@@CosmicApe nah saw the benchmarks, i7 beats the 6900hx easily. Also pretty sure gpu wattage doesn't change depending on processors. Both have 150W I'm pretty sure
@@soos223 They don't, I confirmed with Dell. The Intel CPUs have a 140W 3070ti and the AMD version has a 150W 3070ti. And yes, the Intel outperforms the AMD chips slightly, but the AMD has the benefits of typically better thermals and much better battery life. They both have their tradeoffs!
@@Nittigrader I went with the X17 for the 4K screen. I wasn't a big believer in 4K on a 17" laptop. I thought it was overkill. Boy, was I wrong. This screen is gorgeous and so incredibly crisp it's unbelievable. It makes everything from games to productivity work look noticeably better. Alienware makes good panels too and this thing is bright, vibrant, and color accurate. The M17 can only get a 1080p screen unless you opt for the weak AMD GPU. If you're only doing work on it then that's probably good enough. But if you plan on doing anything graphically intensive then I recommend going X17 so you can get a good NVIDIA GPU paired with the 4K panel.
13:33 mentioned about alienware pricing on the high side. As someone whom been using M15R3, claimed a warranty and granted replacement of M15R7 with 3070ti. As a happy user, I would say the premium price of Alienware is justified by a class better warranty compare to other brands as well as prompt on site tech support.
I agree, and it's not many who mention that part, which is a pity, because that is more important than a few framerates up or down. That's why you buy Alienware/Dell. However, it needs to be said that Lenovo has even more priceworthy support programs nowadays. But I haven't had the need to test it yet.
@@henrikg1388 Yes mate, hope more potential buyers see this comment. I'm a testament for how good Dell warranty system is, as I just actually granted M15R7 to replace my faulty M15R3
@@aldrinjulio4165 Happened to me to when I had a Dell. Not a complete upgrade, but when the GPU broke down, they came home to me and replaced it with a better one. I have tried to point out the importance of this issue with many laptop reviewers, but nobody has taken the bait. If you buy an MSI, ASUS, Acer etc, you have to be ready to send it halfway around the world for an untold number of weeks. How much money is that worth to you? The way I see it, you cannot just look at the selling price. €4000 for a upper end laptop is OK with Alienware, but not with MSI.
You guys are both spot on, warranty is really important and I have mentioned the warranty support in other videos. I have spoken to a few people who have had their old systems replaced with the current model because they bought the extended warranties and you cannot say that about many other companies!
Agree 100% here. I see comments every so often saying Dell's warranty and customer services is terrible, which I have never found to be the case. Dell (to me) has the best service and warranty you can find and I've seen repeated people getting huge laptop upgrades when theirs die.
Re: battery life and efficiency cores, it's mostly because the pCores are still idling instead of Intel and Microsoft being able to switch off the pCores entirely without restarting to get into the BIOS and restarting again. If for example you can save a custom profile (or the laptop manufacturer can put it in) and have an on-battery eco mode that only runs the eCores, you'll basically have a beefy Netbook that isn't just physically bigger, but has double the cores - still enough for just MS Office and browser, but in most cases it won't be YT and no Spotify either (ex library, a meeting or otherwise at work if they don't have sensitive data you can only access using company-provided PCs, etc). Sadly, at best all you get is Windows power profiles where you can just cap the power on the pCores, basically forcing them to not boost. Which will not really help on a constant load test since when on battery cores will boost when you launch something. Although in real life use (ie more variables, like opening documents) it MAY make for test results that are closer to repeatable tests' because your pCores aren't boosting every time you open a document for example. And then there's NVidia's role in all this. I think it's Advanced Optimus that automatically switches the screen refresh rate on battery; seems like this one only has the older Optimus. Still, I probably would manually switch over when I'm heading out, but I'd still complain how this is a PITA. All that said I might actually go for the M15 over the X15 for a few reasons - lower price, shorter front to rear, power input is on the back, doesn't seem to be markedly louder than the X15 IIRC. Annoyingly enough they don't use liquid metal on the 3060 models so I'll have to open it myself (which is weird, given all the power and the desktop replacement size of these things, you'd think they should just use that all the time). I was holding out for the AMD versions too but then I realized Thunderbolt is more important than battery run time since 1. I'm buying it more as a desktop replacement that I can haul around (ex I need to look up something at a university library) 2. I'm also buying it to game on it sans a desktop (thanks, scalpers) for the near future, but in case newer generation graphics card prices are more normal, I can get an eGPU dock and run an RTX 5060 on it. CPU gets the laptop cooling to itself so now I can play around with CPU and eGPU power limits to figure out how much more power the CPU should draw without severely bottlenecking the desktop card in the eGPU dock, keep both the laptop fans cooling the CPU, the graphics card, and eGPU PSU to a level that I would expect more from a decent desktop.
Yep yep. I believe you are wrong the NEW liquid metal cooling is available for rtx 3060/3070/3080 on this model, they advertised because it coincides with them saying only rtx 3060/3070/3080 get 145/150/170 W the 3050 gets lower TDP AND the RTX 3060/3070/3080 also were advertised with Alienwares new liquid metal cooling paste
i just got the R5 6 months ago and now we have R7 already. time sure flies lol. loved the review, though i noticed the keyboard deck have a somewhat different shade of gray, and different pattern on bottom panel, otherwise, pretty much the same.
@@MashITTech yep, agree. so far all games can run on 60fps at 1080p, only issue would be cpu temps which i've reduced by adding copper shims, so overall it's a near perfect machine for me!
@@razor-reaper what you think Ryzen 7 or 9s with rtx 3080 won't be viable in 5 years? Your insane my old ass M15 about a decade old runs every game I have tried
For anyone who is curious, the 3070ti is 140W with the i7-12700H CPU, but if you choose to go with the AMD version of the M15 R7, the 3070ti TGP bumps up to 150W!
Just got this one with an rtx 3060, was a little worried about lower vram on this gpu but I have to say it is performing beautifully in games running High setting on a qhd screen. Love it!!!
You could probably run most all games QHD or 1080P Ultra at very good frames I believe with VRR engaged for any frames above 60/70/80 at Ultra it should handle if you have the 145-150 W GPU model and MAX 24 core Intel option not amd, you should be able to engage performance mode or plug in" and do ULTRA Qhd gaming at very good clip maybe not WARHAMMER that maybe very high /some ultra** but most games will run MAX(Ultra), QHD just not 36 AA haha with above or so 60 fps to 100 INSANE xsx doesn't do that for all all games and I love xsx !
9:38 You might see higher watts used on the GPU if you put it into Fan Overdrive (Fn + F1). A lot of people thought this didn't do anything on the M15 R6 except ramp the fans to their maximum, but I noticed with my RTX3070 R6 and RivaTuner that the GPU wattage jumps way above the advertised 125W maximum into the low 130s, even briefly flickering at 135W (tested with AC Valhalla, 1440p).
Hi Joe, it didn’t do a lot on this model unlike the x17r2 and x15r2 but putting max fan on did (but at 55db) it performed so well on balanced I preferred the quieter fans
Thank you for this review! I just ordered the M15 R7 with the AMD Ryzen 7, 3060 GPU, 16GB ram, and the standard 1080P screen and standard keyboard all for $1,100 including tax! Dell has an amazing spring sale going on, and I was also able to use a student discount code for extra savings. I would love the QHD screen, but for $1,100 I’m willing to compromise. Such a steal of a price
Gaming laptops really have come so far. Yes they are pushing for thinner form factor but even then, they pack some serious performance. I remember when gaming laptops were far behind desktops with very specific mobile models of cpus and gpus but they are seriously just nipping at the desktops heels now. When the shortage of gpus and the gouging was in full affect, I bought a M15r5 with the rtx3060 getting very lucky and paying 25% less than retail. Less than $1500 tax in in Canada when they were new starting at $1899 before tax. At the time of purchase, graphics cards were hard to find and ridiculously over priced, you honestly couldn’t build a gaming Pc as powerful for as little as I paid for my laptop at that moment in time and I’m so impressed with its performance. Now I’m repasting it and expecting the same if not better performance a year later but otherwise has been a flawless computer with exceptional gaming performance and that’s coming from my previous Pc custom build with a open loop 2080 super in it that I spent fortunes on.
I just got the x17 r2 with 12700h, 32gb ddr5, 3070ti, 360hz display 1tb ssd, and the cherry mechanical keyboard. Got it for what I think is a decent price for an Alienware. $2500 USD. Still costly but id expect this thing to last me a solid 4-5 years if not more.
Fantastic review as always. I know the R5 and R6 didn't get great reviews last year, but I think they've got a lot of things right. Replaceable memory and SSDs, 240hz panel available, decent power for the GPU, HDMI 2.1 etc. I love the fact it doesn't have a number pad too as it means the keyboard is aligned properly, but that power brick is ridiculously big and the overall weight of the laptop and charger is more than it needs to be.
@@MashITTech That's true. The charging capabilities of type c are improving every year too so power bricks may one day be obsolete. That's the one thing laptops such as the X14 has going for it.
The laptop itself is actually not that heavy for a gaming laptop. Fairly close to the X15. The power brick is the actual problematic weighty one in the package.
Got mine with 240 hz, 3070 ti, 1 tb ssd, 32 gb memory. And wow what a laptop, couldnt be more happier. It is expensive but my joy of using it justifie the price :) has always great review David.
I snagged this from Dell Outlet, like new condition. Specs: i7 12700H, RTX 3070ti, 1 TB SSD, 240 hz, 1440p for $1450 US dollars after a discount from a sales rep! I'm not an Alienware guy but that's a steal of a deal in my book considering the prices for other laptops with those specs! 👌🔥
@@ForgetMeNotArchive are you in the US? Dell outlet has some right now for $1750 refurbished... Plus there might be a 10-15% off coupon bringing down the $ to 1500ish if you ask a sales rep before buying. Dell is pretty generous on coupons when it comes to used models
They do! It only adds $50 to the price, and it's 240Hz instead of the 165Hz of the base 1080p option, so there's really no reason to get the 1080p unless you're trying to squeeze extra minutes out of the battery.
You can upgrade the screen but behind the curve? 1080p is still the most common screen res for gaming by a landslide with 67% of Steam users using 1080p. Only 9% of Steam gamers are using 1440p.
@@Raztax True, but that's also because most users are using GPUs of 5 years ago, or at the performance level of the 2017 midrange. If you're buying a new mid-to-high laptop with today's new GPUs, 1080p isn't a terrible choice but it's also not going to let you feel as smug as you should.
@@joechapman8208 yeup i went with the x15 r2 with qhd i7 and 3070ti. I wanted the brighter more punchier display and the sharper details. If the x17 offered qhd i wouldve went with that but only 1080p and 4k and 4k is not for me on a laptop. Plus the price i paid with discounts made it the same price if not a little less than a similar specd r7.
i just picked up the m17 r5 17.3" that has the AMD Ryzen 9 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti - 1TB SSD from best buy and so far im reeeeeally liking it. The price is insane especially for only having a 1080p display lol but i really wanted to get a a beast gaming laptop and i think i got it. I haven't played any games on it yet since I'm still setting it up but i know it's going to be a beast. No regrets o so far
I'm getting the same configuration with the QHD screen. I got the 3060 gpu. I would go with the 3070 but it brought the price up too much. I was wonder if the 3060 would still be good to with high settings on most games.
I had heating issues with mine it would idle at 65-70 degrees Celsius, and during gaming it reached 100 degrees within the first few minutes of playing. Contacted Dell they stated these were normal temperatures for this device. Turns out, just idling the cores were holding 4.3hz clock speeds which I found unusual, went into bios and disabled turbo boost and now temperatures and performance is great, 50-60 degrees idle and 65-80 degrees when gaming. Granted I neutered cpu performance, though it still performs great no fan noise unless gaming and I’ve only lost maybe 10% gaming performance which on 1080p is still over 100fps on all titles.
I have small hands but as a typist, I still want a large palm rest in that kind of pretty large depth chassis. I still love Alienware design language anyway
Ended up ordering this over the legion 7 for a similar config (ryzen cpu 3070/ti) due to the ship time, and this video did help me decide my idea wasent horrible
The legion is an amazing machine. If you can get a legion with a decent lead time it is a better machine IMHO. I actually compared this one to the new 5i pro and that was also better than this r7
@@MashITTech I agree it is a better machine, but both however have excellent warranty coverage, and my main concern was how fast I could get the 7 model for the legion's (trying to beat a potential move date) and I had more interest in that model vs the 5/5pro, not that their bad machines, just wanted a few features that both the 7, m15 r7 had that the 5's did not.
@@MashITTech i have seen users complaining that their no g-sync option over TB4 to DP even after switching to dGPU in BIOS can you confirm that for us Please?
Hi there, I had heating problems with my m15 r5 getting up to 102c. I am having it replaced under warranty for an M15 r7, 12th gen cpu and Rtx 3070ti, even with doubled SSD space from 500gb to 1tb and the ram will be exchanged from 16gb to 32gb. I think i have won the lottery, temps should be well managed with the new thinner fan design and with the element 31 thermal compound.
wow, you really did hit the jackpot. These 12th GFens also run hot but if it is too hot for your liking just use TCC to change the throttle point. These CPUs have so much power you would never notice
@@MashITTech that sounds amazing. And i just wanted to say thanks to your work. I would have gotten the amazing warranty and Alienware service without your videos. Name a brand that gives customers great exchanges when their laptops fail? I think some other brands are care less. Yes dell-allienware is more expensive but their promos and services deliver better service than Lenovo and other brands. I have personally never seen a brand changing my laptop for double the specs of the new one. I am shocked. I have also liked the x15 but they say that one brings a lower TGP GPU. So the M15 r7 is the most powerful for of the newest Alienware models in 2022.
@@MashITTech I'm completely torn between the M15 r7 and the X15 r2 for Uni, work (multiple virtual machines) and very light gaming. Mostly because in my country (Norway) the price difference is 210 british pound. Specs: Intel core i7 12700h Windows home Nvidia Geforce 3070i 32 GB RAM 2 tb pcie NVme m.2 2280 15,6 QHD 240hz advanced optimus screen On the one hand the design on the x15 is slimer, but the weight seem to be different with about 110g (ca. 350g total difference with the adapter). That's less than a can of coke or small slice of bread in my backpack 😅. Every benchmark both single- and multicore is marginally better with the m15 (ranging from 1% up to 4% better). What does the x15 r2 have that makes it cost £210 more? Am i missing something obvious in terms of software, cooling system, less blue screening etc.? I mean if i choose the cherry keyboard on the m15 the difference comes down to £110. Please help! I would appreciate it a lot!
@@yostinpoveda2083 i would appreciate if you also could look at my comment in case you know something i don't 🙈 i really need some helpful feedback to steer me in a good direction 😇
I had originally ordered the m15r7 with a 3060, the 1080p display and standard keys. I decided to cancel that order and instead upgraded to the 1440p display and the mx cherry keyboard. Only difference was about 100 dollars due to the deals on dell right now. With tax I paid only about 1300 dollars. Crazy good deals right now.
Thanks for review. May i know the rgb lighting at the back, does it come out random or can we control what color it appear? How many color lights are there?
Hi Dave, can I please ask if the USB C port, provides direct connection to dGPU? This might be the important piece that define whether this device will work with most current GSYNC external monitor out there?
Yes ofc it should for the rtx 3060 and up models, my alienware m15 r6 does, I always game with an external monitor with a thunderbolt to DisplayPort, and everything works great, I’m sure the r7 should work too
@@Tony-1454 It actually doesn't. The m15r7 usb-c is connected to the iGPU and the hdmi port is connected to the dGPU. Unfortunately, gsync only works on hdmi with a 2.1 connection in which monitors in the market for this technology are very not popular yet and typically limited to 4k displays that are far from cheap (usually $700+). Dell really dropped the ball with this decision.
Awesome review...one question. Is this the fast ram or slower one? I plan to buy the laptop for gaming and simulations. Is 16 gb RAM okay or I should go for the 32 gb RAM?
@@MashITTech Thank you for your reply but you really haven't helped by telling me to buy what fits my needs and budget. I want to do simulations, is 16 gb enough? If you aren't sure, please just say it...
Haha fair enough I thought you were more interested in the speed. 16gb is still fine for all games. And by simulations do you mean like flight simulations etc? If so that’s still fine with 16gb. That said if it’s not much more for 32gb I would get it as over the next year or two we may well need more
Good laptop however with a lot of quality issues for such a price. I got the exact same spec however 2 weeks after I bought it I got blue screening issues and the charging stopped and then the graphics card was spicky.. Dell have been amazing and offered me every option under the sun to take advantage of because of the issues that have happened. The thing that pushed me quite a bit for a refund instead of replacement was the low quality of the body,,, although yes its ok, the tackpack is not the nicest and rattles in addition to being very very small to the point where a basic zoom on a picture is difficult. I love the keyboard except the function keys on the right as i often clicked to mute the sound instead of hitting the enter.. this is a getting used to the keyboard issue though. Alienwares are build by Dell and you can see this, I had a dell g5 before and the build quality of it was much better. When gaming the power cable gets in the way of the vents and if you play for long the cable is not going to last very long because.... rubber melts when heat is applied to it. If you just want raw performance and dont care about anything else its the laptop for you... but if you want a laptop for uni work + gaming,,, id look else where for a more balanced product.
Thanks for this review. I literally just bought an M15 R7 with a 3080Ti, 32Gig ram, 1440 screen, and the i7. I managed to get a really good deal because it is currently on sale as it is, plus a student discount, and I used the DFS card with financing which gives a 5% off discount, and I had nearly $90 worth of dell rewards already. All together I got mine for around 2,220ish which is amazing in my opinion.
Hello everyone. I ordered a 3070ti, i7 12gen, 1TB SSD, QHD and 16GB ram. When I tested the battery like you (YT and Optimus), it barely lasted 2 hours. I contacted the support and they said that it's okay, but I think it's not and that the battery could last longer. The laptop didn't overheat, but Edge and Chrome draw a lot of energy. The previous laptop (Inspiron 7567) can last up to 5 hours after 3 years for 5 tabs and certain programs included. Any advice?
Hello Mash. Great content as always. I have a question about the m15 r7. My question is, can i put a gen 3 ssd in the second slot? I know the speed of the gen 3 will not go higher, but will the two ssds work together on the same motherboard? i.e. for windows i put gen 4 and for apps, i buy the gen 3?
Nice video very helpful. When is the m17 going to out? I though don’t know why but that this was supposed to be AMD internals? It’s bin a while since I bought Alienware. I need to replace my Alienware 17 which is 12 years old.
I just ordered one last night. Got i7 12700h, 16gb, rtx 3060, 240hz screen, 1tb ssd, and per key rgb for 450 off normal price. Got it for 1399.99. It's going to replace my Dell xps l502x, which is over 10 years old.
Yes it sure can, the advantage of gaming laptops are the cooling solutions needed for gaming makes the machines great for heavy work (3D modelling, rendering, machine learning etc etc)
@@MashITTech thank you for that. I have an Alienware M15 r4 and is the tempeture where I leave can get up to 27°c inside the room without the ac on. And the laptop get to a 100°c all the way super easy and stay there for a longer period of time
@@MashITTech curious. Have you considered x15 vs Razer Blade 15? Which would would recommend? Or better yet, if budget wasn't an issue and you desired a 15" gaming laptop with gsync, located in the US... What would be your choice?
I am half way through that video :) It is only an 11th gen blade 15 advanced but as they are almost the same apart from the CPU I can still compare them knowing Razer CPU wattage
Not too bad a deal I guess for an Alienware laptop, usually I am horrified by the price of them 🤣 I think my next laptop purchase will be about 2024-25 so we have a way to go yet but it's always nice wayching your videos and keeping up to date with tech :)
@@MashITTech you know, i got an m15 R4 at over 50% off last year and i guess i was unlucky because the machine had stuttering issues that even replacing motherboard & heat sink did not fix. so they said they will upgrade me with a new laptop due to item unavailability. hope they give me the R7 🤪
I bought the 3070ti version of this laptop and the peak wattage of this graphics card I monitored during playing GTA5 on max settings was 165.8 W. It is indeed very powerful and sometimes it sucks juice from battery with power plugged in during gaming. My local Alienware dealer did offer me the power adapter upgrade to GaN ones though. My A panel did suffer some slight scratches from two weeks of school use, it is definitely not for some people who mind that a lot. If we don’t mind their marketing strategy of x series, it is a very solid pick for gaming laptop. A big upgrade from my zephyrus gm501. Best performance for the money? Not so sure. Good laptop? Yeah.
@@silverpro8356 I have not experienced anything significant, just remember to shut it down completely before putting it in a backpack. once I just close the lid and leave it in the bag, it went almost burning in my hand when I take it out.(the alienware control center was updating, I asume that is the reason) PS, not everybody will be comfortable with its fan noise when it hit max speed.
Did you said the secondary key also does not light up on this laptop too because i also spoke to one of the other reviewer who also reviewed this laptop and said mine secondary key did light up???
@@kariminyt how do you know do you have one and o also spoke to one of the other youtubers who also reviewed the same laptop and said his one did lighted up
1:And also does the WiFi card is replaceable and 2:when you type or game do you accidentally click the mousepad or does it happen while typing or gaming or you disable it
Hello Dave, just got my m15 r7 recently and the battery life only lasts for 2 hours of light use(browsing webpages) with battery saver on, integrated graphics preferred , and 60Hz rate.What could possibly happen and should I return it?
Hi @@MashITTech .I bought m15 r7 based on your video. It has a lot of flaws, but for performance I would ignore it. One drawback that bothers me a lot is the battery. It cannot withstand 2 hours of light use. I set the graphics card to auto select in the Nvidia settings (Nvidia Control Panel), if that's what you mean. Optimus mode is on in BIOS. AWCC is turned off and the processor does not consume more than 15%, the GPU reads 0%. I also contacted Dell Support, they didn't find the problem, we searched everything. Can you help me? Thank you! :)
Still wish for a 17 inch version but it will undermine the X17. And Dell isn't as portable as many of its 15 inch counterparts. Also 12th gen is really highly priced. I just hope it'll be widespread enough for DDR5 to be widely available and less pricey.
Great review, David! I'll be curious on your thoughts between this and the Legion. Last years Legion had an issue with palm rejection, hoping they sorted that out for the 2022 models. The R7 is a nice looking machine, just wish they had a SD card slot.
Hi, I need an opinion on which laptop to buy. I'm game programming student and I'll be working with unity, unreal engine, etc. I was planning on buying Alienware M15 R7 but the only issue is the battery life. So, is it wise to buy the XPS 15 9520 instead. Please help....
I have the AMD m17r5 on order so will be testing that soon. I have spent a fortune on laptops this month so can't afford any more but when I get some more money in the budget I will test a m15r7 AMD version too. I usually prefer AMD for the increased battery life and I never use thunderbolt
@@MashITTech - they must be releasing the new stuff soon 🤣 Great review and comparison vids by the way. Felt confident purchasing this after viewing several of yours. Cheers!
I can only wish for a X17 with a QHD panel, but well, the 3080 handles the 4k panel too so i cant complain... Still it amazes me the Alienware doenst get that panel supported on more of their machines... Anyways, great review as always!
Thanks mate. My new X17r2 with 4k just arrived and I can't believe how good the 4k looks on the ?X17! I may well put up with games running at scaled 1440p just so I can enjoy this screen!
Just bought myself a M15 R7 with the 3070 Ti from JB Hi-Fi for AUD$2999 down from AUD$3999-originally was gonna go for the M15 with the 6800H but went with the M15 with the Intel i7-12700H.
I bought this with the i9 12900H , rtx 3070ti, 16gb ram , Full hd 360hz display at price of 2300CAD + Almost 300 CAD cashback by dell rewards+ Rakuten. is it good deal?
I just ordered this laptop with the QHD display. are you not better having the old power supply seeing as it only has one thunderbolt port? is the slim powersupply not the USB-C Thunderbolt charger?
Hi. Does the M15R7 Vs X15R2 with the same screen 240hz QHD have the same screen quality in terms of brightness, color accuracy, nitz, saturation, RGB and etc?
Yes. The x15, m15 and g15 5521 all have the same 1440p panel. There is always some variance between panels but I have had 5 now and all have looked amazing
As much as I love Alienware, dell prices their product too high for the majority of users. The X series maybe worth it because they are very good but the M series last year was disappointed and after your review this year is just better than last year but still not good overall, it's worst when compare to the much more cheaper Legion 5pro/5ipro with better screen and performance and thermal, it's nice to have some improvement but this is still not enough, especially the price. In my country specifically, the M15 series are cost as much as the Legion 7 or the GE66 which will destroy the m15 in every ways. So my conclusion is that if you are an Alienware fan go for it but for average users the M15 is not worth it, at its price range there are better competitors like the GP66/76, Scar 15/17, Legion5/5ipro and the up coming Predator Helios 300
Haha you hit the nail on the head and I have actually started work on a legion 5i pro vs the m15r7 and there is £500 difference for the same specs (except the legion has that better screen)
@@MashITTech The Legion series are indeed the best overall gaming lineup last year and this year look good so far, Jarrod has tested the 5ipro and the i7 12700H performance was top notch even best the i9 12900hk on the GE76, the thermal on the new 5ipro is even better than last year, truly impressive being much cheaper but cooler and faster than other competitors, I am using the Legion 7i and very impressed and satisfied with it and I can't wait for the new Legion7/7i.
@@MashITTech The X17 maybe just a little bit better than the Legion 7 but the Legion 5pro kills the M15, sad to see Alienware get beaten though because their design is still the best in my heart.
@mashit just got one of these R7s with the 3080ti. Seeing issues with the GPU going down to 200-400hz after about 15 minutes of play. Stays that way for 5-10 mins then goes back up to normal. Is this something you've experienced?
Watching this on my M15 R7 :), I got the QHD panel with 3080ti and 32 ddr5 (plus the cherry mx keyboard) so i went full spec. Was close on 3K though! (then went down about 200 the following day - urghhh)- but could not get the X15/X17 with the same specs for less than 400 - 1000 pounds more. The slimline X series are nice to look at but this gives me better performance for the same money. I'm really pleased (so far ;).
@@jamesflinn4878 This is from M15 description Gain the edge you need with updated Alienware Cryo-tech™ cooling technology that introduces newly engineered fans that contain over twice as many blades* and are 37.5% thinner than the previous generation.* Prioritized for performance, the dual fan design pulls in cool air from the top and bottom vents while pushing it out the left, right, and rear vents to ensure exceptional game play. For configurations that include NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti or RTX™ 3080 Ti graphics, the exclusive Element 31 gallium-silicone thermal interface material allows you to game faster for longer periods of time by pulling heat away from the processor. These forces combine to send up to 170W* max Thermal Design Power (TDP) to updated processors and NVIDIA® graphics, all within a 15" form factor.
@Mash IT Mine m15 R7 arrived (i7, 3070ti) and it claims to support power delivery up to 100w. But I tried different usb-c chargers and none of them work. The system didn’t even detect them. Can you please try to see if yours work?
Hi Chris, where did you hear it has 100w PD? As far as I am aware only the X series now has PD :( in all my m15r5, r6 and r7 plus m17r5 I have ha no luck with PD
@@MashITTech Oh that makes sense now. So only x series supports PD charging now? I really like my m15 R7. But I am still deciding if I should keep it (i7-12700h+RTX 3070ti) or get a discounted x17 R1 (i7-11800h+RTX 3070) instead. Use it for both school and gaming with an external monitor setup. Really enjoyed the cherry mx keyboard on m15 so probably won’t get a x15 since it doesn’t have it. Also really enjoyed the QHD 240hz screen on my m15. What’s your opinion? Thanks!
Yeah it sure is. My only gripe is the price, think dell priced this a little too high so make sure you get a d coupon or haggle with customer services. Also make sure you choose the qhd 👍
if you're planning to buy this, I think the sweet spot would be i7, 16 or 32gb memory, 1tb ssd, and rtx 3070 ti. 👍
I would argue you should go with the 6900HX, 32GB, and 1-2TB SSD. But the AMD CPU gives a 150W 3070ti versus the Intel version uses a 140W 3070ti.
@@CosmicApe nah saw the benchmarks, i7 beats the 6900hx easily. Also pretty sure gpu wattage doesn't change depending on processors. Both have 150W I'm pretty sure
@@soos223 They don't, I confirmed with Dell. The Intel CPUs have a 140W 3070ti and the AMD version has a 150W 3070ti. And yes, the Intel outperforms the AMD chips slightly, but the AMD has the benefits of typically better thermals and much better battery life. They both have their tradeoffs!
@@CosmicApe if you need it for work with virtual machines within cyber security; which would you recommend considering the trade offs you mentioned? 😄
@@Nittigrader I went with the X17 for the 4K screen. I wasn't a big believer in 4K on a 17" laptop. I thought it was overkill. Boy, was I wrong. This screen is gorgeous and so incredibly crisp it's unbelievable. It makes everything from games to productivity work look noticeably better. Alienware makes good panels too and this thing is bright, vibrant, and color accurate. The M17 can only get a 1080p screen unless you opt for the weak AMD GPU. If you're only doing work on it then that's probably good enough. But if you plan on doing anything graphically intensive then I recommend going X17 so you can get a good NVIDIA GPU paired with the 4K panel.
13:33 mentioned about alienware pricing on the high side. As someone whom been using M15R3, claimed a warranty and granted replacement of M15R7 with 3070ti. As a happy user, I would say the premium price of Alienware is justified by a class better warranty compare to other brands as well as prompt on site tech support.
I agree, and it's not many who mention that part, which is a pity, because that is more important than a few framerates up or down. That's why you buy Alienware/Dell. However, it needs to be said that Lenovo has even more priceworthy support programs nowadays. But I haven't had the need to test it yet.
@@henrikg1388 Yes mate, hope more potential buyers see this comment. I'm a testament for how good Dell warranty system is, as I just actually granted M15R7 to replace my faulty M15R3
@@aldrinjulio4165 Happened to me to when I had a Dell. Not a complete upgrade, but when the GPU broke down, they came home to me and replaced it with a better one.
I have tried to point out the importance of this issue with many laptop reviewers, but nobody has taken the bait. If you buy an MSI, ASUS, Acer etc, you have to be ready to send it halfway around the world for an untold number of weeks. How much money is that worth to you?
The way I see it, you cannot just look at the selling price. €4000 for a upper end laptop is OK with Alienware, but not with MSI.
You guys are both spot on, warranty is really important and I have mentioned the warranty support in other videos. I have spoken to a few people who have had their old systems replaced with the current model because they bought the extended warranties and you cannot say that about many other companies!
Agree 100% here. I see comments every so often saying Dell's warranty and customer services is terrible, which I have never found to be the case. Dell (to me) has the best service and warranty you can find and I've seen repeated people getting huge laptop upgrades when theirs die.
Re: battery life and efficiency cores, it's mostly because the pCores are still idling instead of Intel and Microsoft being able to switch off the pCores entirely without restarting to get into the BIOS and restarting again. If for example you can save a custom profile (or the laptop manufacturer can put it in) and have an on-battery eco mode that only runs the eCores, you'll basically have a beefy Netbook that isn't just physically bigger, but has double the cores - still enough for just MS Office and browser, but in most cases it won't be YT and no Spotify either (ex library, a meeting or otherwise at work if they don't have sensitive data you can only access using company-provided PCs, etc).
Sadly, at best all you get is Windows power profiles where you can just cap the power on the pCores, basically forcing them to not boost. Which will not really help on a constant load test since when on battery cores will boost when you launch something. Although in real life use (ie more variables, like opening documents) it MAY make for test results that are closer to repeatable tests' because your pCores aren't boosting every time you open a document for example.
And then there's NVidia's role in all this. I think it's Advanced Optimus that automatically switches the screen refresh rate on battery; seems like this one only has the older Optimus. Still, I probably would manually switch over when I'm heading out, but I'd still complain how this is a PITA.
All that said I might actually go for the M15 over the X15 for a few reasons - lower price, shorter front to rear, power input is on the back, doesn't seem to be markedly louder than the X15 IIRC. Annoyingly enough they don't use liquid metal on the 3060 models so I'll have to open it myself (which is weird, given all the power and the desktop replacement size of these things, you'd think they should just use that all the time).
I was holding out for the AMD versions too but then I realized Thunderbolt is more important than battery run time since
1. I'm buying it more as a desktop replacement that I can haul around (ex I need to look up something at a university library)
2. I'm also buying it to game on it sans a desktop (thanks, scalpers) for the near future, but in case newer generation graphics card prices are more normal, I can get an eGPU dock and run an RTX 5060 on it. CPU gets the laptop cooling to itself so now I can play around with CPU and eGPU power limits to figure out how much more power the CPU should draw without severely bottlenecking the desktop card in the eGPU dock, keep both the laptop fans cooling the CPU, the graphics card, and eGPU PSU to a level that I would expect more from a decent desktop.
Yep yep. I believe you are wrong the NEW liquid metal cooling is available for rtx 3060/3070/3080 on this model, they advertised because it coincides with them saying only rtx 3060/3070/3080 get 145/150/170 W the 3050 gets lower TDP AND the RTX 3060/3070/3080 also were advertised with Alienwares new liquid metal cooling paste
i just got the R5 6 months ago and now we have R7 already. time sure flies lol. loved the review, though i noticed the keyboard deck have a somewhat different shade of gray, and different pattern on bottom panel, otherwise, pretty much the same.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it. In all fairness for games you wouldn’t see that much difference, your ryzen is still a powerful laptop
@@MashITTech yep, agree. so far all games can run on 60fps at 1080p, only issue would be cpu temps which i've reduced by adding copper shims, so overall it's a near perfect machine for me!
Thats not by accident because these newer alienware pcs don't really last long... you would he lucky to have that last you 5 years....
@@razor-reaper the one I have now i bought 12 years ago. So I am looking to replace it this year
@@razor-reaper what you think Ryzen 7 or 9s with rtx 3080 won't be viable in 5 years? Your insane my old ass M15 about a decade old runs every game I have tried
For anyone who is curious, the 3070ti is 140W with the i7-12700H CPU, but if you choose to go with the AMD version of the M15 R7, the 3070ti TGP bumps up to 150W!
Thanks for the info! I haven't tested the Ryzen model yet 👍
Just got this one with an rtx 3060, was a little worried about lower vram on this gpu but I have to say it is performing beautifully in games running High setting on a qhd screen. Love it!!!
how is the battery life?
@@chamod.d honestly I really haven’t tried to run it solely on battery power so I wouldn’t be able to tell you
@@willsop1811congrats! and how's heating going as well? Considering the same model!
You could probably run most all games QHD or 1080P Ultra at very good frames I believe with VRR engaged for any frames above 60/70/80 at Ultra it should handle if you have the 145-150 W GPU model and MAX 24 core Intel option not amd, you should be able to engage performance mode or plug in" and do ULTRA Qhd gaming at very good clip maybe not WARHAMMER that maybe very high /some ultra** but most games will run MAX(Ultra), QHD just not 36 AA haha with above or so 60 fps to 100 INSANE xsx doesn't do that for all all games and I love xsx !
The fact that my 13-inch Alienware 13 R3 from way back in 2016 has all secondary symbols backlit, and the M and X series don't, is unforgivable.
9:38 You might see higher watts used on the GPU if you put it into Fan Overdrive (Fn + F1). A lot of people thought this didn't do anything on the M15 R6 except ramp the fans to their maximum, but I noticed with my RTX3070 R6 and RivaTuner that the GPU wattage jumps way above the advertised 125W maximum into the low 130s, even briefly flickering at 135W (tested with AC Valhalla, 1440p).
Hi Joe, it didn’t do a lot on this model unlike the x17r2 and x15r2 but putting max fan on did (but at 55db) it performed so well on balanced I preferred the quieter fans
Well, like my dad once said, "Unless you plan on walking around holding the laptop in your arms for 5 hours, I don't see it as a problem."
Thanks!
Wow, thank you. That is very kind
Thank you for this review! I just ordered the M15 R7 with the AMD Ryzen 7, 3060 GPU, 16GB ram, and the standard 1080P screen and standard keyboard all for $1,100 including tax! Dell has an amazing spring sale going on, and I was also able to use a student discount code for extra savings. I would love the QHD screen, but for $1,100 I’m willing to compromise. Such a steal of a price
How do I earn such to afford such. omoo
Gaming laptops really have come so far. Yes they are pushing for thinner form factor but even then, they pack some serious performance. I remember when gaming laptops were far behind desktops with very specific mobile models of cpus and gpus but they are seriously just nipping at the desktops heels now. When the shortage of gpus and the gouging was in full affect, I bought a M15r5 with the rtx3060 getting very lucky and paying 25% less than retail. Less than $1500 tax in in Canada when they were new starting at $1899 before tax. At the time of purchase, graphics cards were hard to find and ridiculously over priced, you honestly couldn’t build a gaming Pc as powerful for as little as I paid for my laptop at that moment in time and I’m so impressed with its performance. Now I’m repasting it and expecting the same if not better performance a year later but otherwise has been a flawless computer with exceptional gaming performance and that’s coming from my previous Pc custom build with a open loop 2080 super in it that I spent fortunes on.
Finally! Been waiting for this review since forever. Good one, man!
Sorry mate, these reviews take me a fair while to finish!
@@MashITTech No worries as you create one of the best reviews out there! Keep up the good work man!
I just got the x17 r2 with 12700h, 32gb ddr5, 3070ti, 360hz display 1tb ssd, and the cherry mechanical keyboard. Got it for what I think is a decent price for an Alienware. $2500 USD. Still costly but id expect this thing to last me a solid 4-5 years if not more.
Mine is sitting at "build complete". I got the 3060 instead of the 70. Can't wait to get it. Thanks for the heads up review
Well the 3060 is still a solid card especially at 1080p 👍 hope you enjoy it
Me too! With cherry mx and i7.
Fantastic review as always.
I know the R5 and R6 didn't get great reviews last year, but I think they've got a lot of things right. Replaceable memory and SSDs, 240hz panel available, decent power for the GPU, HDMI 2.1 etc. I love the fact it doesn't have a number pad too as it means the keyboard is aligned properly, but that power brick is ridiculously big and the overall weight of the laptop and charger is more than it needs to be.
Thank you mate. I am sure we will soon be able to buy the new adapters on eBay as they have been in circulation for a year now.
@@MashITTech That's true. The charging capabilities of type c are improving every year too so power bricks may one day be obsolete. That's the one thing laptops such as the X14 has going for it.
The laptop itself is actually not that heavy for a gaming laptop. Fairly close to the X15. The power brick is the actual problematic weighty one in the package.
Got mine with 240 hz, 3070 ti, 1 tb ssd, 32 gb memory. And wow what a laptop, couldnt be more happier. It is expensive but my joy of using it justifie the price :) has always great review David.
Congrats- is the heating okay?
The track selection for the audio test is new! I... appreciate it.
Haha new year so time to change it up. We like to keep it consistent so people can tell what the speakers are like but even we were bored of it 😂
@@MashITTech Always appreciate your videos! Thank you for keeping them down to earth and informative at the same time :)
😃
I am not the only one who is bored of "Tu..Tu..
Tu..Tu..Tu..Tu"
Great review Dave 👍 With this pricing couldn’t be more happy with my R5 that I picked up on February sale.
same aldo I regret my 3050... BUT I also have an R13 with an 3060....
I own one of these with the i9, 32 GB, 1 TB, and a 3080. Love the machine.
I snagged this from Dell Outlet, like new condition. Specs: i7 12700H, RTX 3070ti, 1 TB SSD, 240 hz, 1440p for $1450 US dollars after a discount from a sales rep!
I'm not an Alienware guy but that's a steal of a deal in my book considering the prices for other laptops with those specs! 👌🔥
That a great price I been looking best I can find with qhd is 1900 plus tax
@@ForgetMeNotArchive are you in the US? Dell outlet has some right now for $1750 refurbished...
Plus there might be a 10-15% off coupon bringing down the $ to 1500ish if you ask a sales rep before buying. Dell is pretty generous on coupons when it comes to used models
@@jonathanr4160 yes in queens ny. Never been to physical dell outlet I will Google to see if there is one nearby
Great review as always! I really wish they came with a 1440p screen. They are behind the curve with 1080p or slower 4K screens
they come with qhd..just costs more
They do! It only adds $50 to the price, and it's 240Hz instead of the 165Hz of the base 1080p option, so there's really no reason to get the 1080p unless you're trying to squeeze extra minutes out of the battery.
You can upgrade the screen but behind the curve? 1080p is still the most common screen res for gaming by a landslide with 67% of Steam users using 1080p. Only 9% of Steam gamers are using 1440p.
@@Raztax True, but that's also because most users are using GPUs of 5 years ago, or at the performance level of the 2017 midrange. If you're buying a new mid-to-high laptop with today's new GPUs, 1080p isn't a terrible choice but it's also not going to let you feel as smug as you should.
@@joechapman8208 yeup i went with the x15 r2 with qhd i7 and 3070ti. I wanted the brighter more punchier display and the sharper details. If the x17 offered qhd i wouldve went with that but only 1080p and 4k and 4k is not for me on a laptop. Plus the price i paid with discounts made it the same price if not a little less than a similar specd r7.
Great video, always thorough which I really appreciate. Seems like a great product
i just picked up the m17 r5 17.3" that has the AMD Ryzen 9 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti - 1TB SSD from best buy and so far im reeeeeally liking it. The price is insane especially for only having a 1080p display lol but i really wanted to get a a beast gaming laptop and i think i got it. I haven't played any games on it yet since I'm still setting it up but i know it's going to be a beast. No regrets o so far
amazing work on the review thankyou for your time
what is that forest game starting at 13:00? it looks amazing, I must play it!! pls tell me soon! :D :D
I'm getting the same configuration with the QHD screen. I got the 3060 gpu. I would go with the 3070 but it brought the price up too much. I was wonder if the 3060 would still be good to with high settings on most games.
The 3060 is a solid card and will still perform well but you may have the odd game that you have to lower settings or resolution due to the 6gb VRAM.
I had heating issues with mine it would idle at 65-70 degrees Celsius, and during gaming it reached 100 degrees within the first few minutes of playing. Contacted Dell they stated these were normal temperatures for this device. Turns out, just idling the cores were holding 4.3hz clock speeds which I found unusual, went into bios and disabled turbo boost and now temperatures and performance is great, 50-60 degrees idle and 65-80 degrees when gaming. Granted I neutered cpu performance, though it still performs great no fan noise unless gaming and I’ve only lost maybe 10% gaming performance which on 1080p is still over 100fps on all titles.
Hey Zero are you still liking the laptop im thinking of getting the M15 R7 also. is the screen nice ? .
Can you provide the instructions to disable turbo boost from bios?
@@umesharampath4148 Press f2 when booting laptop>go to performance tab> turbo boost>uncheck turbo boost
Every video gets better and more stylish. Thanks David!
PS. Watching you while air sirens is sounding here in Kiev 🇺🇦
I have small hands but as a typist, I still want a large palm rest in that kind of pretty large depth chassis. I still love Alienware design language anyway
I have a very similarly specked m17r7 and it’s an absolute beast coming from a second gen Xbox one it’s it’s on another level of performance
Ended up ordering this over the legion 7 for a similar config (ryzen cpu 3070/ti) due to the ship time, and this video did help me decide my idea wasent horrible
The legion is an amazing machine. If you can get a legion with a decent lead time it is a better machine IMHO. I actually compared this one to the new 5i pro and that was also better than this r7
@@MashITTech I agree it is a better machine, but both however have excellent warranty coverage, and my main concern was how fast I could get the 7 model for the legion's (trying to beat a potential move date) and I had more interest in that model vs the 5/5pro, not that their bad machines, just wanted a few features that both the 7, m15 r7 had that the 5's did not.
Call me weird, but I love how the x14 has all the ports on the rear. Don't think I can go back to side ports (at least with my setup)
Does M15R7 supports dGPU over thunderbolt 4 to DP1.4
Yes it does 👍
@@MashITTech i have seen users complaining that their no g-sync option over TB4 to DP even after switching to dGPU in BIOS can you confirm that for us Please?
What do you think of the ryzen 9 with 3070ti?
Can you really feel the difference between x15 and this m15 in weight? If money wasn’t an issue what would u go with m25 vs x15 vs x17
Hi there, I had heating problems with my m15 r5 getting up to 102c. I am having it replaced under warranty for an M15 r7, 12th gen cpu and Rtx 3070ti, even with doubled SSD space from 500gb to 1tb and the ram will be exchanged from 16gb to 32gb. I think i have won the lottery, temps should be well managed with the new thinner fan design and with the element 31 thermal compound.
wow, you really did hit the jackpot. These 12th GFens also run hot but if it is too hot for your liking just use TCC to change the throttle point. These CPUs have so much power you would never notice
@@MashITTech that sounds amazing. And i just wanted to say thanks to your work. I would have gotten the amazing warranty and Alienware service without your videos. Name a brand that gives customers great exchanges when their laptops fail? I think some other brands are care less. Yes dell-allienware is more expensive but their promos and services deliver better service than Lenovo and other brands. I have personally never seen a brand changing my laptop for double the specs of the new one. I am shocked. I have also liked the x15 but they say that one brings a lower TGP GPU. So the M15 r7 is the most powerful for of the newest Alienware models in 2022.
@@MashITTech I'm completely torn between the M15 r7 and the X15 r2 for Uni, work (multiple virtual machines) and very light gaming. Mostly because in my country (Norway) the price difference is 210 british pound.
Specs:
Intel core i7 12700h
Windows home
Nvidia Geforce 3070i
32 GB RAM
2 tb pcie NVme m.2 2280
15,6 QHD 240hz advanced optimus screen
On the one hand the design on the x15 is slimer, but the weight seem to be different with about 110g (ca. 350g total difference with the adapter). That's less than a can of coke or small slice of bread in my backpack 😅.
Every benchmark both single- and multicore is marginally better with the m15 (ranging from 1% up to 4% better).
What does the x15 r2 have that makes it cost £210 more? Am i missing something obvious in terms of software, cooling system, less blue screening etc.?
I mean if i choose the cherry keyboard on the m15 the difference comes down to £110.
Please help! I would appreciate it a lot!
@@yostinpoveda2083 i would appreciate if you also could look at my comment in case you know something i don't 🙈 i really need some helpful feedback to steer me in a good direction 😇
I had originally ordered the m15r7 with a 3060, the 1080p display and standard keys. I decided to cancel that order and instead upgraded to the 1440p display and the mx cherry keyboard. Only difference was about 100 dollars due to the deals on dell right now. With tax I paid only about 1300 dollars. Crazy good deals right now.
I've noticed the monitors mention something new: non-touch and CV+. What is that?
non touch just means its not a touch screen and cv+ is comfort view which is basically a blue light filter that doesn't affect screen quality.
Thanks for review. May i know the rgb lighting at the back, does it come out random or can we control what color it appear? How many color lights are there?
Hi Dave, can I please ask if the USB C port, provides direct connection to dGPU? This might be the important piece that define whether this device will work with most current GSYNC external monitor out there?
Yes ofc it should for the rtx 3060 and up models, my alienware m15 r6 does, I always game with an external monitor with a thunderbolt to DisplayPort, and everything works great, I’m sure the r7 should work too
@@Tony-1454 It actually doesn't.
The m15r7 usb-c is connected to the iGPU and the hdmi port is connected to the dGPU. Unfortunately, gsync only works on hdmi with a 2.1 connection in which monitors in the market for this technology are very not popular yet and typically limited to 4k displays that are far from cheap (usually $700+). Dell really dropped the ball with this decision.
Awesome review...one question. Is this the fast ram or slower one? I plan to buy the laptop for gaming and simulations. Is 16 gb RAM okay or I should go for the 32 gb RAM?
This is ddr5 and as of yet there is only 4800mhz chips available and they are all the same speed so choose what ever fits your needs and budget 👍
@@MashITTech Thank you for your reply but you really haven't helped by telling me to buy what fits my needs and budget. I want to do simulations, is 16 gb enough? If you aren't sure, please just say it...
Haha fair enough I thought you were more interested in the speed. 16gb is still fine for all games. And by simulations do you mean like flight simulations etc? If so that’s still fine with 16gb. That said if it’s not much more for 32gb I would get it as over the next year or two we may well need more
@@MashITTech Hello Mash...yes, like flight simulations and 3D modelling
Hey Dave! great review as always, Just wondering if you will be reviewing the new alienware 17 inch ryzen r5?
I most certainly will mate, just waiting for Dell to release it 😂 waiting on a date from the alienware team
Does this support charging the laptop through usb type c?
The laughing emoji is making me question the statement ahhahahaha
There was definitely no sarcasm in that emoji at all 🤣
Hey! Great video!Great review!
Could anyone tell me what's the game in 8:20 please?
Thanks mate. That’s insurgency sandstorm 👍
Just wanted to say really appreciate all of your alienware reviews. It helped me the most when picking which model to buy. Fantastic reviews.
Which model have you selected?
Good laptop however with a lot of quality issues for such a price. I got the exact same spec however 2 weeks after I bought it I got blue screening issues and the charging stopped and then the graphics card was spicky.. Dell have been amazing and offered me every option under the sun to take advantage of because of the issues that have happened. The thing that pushed me quite a bit for a refund instead of replacement was the low quality of the body,,, although yes its ok, the tackpack is not the nicest and rattles in addition to being very very small to the point where a basic zoom on a picture is difficult. I love the keyboard except the function keys on the right as i often clicked to mute the sound instead of hitting the enter.. this is a getting used to the keyboard issue though. Alienwares are build by Dell and you can see this, I had a dell g5 before and the build quality of it was much better. When gaming the power cable gets in the way of the vents and if you play for long the cable is not going to last very long because.... rubber melts when heat is applied to it. If you just want raw performance and dont care about anything else its the laptop for you... but if you want a laptop for uni work + gaming,,, id look else where for a more balanced product.
I don't really get it
Thanks for this review. I literally just bought an M15 R7 with a 3080Ti, 32Gig ram, 1440 screen, and the i7. I managed to get a really good deal because it is currently on sale as it is, plus a student discount, and I used the DFS card with financing which gives a 5% off discount, and I had nearly $90 worth of dell rewards already. All together I got mine for around 2,220ish which is amazing in my opinion.
That is an incredible price! hope you enjoy it :)
How did you get dell student discount?
Is the amdcpu better or worse than the i5
Hello everyone. I ordered a 3070ti, i7 12gen, 1TB SSD, QHD and 16GB ram. When I tested the battery like you (YT and Optimus), it barely lasted 2 hours. I contacted the support and they said that it's okay, but I think it's not and that the battery could last longer. The laptop didn't overheat, but Edge and Chrome draw a lot of energy. The previous laptop (Inspiron 7567) can last up to 5 hours after 3 years for 5 tabs and certain programs included. Any advice?
Can you compare this to the MSI GE66 or GP66? :D
Hello Mash. Great content as always. I have a question about the m15 r7. My question is, can i put a gen 3 ssd in the second slot? I know the speed of the gen 3 will not go higher, but will the two ssds work together on the same motherboard? i.e. for windows i put gen 4 and for apps, i buy the gen 3?
Yes you sure can I and often do the same as gen 3 is still perfect for a games drive 👍
@@MashITTech Thank you. Have a great day.
Nice video very helpful. When is the m17 going to out? I though don’t know why but that this was supposed to be AMD internals? It’s bin a while since I bought Alienware. I need to replace my Alienware 17 which is 12 years old.
Does this have high pitched fans like the x15?
not quite the same pitch, this one is slightly better IMHO
@@MashITTech ya seems to be the case, I’m leaning towards the m15
Is Best Buy Canada gonna drop the 2022 version?
no idea, they have had a couple on amazon so I am sure bestbuy will get them soon too
When is the amd version coming out?
I emailed them the other day and I a, still waiting to hear back
Can you do a undervolting guide on this model? I got this exact one
Unfortunately undervolting is locked out :(
why are the seconday functions placed on the bottom of the keys? (@ is at bottom and 2 at top) Seems very strange?
Hi David, are you able to advise between buying Alienware x17 R1 and M15 R7 considering current price and performance
What country are you in? I can check your pricing
@@MashITTech am in Zambia Africa but my wife is in USA. We intend to buy from there.
I just ordered one last night. Got i7 12700h, 16gb, rtx 3060, 240hz screen, 1tb ssd, and per key rgb for 450 off normal price. Got it for 1399.99. It's going to replace my Dell xps l502x, which is over 10 years old.
nice price!
Can this laptop use for heavy work performance? as I game at time only.
Hope to get your advise. Tq
Yes it sure can, the advantage of gaming laptops are the cooling solutions needed for gaming makes the machines great for heavy work (3D modelling, rendering, machine learning etc etc)
@@MashITTech - Thank you for replying. Appreciate it.
what is the room temperature when doing the APEX test? just curios.
20c in my office 👍
@@MashITTech thank you for that. I have an Alienware M15 r4 and is the tempeture where I leave can get up to 27°c inside the room without the ac on. And the laptop get to a 100°c all the way super easy and stay there for a longer period of time
Mashit m15 r7 vs x15r2 vs x17 r2 really what device packs a powerfull performance in it
X17>x15>m15 for power
Thanks mash it i have bought x17 r2
@@MashITTech curious. Have you considered x15 vs Razer Blade 15? Which would would recommend?
Or better yet, if budget wasn't an issue and you desired a 15" gaming laptop with gsync, located in the US...
What would be your choice?
I am half way through that video :) It is only an 11th gen blade 15 advanced but as they are almost the same apart from the CPU I can still compare them knowing Razer CPU wattage
@@MashITTech much appreciated. Thank you for what you do!
Is the panel g sync?
Sorry mate, how stupid of me! Yes it is
Not too bad a deal I guess for an Alienware laptop, usually I am horrified by the price of them 🤣
I think my next laptop purchase will be about 2024-25 so we have a way to go yet but it's always nice wayching your videos and keeping up to date with tech :)
Thanks for all your support :)
Looking to the m15 r8 with the Ryzen 6000 models
the slim power brick is only like $5 more on dell's website. i don't understand why they don't just discontinue the old brick at this point
It is dell being extremely mean as usual! It is not like these are cheap machines. And they could use the glut of old supplies with the G series
@@MashITTech you know, i got an m15 R4 at over 50% off last year and i guess i was unlucky because the machine had stuttering issues that even replacing motherboard & heat sink did not fix. so they said they will upgrade me with a new laptop due to item unavailability. hope they give me the R7 🤪
I bought the 3070ti version of this laptop and the peak wattage of this graphics card I monitored during playing GTA5 on max settings was 165.8 W. It is indeed very powerful and sometimes it sucks juice from battery with power plugged in during gaming. My local Alienware dealer did offer me the power adapter upgrade to GaN ones though. My A panel did suffer some slight scratches from two weeks of school use, it is definitely not for some people who mind that a lot. If we don’t mind their marketing strategy of x series, it is a very solid pick for gaming laptop. A big upgrade from my zephyrus gm501. Best performance for the money? Not so sure. Good laptop? Yeah.
Do you have any overheating with this laptop or any problems im thinking of getting one.
@@silverpro8356 I have not experienced anything significant, just remember to shut it down completely before putting it in a backpack. once I just close the lid and leave it in the bag, it went almost burning in my hand when I take it out.(the alienware control center was updating, I asume that is the reason) PS, not everybody will be comfortable with its fan noise when it hit max speed.
Did you said the secondary key also does not light up on this laptop too because i also spoke to one of the other reviewer who also reviewed this laptop and said mine secondary key did light up???
it dosnt. Since the m15/m17 r5/r6 and now also the r7 they changed that to not light up.
@@kariminyt how do you know do you have one and o also spoke to one of the other youtubers who also reviewed the same laptop and said his one did lighted up
The secondary function are not backlit! None of the alienware keyboards have backlight on secondary functions since last year
Found a few for under $1300 at the outlet store
That's a good price!
When you buy this laptop with an 3080ti do it also have 140w oder 150? And would you say they would be a big differences?
1:And also does the WiFi card is replaceable and 2:when you type or game do you accidentally click the mousepad or does it happen while typing or gaming or you disable it
Hello Dave, just got my m15 r7 recently and the battery life only lasts for 2 hours of light use(browsing webpages) with battery saver on, integrated graphics preferred , and 60Hz rate.What could possibly happen and should I return it?
Are you in Optimus mode or nvidia mode? Have you got something open in the background that is firing up the gpu? (Awcc or msi are the usual culprits)
Hi @@MashITTech .I bought m15 r7 based on your video. It has a lot of flaws, but for performance I would ignore it. One drawback that bothers me a lot is the battery. It cannot withstand 2 hours of light use.
I set the graphics card to auto select in the Nvidia settings (Nvidia Control Panel), if that's what you mean. Optimus mode is on in BIOS. AWCC is turned off and the processor does not consume more than 15%, the GPU reads 0%. I also contacted Dell Support, they didn't find the problem, we searched everything.
Can you help me? Thank you! :)
@@aleksandarsotra I had an M15 R4, the battery lasted the same 2 hours with light use. I think it is normal for this model.
@@zoltanb1221 tnx for answer
Still wish for a 17 inch version but it will undermine the X17. And Dell isn't as portable as many of its 15 inch counterparts. Also 12th gen is really highly priced. I just hope it'll be widespread enough for DDR5 to be widely available and less pricey.
the m17 is already on dells website
@@TheEsco1514 yeah saw the news. But no numpad so big sad. Gonna see how it is tbh.
does this have a mux switch?
yes it does but as it has advanced Optimus this isn't as necessary as it used to be, you can just turn it to Nvidia only in Nvidia control panel now 👍
Great review, David! I'll be curious on your thoughts between this and the Legion. Last years Legion had an issue with palm rejection, hoping they sorted that out for the 2022 models. The R7 is a nice looking machine, just wish they had a SD card slot.
Got it on ebay for 800 bucks in perfect condition its actually the best purchase ive ever made
How's it working do u recomend it
Hi,
I need an opinion on which laptop to buy. I'm game programming student and I'll be working with unity, unreal engine, etc. I was planning on buying Alienware M15 R7 but the only issue is the battery life.
So, is it wise to buy the XPS 15 9520 instead.
Please help....
Do you think the AMD version would give you more battery life? If so how much extra battery life do you think it'll be
Yes for sure. From my testing of the 17" I would expect over 10 hours of light use with a bit of tweaking
@@MashITTech thank you so much man
AMD ryzen 7/9 is available now at Dell site.
Which would you prefer of the two with R7?
Would you ever make review with AMD variant
I have the AMD m17r5 on order so will be testing that soon. I have spent a fortune on laptops this month so can't afford any more but when I get some more money in the budget I will test a m15r7 AMD version too. I usually prefer AMD for the increased battery life and I never use thunderbolt
@@MashITTech just for batt life only? So in terms of perf, safe to say that we can go Intel?
For productivity apps go Intel, if just gaming there is not that much in it as most games rely on GPU more than CPU
Just picked this up spec'd with i7, 3060, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 240Hz, & Per Key RGB for $1349 in the US.
wow, that's a brilliant price! especially with that screen and keyboard
@@MashITTech - they must be releasing the new stuff soon 🤣 Great review and comparison vids by the way. Felt confident purchasing this after viewing several of yours. Cheers!
I can only wish for a X17 with a QHD panel, but well, the 3080 handles the 4k panel too so i cant complain... Still it amazes me the Alienware doenst get that panel supported on more of their machines... Anyways, great review as always!
Thanks mate. My new X17r2 with 4k just arrived and I can't believe how good the 4k looks on the ?X17! I may well put up with games running at scaled 1440p just so I can enjoy this screen!
@@MashITTech Thats very true, I have been doing the same in my games... But movies on it are DELICIOUS. Been loving every second of it.
You deserve a lot more followers. Great videos. Keep it up
The thank you mate
How come this guys doesn't have over 100k subscribers
I can only dream!
Just bought myself a M15 R7 with the 3070 Ti from JB Hi-Fi for AUD$2999 down from AUD$3999-originally was gonna go for the M15 with the 6800H but went with the M15 with the Intel i7-12700H.
How you finding it?
I bought this with the i9 12900H , rtx 3070ti, 16gb ram , Full hd 360hz display at price of 2300CAD + Almost 300 CAD cashback by dell rewards+ Rakuten. is it good deal?
I just ordered this laptop with the QHD display. are you not better having the old power supply seeing as it only has one thunderbolt port? is the slim powersupply not the USB-C Thunderbolt charger?
No only the x14 has the usbc charger. The x15 and x17 have much smaller chargers instead of the bricks of old
Please make a video on Alienware M15R7 vs dell G15 5521 special editions with Rtx 3070ti
Sorry we don’t have an option to order 3070ti in U.K. 🥲
Hi. Does the M15R7 Vs X15R2 with the same screen 240hz QHD have the same screen quality in terms of brightness, color accuracy, nitz, saturation, RGB and etc?
Yes. The x15, m15 and g15 5521 all have the same 1440p panel. There is always some variance between panels but I have had 5 now and all have looked amazing
As much as I love Alienware, dell prices their product too high for the majority of users. The X series maybe worth it because they are very good but the M series last year was disappointed and after your review this year is just better than last year but still not good overall, it's worst when compare to the much more cheaper Legion 5pro/5ipro with better screen and performance and thermal, it's nice to have some improvement but this is still not enough, especially the price. In my country specifically, the M15 series are cost as much as the Legion 7 or the GE66 which will destroy the m15 in every ways. So my conclusion is that if you are an Alienware fan go for it but for average users the M15 is not worth it, at its price range there are better competitors like the GP66/76, Scar 15/17, Legion5/5ipro and the up coming Predator Helios 300
Haha you hit the nail on the head and I have actually started work on a legion 5i pro vs the m15r7 and there is £500 difference for the same specs (except the legion has that better screen)
@@MashITTech The Legion series are indeed the best overall gaming lineup last year and this year look good so far, Jarrod has tested the 5ipro and the i7 12700H performance was top notch even best the i9 12900hk on the GE76, the thermal on the new 5ipro is even better than last year, truly impressive being much cheaper but cooler and faster than other competitors, I am using the Legion 7i and very impressed and satisfied with it and I can't wait for the new Legion7/7i.
@@MashITTech The X17 maybe just a little bit better than the Legion 7 but the Legion 5pro kills the M15, sad to see Alienware get beaten though because their design is still the best in my heart.
I’ve bought M15 R5 - got it on February sale. Pricing was good so I’ve got no regrets.
The cooling system on last years model was disappointing and its the same for this year as well
@mashit just got one of these R7s with the 3080ti. Seeing issues with the GPU going down to 200-400hz after about 15 minutes of play. Stays that way for 5-10 mins then goes back up to normal. Is this something you've experienced?
Temps are only hitting 50/55c
They’ll fix that. It’s a new gpu. Not like 3080 which was out the start of 2021
Watching this on my M15 R7 :), I got the QHD panel with 3080ti and 32 ddr5 (plus the cherry mx keyboard) so i went full spec. Was close on 3K though! (then went down about 200 the following day - urghhh)- but could not get the X15/X17 with the same specs for less than 400 - 1000 pounds more. The slimline X series are nice to look at but this gives me better performance for the same money. I'm really pleased (so far ;).
Glad you are enjoying it! it really is a solid laptop
does this support 100watts usb c charging from thunderbolt 4
no sorry, only the X series of alienware now have PD charging :(
@@MashITTech thanks ! really sad that even the thunderbolt 4 standard doesnt guarantee a full 100w usb c charging :/
@@nazdhillon994 yeah, this is a pure dell being mean and deliberately making the r7 worse than the x series
According to Alienware’s website the GPU max at 170 watt for 3080 to , 150 watt for 3070 ti
I think that’s for the x series, not the m series
@@jamesflinn4878
This is from M15 description
Gain the edge you need with updated Alienware Cryo-tech™ cooling technology that introduces newly engineered fans that contain over twice as many blades* and are 37.5% thinner than the previous generation.* Prioritized for performance, the dual fan design pulls in cool air from the top and bottom vents while pushing it out the left, right, and rear vents to ensure exceptional game play. For configurations that include NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti or RTX™ 3080 Ti graphics, the exclusive Element 31 gallium-silicone thermal interface material allows you to game faster for longer periods of time by pulling heat away from the processor. These forces combine to send up to 170W* max Thermal Design Power (TDP) to updated processors and NVIDIA® graphics, all within a 15" form factor.
X15
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 Ti 8GB GDDR6
Includes 8-phase HyperEfficient graphics voltage regulation
Max TGP: 115W
Dynamic Boost: 25W
Maximum Graphics Power: 140W
Base clock: 915 MHz
Boost clock: 1410 MHz
Pretty sure that's an error on their site copied from the X17. The m15r7 3070ti is definitely 140w
@@MashITTech
It’s consistent with the Alienware UA-cam channel product specs check this out
ua-cam.com/video/g29KrL78h10/v-deo.html
great review
@Mash IT Mine m15 R7 arrived (i7, 3070ti) and it claims to support power delivery up to 100w. But I tried different usb-c chargers and none of them work. The system didn’t even detect them. Can you please try to see if yours work?
Hi Chris, where did you hear it has 100w PD? As far as I am aware only the X series now has PD :( in all my m15r5, r6 and r7 plus m17r5 I have ha no luck with PD
@@MashITTech Thanks for responding! The dell website says the usb-c port on the m15 R7 supports PD.
Is that the 5v 3a statement? If so that PD out to devices as 5v 3a is only 15w
@@MashITTech Oh that makes sense now. So only x series supports PD charging now? I really like my m15 R7. But I am still deciding if I should keep it (i7-12700h+RTX 3070ti) or get a discounted x17 R1 (i7-11800h+RTX 3070) instead. Use it for both school and gaming with an external monitor setup. Really enjoyed the cherry mx keyboard on m15 so probably won’t get a x15 since it doesn’t have it. Also really enjoyed the QHD 240hz screen on my m15. What’s your opinion? Thanks!
I much prefer the x17 but man that 1440p screen is so good. I would probably still take the x17 personally though as I prefer 17” laptops
Is This The Affordable Alienware? April fool.. :)
Haha well spotted 🤣🤣
The only reason why i choose this laptop over scar 15 is the camera and the design. Performance and temp look like scar 15 is better!
I’m buying the max spec version of this is it good
Yeah it sure is. My only gripe is the price, think dell priced this a little too high so make sure you get a d coupon or haggle with customer services. Also make sure you choose the qhd 👍
Definitely get QHD screen. Got this panel on r5 model and It’s great.
just got this model in the qhd 240hz 3070ti i7 12700h for $1700 excited to use it
Wow great price! Hope you enjoy it
I like how they did the bottom vents like the Area 51. Complete bs that you can get the slim brick. I guess you don’t even get the option?