EPISODE · Feb 1, 2021 · 16 MIN
Alienware M17 R4 Gaming Laptop - Episode 250
from Piltch Point (Video) · host PLUGHITZ Live
Alienware has long been known as one of the best brands for gaming computers, and the newest version of the Alienware M17, the R4. In the gaming laptop space, there have been two directions manufacturers have gone - make them very portable at the expense of speed, or very fast at the expense of portability. The M17 R4 definitely goes with the latter, because this beast is HEAVY. Coming in at 5.51 pounds, this is a massive laptop. However, it makes up for this with performance.Sporting a 10th Generation Core i7 or Core i9, system performance is quick. But, when you add an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 or RTX 3080, gaming performance becomes impressive, too. In fact, even Avram was impressed by the performance, getting 60 FPS on Cyberpunk 2077 on fairly crushing settings. This game is known for bringing desktops to their knees, but the laptop was able to handle it well.In addition to the performance, the laptop also comes with other things gamers enjoy. In particular, it features an RGB keyboard. In the video, you can see the zones animate across the keyboard. In addition to controlling this behavior, you also have control over the other LED features on the laptop, like the exhaust port on the back. This exhaust port is designed to look sci-fi, but it also functions as system exhaust. But, you also get a number of your ports across the back, like HDMI and Thunderbolt 3.There are a number of configurations available, including drive size (ranging from 256GB to 4TB), RAM (16GB or 32GB), and processor (Core i7 or Core i9). The Core i9 configurations offer only the RTX 3080, while the Core i7 could come with the RTX 3070 or RTX 3080. The Core i7 offers white or black bodies, while the Core i9 currently only offers white.
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Description Alienware has long been known as one of the best brands for gaming computers, and the newest version of the Alienware M17, the R4. In the gaming laptop space, there have been two directions manufacturers have gone - make them very portable at the expense of speed, or very fast at the expense of portability. The M17 R4 definitely goes with the latter, because this beast is HEAVY. Coming in at 5.51 pounds, this is a massive laptop. However, it makes up for this with performance. Sporting a 10th Generation Core i7 or Core i9, system performance is quick. But, when you add an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 or RTX 3080, gaming performance becomes impressive, too. In fact, even Avram was impressed by the performance, getting 60 FPS on Cyberpunk 2077 on fairly crushing settings. This game is known for bringing desktops to their knees, but the laptop was able to handle it well. In addition to the performance, the laptop also comes with other things gamers enjoy. In particular, it features an RGB keyboard. In the video, you can see the zones animate across the keyboard. In addition to controlling this behavior, you also have control over the other LED features on the laptop, like the exhaust port on the back. This exhaust port is designed to look sci-fi, but it also functions as system exhaust. But, you also get a number of your ports across the back, like HDMI and Thunderbolt 3. There are a number of configurations available, including drive size (ranging from 256GB to 4TB), RAM (16GB or 32GB), and processor (Core i7 or Core i9). The Core i9 configurations offer only the RTX 3080, while the Core i7 could come with the RTX 3070 or RTX 3080. The Core i7 offers white or black bodies, while the Core i9 currently only offers white. Participants Scott Ertz Host Scott is a developer who has worked on projects of varying sizes, including all of the PLUGHITZ Corporation properties. He is also known in the gaming world for his time supporting the rhythm game community, through DDRLover and hosting tournaments throughout the Tampa Bay Area. Currently, when he is not working on software projects or hosting F5 Live: Refreshing Technology, Scott can often be found returning to his high school days working with the Foundation for Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST), mentoring teams and helping with ROBOTICON Tampa Bay. He has also helped found a student software learning group, the ASCII Warriors, currently housed at AMRoC Fab Lab. Avram Piltch Host Avram's been in love with PCs since he played original Castle Wolfenstein on an Apple II+. Before joining Tom's Hardware, for 10 years, he served as Online Editorial Director for sister sites Tom's Guide and Laptop Mag, where he programmed the CMS and many of the benchmarks. When he's not editing, writing or stumbling around trade show halls, you'll find him building Arduino robots with his son and watching every single superhero show on the CW. Live Discussion Powered by PureVPN
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Alienware M17 R4 Gaming Laptop - Episode 250
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