The Alienware m15 R4 Pushes Boundaries with Nvidia RTX 30 Series Graphics
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Nvidia’s new RTX 30 Series graphics cards made a huge splash in the desktop space in 2020, with massive gen-on-gen gains over their predecessors. Now those GPUs have made the jump to laptops, and Dell was quick off the mark to release a powerful new revision of its Alienware m15 Gaming Laptop.
The new Alienware m15 R4 brings significantly improved gaming performance over previous models, thanks to the Nvidia RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 graphics cards now packed into its 20.5mm thin chassis.
Starting at $2,149.99, the R4 also features a revised cooling system, better RAM, a new HDMI output, and three high-end display options, culminating in a laptop for those who want the best gaming performance possible in a slim and light form factor.
Built for High-End Gaming
The Alienware m15 R4 is available with the RTX 3070 or RTX 3080 graphics cards, both of which are premium entries in the second generation of Nvidia’s ray-tracing-capable hardware.
Now miniaturized for laptops, they bring huge gains in raw performance over older models, especially when playing at 4K resolutions or when advanced ray-tracing effects are activated.
The R4 features 10th-gen Intel Core processors (up to Core i9K) with eight cores running at up to 5.3GHz Max Turbo Frequency. This provides a strong platform for high-frame-rate gaming and will also handle demanding productivity tasks, like editing 4K video, without issue.
To keep these fast processors running smoothly, Dell has engineered an improved cooling system for the R4. Now every configuration of the laptop comes with Dell’s Advanced Alienware Cryo-Tech vapor chamber.
With four 3.5mm copper-composite heat pipes spread across the CPU and GPU, Dell says that the R4 has the most copper material of any model prior. Dell has also implemented a 9mm increase in the CPU fan diameter and a 4mm increase in the GPU fan diameter for improved airflow.
All of this has been crammed into the same super-thin chassis as the previous m15, meaning you get all that extra performance without any uptick in size or weight. This also means it carries the same distinctive styling of the modern Alienware aesthetic, built with premium magnesium alloy materials to maximize sturdiness while minimizing weight.
Systemwide Improvements
While the new graphics cards are the stars of the show, other areas of the R4 have also been improved. It now comes with faster RAM, running at 2933MHz for better performance in bandwidth-intense games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Battlefield 5.
You have the choice of multiple high-end built-in displays on the R4, including a 1080p panel that can push a blisteringly fast 300Hz refresh rate with Nvidia G-Sync, ideal for fast action games and competitive multiplayer.
Or you can go for a 4K OLED 60Hz screen (with optional Tobii eye tracking), which maximizes visual fidelity with a 100% DCI-P3 wide color gamut and HDR 500 rating. A 144Hz panel will be added to the lineup in the first half of 2021.
When it’s time to game on a bigger external display, the R4 now has an upgraded HDMI 2.1 video-out port. This means you can connect the R4 to a modern TV and enjoy your games in 4K at up to 120fps (frames per second).
Competitive gamers will also be pleased with the R4’s performance-oriented networking hardware, featuring a Killer Ethernet E3100X 2.5Gbps Wired Networking card and a Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650i with Bluetooth 5.1. These work in conjunction with intelligent software that detects and prioritizes gaming and video-chat applications to keep server ping times low and minimize lag.
Optimize Your Rig
The R4 gives users extensive control over the hardware via the Alienware Command Center software. This tool lets you create custom hardware profiles, including editing fan curves and processor performance settings. These profiles can be activated manually or configured on a per-game basis, triggering automatically when specific titles are started.
You can also use the ACC suite to control the R4’s AlienFX lighting zones that illuminate its keyboard, power button, rear exhaust, and outer lid. With 16.8 million colors available, the RGB lighting lets you add a touch of personal flair to your Alienware.
With RTX 30 Series GPUs inside, the Alienware m15 R4 is a premium gaming laptop that aims to push the upper limits of what’s possible from a thin and light form factor.
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