Alienware Goes Thin With New m15 Laptop

Alienware is ditching the big and blocky look for something a little more portable than its usual gaming laptops. The Alienware m15, arriving on October 25 starting at $1,299, is the brand’s first thin-and-light gaming notebook, with up to a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Max-Q GPU and 8th generation Intel Core CPU.

The system will come either in Alienware’s usual “Epic Silver” or a more standout “Nebula Red.” And at just 0.8 inches thick, it’s Alienware’s thinnest laptop ever. It’s also fairly light at 4.8 pounds.

Alienware m15 Specifications

The company is claiming that its cooling technology, Cryo-tech 2.0, will keep the thin-and-light notebook from overheating. It includes two intake fans and two exhaust vents, dedicated and shared heat pipes and copper fin stacks that are as thin as 0.2 millimeters. And despite the thin profile, Alienware claims it should last, with the optional 90Whr battery offering up to 17 hours of battery life while idle (we'll be sure to give it a more thorough test in our upcoming review).

And while Alienware laptops usually come with traditional-style keyboards, the m15 has chiclet-style keys. It also doesn’t have dedicated click buttons for the mouse; instead the entire keyboard clicks, similar to Dell’s XPS line. It’s unclear if these were aesthetic choices or were necessary in order to achieve this level of thinness.

There is one thing that it appears Alienware couldn’t minimize just yet; that bezel is looking pretty thick, similar to what we’ve seen on the most recent Alienware 15 and 17.

We’re looking forward to putting the Alienware m15 through its paces in our labs. Stay tuned for our review.