Dell is taking advantage of CES 2023 to launch six new gaming laptops. Among them, one is the thinnest on the market, another the most “premium”.
In addition to the Luna repairable laptop concept and new monitors dedicated to productivityDell is also taking advantage of the CES 2023 to announce the renewal of its entire range gaming laptops. On the program: two new Dell G series and especially four new Alienware.
We discovered them at the beginning of December in New York, at the preview presentation to which Dell invited Frandroidtwo other European media and many American media.
The new Alienware laptops are not content to adopt the latest generations of CPUs and GPUs, they especially introduce new aesthetic codes and bring innovations in terms of cooling.
Almost as understated as Razer
Alienware thus improves its design framework » Legend, inaugurated in 2019. The new design « Legend 3 is even a little more sober, especially with the now flat and more inclined rear edge, which makes these computers more comfortable to wear. Alienware nevertheless stands out from the design “stealth» from its rival Razer, since we find the RGB lighting encircling this slice and now, in addition to the keyboard, an RGB backlit touchpad (except on the x14). And it’s always the rear edge that accommodates all or most of the connectors, which reinforces the visual effect of finesse and sobriety. The brand also facilitates the opening of the screen with chamfers and improves the quality of the palm rest.
Optimized cooling
Designing a portable PC is above all an energy challenge,from a strongerfor thegaming: the more powerful the CPU and the GPU, the more electricity they consume, therefore the more heat they release, which must be dissipated, by containing the thickness and the mass.
Depending on the model, Alienware has almost doubled the number of heat pipes, and sometimes doubled the exchange surface of the radiators. He extended the vapor chamber process to the GPU and improved the design of the two or four fans to increase their airflow by 25%. Above all, it reduced the size of the motherboards and improved the design of the rubber pads to increase the airflow, air drawn in below and expelled above and at the rear.
Cutaway view of an Alienware x16. Credit: Romain Heuillard
Underside of an Alienware x14. Credit: Romain Heuillard
Automatic power distribution between CPU and GPU
Result: in the same thickness as its predecessor, the m17, but with the help of a screen and therefore a larger chassis, the thermal capacity of the new Alienware m18 increases by 35%. With its four full-speed fans, the combined TDP is increased to 240 watts.
The six new computers also benefit from a new version of the Alienware Command Center software. This allows you to manage the maximum power, with settings “autonomy», « silence » et « balance», a setting «performance ” favoring the GPU, and a setting “max » unleashing the TDP to 240 W. It also makes it possible to identify which of the CPU or the GPU is the limiting factor and to automatically or manually distribute the power between one and the other.
Gaming laptops for all budgets
That’s it for the generalities, let’s now detail the six models:
Alienware x14 R2
A year following the x14, the Alienware x14 R2 still claims the title of thinnest gaming laptop on the market, with a maximum thickness of 14.5mm and a weight of 2.08kg. With its new 14-inch diagonal screen with a 16:10 ratio, displaying 2560 x 1600 pixels at 165 Hz and reproducing 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, it also allows you to work.
It will initially house an Intel Core i5-13420H or Core i7-13620H CPU, 16 or 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, a 256 GB to 4 TB M.2 SSD and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 6 GB to 50 GPU. W, RTX 4050 6 GB at 85 W or RTX 4060 8 GB at 85 W. Dell does not communicate the autonomy given to it by its 80.5 Wh battery.
The Alienware x14 R2 will launch in Q1 in a “entry levelstarting at 1800 dollars HT.
Alienware x16
The new Alienware x16 replaces the x15 and claims the title of the most “premium” gaming laptop on the market.
Its anodized aluminum and magnesium alloy chassis is 18.6 mm thick and weighs 2.72 kg. Its 16-inch 16:10 screen displays either 2560 x 1600 pixels at 165 Hz, or 2560 x 1600 pixels at 240 Hz, or 1920 x 1200 pixels at 480 Hz. It houses an Intel Core i7-13620H, i7-13700H or i9-13900HK, and un GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 6 Go 140 W, RTX 4060 8 Go 140 W, RTX 4070 8 Go 140 W, RTX 4080 12 Go 175 W ou RTX 4090 16 Go 175 Was well as 16 or 32 GB of DDR5 and 256 GB to 4 TB of SSD, with or without RAID 0.
Alienware will first launch high-end configurations in Q1, starting at $3,100 before tax, followed by entry-level configurations, starting at $2,150 before tax. AMD configurations are planned for Q2.
Alienware m16
The Alienware m16 offers the same 16-inch screens as the x16, but it’s what you might call a portable computer more than a laptop, since it’s 25.4mm thick and Dell has “forget it» to indicate its weight in the technical sheets.
It is offered with the same GPUs as the x16, but it differs in the CPUs offered: Core i7-13650HX, i7-13700HX or i9-13900HX. The latter, for example, offers 10 more cores and 40 W more than the i9-13900HK of the x16. It can also accommodate up to 64 GB of DDR5 and up to 4 M.2 SSDs, with a configuration of 2 x 512 GB and 2 x 4 TB, or 9 TB of raw capacity.
Again, Alienware will first market high-end configurations starting at 2600 dollars HT, from the 1st quarter, then configurations starting at 1900 dollars HT. AMD configurations are also planned for the 2nd quarter.
Alienware m18
The Alienware m18 is in every way identical to the m16, except for the thickness which reaches 26.7 mm and except for the 16:10 screen which increases to 18 inches, with either 2560 x 1600 pixels at 165 Hz, or 1920 x 1200 pixels at 480Hz. It also follows the same marketing pattern as the m16, priced at $2900 and $2100, respectively.
Dell G15 et G16
Dell finally presents two more conventional and more economical gaming laptops, the G15 and G16. They offer some of the same high-end components as the m16 and m18, but they also offer lower-end configurations. Above all, they adopt a simpler, thicker (26.9 and 25.7 mm) and heavier (2.65 and 2.73 kg) design, to contain the prices.
Thus, the Dell G15 can be equipped with the same Core i7-13650HX, i7-13700HX or i9-13900HX and the same 32 GB of DDR5 as the Alienware m18, but it can also be equipped with a Core i5-13450HX and 8 GB of DDR5. It is also offered with less capable M.2 2230 SSDs. Similarly, the 15-inch display is 16:9 and it’s only offered in 1920 x 1080 pixels at 120 or 165Hz. Dell doesn’t specify which GPUs are offered, but it’s assumed it will be offered with the entry-level GeForce RTX 3000 and 4000 series.
A step above, the Dell G16 offers the same choice of CPU, RAM and SSD as the G15, but two of the 16-inch screens of the Alienware x16 and m16: the 2560 x 1600 pixels at 165 or 240 Hz. Finally, Dell only states “Latest generation Nvidia GeForce RTX GPUin a box of the data sheet, but it seems that he forgot to remove the detail in another box: the G16 will be offered with an RTX 3050, an RTX 4050, an RTX 4060 or an RTX 4070.
These Dell G15 and G16 will be launched in the 1st quarter at prices starting at respectively 850 and 1500 dollars HT. AMD configurations will follow in Q2.
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