TechComputers & PCsLaptopsAlienware M17 R5 AMD review: a powerful gaming laptop at a decent priceThis is a well-priced laptop with enough power to handle most modern games.When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Dell)T3 VerdictThe Alienware M17 R5 AMD is a hefty, capable and affordable gaming laptop. It doesn’t deliver quite the graphics punch of its Intel and Nvidia-equipped cousins, but the AMD processor is fast enough to run most modern games at high resolution.Reasons to buy+Very good performance+Games look great on the hi-res, bright screen+Relatively affordable for a gaming laptopReasons to avoid-Crashes with some games-Noisy fans and a large power adapter-Battery life is better than many of its peers, but still not longWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechComputers & PCsLaptopsAlienware M17 R5 AMD review: a powerful gaming laptop at a decent priceThis is a well-priced laptop with enough power to handle most modern games.When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Dell)T3 VerdictThe Alienware M17 R5 AMD is a hefty, capable and affordable gaming laptop. It doesn’t deliver quite the graphics punch of its Intel and Nvidia-equipped cousins, but the AMD processor is fast enough to run most modern games at high resolution.Reasons to buy+Very good performance+Games look great on the hi-res, bright screen+Relatively affordable for a gaming laptopReasons to avoid-Crashes with some games-Noisy fans and a large power adapter-Battery life is better than many of its peers, but still not longWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
This is a well-priced laptop with enough power to handle most modern games.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Dell)T3 VerdictThe Alienware M17 R5 AMD is a hefty, capable and affordable gaming laptop. It doesn’t deliver quite the graphics punch of its Intel and Nvidia-equipped cousins, but the AMD processor is fast enough to run most modern games at high resolution.Reasons to buy+Very good performance+Games look great on the hi-res, bright screen+Relatively affordable for a gaming laptopReasons to avoid-Crashes with some games-Noisy fans and a large power adapter-Battery life is better than many of its peers, but still not long
(Image credit: Dell)
(Image credit: Dell)
T3 VerdictThe Alienware M17 R5 AMD is a hefty, capable and affordable gaming laptop. It doesn’t deliver quite the graphics punch of its Intel and Nvidia-equipped cousins, but the AMD processor is fast enough to run most modern games at high resolution.Reasons to buy+Very good performance+Games look great on the hi-res, bright screen+Relatively affordable for a gaming laptopReasons to avoid-Crashes with some games-Noisy fans and a large power adapter-Battery life is better than many of its peers, but still not long
T3 VerdictThe Alienware M17 R5 AMD is a hefty, capable and affordable gaming laptop. It doesn’t deliver quite the graphics punch of its Intel and Nvidia-equipped cousins, but the AMD processor is fast enough to run most modern games at high resolution.
T3 Verdict
The Alienware M17 R5 AMD is a hefty, capable and affordable gaming laptop. It doesn’t deliver quite the graphics punch of its Intel and Nvidia-equipped cousins, but the AMD processor is fast enough to run most modern games at high resolution.
Reasons to buy+Very good performance+Games look great on the hi-res, bright screen+Relatively affordable for a gaming laptopReasons to avoid-Crashes with some games-Noisy fans and a large power adapter-Battery life is better than many of its peers, but still not long
Reasons to buy+Very good performance+Games look great on the hi-res, bright screen+Relatively affordable for a gaming laptop
Very good performance
Games look great on the hi-res, bright screen
Relatively affordable for a gaming laptop
Reasons to avoid-Crashes with some games-Noisy fans and a large power adapter-Battery life is better than many of its peers, but still not long
Crashes with some games
Noisy fans and a large power adapter
Battery life is better than many of its peers, but still not long
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Such is the case with the Alienware M17 R5, which uses an AMD processor and GPU for a well-priced combination that has enough power to handle most modern games. Read on to find out how the Alienware M17 R5 performed, and if that’s enough to get it onto our list ofthe best gaming laptops. Learn more abouthow we test products.
The Alienware M17 R5 AMD fans are noisy when it’s in gaming or performance mode.(Image credit: Future)
The Alienware M17 R5 AMD fans are noisy when it’s in gaming or performance mode.
The Alienware M17 R5 AMD fans are noisy when it’s in gaming or performance mode.
(Image credit: Future)
ALIENWARE M17 R5 AMD REVIEW: DESIGN AND BUILD
I tested anAlienware M17 R5 AMDthat has an AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor with eight cores running up to 4.9 GHz and a Radeon RX 6850M XT GPU with 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD.
The M17 R5 is an impressive slab of a laptop, weighing in at a hefty 7.56 pounds. That’s before you add in the two-pound 240 W power adapter, which is a beast. Really: I’ve ownedlaptops that were smaller than the power adapter of the R5. And you’ll need the power adapter if you take the M17 anywhere because the battery life is not great.
The M17 has the standard Alienware design, with a glowing alien head on the back of the screen and an extended back tail that pokes out from behind the screen. Vents on the bottom of the case suck in air, then vent it out of the back at a higher temperature.
These fans are pretty quiet when you aren’t gaming, running in a slow mode that is barely audible. But fire up a game or enable the Overdrive performance mode, and the M17 turns into a jet engine, with whooshing fans that threaten to overwhelm the sound of the game. Most of this noise is directed away from the user, but those who share your space may not appreciate a roaring faceful of warm air.
On the right side of the laptop, there is an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port and a USB 3.2 Type-C port.(Image credit: Future)
On the right side of the laptop, there is an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port and a USB 3.2 Type-C port.
On the right side of the laptop, there is an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port and a USB 3.2 Type-C port.
(Image credit: Future)
ALIENWARE M17 R5 AMD REVIEW: SPECS AND HARDWARE
At 17.3 inches, the screen of the M17 R5 AMD is a monster. My review model had a UHD resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels) that runs up to 120Hz for high-frame-rate gaming. There are several other options available, including 165Hz, 360Hz, or the new record, a 480Hz Full HD version. Like most gaming laptops, all of these are non-touch screens.
The keyboard on my review model used Cherry MX ultra low-profile switches for a satisfying feel. Each key also includes an RGB LED backlight, making things glow or pulsate as much as you want. The large keys offer the positive and clicky feel that makes mechanical keyboards satisfying to bash away at, and the keyboard and laptop frame feels solid enough that they should stand up to the most ardent of users.
There are also plenty of connections for peripherals, gaming, or otherwise. On the left is a 3.5mm headset socket, plus a 2.5G wired ethernet connection with a fold-down cover. Two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports are on the right side, while the rear of the case offers the power input, an HDMI 2.1 port, another USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, and a USB 3.2 Type-C port. There are no Thunderbolt 4 connections, though, and the proprietary power adapter is the only way to charge the laptop.
The Alienware M17 R5 laptop excels in first-person games.(Image credit: Future)
The Alienware M17 R5 laptop excels in first-person games.
The Alienware M17 R5 laptop excels in first-person games.
(Image credit: Future)
ALIENWARE M17 R5 AMD REVIEW: GAMING AND PERFORMANCE
It’s all about the games, and the M17 R5 offers plenty of performance to handle them. The power is not record-breaking, but it’s plenty good, and the games look great on the big, bright screen.
The M17 R5 AMD excelled in the first-person games that are most popular on gaming laptops. I could play Doom Eternal at the native resolution of the screen on the most demanding ultra nightmare graphics settings, and it still managed to create 120 frames per second for a wonderfully smooth, fast-moving demon-ripping experience.
The racing game F1 22 proved to be a bit more of a strain. Using the built-in benchmark to run a race on a rainy day in Monaco, I got an average of 15 frames per second at the native resolution of the screen with the graphics set to the Ultra High preset. The game was still playable, but it was struggling.
Dropping the resolution to 1920 x 1080 made it much better, with an average rate of 50 frames per second. With a bit more tweaking – particularly bumping down the quality of ray tracing – I got it to an average of 90 frames per second, which was very smooth and realistic.
I found a few quirks with the M17 R5 AMD. When exiting a game, the display would sometimes blank out for a few seconds, or the mouse would not respond, giving the impression it had crashed. Some non-FPS games also failed to start. The factory-building game Factorio, for instance, crashed every time I ran it until I figured out how toset it to use OpenGL graphics instead of DirectX.
The problem is related to how the graphics drivers switch from the graphics adapter integrated into the processor to the dedicated one. Some programs don’t realize it has switched over, and it looks like the graphics card has failed. It’s a minor issue, but having a $2,200 laptop that can’t play a game without being tweaked is pretty annoying.
To be fair, these problems often arise with a new graphics chip, and they are usually fixed in time with updates to the graphics drivers. This issue wasn’t fixed at the time of writing, however.
ALIENWARE M17 R5 AMD REVIEW: BATTERY LIFE
The Alienware M17 R5 AMD is a big, heavy laptop, and a lot of that size is the large, 97 watt-hour battery inside it. That doesn’t equate to a long battery life, though.
I found that the battery lasted four hours and six minutes when playing back a movie with the screen on medium brightness. That’s on the short side, and it gets even shorter when you start gaming. When playing Doom Eternal, the battery lasted less than an hour.
The 17.3-inch Alienware M17 R5 AMD screen is big and bright, even outside.(Image credit: Future)
The 17.3-inch Alienware M17 R5 AMD screen is big and bright, even outside.
The 17.3-inch Alienware M17 R5 AMD screen is big and bright, even outside.
(Image credit: Future)
ALIENWARE M17 R5 AMD REVIEW: VERDICT
The Alienware M17 R5 AMD is a powerful gaming laptop at a decent price. It doesn’t deliver quite the graphics punch of its Intel and Nvidia-equipped cousins, but it’s fast enough to run modern games at high resolution. So, it’s a good pick to save some money and still be the envy of the gaming crowd – as long as you aren’t playing one of the games that glitch out on it.
ALIENWARE M17 R5 AMD REVIEW: ALSO CONSIDER
The gaming laptop market is very competitive, especially at the high end. Our bestgaming laptops listis filled with devices that can ace most modern games. However, most of these models have 15-inch screens, such as theDell G5 15 5500, so you have to step outside that list for 17-inch laptops.
One alternative would be theRazer Blade 17, which has a similar performance, thanks to its Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics chip, but generally costs more. Alternatively, theAsus ROG Zephyrus S17has a similar performance to the Dell G5 15 5500 but also is a bit more expensive.
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