Review Alienware17 R4

reno7 (26)in #technology • 6 years ago (edited)

Alienware's 2017 offerings keep their classic, angular spaceship cases from last year, but much has changed on the inside. The Alienware 17 R4 (starting at $1,299; tested at $1,949 and $2,599) now packs a 7th-generation "Kaby Lake" Intel CPU and Nvidia GTX 1070 or 1080 GPUs that are perfect for virtual reality. The laptop also has Tobii eye tracking to play games with your peepers. If you can spend the money on one of its more expensive configurations, the Alienware 17 is the 17-inch mobile gaming rig to beat.

Specs

CPU 2.9-GHz Intel Core i7-7820HK CPU
Operating System Windows 10 Home
RAM 16GB
RAM Upgradable to 32GB
Hard Drive Size 1 TB
Hard Drive Type SATA Hard Drive
Secondary Hard Drive Size 512GB
Secondary Hard Drive Type SSD
Display Size 17.3
Highest Available Resolution 2560 x 1440
Native Resolution 2560 x 1440
Optical Drive Speed n/a
Graphics Card Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 GPU 8GB
Video Memory 8GB
Wi-Fi 802.11ac
Wi-Fi Model Killer 1435 802.11ac 2x2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1
Bluetooth Bluetooth 4.1
Touchpad Size 3.95 x 2.2-inch
Ports (excluding USB) Audio-out
Ports (excluding USB) Ethernet
Ports (excluding USB) Headphone
Ports (excluding USB) Mini Display Port
Ports (excluding USB) USB Type-C
Ports (excluding USB) Noble Lock
Ports (excluding USB) USB 3.0
Ports (excluding USB) Thunderbolt 3
USB Ports 4
Warranty/Support one-year
Size 16.7 x 13.1 x 1.2 inches
Weight 9.6 pounds
Company Website http://www.dell.com/en-us/gaming/alienware

Design

Alienware's trademark angular design is on full display with this 17-inch gaming laptop. The gunmetal-gray spaceship look hasn't changed much in the past few years: It's still aggressive and powerful, with its angles and two-toned mix of gray and black, but it's also classy and refined, with solid aluminum construction and soft-touch plastic. Still, the look is starting to get a bit tired after so many years.

The lid features the Alienware logo, and lifting it reveals a black, soft-touch deck; a complete keyboard with a number pad and macro keys; a Tobii eye-tracking camera; and the 17.3-inch, 1080p display.

But it's not a totally black-and-gray affair. The keyboard, touchpad, Alienware logo and light strips are on the sides of the deck and can be lit up with customizable RGBs. I preferred using solid colors, but you can change each light individually and choose some louder effects with AlienFX.

At 9.6 pounds and 16.7 x 13.1 x 1.2 inches, the Alienware is slightly thicker than its competitors, and heavier than most. The Aorus X7 v6 is a sleek 16.1 x 12.2 x 1 inches and just 7.2 pounds, and the 15-inch MSI GT62 Dominator Pro is unsurprisingly smaller, at 6.4 pounds and 15.4 x 10.5 x 1.6 inches. Razer's Blade Pro is 7.8 pounds and a slighter 16.7 x 11 x 0.8 inches. Only the Asus ROG G752VS OC Edition is heavier, at a full 10 pounds, but it's similar in size, at 16.4 x 12.7 x 1.9 inches.

The laptop is literally surrounded by ports, so there's plenty of room for expansion. On the right side, there's a single USB 3.0 port and some vents, while the left side is home to a Noble lock slot, a USB Type-C port, a USB 3.0 port, a microphone and headphone jacks. There's even more on the back: an Ethernet jack, a mini DisplayPort, HDMI output, a Thunderbolt 3 port, the power jack and a connection for the Alienware Graphics Amp, which lets you attach an external desktop GPU for 4K gaming and VR.