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Jayran702 Posted
I've had to exchange this a few times before getting a decent model. Slays eSports titles and does ok with Ray tracing Medium settings on Cyberpunk 2077. Gets really hot under load. Battery drains fast. Be sure to undervolt to keep those temps down. Value i got was great because it was on sale for the same as other laptops with 2070 max q. Full price, I would look elsewhere.
AdaLovegirls Posted
I've used this every day for almost 3 weeks. I love it, but there's a few issues. The biggest, like others mention, is the heat. The laptop can easily get to 100C depending on the game. Apparently that's alright but I still worry. Just today I undervolted it and it seems to help a decent amount. -100mV undervolt with ThrottleStop seems to be the best, and still stable, but I haven't tested it a lot yet and I know little about undervolting and overclocking. -110mV is mostly stable but crashed when playing a game and alt-tabbing between programs. Undervolting possibly saves a decreases the temp by a few degrees, 3-5C or so. It runs games great. FF14 I can run easily at max settings and 60fps and the temp stays in the 70's. Max fps is about 186 at max graphics, but gets very hot at 90-100, even at 120fps. Overwatch runs on Epic settings at between 90-130fps, average is about 110, and the temperature for that hovers around 90C. Assassin's Creed Valhalla runs at max settings, 60fps at around 87C, so not too bad. This is all with the undervolt and a 3-fan 1100rpm cooling pad. There are a few minor issues. The battery drains under heavy load, but I haven't seen it go under 95% no matter how long I play, so it seems fine. I've had issues with Bluetooth, my wireless earphones have awful sound quality and it doesn't stay disconnected for long. Also, the media keys (Fn + arrow keys) are weird. Pause doesn't work, but Stop seems to function as Pause, and Previous and Next still input the arrow key in whatever is in focus. If you're going to use the speakers a lot like me, I found the sound to be pretty bad at first, but with some tweaking in Alienware Command Center it sounds much better than my old cheap laptop. I recommend going to ACC, go to the Fusion tab at the top, go to the speaker icon tab on the left, turn off Reverb and Alienware 7.1 Virtual Surround Sound. Those both make the audio sound muffled. Also in the Equalizer tab, go with the last one, Warm & Crunchy, which makes it sound much better than default in my opinion. All in all so far I'd definitely recommend it, especially on sale, which I got mine for $1600.
JABoyle3875 Posted
Great laptop - performs well, has no problem with intensive games such as Red Dead Redemption 2 or Horizon Zero Dawn. However...you'll have to make compromises, these are ones I couldn't deal with so I'm returning it. 1. Heat. The big tradeoff with a beefy video card in a thin and light laptop. Unless you have an amazing tolerance for heat on your lap, you won't have this machine on it while gaming. The bottom gets INTENSELY hot, and the portion between the keyboard and the hinge for the screen gets hot to the point of causing pain within 2 seconds of touching it. 2. Noise. While the higher levels of fan movement help with the heat, to a degree (but not so you could have it on your lap or touch the section mentioned above without pain), if you crank the fans to one of the two highest settings it will sound like a jet engine. I never knew fans that small could make THAT much noise. So yeah, returning it. But if you can tolerate/live with those issues it's a great machine. (And yes I tried a cooling pad and that didn't help much.
Posted
JABoyle3875,
We're sorry that your computer's performance was not meeting your needs. Here are some tips the manage the heat that you were experiencing while using your laptop:
• To tune your system, go to Alienware Command Center and select out of 4 different thermal profiles that will help you manage system temperatures as well as performance output to your preference. These include Cool, Quiet, Balanced, and Performance thermal profiles.
• Our Alienware m15 follows 8th and 9th generation Intel performance design guidelines, which can lead CPU temperatures to reach 100°C to output top in-game performance.
• We fully warrant the product under these conditions. If you see CPU temperatures rising beyond 100°C on Alienware Command Center, please contact support and they will take care of your issue - https://dell.to/2Inbc8F.
You can view additional information on this site: https://dell.to/2IIhqjJ.
If you'd like to see if you can reduce the fan noise you can try to update the BIOS on your computer:
An out-of-date BIOS can cause loud fan noises by having an outdated temperature table for the system. Refer to update BIOS and follow the instructions to update the BIOS on your computer. You can also follow up with our Technical Support Team here - 1-800-624-9896.
You can read the full article here - http://dell.to/2ENlXfz.
We hope that these tips help your computer run better for you.
Best,
Bryan
1-800-624-9896
Mrcm Posted
overall, good laptop and good performance I like the fact that has an i7 processor and RTX 2070 super, nice screen, good keyboard and the option to modify performance options I'm not happy that I cannot upgrade or add memory which really help when running virtual machines.
kytho Posted
I purchased this laptop as it was on sale and after returning a GE66 with the 3070 due to kernel crashes. I have now owned this laptop a week and it runs very well and has given great in game performance. My only complaint is that the cpu gets REALLY hot. Playing borderlands 3 I was getting up to 100 degrees, which Dell says is perfectly normal as long as the mhz stays in a reasonable range. I've read elsewhere this is a common occurrence with this laptop. On the other hand, GPU thermals remain in relatively stable place even during intense gaming. I have yet to see the GPU get above 74 degrees. Despite the cpu heat the laptop still shreds, which I have never really seen at temps like this. Finally, the keyboard is really good, but will get hot when the cpu starts getting into the higher temperature ranges...but still I do love this keyboard.
homegrownherbis Posted
If you're looking for a compact gaming laptop, this is the one you want. Build quality is tremendous. The screen, at 300Hz, is overkill and may drain the battery faster than intended. The GPU runs a bit loud but that happens with gaming laptops. Other than that, can't complain. A bit pricey but worth it, IMO.
MoMo Posted
One of the best purchases Ive made in a while! An absolute beast of a laptop that will play anything and everything at max settings. The 300hz screen is definitely overkill and a battery drain but beautiful nonetheless. If you can get it on sale like I did then its one of the best deals around. The only complaint I have is that the ram is soldered and therefore can't be upgraded. Overall, its an amazing machine I definitely recommend it.
spookyscaryskeletons Posted
Runs hot but that is to be expected in a gaming laptop. Don't expect good battery life as the dgpu is hooked directly to the screen. Ram is not up-gradable.
ZebGlendower Posted
I wanted to write a review for anyone who might be trying to decide between this computer and a new 3070 laptop at the same or similar price point. I was choosing between the Zephyrus G15 3070 on an open-box special for $1600 and this laptop, which I found on an open-box special for $1200. It was a really hard choice, but, in the end, the cost to performance ratio convinced me to go with the Alienware. To help in my decision-making I went to YouTube. Own or Disown has two videos benchmarking the Zephyrus (https://youtu.be/Q_vMQK08vgA & https://youtu.be/cXfqX6Pau5g) and one comparing the 3070 max-q to the 2070 Super max-p (https://youtu.be/-MQqmXZJqy4). I also found Gizmo SlipTech's videos, particularly his Zephyrus G15 review (https://youtu.be/R_KNcDupaUE) super helpful. Both reviewers show that the performance differential between the 3070 max-q at 80-100w and the 2070 Super max-p (I think it's around 115w) is very small at 1080p (around 3-5%). It gets a bit bigger at 1440p (around 8-10%). Obviously, with more ray-tracing cores, the 3070 does a bit better at ray-tracing and with DLSS. When I found such a great price for the Alienware laptop, the choice was pretty obvious. If the two laptops had been the same price, I would have gone with the Zephyrus, as it's probably stronger for longer. But with $400 between the two (in the case of my two open-box deals), it seemed like a good buy. A word about the open-box deal. Best Buy categorized this laptop as "satisfactory." It was brand new. Not a scratch on it. I have no complaints so far about its performance, though, to be honest, I haven't gotten much time to do any serious gaming on it yet. There are a lot of reviews that speak to its gaming performance, though. I mostly wanted to lay out my research process and offer a few resources for anyone who, like me, is trying to choose between a great deal on a 2000 series laptop and a moderate to no deal on a 3000 series.
Kida Posted
Great computer for an amazing price during the holidays for my daughter. Yes it does get pretty hot when playing demanding games but it’s a sleek design with 300hz. With speakers on or headphones you won’t notice much. Beautiful looking gaming laptop. Don’t forget to update dell/Alienware software n latest drives first before running any games!
Mike Posted
This laptop is a beast. The build quality is superb, bright screen and fast. Will run every AAA games out there with ease. If you are in the market for a fast gaming laptop this is very hard to beat if you get one on sale. This is just as fast, if not faster than the low TDP 3070 laptops. Buy it and you will not regret it.
Sabra Posted
Runs a bit hot, but she's a powerful little beast.
JadeReviewer Posted
Worth the money on sale! (or was until RTX 3000 series came out lol) Pros: 300hz screen 2070 SUPER More muted grey look for daily use at work as well What more do you want? Cons: Short battery life HUGE power brick
Billytriforce Posted
This is a beast in a small package, i got it for my move across the country to replace my desktop for the time being and i do not regret a single dollar spent! It blazes through all games on ultra settings, for esports games it pushes them to the highest fps! Build quality is amazing and i expanded the storage with a 1tb nvme Samsung evo 970 plus! From nier automata to warzone this is the laptop i never thought would push games as much as it does!
Arjun Posted
got this at a steal on the thanksgiving sale with the open box option! it blew away my other gaming laptop hands down. Love the screen, style, performance, keyboard! Battery life isn't great cuz of the 300mhz but its a non factor for me as i'm always plugged in. If this is you, you'll love it!
GundamDiver Posted
I bought this Alienware m15 r3 as an upgrade to my Lenovo L340 gaming laptop and I am so thrilled with its performance. This laptop is just so responsive during daily use and even more responsive in games thanks to the 300htz screen. My L340 had a plain jane i5 9th gen + gtx 1650 combo that got the job done , but with basic settings... However, this Alienware m15 r3 with its powerful 10th gen i7 cpu and rtx 2070 super gpu will run everything maxed out over 60 fps easily. I love gaming with these specs... The Dual channel ram (16gigs) really keeps up with this powerhouse build so you can really push the fps. The per key rgb is gorgeous and the exterior rgb really gives the beautiful chassis of this laptop a little something extra. If you're looking a new laptop or buying your very first gaming laptop, I'd highly recommend this Alienware m15 r3. Its got all the right specs to allow the maximum performance from your games and really will wow with its looks.
Ricky Posted
I really liked my time using the Alienware m15 r3. It was a excellent machine and handled any game or workload I threw at it. The only issue I had was the battery life which was a total deal breaker. Due to the machine not having Optimus (300hz display not supported) and the lack of a mux switch like other machines with 300hz displays. This results in the battery life for school or work being cut dramatically short. I tried fixing the issue with undervolting and reducing the display to 60 hz but these fixes still still didn't quite resolve the issue. I ended up returning the laptop. I really wished BestBuy had order the 144hz display versions instead.
spaceball Posted
I travel a lot for work and still game a bit. I'm not going to build another desktop so I wanted a laptop with near desktop creds. This is pretty darn close! The Good - Great cooling!, One of the fastest if not the fastest RTX 2070 Super (Notebook GPU), really good performance from the i10750 in this configuration, almost slim The Bad - It's almost compact, the exterior dimensions are not like other laptops and might not fit in all sleeves or bags for a 15 inch laptop, software issues, use older version of Alienware Command Center and not the newest, Dell updates can cause other issues This laptop has a ton of potential. I went through my usual updates and even tried out the dell update system that is provided via software. It caused issue with the Command Center and I was no longer able to control the keyboard lighting. Not just that but I had to access to the commands and functions that the Alienware Command Center is built to provide. This was remedied by using an older version of Alienware Command Center and Alienware Overclock Controls. The keyboard is nice but after just returning a GS66 if would say I preferred the GS66 keyboard. Key travel is okay but they take some getting used to with how stiff they are. The touhpad is okay as well. The screen is difficult to describe. It is not a low quality screen but something about it, it just doesn't pop at all. Refresh rate is great and smooth. This unit is near perfect in all honesty, it just has some issues that will hopefully be fixed in time. If you are someone that opens a laptop and uses it as it, this one might cause a few headaches for you and some chat support calls. If you know how to troubleshoot, well you will be pretty happy with this piece of kit. If Dell would offer the customization like they did back in the late 2000s (2009) and you could truly personalize the full specs I would have bought this from dell. But they don't and it is extremely frustrating. From what I have seen from this laptop thus far I would recomend this setup or (if they offered it) i9-10980HK (or if by Miracle Ryzen 4900) RTX 2070 Super 32 GB Ram 3200mhz 1 TB boot drive 1 TB secondary drive your choice of screen
Posted
spaceball,
Thanks you so much for your in depth review of your new Dell laptop. We are so glad to hear that it is working well for you and that you've been able to find the settings to fit your needs. If you are still having trouble with the Alienware Control Center we would recommend un-installing the old version that you have first and then downloading the latest version of Alienware Control Center and see if it works better after following that process.
We hope that you will continue to get the most out of your new computer. Please check out our Product Support Page for additional help if you need it: https://dell.to/2QjKwGU.
Best,
Bryan
1-800-624-9896
himesh1985 Posted
I have bought this on a deal for 1500$ and have seen this deal pop up a couple of times. Getting a 2070 super for this price is awesome except that my first laptop unfortunately failed and the second one had screen bleeding issues. If you combine with Greek squad protection then you can't go wrong with this machine. Performance wise it was beyond my expectations as it has a higher wattage GPu and cpu than its competition. I think it's got to do with some 8 phase voltage delivery in the R3 version. I had a razer blade 2070 version to compare it with and it was definitely performing much better than that. Battery life is huge let down though. All in all if you can't wait for the 3o series or 11th Gen then this is the one to go for provided you get it for a deal and take the protection plan.
7Walck Posted
Such an awesome laptop, great speed and power and resolution. Highly recommended, only 2 down falls. The battery length, and heat from the laptop. But in all honesty all laptops have similar problems. So again it's a freaking great laptop.