Alienware m15 R2

From £1,349 | $1,232 www.dell.co.uk Finally, a portable gaming laptop from Alienware

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The Alienware m15 follows squarely in the footsteps of the Alienware Area-51m. When that absolute unit of a laptop was revealed back at CES 2018 we were completely blown away not only for its upgradeability but also its clean ‘Legend ID’ design language. And now that design language is present in a gaming laptop you can actually carry around with you.

That design language carries over remarkably well, making it one of the most stylish gaming laptops on the market right now, and even rivals the MSI GS65 Stealth – the difference between those two laptops is ultimately going to boil down to taste.

On top of that raw, unadulterated style, of course, is the power that this laptop holds. To be fair, the Alienware m15 we tested was the most expensive model in the lineup, but it was able to absolutely destroy basically any game we threw at it – even the incredibly demanding Red Dead Redemption 2 from Rockstar.

One thing that may disappoint some folks (but excite others) is the display. At this price point, some may be expecting to see a 4K OLED panel at 60Hz, and while that sounds good in theory, laptop computing hardware isn’t exactly great at that resolution yet, especially in games. Instead, you’re getting a 1080p display at 240Hz – something much better for gaming, though a lower resolution.

In a lot of ways, the Alienware m15 is the new gold standard for thin and light gaming laptops. We just wish that it had a better trackpad and speakers to really take the experience to the next level.

Hardware and design