When it comes to gaming, this Alienware-themed laptop offers top-notch performance and beautiful graphics along with an attractive chassis and a very stylish keyboard. As you would expect from a 17-inch high-end component laptop, the battery life is quite short, and the fans are quite loud under load.
However, if you can afford the hefty price, the Alienware m17 R3 will elevate your gaming experience.
Design of the Alienware m17 R3
If you love RGB, prominent branding, and hexagonal shapes, the Alienware m17 R3 is tailored for you. Out of the box, this laptop is pure high-end gamer level. In a white casing, there is a stylized design of “17” with the Alienware logo printed on the back. The most noticeable features from the outside are the intake and exhaust spaces, which have unusual shapes.
In addition to the two diagonal small shelves on the sides of the laptop, these cut-out designs are also adorned with a honeycomb pattern on the back and bottom of the chassis. When you open the laptop, you’ll see another set of honeycombs above the keyboard, featuring 4-zone RGB (or single-key RGB as an optional accessory), minimal fonts, and tenkey design. A reflective border surrounds the display, with “Alienware” printed along the bottom. As expected from the brand, all these features combine clever curves and angles, giving the Alienware m17 R3 a spaceship-like feel.
Like a spaceship, the Alienware m17 R3 is also a large machine, measuring 15.7 x 11.6 x 0.9 inches and weighing 6.6 pounds. This makes it longer by an inch, thicker by an inch, and heavier by a pound than competitors like the Gigabyte Aero 17 HDR XB (15.6 x 10.6 x 0.8 inches and 5.5 pounds) and the more independent MSI GS66 Stealth machine (14.2 x 9.7 x 0.7 inches and 4.6 pounds). However, these designs utilize Nvidia’s Max-Q graphics card, allowing this larger machine to run at full speed.
The Alienware m17 R3 features a sturdy magnesium alloy chassis, making it a well-built laptop whose durability matches its weight. The entire laptop is solid inside, feels thick, well-protected, and comfortable to rest your hands on, while the back of the display does not flex under pressure. While I wouldn’t recommend tossing it around, it feels like it could survive a drop without a scratch.
Ports on the Alienware m17 R3 are plentiful. Starting from the left side of the laptop, you will find an RJ-45 Ethernet connection, a USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A port, and a 3.5mm combo headphone and microphone jack. On the right side, there are two additional USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A ports and a microSD card reader. While this alone is not impressive, the m17 R3 also has several ports including an HDMI 2.0b port, a mini DisplayPort, a Thunderbolt 3 port, and a dedicated connector for the Alienware external graphics amplifier box.
Gaming Performance of the Alienware m17 R3
Our Alienware m17 R3 review unit is equipped with a 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super, and 32GB DDR4 RAM.
In our “Far Cry: New Dawn” (Ultra) benchmark tests, the Alienware m17 R3 impressed with an average frame rate of 89 frames at 1080p and 53 frames at 4K. At both resolutions, the Aero was about 15 frames per second slower (with RTX 2070 Super Max-Q), while the Aero could only reach 76 frames at 1080p and 39 frames at 4K. The Stealth machine equipped with RTX 2080 Super Max-Q averaged 86 frames per second at 1080p (without a 4K screen).
Productivity Performance on the Alienware m17 R3
With such a powerful device, supporting Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super, the Alienware m17 R3 is also well-suited for completing productivity tasks.
With Excel and the Epic Games store open simultaneously, the Alienware m17 R3 could open 35 Chrome tabs, including 3 YouTube videos and a 1080p @ 60 fps Twitch stream without any lag. This is the expected result of its 32GB of memory and 8-core, 16-thread Intel 10th Gen Core i9-10980HK processor — running at a base clock speed of 2.4 GHz and a maximum clock speed of 5.3 GHz. However, even for such everyday tasks, the laptop’s fans can get quite loud, so we recommend switching the thermal mode in Alienware Command Center to quiet mode for daily use.
Continuing with our Geekbench 5.0 benchmark tests, the Alienware m17 R3 stood out, scoring 7,579, compared to Aero’s 7,298 (Core i7-10875H) and Stealth’s 6,328 (Core i7-10750H). This slightly outpaces the Aero but far exceeds the Stealth.
Display of the Alienware m17 R3
Our review configuration of the Alienware m17 R3 features a 4K @60 Hz HDR400 display, with a response time of 25 ms, although there are other models with 1080p @ 144 Hz displays, with a response time of 9 ms. When configuring, you need to decide whether refresh rate or color and sharpness is more important to you.
The 4K resolution provides an excellent visual experience, provided that a high refresh rate is not the top priority. While using the laptop for gaming controls, I didn’t notice any significant input lag, meaning at least in single-player games, the screen should perform well. The colors are also vibrant, and if I want, the screen can be bright enough to be uncomfortable; its high default brightness was the first thing I noticed when I opened the laptop.
This powerful display experience extends to video playback; I tested it with the open-source 4K short film “Tears of Steel.” Here, the film’s rich 3D models are bright, easy to track, visually pleasing, and colors do not get lost in darkness, and motion never appears blurry.
Our tests supported my anecdotal experience, with the Alienware m17 R3’s 4K version capturing 117.5% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, with an average brightness of 591 nits. This exceeds Aero’s 466 nits/115.1% DCI-P3 coverage and Stealth’s 321 nits/79% DCI-P3 coverage.
Keyboard and Touchpad of the Alienware m17 R3
The 4.2 x 3.2-inch glass touchpad on the Alienware m17 R3 features Windows Precision drivers and feels smooth. Unfortunately, its position is slightly left of center in the laptop, which means I accidentally touched it a few times while gaming with the laptop. This often threw me off target, and I spent about 10 minutes diagnosing the issue before realizing what was happening. Fortunately, you can disable the touchpad and use an external mouse.
Audio of the Alienware m17 R3
The lower half of the Alienware m17 R3 chassis has two front-facing speakers that seem to prioritize volume over quality. In my tests, I could crank the sound loud enough to fill my two-bedroom apartment, but without a dedicated subwoofer, the m17 R3 completely ruined its opening drum solo. The quality of its closing guitar solo also equated to the tinny sound levels of cheap speakers.
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Cooling of the Alienware m17 R3
The main contact points on the Alienware m17 R3 remained relatively cool during testing, but like gaming laptops, the vents on the sides expelled hot air.
However, even during regular use, the fans on the Alienware m17 R3 continuously output hot air. This benefits the internal temperature of the laptop, but it does make it uncomfortable to place your hands behind or on the sides of the laptop. This is unfortunate for your mouse-hand, and the bottom is the same, meaning you’ll want to place the m17 R3 on a table rather than your lap.
Configuration of the Alienware m17 R3
We tested the full specs of the Alienware m17 R3, which means it is equipped with a 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super, 32GB RAM, two 1TB PCIe M.2 SSDs connected via RAID 0, a 4K 60Hz display, and an 86 WHr battery. This is a powerful machine priced at $3,529.99.
If you don’t need that much power, the base model of the Alienware m17 R3 is more affordable at $1,549.99, swapping the CPU for a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10750H and the GPU for an AMD Radeon RX 5500. It also reduces the RAM to 16GB, storage to 256GB, and the screen resolution to 1920 x 1080, but with a refresh rate of 144Hz. Electronics global procurement saves money.
There are two models based on Nvidia graphics cards with 144Hz displays, one priced at $2,249.99 and the other at $2,449.99. Besides an additional 16GB of RAM, an extra 256GB SSD, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super replacing the AMD GPU, this cheaper option has the same specs as the base model. The more expensive option retains all these specs but replaces the dual 256GB SSDs with dual 512GB SSDs.
If you’re considering the Alienware m15/m17 R3 2020, here are some points to consider:
1. How to choose between m15 and m17? If size and weight are not a major concern, I recommend the m17, as the larger screen has a more significant advantage;
2. Start with the graphics card when selecting configurations; if you’re concerned about “performance-to-price ratio,” start with RTX 2060 or RTX 2070, and then base other configurations on the graphics card;
3. CPU selection: If it’s just for gaming and regular personal use, I suggest choosing the i7 10750H; if there’s a productivity demand, consider the i7 10875H;
4. For the display: Unless there’s a special requirement (like CS esports), the 144Hz option offers the best value for money, while those needing 4K can consider external displays;
5. Memory and SSD: Standard 16GB is sufficient for gaming and personal use; for productivity, consider 32GB; regarding SSD, since there are 3 slots, size doesn’t matter; you can always install it later (those who are lazy can have after-sales help install it);
6. Sometimes there are promotional configurations, such as the recent RTX 2070 for $16,999, plus the traditional Dell sales negotiation skills;
7. Be careful not to change thermal paste yourself; for friends with poor manual skills, it’s recommended to have after-sales replace it, otherwise, it may lead to worse cooling after the change;
8. “Overclocking optimization” can start with adding a cooling pad; compared to CPU undervolting, the GPU may have a larger margin, and generally, a Turing chip can overclock by about 100 without issues.
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Summary
The m17 R3 is a very powerful gaming laptop with two outstanding screen options and a high-performance price-to-value screen to choose from. With good cooling and relaxed CPU power consumption, as well as multi-core high frequency CPUs, the m17 R3 is also very suitable as a productivity tool. While powerful, the m17 R3 is also beautiful, with a futuristic technological aesthetic.