At Computex 2019 in Taiwan, Dell introduced the new generation of flat Alienware M15 and M17 gaming laptops. Optically, the two laptops are based on the “Legend” design of the Alienware Area-51m, the old world’s fastest gaming notebook, which was presented at CES 2019 in January. Dell and Alienware, respectively, exclusively use processors from Intel and graphics cards from Nvidia for the M15 and M17.
The predecessor of the now introduced Alienware M15 and M17 came on the market only seven months ago. The dimensions of the new M15 are practically unchanged, but the new magnesium alloy body has a distinctly different appearance due to the changed design language. Visually, the differences between the M17 and its predecessor are much greater. The notebook is 2.5 mm thinner and 10 mm narrower.
Dell has also updated the input devices of the Alienware M15 along with the redesign of the case. The touchpad is now covered with glass and the new keyboard has an increased stroke from 1.4 mm to 1.7 mm. As with the predecessor, the illumination of the keys can be controlled individually via the AlienFX software. N-Key-Rollover is of course also available again.
manifold configuration possibilities
Both notebooks are equipped with Dell Coffee Lake-H-Refresh processors from Intel. Customers can choose between the following models:
- Core i5-9300H (4C/8T, maximum 4.1 GHz Turbo)
- Core i7-9750H (6C/12T, maximum 4.5 GHz Turbo)
- Core i9-9880H (8C/16T, maximum 4.8 GHz Turbo)
- i9-9980HK (8C/16T, maximum 5.0 GHz Turbo)
The DDR memory is 8 GB or 16 GB in size and runs in dual channel mode. Dell has not yet announced whether the RAM can be expanded by the user himself or whether it is firmly soldered to the motherboard. With the previous version from last year, customers were able to expand the RAM themselves. Alienware also uses up to two SSDs with a total capacity of between 256 GB and 4 TB. Configurations with two SSDs are delivered as RAID0.
There is a large selection of graphics cards, but this is exclusively limited to Nvidia products:
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650
- Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
- Nvidia RTX Models 2060
- Nvidia RTX models 2070 Max-Q
- Nvidia RTX models 2080 Max-Q
Especially with the Alienware M15, there are also a number of configuration options for the displays, from which buyers can choose individually:
- full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), 60 Hz, 25 ms response time, 300 cd/m² brightness
- Full-HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), 240 Hz, 7 ms response time, 300 cd/m² brightness, 100 percent sRGB coverage and Tobii Eyetracking
- UHD OLED (3840 x 2160 pixels), 60 Hz, 1 ms response time, HDR 400, 100 percent DCI-P3 coverage and Tobii Eyetracking
With the M17 “only” two displays are available for selection:
- full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), 60 Hz, 25 ms Response time
- Full-HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), 144 Hz, 9 ms response time, Tobii eye tracking and blue light filter
According to Dell, the M17 is the first notebook in the world to feature a blue light filter. Currently, this technology is only used in smartphones and tablets.
Dell has not provided any information on prices or availability during the fair.
