Dell Alienware m15 R2 Launched - Transition done right!

Has it even been a year since the Dell Alienware m15? That was something else of a laptop by Alienware back in 2018. But guess what? We already have another m15 from Alienware. The new Alienware m15 R2 is a completely new laptop. It's flatter, thinner, looks more mature, and has a lot of tweaks. If you liked and wanted to get the previous version, this one is a no brainer (unless you actually bought the last one). Here's what this one brings.

Dell Alienware m15 R2 Overview

Design

The design on this laptop is a bit "complicated". I can't exactly say what makes it so. It still weighs the same at 2.16 Kgs and is still as thick as the previous model. The R2 leaves the angular design of the 1st gen and takes a more Area 51m-ish approach. It features a magnesium alloy chassis and comes in two new colors: Lunar Light and the Dark side of the Moon. Even with the same thickness, more or less, it now gets a larger 76 Whr battery.

Performance

As for performance, the Alienware m15 R2 comes refreshed with the 9th Gen Intel CPUs.  The base config starts with an i5-9300H and goes all the way up to an i9-9980HK @ 5 GHz. The same goes for the GPU, starting with a GTX 1650 and moving all the way up to an RTX 2080 Max Q. That's a lot of options to choose from and we haven't even gotten to the display of the storage options yet. Memory config starts at single channel 8 GB @ 2666 MHz but the only other config is the 16 GB dual-channel model at the same speeds. For storage, there are no mechanical hard drives to start with. You get two M.2 SSD slots, with configuration options starting all the way from 256 GB to a staggering 4TB (2x2TB) on RAID 0. In addition, Intel Optane storage is also available as an option. Also Read: Best Gaming laptops to buy in Nepal

Display

The 15.6-inch display on the Alienware m15 R2 starts with a Full-HD resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. You can also bump the refresh rate to 240 Hz, with a response time of 7ms. It's only when you increase the screen resolution to 4K@60Hz (which is the top end model with an OLED panel) that you can carry a perfect response time of 1ms. The latter two options will come with optional Tobii Eyetracking technology. Alienware will also let you plug in more powerful monitors through its ThunderBolt 3 port, so you are pretty much all set in this department. As for heat management, Alienware's new Cryo Tech Cooling 3.0 takes care of that. Furthermore, there is a new keyboard (with RGB) that ups the travel distance to 1.7mm. The laptop will starts shipping June 11 while pricing starts at $1,500 alongside the Alienware m17 R2. What do you think of this new Alienware m15 R2? Personally, I think they did a great job in the refreshment model, which is not something I can say for most other laptop brands, and even Dell itself (for their XPS lineup). This is how you make a refreshed model!

Dell Alienware m15 R2 Price & Availability

The Dell Alienware M15 R2 price starts at US$1399 for the i5 CPU and GTX 1660Ti graphics card. In Nepal, the Alienware M15 R2 starts at a price of Rs. 180,000 for the base variant.