Alienware M15 R1 vs Alienware M15 R2- Which is the better gaming laptop

You are definitely at the right place if you are a gaming enthusiast who wants to take their gaming to the next level. I mean, why buy a stationery monitor when you could instead get yourself a high performance gaming laptop?

Without doubt, the Alienware M15 R1 and R2 are both good quality laptops that will deliver high quality graphics for gaming throughout. Just like any other laptop, these two laptops are also portable which means that you can be gaming literally anywhere. At the coffee shop while waiting for your date and even at the cafeteria during lunch break, you name it! This already serves as a big advantage because you won’t have to wait the whole day in order to get back home to play games with your friends.

When to use Alienware M15 R1 gaming laptop

This gaming laptop is a very good option to consider especially if you are working with a tight budget. I mean, the specs that come with this device are quite impressive. You will probably get the same specs from a different brand but that would mean that you’d have to dig deeper in to your ports. We definitely have to thank Dell for releasing the new Alienware R2 which gave room for the Alienware M15 R1 to reduce in cost.

When to use Alienware M15 R2 gaming laptop

This is a very good gaming device to consider if you are looking for a slight upgrade to the Alienware M15 R1 gaming laptop. Yes, the differences may be very minimal but at the end of the day, it still makes a difference right? There are a number of updated features that have been equipped on to this gaming laptop which makes it a top contender when it comes to high performance gaming laptops.

Alienware M15 R1 vs Alienware M15 R2 Feature comparison

How we evaluate Alienware M15 R1 and Alienware M15 R2

Without doubt, both these gaming laptops are very efficient and guarantee you great performance when it comes to gaming. However we do follow a certain criteria in order to effectively evaluate each of these two gaming monitors. This includes features that we always take into consideration in order to ensure that we give you the most accurate report:

• Screen size and resolution– this is the dimensions of the screen and quality of images displayed on the screen
• Weight– It is the lightness or heaviness of the laptop which facilitates portability.
• Graphics card– this enables the gaming laptop to provide you with high quality graphics.
• Ports– the number of connectivity ports each laptop comes with.
• Battery– duration which the battery lasts.

Alienware M15 R1 vs Alienware M15 R2 – A comparison overview

Alienware M15 R1 review

This gaming laptop has definitely taken the market by storm especially due to its features. The first thought that will probably come to your head when you first lay your eyes on it will probably be how good it looks. I mean, let’s give credit where it’s due. The Alienware M15 R1 gaming laptop measures just 15.6 inches with a curvy design on its edges which makes it more appealing to the eye as compared to most of its competitors. Another feature that makes this laptop standout is the coloured light bar at back of the laptop whenever you use it which gives it a very futuristic look which is pretty cool.

Weighing at only 4.7lbs, this gaming laptop is not only light weight but also comes with a slim design which makes it very easy to carry around in your bag. The Alienware M15 R1 is also designed with a smaller bezel design as compared to the previous models, which allows you to enjoy more screen viewing when gaming. In addition to this, this laptop is also equipped with a low blue light technology which protects your eyes from harmful rays that may be caused by any blue light coming from your screen whenever you are using it. For sure, we all differentiate a good gaming laptop from an average one by looking at its display abilities. Well, you won’t be disappointed by this gaming laptop as it comes with a UHD OLED screen that has a resolution of 1920 x 1080. This screen is able to comfortably support 4K image quality during gaming as it works hand in hand with a powerful NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070Q graphics card. The display performance of this laptop is also accompanied by a Cyro- Tech cooling system which ensures that the laptop is cool even when you are gaming for long hours non- stop. It is also important to note that this device is equipped with an Intel Core i7-870H processor with 16GB RAM of memory space. They work hand in hand and allow you to enjoy a smooth gaming experience as the laptop doesn’t hang often.

Pros

• It is appealing to the eye.
• Comes with useful ports.
• Great display quality.
• Efficient trackpad and keyboard.

Cons

• Battery life is not good when gaming.

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Alienware M15 R2 review

This is the newer series of the Alienware M15 R1 gaming laptop and as expected it does come with a few upgrades. Well, some gamers would argue that the difference between the two isn’t that major but the specs of this gaming laptop communicate otherwise. The design of this gaming laptop is far from what we’d call a “subtle look”, which in my opinion is not that much of a surprise. This is because it consists of a unique design with a 15 inch OLED screen which makes the laptop look very sleek. In addition to this, its 4K OLED screen not only enables you to experience vibrant colours every time you are gaming, but also supports frame rates of up to 240Hz. With such frame rates at your disposal, you are able to enjoy playing games on high graphics settings without encountering any form of lag.

Without doubt, Dell put in some work with this newer Alienware gaming laptop in order to make it better than its predecessor. They equipped it with an Intel Core i7- 970H processor with 16GB RAM which allows you to enjoy high graphic settings throughout. This really comes in handy especially if you frequently play online games that demand high graphic settings. The NVIDIA RTX Max-Q graphics card is also another great feature as it consistently helps to render high quality display on images on your screen. In addition to this, the Alienware M15 R2 gaming laptop weighs only 4.75lbs which makes it easily portable.

Pros

• It has a very stylish design.
• Comes with various connectivity ports.
• Great display of images.
• Powerful processor.

Cons

• It has a small trackpad.

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How does Alienware M15 R1 and Alienware M15 R2 compare?

Processor

These two gaming laptops may have a lot of similarities but one feature that they don’t share is definitely the processor. Well, the newer Alienware M15 R2 has a more powerful processor as compared to the Alienware M15 R1. The M15 R2 gaming laptop comes with an Intel Core- 970 H processor with 16GB RAM which guarantees you higher frame rates throughout your gaming experience. It also handles higher quality display of images better than the Alienware M15 R1 which comes with an Intel Core- 870H processor.

Weight

Laptops were created to serve as portable desktop computers regardless of the specified purpose it is built for. However, this concept wouldn’t be possible if they were heavy to carry around. Well, in this comparison, the Alienware M15 R2 is slightly lighter than the Alienware M15 R1. This is because it weighs only 4.75lbs which makes it easy to carry in your bag pack when you go to work or even to school if you are still a student. The Alienware M15 R1 is slightly heavier as it weighs 4.78lbs.

Battery

The Alienware M15 R2 also comes with a longer lasting battery life as compare to the Alienware M15 R1. This is among the few upgrades that Dell considered when building the M15 R2 gaming laptop. It is equipped with a 76Whr battery that enables you to enjoy playing games for a couple of hours before the battery is depleted. You won’t have to keep on plugging it to the power source which is a great feature in a laptop. The Alienware M15 R1 on the other hand, comes with a 60WHr battery which is depleted pretty quickly especially when you are gaming for long hours.

Graphics card

The quality of images being displayed on the screen is amongst the most important aspects that we look at in gaming laptops. When we compare these two gaming laptops, the Alienware M15 R2 has a more powerful graphics car than the Alienware M15 R1. The NVIDIA RTX 2080 Max- Q graphics card enables it to display images of slightly better quality as compared to its predecessor. However, the Alienware M15 R1 comes with a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Q graphics card which is pretty good also.

Conclusion

The Alienware M15 R1 gaming laptop is one of the best gaming laptops in the market especially due to its efficient performance. However, the overall winner in this comparison is the Alienware M15 R2 gaming laptop. This is because it comes with upgraded features that came with its predecessor which includes, a better processor, battery life and graphics card among others.

FAQs

How big is the screen size of the Alienware M15 R1 gaming laptop?

It is a decent size as it measures 15.6 inches which is big enough to allow you to enjoy gaming without straining your eyes.

Which graphic card is used in the Alienware M15 R2 gaming laptop?

This laptop is equipped with a powerful NVIDIA RTX 2080 Max- Q graphics card which enables the laptop to display high quality graphics throughout.