM goes bad.

Alienware m15 R3 Software

There is not a ton in the way of pre-installed software utilities, though Dell does load its Alienware Command Center software on the m15 R3. This is where you can control the lighting, apply themes, configure overclocks, adjust the cooling, and few other bits. It is not the most intuitive utility in the world, but it is nice to have access to those options.

The Alienware Update utility is more straightforward. Just as it sounds, the software pings Dell for driver and BIOS updates, and gives you the option of fetching and installing them from within the GUI.

If you opted for the 4K OLED display, you also have access to the Tobii Experience software. You will want to fire this up to calibrate the eye tracking. And you can create separate profiles for different users, each with their individualized calibration settings.

Enough with the tour, let’s jump into the benchmarks…