The Alienware m17 is a staple gaming laptop at this point, but the 2021 refresh brings some of the strongest gaming laptop performance we’ve seen.
While the Alienware m17 R4 (2021) may not have received any Black Friday and Cyber Monday discounts just yet, a number of Alienware laptops have. And, considering Dell loves a good sale, there’s still a chance that this model could see its price slashed before the shopping holiday season is over. Make sure you check out our Dell Black Friday deals guide and Black Friday gaming laptop deals guide for more great offers. While many of the best gaming laptops are slimming down and shedding weight, some like the Alienware m17 are showing that, when it comes to gaming laptops, sometimes bigger is better. In fact, the Alienware m17 R4 takes the chassis of the R3 and just fills it with the faster components to make a monster of a machine. That means that you’ll get one of the top Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 GPUs, including the impressively powerful Nvidia Geforce RTX 3070. Add in powerful 10th-gen processors and a blazing fast 360 Hz refresh rate and you’ll be able to run just about any game at the highest settings without any issue. The price of entry unfortunately is pretty high, however. While our review model went for a pretty hefty $3,359 (about £2,460, AU$4,360), you won’t be able to purchase the m17 R4 new with an RTX 3080 installed – likely due to the components shortage. Still, there are very few gaming laptops out there with that kind of price tag, even after you take into account the specs. Of course, you’re also paying for the Alienware design and brand. With that said, for a laptop of this caliber that only focuses on high-end performance, the Alienware m17 R4 is a gorgeous laptop, which you’ll just have to pay for the privilege of showing it off on your desk. This is not exactly a laptop that you’re going to be carrying around with you either. It weighs a massive 6.55lb, and comes with a 330W adapter that weighs nearly as much as the laptop itself. And, when you consider the paltry two and a half hours of battery life, the Alienware m17 R4 is a laptop that you’ll only be moving in between LAN parties, rather than carrying around in your bag day-in and day-out. If that’s something you’re looking for though, the Alienware m17 R4 is probably one of the most luxurious laptops in its class, rivaled only by similarly gorgeous machines like the Razer Blade Pro 17. The Alienware m17 starts at $2,149 (about £1,570, AU$1,769). That will get you an Intel Core i7-10870H,16GB of RAM,256GB of SSD storage and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070. If you want the model we’re reviewing here, with an RTX 3080, a 2TB SSD and a Core i9 processor, you’re looking at an eye-watering $3,359 (about £2,460, AU$4,360). And, if you want a 4K OLED panel with the same specs, you’re looking at $3,579 (about £2,620, AU$4,640) – though that configuration only comes with 1TB of SSD space. However, currently, this model isn’t available, likely due to the ongoing components shortage. We wouldn’t recommend going with a 4K OLED display anyway unless you’re planning on using this laptop to do some serious photo or video work. And, while the RTX 3080 here is strong, but it’s still nowhere near as strong as the desktop version of the card. You’re going to have a much better gaming experience sticking with the 1080p display option – whether you go for the 144Hz panel or the 360Hz panel that the laptop we’re reviewing comes with. Either way, this is a premium gaming laptop with a luxury price. You will likely be able to find the same components in a cheaper gaming laptop somewhere. But you won’t be able to find one that combines performance and design in quite the same way.
