Faisal Ghaffar 
Overview
The Alienware M15 R7 has made its mark on the market, replacing the M5 / M6 model in Dell’s line of mid-range gaming laptops. It has big shoes to fill: the older version was largely viewed as one of the best gaming laptop options available, owing to its low design and emphasis on performance over fancier features.
The R7 has arrived to bring the Alienware M15 experience we all know and love up to 2022’s standards, with Intel’s latest 12th generation processors and more space for RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti graphics cards. We put this most recent iteration through its speed rates over two weeks of intense work and play.
Design
With its plastic body and heavier profile, the Alienware M15 R7 follows the same styling cues as the previous generation. Dell prioritizes component value in these machines, so you do end up losing some of the sturdier build characteristics of the X-range – the Alienware x14, for instance, offers a luxury aluminum and magnesium chassis but significantly lowers your power level in exchange. That means the R7 doesn’t feel just about as strong as these higher price devices, but if you’re not going to be carrying it around, you’ll appreciate the solid weight.
However, if you’re looking for a portable machine, this isn’t it. The Alienware M15 R7 weighs just under 6 pounds and comes with a monstrous authority adapter to boot. This thing is massive and takes up a lot of backpack space as a result. Of course, there’s a lot of stuff going on underneath the hood, and the R7 requires all the power it can get, but this brick is a blight.
The classic Alienware RGB logo remains on the back, as does the super slick RGB strip encompassing the ports. Likewise, hexagonal vents continue to line the bezel above the keyboard. Our review unit was Dark Side of the Moon – yet another fancy way of saying black – with a matte finish that felt especially nice in the hand. The ability of this material to avoid permanent fingerprints impressed me, though dust does demonstrate up as quickly as it lands.
Features
If you want an all-in-one machine with no features sacrifices, the Alienware M15 R7 will not disappoint. You’re covered for the latest generation connections with three USB-Type A 3.2 Gen 1 ports (one capable of 5Gbps and another built with Powershare on top), a Type-C with Thunderbolt 4 and Power Delivery, and an HDMI 2.1. Not only that, but a large percentage of these harbors are in the back, so anyone who struggles with cable management will be grateful.
You’re getting two stereo speakers here, with particularly crisp audio and plenty of volume (which you’ll definitely need if you’re not using one of the best gaming headsets – and more on that later). Plus, the top-mounted 360Hz Full HD display performed admirably in terms of motion handling and tear reduction during my testing. While lighter colors appeared a little washed out when compared to the rich darker colors on offer, this matte screen performs well even in bright sunlight.
