The Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition is one of Dell Alienware’s latest gaming laptops for 2022. This is a mid-range gaming laptop. This is the Dell Alienware M15 with a unique R5 designed for versatility and not other gaming laptops.
Dell Alienware has been around for quite some time and is still one of the best gaming laptop manufacturers as of 2022.
Their products are revolutionizing the gaming world and continue to provide high-quality, high-performance products at affordable prices. And this time, we can expect all these things in the Alienware M15 R5 ryzen edition gaming laptop.
Alienware M15 R5 Ryzen Edition Gaming Laptop Review 2022
The Alienware m15 R5 is one of the cheaper laptops you should consider buying. Quality is the biggest differentiator when it comes to laptop hardware. The more experience, expertise, and money you have, the more you can expect your computer to perform.
The Alienware m15 R5 is the latest addition to this popular line of gaming laptops. Despite the new additions, this laptop can handle most games at a decent level with little framerate drop.
Build quality
It’s easy to open because there was no help on the front, so it was angled to open easily. As with most laptops, there is a slight bend in the cover, but that’s not a problem. The rubber feet below don’t seem to slip as well as the others.
The keyboard seems to have a little more flex than usual, but it’s not notable when used. It’s easy to see that the bottom panel has a quiet hole for airflow and an air intake at the back.
Design
The grey chassis is reminiscent of Asus TUF Dash 15, which doesn’t fit the company’s flagship high-performance laptops. The matte lid is impregnated with a glossy foreign font, but it’s not very noticeable until you turn it on. The lid is accented with an illuminated RGB Alienware alien face logo that favors alien-themed colors over primary ones. Inside there is another button that acts as a power button.
Opening the lid of the Alienware m15 R5 reveals stylish hexagonal vents beneath the screen. The keyboard is RGB-backlit, but the highlight is the rear of the chassis, which resembles a UFO’s propulsion system. It’s more like Alienware.
The keyboard is a full-size Scrabble tile with full-size arrow keys (no number pad). Due to the partnership reported here, each key uses a Cherry mechanical switch. They are moderately weighted, accurate, and very comfortable to type on.
However, it can be stiff for continuous use throughout the day. Our only real concern is that it’s one of the loudest keyboards we’ve ever heard on a laptop! It stinks in quiet, populated environments such as libraries, offices, or airplanes.
The trackpad is smooth and accurate, with an HD webcam on top of the cover. The Full HD screen has a fast refresh rate of 165Hz, so fast motion is expressed smoothly. The colors seem a bit faded, but the bright screen offers great contrast with detail visible in both highlights and shadows.
There is some banding in the color gradients and some blunt artefacts in the solid transitions, but it’s still very impressive for fast gaming displays.
Screen
The 15.6-inch 1080p 165Hz screen offers a decent color gamut and excellent contrast. This model does not have a MUX switch, but the 1440p 240Hz or 1080p 360Hz models have the advanced Optimus with G-Sync.
However, FreeSync is still available. In full mode, the screen is quite bright. This means you can expect different results with different panel options.
Camera and Microphone
There is a 720p camera in the center of the screen, and you cannot set up Windows Hello Face Unlock on this laptop, but the Alienware website states that it can be used with a 1440p 240Hz or 1080p 360Hz model.
The sound is very good, but the results from the camera are not very satisfactory. The microphone works very well, so you can hear everything while making noise.
Keyboard and Touchpad
This laptop has the option of a mechanical keyboard with CherryMX miniature keys with per-key RGB backlighting, but there is also a regular 4-zone RGB option.
Unfortunately, the backlight doesn’t illuminate the secondary, and it looks like you can use the F7 hotkey to turn the brightness on or off, but it’s pretty buggy sometimes.
Typing on this Alienware M15 R5 laptop is very exciting. This gives a clicky feel to the keys. Well, we’re not sure how to describe it other than the feeling of having to hit the floor right away with a click of a key after applying more force than usual.
It doesn’t, as the power button is separate from the keyboard and has RGB lighting. It can be controlled via software and the keyboard, giving it different colors and effects depending on whether it’s charging, charging, or sleeping.
The logo on the lid is also customizable, and of course, the light ring on the back is also customizable, allowing for a lot of customization. The precision touchpad clicks and works anywhere. Okay, it feels a little baggy, but I didn’t notice it. It felt a bit small as the vents above the keyboard made the keyboard feel closer to the front.
Performance
Under the hood is a powerful octa-core 3.3-4.6GHz AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU with 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and 1TB NVMe storage. In PCMark 10, they all scored 6934, along with other highs from AMD sports machines. Scored 2044 in the Cinebench r15 rendering test and 12,240 in the longer r23 test.
These are good, but they are a bit behind the smaller Razer Blade laptops with the same processor, which is frowned upon. There shouldn’t be more heat/power regulation on a bigger machine.
The Alienware m15 R5 has an Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU. This scored 9486 on 3DMark Time Spy, which averaged 60fps. It hit 11,766 (54 fps average) on FireStrike Extreme and 5946 (27.5 fps) in the Port Royal ray tracing test.
The Alienware Command Center software offers some monitoring and basic overclocking features, but it’s not the most intuitive or responsive app we’ve seen.
Ports
On the right are two USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A ports with air vents on this side. On the left side of the laptop are air vents, a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm audio combo jack.
The main port is on the back and between the two air vents on the left-to-right corners is a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port with Displayport support, a third USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port, and HDMI 2.1. There is an output and a power input on the right.
Unfortunately, the Type-C port cannot be used to charge the laptop, but both this port and the HDMI port connect directly to Nvidia discrete graphics. In other words, connecting an external screen will improve gaming performance.
Speakers and Portability
The speakers are on the left and right, facing the front. There is a little bass, and the sound can be loud. They are too obvious, but the latency results look okay.
At 2.5KG, the Alienware m15 R5 isn’t the lightest, but it’s not overly heavy for such a powerful machine.
Battery
The m15 R5 has an 86Wh battery lasting up to 8 hours. In most cases, with a few exceptions, the battery is larger compared to other Ryzen-based laptops. Battery life while playing games will be one of the best we can expect.
Should I Buy the Alienware M15 R5?
At $1,999, the Alienware M15 R5 Ryzen Edition is a good budget gaming laptop for a cutting-edge 15.6-inch high-performance that offers top-notch performance and great features overall.
Conclusion
Overall, the speakers are pretty loud but average in sound quality, still pretty good for a gaming laptop. On the front of the display, the M15 R6 sports a 15.6-inch QHD (1440p) IPS LCD panel with a 240Hz refresh rate and 2ms response time.
FAQs about Alienware M15 R5 Ryzen Edition laptop
How does the Alienware m15 R5 perform?
The review unit for the Alienware m15 R5 has an Nvidia RTX 3070 GPU. This scored 9486 on 3DMark Time Spy, which averaged 60 fps. It hit 11,766 (54 fps average) on FireStrike Extreme and 5946 (27.5 fps) in the Port Royal ray tracing test. Overall the performance of this laptop is great.
Can I upgrade my Alienware m15 R6?
Yes, you can upgrade your Dell Alienware m15 R6 gaming laptop to 64GB of memory.
Does the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5 have a webcam?
The Alienware R5 Ryzen 9 gaming laptop has a webcam that is good enough for everyday use.
Is the Alienware m15 R5 good for video editing?
Editing 4K video requires a machine, but this is what you get with the Alienware m15 Ryzen Edition R5. This gaming laptop can be used for video/photo editing, streaming games, and other office work.
Does the Alienware M15 r5 have Thunderbolt?
Thunderbolt is not supported. The USB-C port on the back supports DisplayPort output but cannot be used to charge devices.
How long will the Alienware m15 R6 last?
It is a latecomer to a category where its competitors have a solid footing. But with an Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia Max-Q GPU, over 6 hours of battery life, and a mouth-watering display, Alienware is poised to embrace every contender.
Can I add more RAM to my Alienware M15 R6?
The Alienware M15 R6 has two RAM slots that can be used to add or replace a larger slot if it is not the maximum size supported by the system chipset. Dell claims the Alienware M15 R6 supports up to 64GB of 3466MHz DDR4 XMP memory.
What is the maximum memory of the AW M15 R6, and can it be upgraded by users?
The m15 R6 offers a variety of storage options, including single-drive and dual-drive non-RAID combinations of up to 4TB, and RAM is configurable up to 32GB of DDR4-3200.
