Alienware x15 R2 Laptop Review: Ultrabook-like UFO soars with Core i9-12900H and 140 W RTX 3080 Ti

[Redaktion]

Dell has refreshed the Alienware x15 lineup with the new x15 R2. This year's x15 R2 offers internal upgrades to Intel Alder Lake-H and Nvidia RTX 30 Series Ti GPUs while retaining much of the design as the previous generation. The Alienware x15 R2 finds enough room to flex its muscles despite the thin chassis and will definitely appeal to the enthusiast gamer, but there are a few areas of concern to be aware of.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Alienware-x15-R2-Laptop-Review-Ultrabook-like-UFO-soars-with-Core-i9-12900H-and-140-W-RTX-3080-Ti.649898.0.html

[Julian M]

I can't believe that 1080 panel is not noted as a negative on a system of this price range AND coupled with a top-end GTX 3080, no matter the refresh rate it uses.

[Vaidyanathan]

I can't believe that 1080 panel is not noted as a negative on a system of this price range AND coupled with a top-end GTX 3080, no matter the refresh rate it uses.

Hi Julian,
That's part of the official spec. You get options of FHD 165 Hz, FHD 360 Hz, and QHD 240 Hz. Many high-end gaming laptops offer high refresh rate FHD options aimed at competitive gamers, so it's not a negative aspect.

[br1]

I think the specs have a bug. The memory system can't be quad channel with this CPU.

[Ray Alles]

Hi there. I am kinda confused with the display response speed time. You noted that you used overdrive function and got mentioned numbers. If it's off, speed drops 4 times. How come i haven't seen this remark in other reviews? There are plenty laptops supporting overdrive, so what exactly you've measured here and there? IMHO such approach makes your data untrustworthy, one's you picking items to display results with overdrive on/off on your choosing. Thanks for mentioning such an aspect this time, but what about other reviews, I've no clue.

[Vaidyanathan]

Hi there. I am kinda confused with the display response speed time. You noted that you used overdrive function and got mentioned numbers. If it's off, speed drops 4 times. How come i haven't seen this remark in other reviews? There are plenty laptops supporting overdrive, so what exactly you've measured here and there? IMHO such an approach makes your data untrustworthy, one's you picking items to display results with overdrive on/off on your choosing. Thanks for mentioning such an aspect this time, but what about other reviews, I've no clue.

Hi Ray. Good question. When in doubt, we usually prefer to go with measurements that reflect what a user would encounter out-of-the-box. In this case, that would be Overdrive enabled. I included response times from the Overdrive off mode as well since I personally feel that it is important to know the result when such an option is available, especially when it comes to high-end gaming laptops.

The intention here is not to pick a better performing setting, but to show the reader the difference that can be expected. For this laptop, it appears that the display turns Overdrive off when you lower the refresh rate from 360 Hz to 60 Hz. This is a 360 Hz panel by default, so the response times with overdrive enabled are what should be considered.

Not all laptops actually do panel overdrive and not all those that do offer the setting to enable or disable it, so including an additional measurement depends solely on the device and the scope of the review itself.