GoKawiilBefore today, you would have needed to spend a minimum of roughly $1,700 for one of Dell's Alienware laptops (though, Dell's revolving discounts mean you'd likely pay less than this figure). With the arrival of the Alienware 15, the price of entry has dropped to $1,300.
Of course, you'll need to accept a few tradeoffs to hit this lower price, but the Alienware lineup has expanded downward to attract more gamers -- specifically, those who find themselves on tighter budgets in this era of supply shortages and rising prices.
Dell has also announced two mainstream laptops today in the Dell 14S and 16S. Let's take a look at the three new models.
The new entry-level Alienware
The Alienware lineup now comprises three tiers, with the new Alienware 15 at the bottom, the 16/16X Aurora in the middle and the flagship 16/18 Area-51 at the top.
Dell
The Alienware 15 offers a choice of Intel and AMD processors and current and previous-gen Nvidia RTX GPUs up to an RTX 5060. It's based on a 15.3-inch IPS display with a resolution of 1,920 by 1,200 pixels and a refresh rate of 165Hz, which is wrapped in an all-plastic chassis. Those are fairly uninspiring display specs, as is the 300-nit rating for brightness.
The AMD and Intel options are each a generation or two behind the times. You have your choice of a pair of AMD Ryzen 200 series processors (a Ryzen 5 220 or Ryzen 7 260) or a pair of Intel Raptor Lake chips (a Core 5 210H or Core 7 240H). Dell says it's adding Ryzen AI 400 series processors options soon.
The GPU options span three generations: RTX 3050, 4050, 5050 or 5060. The graphics chips are throttled to keep thermals in check. The RTX 3050 and 4050 are set at 70 watts, and the 50 series GPUs top out at 85 watts. That's one sacrifice you make in dropping down from the Alienware 16X Aurora, which I tested with an RTX 5060 running at its full 115-watt capacity.
The Alienware 15 also lacks the Aurora's aluminum top panel that adds a dash of style and more rigidity to protect the display. It also lacks the Aurora's RGB keyboard backlight and illuminates its keys in only basic white.
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