Alienware M15 R2

Configured as:

• 15.6″ 144hz FHD Display

• Intel Core i7-9750H

• NVIDIA RTX 2060 6GB

• 512GB SSD

• 16GB RAM DDR4

Intro

Easily one of the most disappointing laptops in recent times. I’m more thrilled with a $350 ASUS then I am with this Alienware. Its shortcomings could be put aside were it not for its horrid reliability akin to an Alpha Romeo of yore. I’m not alone in this, we’ve had others report bizarre problems with these machines. Our own experience?

• 3 failed keyboards (still unresolved with a newly failed backlight),

• 2 failed motherboards,

• 2 failed keyboard controllers,

• ongoing issues with the speakers grounding and buzzing,

• graphics coil whine.

And Dell’s solution? Send a service rep to your house or office to fix the laptop. Except a keyboard swap + motherboard, and I’m not exaggerating, clocked in at a 5 hour repair. No fooling, on two occasions he was at my office for 5 hours replacing parts. Not acceptable. Enough waves and Dell agree’d to swap the machine out for a refurbished model. Even though new and out of the box this thing was stitched together more times than Frankenstein.

Pros

It’s a quick performer. , fast wireless speeds. Great keyboard, a pleasure to type on. If Dell gets one thing right its keyboards. Tasteful aesthetics for a gaming computer (most gaming laptops are eye sores with crappy keyboard typeface, obnoxious colors, and stupid molds).

Cons

Reliability. Tiny, useless trackpad that lacks multi-touch support and is so small it feels lifted from a Powerbook 500 (the first laptop with a trackpad). Tobii Eye Tracking which is a gimmick if ever there was one. We tried Tobii with games and productivity and found that it did nothing to enhance the experience. A lousy front facing camera, and as lousy microphones. Speakers are tinny and lack any depth though you’d likely be using headphones for gaming. The built in software package to control your overclocking and LEDs is garbage with an unintuitive UI.

Who’s it for?

No one. Want a gaming rig? Buy a desktop or a more reliable 17″ laptop. You may do fine with another Alienware, but this one is junk. Want a premium laptop for productivity? XPS, MacBook Pro are better options to name the few. They’re also lighter and thinner so better to take while traveling.