Do you require a laptop that is compatible with your big-picture thinking style? Maybe you’re in need of new thigh crusher machines like Alienware Laptops that can replace a desktop PC and provide you with a panoramic view of your work area or playing field that is also easy on the eyes. Of course, it’s the 17-inch laptops that, over the past few years, have been categorized as dedicated gaming machines. What most people don’t realize, however, is the fact that these are actually REALLY GOOD machines for creative work as well!
There has never been a better time to purchase an Alienware 17in laptop. After all, their latest large-screen lineup is truly something special.
Now, of course, there are several Alienware Laptop options you can go with, so why not look at the Alienware 17in laptop based on its specifications, features, and user satisfaction?
Several competitive eSports players and streamers like Alienware, the company’s premier line of laptops from Dell.
You can’t go wrong with an Alienware laptop since they are the best in the business, include state-of-the-art technology, and are designed with gamers & content creators in mind.
The various Alienware 17in laptop models each excels in particular use cases, thus no two are alike. Seriously, there’s something for everyone here!
The Best Alienware 17in Laptops 2023
The top 6 Alienware 17-inch laptops for 2023 are shown below.
- Alienware x17 R2 Gaming Laptop
- Alienware m17 R5 Gaming Laptop
- Alienware m17 R4 Gaming Laptop
- Dell Alienware Area-51m R2 Laptop
- Alienware x17 R1 Gaming Laptop
Alienware x17 R2 Gaming Laptop
The Dell Alienware x17 R2 is inarguably the best laptop Alienware has come up with in a VERY LONG TIME. Surprisingly, the miracle creation is just 21mm thick, making it the company’s thinnest laptop ever.
With that sort of thickness, though; you’d think it’d be cutting down in terms of specs, right? Well, turns out Alienware’s got a magic wand in their hands because this bad boy is capable of competing against the highest-end laptops out there.
The base model, which you can get off Amazon or any flagship store, comes with a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 Processor & an Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card; Essentially the top-end when it comes to gaming machines.
Here’s what it looks like:
Brand / Series: Alienware / Alienware x17 R2
Hard Disk Size: 512 GB M.2 NVME SSD
Ram: 16 GB DDR5
OS: Windows 11 Home
CPU Chipset: 12th Gen Intel Core i7 Family
Graphic Card: RTX 3060
Display Size: 17.3 Inches
If you wanna go even more balls to the wall, however, then there are upgrade paths over that as well.
For instance, you could pair an insane 20-thread Core i9-12900HK with an RTX 3080 Ti that comes with 16 GB of GDDR6 memory. Not to mention, there’s an added option for up to 64 gigs of RAM and a 4TB NVME SSD as well.
Five different screen configurations are also available with the Alienware x17 R2. A 1080p display with a 165Hz, 360Hz, or 480Hz refresh rate is an option. The refresh rate for the 1440p display choice is 165Hz, while the refresh rate for the 4K display option is 120Hz. What makes this feat even better is that Nvidia G-sync is supported throughout these displays, making for a lag-free gaming experience.
Honestly? With top-of-the-line options, you’d blaze through productivity work and gaming. In fact, with those specs, you could easily run an incredibly demanding game like Cyberpunk 2077 at 4K60 with all the settings turned up to ultra. Make no mistake, this is the ultimate gaming machine.
That said, there’s obviously a downside here as well because, for all that raw power packed into a thin chassis, you’re looking at a pretty expensive overall package that could cost well over 2000 dollars. Totally worth it, though!
Regardless of the setup you select, the gaming capability is outstanding. Every modern game you choose can be played on this gaming laptop without any latency or stuttering. However, Alienware did not let the small chassis prevent them from packing this laptop with lots of goodies. Both the RGB keyboard and the RGB LED lightbar that surrounds the laptop’s back vents are included with this model. If you can afford this beast, you won’t be disappointed by its raw power!
Alienware M17 R5 Gaming Laptop
The M17 series that Alienware has come out with is nothing short of a major accomplishment.
In the R5, Alienware chooses a Ryzen processor to not only satisfy consumer demands but make it more GPU intensive. Including a beast of a creation, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 or the AMD Radeon™ RX 6700M, the M17 R5 by Alienware is the machine to go for if you wanna go for a Team Red machine. Besides, AMD’s newer processors have been incredibly efficient, so this machine really is a no-brainer when it comes to high-fidelity gaming.
Now, although Alienware has given consumers the freedom of having other options, such as different CPUs and GPUs, the most opted-for combination has to be the Ryzen 9 and the RTX 3070 Ti.
Here’s what it looks like:
Brand / Series: Alienware / Alienware M17
Processor: AMD Ryzen™ 9 6900HX
Ram: 16 GB DDR5
SSD: 1 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Graphic card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti
Display Size: 17.3 Inches
Let’s get down to the display though, A 1080p or a 4K panel can be chosen for this bossy and stylish 17-inch laptop. The 1080p panel is available with a refresh rate of 165Hz, 360Hz, or 480Hz. A turn-off for the gamers out there was that the touch display was only supported by the 1080p 480Hz panel, so gamers looking for a 4k panel in the price range won’t get a touch display.
The Alienware M17 R5 has a tonne of extra features in addition to the touch display. Nvidia G-sync is supported across all screens, making it one hell of an experience playing fast-paced games on this machine. Having a CherryMX keyboard is also one of the most underrated features of this build, as only gamers recognize the importance of a mechanical keyboard, that too a CherryMX one.
Though, of course, if you’re doing some productivity work on the side, or just typing stuff, having that extra key travel and clicky feel can be incredibly helpful.
With a shocking 97 WH battery, the M17 R5 has the longest battery life out of all the crazy Alienware laptop builds. While gamers choose to have their laptops hooked into an outlet at all times, it’s important to still have the freedom of carrying it around and not being worried it’ll die out. After all, the power-intensive GPU doesn’t actually draw power unless you’re actually gaming. So, it’s perfect for people who do some light work or browsing on the side too. Excelling in these situations, the Alienware M17 R5 is an amazing 17-in Laptop choice.
Alienware M17 R4 Gaming Laptop
Now, if you’re looking to save some bucks and not go for the most cutting-edge machine out there, then the R4 could actually be a pretty good option.
it’s got an Intel Core i7 CPU, and an RTX 3060, which, for most people, would be the sweet spot in terms of performance and power draw. The baseline model also has a decent 16 gigs of DDR4 RAM paired with a 1 TB SSD. Sure, there are options to upgrade to a better GPU and such, but, as far as value for money goes, it’s hard to beat this beast.
Here’s what the specs look like:
Brand / Series: Alienware / Alienware M17
Processor: Intel Core i7-10870H
Ram:16 GB
Hard Disk Size: 1 TB
Graphic card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6
Display Size:17.3-inch FHD
Now, as you may have noticed in the spec sheet, there is a drawback to buying this Alienware 17-inch machine in 2023. After all, it doesn’t exactly have the latest and greatest from Intel in terms of its processor. Instead, it’s a slightly older 10th Gen i7 CPU. For most gamers who don’t wanna crank settings all the way to ultra at 4K resolution, however, this is still more than good enough. Besides, it’s not like Intel has made massive strides in the CPU space over the past two generations.
Though, in terms of display, it’s still top-notch, especially for eSports enthusiasts. You have a Full HD 360 Hz display that covers 100% of the sRGB color spectrum on top of NVIDIA-GSYNC.
Not to mention, connecting via ethernet is a thing of the past with this as well, because it comes with a killer WiFi-6 modem.
The M17 R4 Alienware laptop is definitely one of the more affordable options for eSports-focused laptops out there. Plus, it comes with all the extra Alienware laptop bells and whistles such as the command center, and RGB light amongst the air vents, etc; that make this laptop definitely one to consider if you’re on a relatively tighter budget. This 17in” monster won’t disappoint!
Dell Alienware Area-51m R2 Laptop
Now, usually, when you’re in the market looking for a laptop, you’re not really looking for an upgrade path. Instead, the focus is mostly on getting something that’s robust and future-proof.
Sometimes, the inability to upgrade their laptop is what stops people from paying thousands of dollars on machines. The Alienware Area-51m R2, however, brings the best of both worlds as it’s already powerful, has great build quality, and comes with the ability to upgrade later down the line.
Here are the base variant specs:
Brand: Alienware
Memory: 32 GB
OS: Windows 10 Home / Pro
CPU Model: Core i9
Hard Disk Size: 2 TB
Graphic Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080
Screen Size: 17.3 Inches
Sure, the chassis is larger than most gaming laptops of this size. Plus, it’s also a bit heavier than your usual Alienware machine. All of these sacrifices are necessary to fit in the insane 200W Nvidia GeForce graphics cards and the Intel Core i9 processors. Essentially, with that sort of power draw, this laptop is meant to replace your desktop, meaning it is still super compact and portable.
This is arguably the best option out there for people who just want to splash big money on a gaming device and forget about getting another one for the next 5+ years. After all, if the GPU starts to get old at some point, you can simply swap it out with something newer.
You don’t even need to find any proprietary solution or anything like that because, any newer GPU can slot straight into this beast. As a matter of fact, people have already upgraded their Area-51m R2 laptops with newer GPUs like the AMD Radeon 6900 XT. All you need to do is have the latest bios and drivers.
Priced at $3050, it’s definitely a better investment than other laptops as you can upgrade it down the line and still keep it around. That’s the price for the base model though, which comes with a solid Nvidia GeForce Rtx 2080 Ti GPU & an Intel Core i9 CPU.
This isn’t like any other laptop on the market. Now, of course, that could be a bad thing since finding parts might get harder with time. At the same time, the potential is massive, which, at the end of the day, makes this beast totally worth its big price tag.
Alienware x17 R1 Gaming Laptop
Sometimes, what you need from a laptop isn’t the newest processor or even GPU. What you need is an INSANE amount of RAM and disk space. Why? Well, because both of these things are incredibly important if you’re someone who likes to do 4K video editing or any demanding creative work.
This is where the top-of-the-line x17 R1 comes in because, even though it is advertised as a 17in gaming laptop, it’s actually an even more capable productivity machine.
Here are the specs:
Brand: Alienware
Memory: 64 GB 3200Mhz DDR4 RAM
OS: Windows 11 Home / Pro
CPU Model: Core i9-11980HK
Hard Disk Size: 2 TB SSD
Graphic Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
Screen Size: 17.3 Inches
The 11th Gen Intel CPU may not be the latest and greatest from team blue, but it’s still an 8 Core Core i9 running at 5 Ghz, which is more than good enough. The Graphics Card is also the best you can get in any gaming laptop right now, with the 10 GB RTX 3080 variant. The point is that you’re never going to feel bogged down by raw processing power on this beast.
What it adds on top of that, however, is perhaps even more impressive. You get a whopping 64 GB of RAM, which is ideal for memory-intensive creative work. The 2TB SSD is enough to store all your renders as well. Though, if it isn’t, there is still an option to include an additional 2 TB SSD to take the total Solid State storage to 4 Terabytes.
Other than that, you also get a 360 Hz 1080P display. As a matter of fact, there is an option to upgrade the display to a 120Hz 4K screen as well. Other than that, you get a super sleek build, and, of course, a plethora of ports. From 2.5 GHz Ethernet to the latest HDMI 2.1 for 4K120, you’ll never need to carry a dongle with this machine either.
Also, just in case you’re worried about the cooling with all that powerful hardware; fret not, this Alienware 17 inch laptop also comes with the company’s cryo-tech cooling system, which includes a special gallium-silicone thermal interface material and quad fans.
Sure, it’s not the cheapest option out there, but you definitely get what you pay for.
What are Alienware 17in Laptops Good For?
17 inch laptops are good for several purposes, including:
- Gaming: Many gamers prefer 17 inch laptops because they offer larger screens for an immersive gaming experience, and often have high-end hardware components such as powerful graphics cards and processors.
- Video Editing: The larger screen of a 17 inch laptop is useful for video editing, providing more screen real estate for video timelines, effects, and color grading.
- Graphic Design: Graphic designers also benefit from the larger screen, allowing them to work with multiple design tools and see their designs in greater detail.
- Programming: Programmers who work with multiple windows, tabs, or code editors often find a larger screen helpful for better multitasking and increased productivity.
- Entertainment: A larger screen laptop is great for streaming movies, TV shows, and sports events with a better visual experience.
- General productivity: A 17 inch laptop can provide a more comfortable typing and reading experience, making it ideal for people who use their laptops for extended periods, such as writers, researchers, or office workers.
However, it is worth noting that 17 inch laptops are generally heavier and bulkier than their smaller counterparts, making them less portable.
Comparing Dell’s Best 17in Alienware Laptop to its Competitors:
The Alienware Area-51m R2 is a high-end gaming laptop and definitely the best of Dell in its 17-inch series. Some of its main competitors are other top-tier gaming laptops such as the ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 GX701, the MSI GT76 Titan, and the Razer Blade Pro 17. Here’s a comparison of the Alienware Area-51m R2 with some of its main competitors:
- ASUS ROG Zephyrus S17 GX701: The GX701 is a powerful gaming laptop that features an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super graphics card and a 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10980HK processor. It also has a 17.3-inch display with a 1920×1080 resolution and a 300Hz refresh rate. However, it does not have upgradeable CPU or GPU options like the Area-51m R2.
- MSI GT76 Titan: The GT76 Titan is another high-end gaming laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 graphics card and a 10th Gen Intel Core i9-10900K processor. It also features a 17.3-inch display with a 1920×1080 resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate. However, it is heavier and bulkier than the Area-51m R2, and its battery life is shorter.
- Razer Blade Pro 17: The Pro 17 is a thin and light gaming laptop that features an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card and a 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10875H processor. It also has a 17.3-inch display with a 1920×1080 resolution and a 360Hz refresh rate. However, it has a shorter battery life than the Area-51m R2 and its CPU and GPU are not upgradeable.
The Alienware Area-51m R2 stands out from its competitors due to its upgradeable CPU and GPU options, which allow users to keep their system up-to-date with the latest hardware. It also offers a large display with a high refresh rate, making it a great choice for gamers who want a premium gaming experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
#1: Are 17in Alienware Laptops Worth It?
The hardware, specifications, build quality, and features of the Alienware 17-inch laptop are the best. It gets special care because the whole idea of the Alienware branding is that this is Dell’s Premium gaming lineup. Hence, Alienware gaming laptops are manufactured to the highest standards possible.
To begin with, Alienware offers these laptops with nothing but top-of-the-line specifications that you won’t be able to find anywhere on the market. These laptops are true workhorses that each user can personalize to meet their needs thanks to the abundance of storage options.
Because Alienware computers are so well-liked by gamers, aftermarket accessory support is excellent. There are many various accessories that you can purchase for your Alienware laptop to improve and elevate the user experience. Also, Alienware products are built to last. This product was constructed with quality in mind. Although they may cost more than the competition, their extended lifespan justifies their purchase.
#2: Does Alienware Offer Good Service For Laptops?
Alienware products are serviced exclusively by a team at Dell. Users can anticipate quick service for their Alienware machines as a result. Unfortunately, the Alienware support team is also susceptible to several bad habits that are generally observed in the sector, such as providing responses slowly.
After a few months, some consumers claim they hear from the Alienware service team. Regardless of where you are in the world, Alienware’s RMA procedure is extremely good, and you will receive the replacement laptop.
#3: Can Alienware 17in Laptops Overheat?
High-performance laptops featuring the newest cutting-edge technology, Alienware 17-inch models are designed to deliver the best possible gaming performance.
We see in many high-end gaming laptops that the heat is overlooked for high performance. As a result, the majority of gaming laptops overheat, but not the Alienware models.
The Alienware laptop has a unique cooling system that effectively and efficiently dissipates heat using large heat pipes and fans. The airflow is also adequate thanks to the strategically placed air vents. Not to mention, some of them come with liquid-cooling tech as well! So, regardless of the type of game you are playing, this laptop does not overheat.
#4: Customer Support/Service Of Alienware Laptops
The Alienware laptop is a Dell subsidiary brand. If you’ve been keeping up with the laptop or computer business, you probably already know how good Dell assistance is. They do take some time to respond to consumer inquiries, but once they do, the problem is usually fixed pretty quickly.
#5: Are Alienware Laptops A Good Investment?
The user determines how long an Alienware 17″ laptop will last. The Alienware computers are extremely durable and dependable mechanically. So long as they are taken care of, they can easily live for 5 to 6 years. However, the huge hinge requires users to employ extra caution because it is typically the first component of this gadget to break.
#6: Battery Of Alienware Laptops
The Alienware 17-inch laptop’s battery life is not its strongest suit. These are high-powered devices, therefore they are often made to be used constantly connected to a socket. This is why they include a pretty massive power brick.
At the same time, however, the fact that they’re designed to be always connected means their batteries usually tend to have longer lives. Not to mention, for low-powered tasks like browsing or light productivity work, the integrated chip kicks in and extends the battery life.
#7: Build Quality
The brand’s flagship product is the Alienware laptop. Because of the excellent materials utilized in its construction, this laptop has a high level of build quality. Aluminum is used to construct the laptop’s body, guaranteeing a sturdy chassis.
Conclusion:
Alienware Laptops are a true gaming miracle.
They come with top-of-the-line hardware and no matter what variant you get, you’re gonna get something that will blow the competition out of the water. From the latest and greatest from Intel i.e. 12th Gen Core i9 processors to high-performance NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3000 Graphics cards, these are THE go-to machines for any sort of heavy workload, be it gaming or productivity. In fact, even the base variants come kitted with Core i7s, which is absolutely insane. Though, you could always go all-out and upgrade pretty much every single component of these bad boys.
These laptops’ gaming capabilities are therefore superior to those of rival models like Asus, MSI, or HP.
Seriously, these guys have been in the industry for well over a decade at this point. Their reign has been an unmistakable and unmissable occurrence that has taken the gaming & content creation demographic to another level. Their laptop builds are some of the most tech-savvy accomplishments Dell has been able to pull off, which is a feat on its own.
Overall, a 17-inch Alienware Laptop does seem like a worthy and satisfying investment!