Customer Ratings & Reviews

Very disappointing performance. Very expensive laptop. Games frequently crash with an error stating "Limited system memory". 16 GB ddr4 is not enough memory to keep games running smoothly. Upgrading ram is also a problem because of limited availability of ddr4 2666mhz. I didn't spend a fortune on this laptop to keep searching for ram to upgrade. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw stuttering screen, graphics lag and aforementioned frequent crashing on simple games like Dota 2 and Rise of the Tomb Raider. There's no Toby eye scanning on this model which was another surprise. I simply wanted to buy the most powerful and capable machine money can buy, with over-clock-able Intel i9 processor and Nvidia GTX 1080. Unfortunately with this purchase I ended up getting a heavy, slow, super hot mess that I can't even return. I can not share in words how super disappointed and frustrated I am with this purchase and I wouldn't be surprised if my review is not even published on the review section of bestbuy. To close this off, I do not recommend this product or any other product from Alienware. Their support on the phone was absolutely useless. Oh, and did I mention that the screen has a line right in the center? Apparently it's damaged out of the box. Picture attached with the review.

I was looking for a laptop with one of the best configurations with the 10 series Nvidia GTX graphics cards. I searched many places and eventually I got this laptop with 1080 OC for the best price at bestbuy! I got this on discount at only $2.6k! No one can beat bestbuy in discount offers! Love you bestbuy!

Black screen, blue screen, freezing, keyboard lights going out and only working again after updating the command center... I've only had it for two months and all I ever do on the thing is use Chrome, Microsoft Edge and sometimes Warframe/WoW/comparable game. I was worried I'd received a defective unit, but troubleshooting online leads me to believe it's just how these laptops are. Prior to this purchase, I owned a Dell laptop. It was pre-owned and a year old when I purchased it and it was a reliable machine for the years I used it... I still use it. I wish I thought this Alienware would perform similarly well, but I instead often consider returning it. The aesthetic is nice and it runs games better than my last laptop (the primary reasons I bought it). However, the mediocre display and the aforementioned issues prompt me to daydream about having purchased from a competing brand.

With the clearance sale on this Alienware laptop at 1800 dollars, it is really a steal to get this configuration with the GTX 1080 GPU and i9 8950HK CPU. I highly recommend this product though there may be a bit of tinkering you may need to do if thermals are a sort of thing you worry about. But otherwise, an undervolt may benefit lowering down the temperatures to make it a bit cooler. I had a bad experience opening this laptop up when compared to the Alienware 13 R3, but putting on quality thermal paste is possible. Otherwise, this laptop with just an undervolt will suffice for anyone not wanting to open up the laptop. Gaming-wise, you won’t be worrying about the hardware being outdated anytime soon. This will play many games 60 frames and up. The monitor of this Alienware laptop is at 60 hertz but you can overclock it hertz higher. My screen was able to handle at 74 hertz max which is pretty nice. But your milage may vary on that. But this sort of refresh rate overclock done through the nvidia control center is really worth it if you want the smoothest gameplay possible. Anyways overall, this laptop is great and will last you for a while, get it at this deal while there are still these laptops left since they are not in production anymore. ^—^

Though the laptop is bit bulky and will not fit in a regular Backpack, but still I give it a 5 star. The Speed and graphics are the things that are really excellent. Build quality is superb tough the laptop is bit heavier that others. Perfect for Gaming ... But if you are not a gamer then please dont go with it.

bought this computer for VR experience, not for gaming but educational immersion with the technology. took a while for all updates to come into play as the i9 chip is so new and htc Vive pro installation did not recognize it at first. took a lot of bios updates. seems all good now.

Great gaming laptop, graphics, fast, portable, not too heavy.

This is a true desktop replacement. First Alienware product I have owned and I love it. It is a heavy laptop, but for me, that is ok. I know it has a lot under the hood.

i have a alienware 15 r2. i used them side by side for general task and realized that the alienware 17 r5 didnt' seem fast, but actually felt slower. I liked the way the laptop looked. It looks beautiful. It is very heavy. I kept the laptop for a few weeks to decide if i would really like it, but ended up returning it because it wasn't fast enough.

$5oo off and best deal for a very powerful gaming laptop compared to MSI or ASUS gaming laptop. Not as heavy as my original Alienware M17x and slimmer. No slouch when playing games or making videos.

I need this mainly for school purposes, it works flawless, no lag time,great graphics.

Good performance and speed. Could use more storage. Its heavy to carry around.

Great memory, awesome storage capacity, fantastic look!

I really want to live this laptop considering I saved up for a long time and chose this instead of the Omen, but it dies SOOO fast and the audio is way too quiet to hear anything unless you stop breathing and don't make any noise. Also the mouse seems to be screwy like it doesn't want to work sometimes and I mean the touchpad and the buttons. Other than all of that I like it.

I have on my fair share of desktops, laptops as well as tablets, but this laptop is by far the most insanely fast and efficient computer I’ve ever owned. It’s very expensive, but well worth the money! There simply aren’t enough good things to say about it.

I have to say I am quite pleased with this machine. If I am playing VR, steam, or blizzard games I don't have a stutter or lag when playing. I have had this machine for one year and have yet to be upset with the performance.

fastest computer I've owned , love the large screen

Got this as a gift for my Brother in law who is an animator. He has loved this since day 1 and it continues to perform at the same level.

It's slick but not worth the money. If you wanted the configuration exactly as it is, which under performs against its identically spec'd competitors, then maybe it's for you. If you saw it and thought "I could easily boost the Ram up to 32Gb and do a little OC tweaking here and there" then this isn't your rig. Dell (Alienware) opted not to support XMP with this unit (and possibly others, I'm only here for this one) which means you have to used Dell Ram (or another non-XMP product - which are a pain to try and find and not well reviewed or mainstream) at a higher price or else you won't hit your advertised speeds, only the base clock rate (usually 2400 or less for a 2666) and you aren't able to modify any RAM settings (voltage, memory multiplier etc) without having to go to a 3rd party BIOS (not easy to find) and then your warranty won't be supported. The command center is ok but very basic and not at all what I'd want for any kind of performance evaluation/tweaking/optimizing and if you try to go with XTU (since this has a sweet i9) its hands are tied, shoes encased in cement and it's teetering on the edge of a pier. Ultimately, it looks sharp and has a nice form factor but is a total letdown in terms of flexibility. Having listened to a talk by some Dell/AW developers recently I was excited as they seemed to encourage folks to get into their systems and do at least some minor mods and tweaks themselves but then they produce a product that punishes punishes you for trying. I've never owned an AW before, having always been with lower tier Asus/Dell etc, and I was very excited for this to arrive. But, having had this for a few weeks now and really seeing what it will do and what I can do with it, I would avoid this system and go with a comparably speccd Asus again (nothing against MSI etc, I just had a really good experience with Asus).

Came with 60Hz panel so I returned. At this price no laptop should have that low refresh rate.