Is This The Affordable Alienware? 😂

In this video we review the new Alienware M15r7 with 12th gen CPU and 3070ti graphics card. Is the entry level Alienware worth your money?

Timestamps: -
0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:45 - Specs
0:01:13 - Ports
0:01:54 - Opening Up
0:02:13 - Touchpad
0:02:25 - Keyboard
0:03:07 - Deck Venting
0:03:43 - Speakers
0:04:19 - Screen
0:05:04 - Webcam and Windows Hello
0:05:33 - Internals
0:06:51 - Performance
0:08:11 - Gaming
0:11:03 - Battery and PSU
0:12:22 - Conclusion

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#laptopreview #alienware #gaminglaptops

[soos]

if you're planning to buy this, I think the sweet spot would be i7, 16 or 32gb memory, 1tb ssd, and rtx 3070 ti. 👍

[Z]

Re: battery life and efficiency cores, it's mostly because the pCores are still idling instead of Intel and Microsoft being able to switch off the pCores entirely without restarting to get into the BIOS and restarting again. If for example you can save a custom profile (or the laptop manufacturer can put it in) and have an on-battery eco mode that only runs the eCores, you'll basically have a beefy Netbook that isn't just physically bigger, but has double the cores - still enough for just MS Office and browser, but in most cases it won't be YT and no Spotify either (ex library, a meeting or otherwise at work if they don't have sensitive data you can only access using company-provided PCs, etc).

Sadly, at best all you get is Windows power profiles where you can just cap the power on the pCores, basically forcing them to not boost. Which will not really help on a constant load test since when on battery cores will boost when you launch something. Although in real life use (ie more variables, like opening documents) it MAY make for test results that are closer to repeatable tests' because your pCores aren't boosting every time you open a document for example.

And then there's NVidia's role in all this. I think it's Advanced Optimus that automatically switches the screen refresh rate on battery; seems like this one only has the older Optimus. Still, I probably would manually switch over when I'm heading out, but I'd still complain how this is a PITA.

All that said I might actually go for the M15 over the X15 for a few reasons - lower price, shorter front to rear, power input is on the back, doesn't seem to be markedly louder than the X15 IIRC. Annoyingly enough they don't use liquid metal on the 3060 models so I'll have to open it myself (which is weird, given all the power and the desktop replacement size of these things, you'd think they should just use that all the time).

I was holding out for the AMD versions too but then I realized Thunderbolt is more important than battery run time since
1. I'm buying it more as a desktop replacement that I can haul around (ex I need to look up something at a university library)
2. I'm also buying it to game on it sans a desktop (thanks, scalpers) for the near future, but in case newer generation graphics card prices are more normal, I can get an eGPU dock and run an RTX 5060 on it. CPU gets the laptop cooling to itself so now I can play around with CPU and eGPU power limits to figure out how much more power the CPU should draw without severely bottlenecking the desktop card in the eGPU dock, keep both the laptop fans cooling the CPU, the graphics card, and eGPU PSU to a level that I would expect more from a decent desktop.

[alexandernguyen-huynh]

Great video, always thorough which I really appreciate. Seems like a great product

[Ornal]

Great review Dave 👍 With this pricing couldn’t be more happy with my R5 that I picked up on February sale.

[finegamingconnoisseur]

The fact that my 13-inch Alienware 13 R3 from way back in 2016 has all secondary symbols backlit, and the M and X series don't, is unforgivable.

[warking]

amazing work on the review thankyou for your time <3

[MrMcDrunk]

Just snagged the m15r7 i7 3070i 16gb 1tb 240hz with the mid level keyboard for just over $1900 usd. Saved about $330 usd with codes. Also had next day delivery. Pretty pumped for this one. As always, a great in depth review. Keep up the amazing work!

[joechapman]

9:38 You might see higher watts used on the GPU if you put it into Fan Overdrive (Fn + F1). A lot of people thought this didn't do anything on the M15 R6 except ramp the fans to their maximum, but I noticed with my RTX3070 R6 and RivaTuner that the GPU wattage jumps way above the advertised 125W maximum into the low 130s, even briefly flickering at 135W (tested with AC Valhalla, 1440p).

[karladap]

Finally! Been waiting for this review since forever. Good one, man!

[erickim]

The track selection for the audio test is new! I... appreciate it.

[ald]

I just got the x17 r2 with 12700h, 32gb ddr5, 3070ti, 360hz display 1tb ssd, and the cherry mechanical keyboard. Got it for what I think is a decent price for an Alienware. $2500 USD. Still costly but id expect this thing to last me a solid 4-5 years if not more.

[Ray-ggvq]

i just got the R5 6 months ago and now we have R7 already. time sure flies lol. loved the review, though i noticed the keyboard deck have a somewhat different shade of gray, and different pattern on bottom panel, otherwise, pretty much the same.

[willsop]

Just got this one with an rtx 3060, was a little worried about lower vram on this gpu but I have to say it is performing beautifully in games running High setting on a qhd screen. Love it!!!

[taylorp]

Gaming laptops really have come so far. Yes they are pushing for thinner form factor but even then, they pack some serious performance. I remember when gaming laptops were far behind desktops with very specific mobile models of cpus and gpus but they are seriously just nipping at the desktops heels now. When the shortage of gpus and the gouging was in full affect, I bought a M15r5 with the rtx3060 getting very lucky and paying 25% less than retail. Less than $1500 tax in in Canada when they were new starting at $1899 before tax. At the time of purchase, graphics cards were hard to find and ridiculously over priced, you honestly couldn’t build a gaming Pc as powerful for as little as I paid for my laptop at that moment in time and I’m so impressed with its performance. Now I’m repasting it and expecting the same if not better performance a year later but otherwise has been a flawless computer with exceptional gaming performance and that’s coming from my previous Pc custom build with a open loop 2080 super in it that I spent fortunes on.

[Jra]

i just picked up the m17 r5 17.3" that has the AMD Ryzen 9 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti - 1TB SSD from best buy and so far im liking it. The price is insane especially for only having a 1080p display lol but i really wanted to get a a beast gaming laptop and i think i got it. I haven't played any games on it yet since I'm still setting it up but i know it's going to be a beast. No regrets o so far

[CosmicApe]

For anyone who is curious, the 3070ti is 140W with the i7-12700H CPU, but if you choose to go with the AMD version of the M15 R7, the 3070ti TGP bumps up to 150W!

[stephensalex]

I own one of these with the i9, 32 GB, 1 TB, and a 3080. Love the machine.

[queendivax]

Thank you for this review! I just ordered the M15 R7 with the AMD Ryzen 7, 3060 GPU, 16GB ram, and the standard 1080P screen and standard keyboard all for $1, 100 including tax! Dell has an amazing spring sale going on, and I was also able to use a student discount code for extra savings. I would love the QHD screen, but for $1, 100 I’m willing to compromise. Such a steal of a price

[jairosendsit]

I have a very similarly specked m17r7 and it’s an absolute beast coming from a second gen Xbox one it’s it’s on another level of performance

[aldrinjulio]

13:33 mentioned about alienware pricing on the high side. As someone whom been using M15R3, claimed a warranty and granted replacement of M15R7 with 3070ti. As a happy user, I would say the premium price of Alienware is justified by a class better warranty compare to other brands as well as prompt on site tech support.