Alienware M15 R5 and Dell G15 Ryzen editions drop Intel for AMD

Dell’s spring releases are Ryzen to the occasion, with its first AMD Alienware machine in 14 years, two new G15 gaming laptops and four new gaming displays. The AMD Ryzen 5000 chips were released in November 2020 and offer up to 26% faster gaming performance than the previous versions.

The choice between Intel and AMD chips has been a contentious one for gamers but right now the Ryzen 5000 is the hottest chip on the market. With these on board, combined with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 GPU, the new Alienware M15 R5 and Dell G15 are seriously powerful gaming machines and could be the best dell laptops to date. In addition to the AMD version, a new Dell G15 featuring a 10th gen Intel chip is also available, giving users the choice.

Included in the release are four new gaming monitors, covering all sizes and shapes. The Dell 25 is a 25-inch display with a 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, while the Dell 27 and Dell 32 are curved gaming monitors with QHD resolution, 165Hz refresh rate and 2ms response. The final screen, the Dell 34, is a wide format curved monitor with a WQHD 34-inch display.  

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Alienware M15 R5

Sporting a new Legend 2.0 industrial design, the Alienware M15 R5 gives a fresh new look the range. The dark core design darkens the interior of the laptop to minimize distractions and allow you to keep your head in the game. 

As with previous Alienware machines, the M15 R5 is very customizable. There’s a choice of displays with either an FHD 360Hz, QHD 240Hz or FHD 165Hz option, all with low blue-light technology. The 360hx and 240Hz options also have NVIDIA G-Sync and Advanced Optimus graphic-switching technology.

For the processor, the M15 R5 has a choice of two Ryzen 5000 8-core chips: the R7 5800H and the top of the range R9 5900HX. There’s also a choice on the GPU, between the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 8GB and the RTX 3070 8GB. Memory is in the form of 3200Mhz DDR4 and is user upgradeable, coming with up to 32GB. Storage is also a choice of single or dual drives with up to 4TB.

 The new ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboard has been developed with Cherry to provide a 1.8mm travel and a 15 million keystroke lifecycle. The M15 R5 also features Wi-Fi 6 and HDMI 2.1 for 4K/120Hz output on external displays.

The Alienware M15 R5 is available in the US from April 20, starting from $1793.98 / £1296 / AU$2343. UK and Australia availability to be confirmed.

Dell G15 Ryzen Edition

The new Dell G15 also sports a new look, with a smaller width than previous versions, thanks to the narrow bezel screen. It comes in four finishes using VOC waterborne paint, including Dark Shadow Grey, Specter Green with Speckles and Phantom Grey with Speckles. An Obsidian Black version is also coming soon.

Alienware-inspired cooling has been introduced to the G15 to better manage the airflow and it sees the return of the Game Shift key, to provide maximum cooling for heavy gaming sessions with a simple Fn+F9 press.

There is a choice of display, between 120Hz and 165Hz FHD versions. For the AMD version, there’s a choice of the 6-core Ryzen 5 5600H or 8-core Ryzen 7 5800H processors. The Intel edition offers either the 10th gen i5-10200H quad-core or the i7-10870H Hex core. Both come with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6GB, while the Intel model also offers the choice of the GeForce GTX 1650 4GB. Memory is available in configurations of up to 32GB 2933MHz DDR4, with storage options of up to 2TB SSD.

The Dell G15 Ryzen will be available in the US from May 4, starting from $899.99 / £650 / AU$1175. The new Intel G15 will be available from April 13 in the US, also starting from $899.99 / £650 / AU$1175.

Dell gaming monitors

Despite being the smallest of the four, the Dell 25 gaming monitor is designed for some serious gaming. It features a 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time to keep up with fast-moving action. Meanwhile, its fast IPS technology ensures clarity and color consistency with 99% sRGB coverage. It has ultra-thin bezels on three sides and a downlight for ambient illumination. The price is still to be confirmed but it will be available in China from May 7 and the rest of the world from May 27.

The Dell 27 and Dell 32 are curved gaming monitors in 27-inch and 32-inch sizes respectively. They feature 165Hz refresh rates and 2ms response times. The final display is the Dell 34, a wide-view curved 34-inch gaming monitor with 144HZ refresh rate. All of these new monitors – including the Dell 25 – include variable refresh rates, making them suitable for console use, too. The Dell 27 and 32 will be available in the US on June 22, while the Dell 34 will be available on May 27. Prices are still to be confirmed.