When it comes to play games , I ’ve always preferred consoles to computers . Building ( orbuying ) a customs play carriage can be fun , but I postulate a dedicated laptop . Andgaming laptopscan definitely wreak the power , but often with a size and battery - life trade - off that would make it impossible to utilise in any non - gaming scenario . So it used to be that if I wanted to game , it was wanton to for me to spend money on anXbox One SorPlayStation 4 Pro , rather than messing with PCs . But the newAlienware 13is change my mind about gaming laptops .
The shape I tested is dear , run intimately $ 2000 ( which yes , is much more expensive than a console ) . It has an amazing 2560 x 1440 organic light-emitting diode display . It also admit a quadrangle - core Intel Kaby Lake i7 - 7700HQ processor , 16 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , and Nvidia ’s GTX 1060 graphics posting with 6 GB of RAM . That ’s plenty of force for most play .
I power through Civilization VI , Resident Evil 7 , and Forza Horizon 3 , and the Alienware 13 managed to keep up without a trouble . In Forza , I had to drop down to 1080p for the graphics to play at 60fps , but that was really telling hand that the microcomputer porthole of Forza has a repute for being terrible . With Resident Evil 7 , there was sometimes a tiny hold in young sphere come out as I traveled through the game ’s maps at 60fps at the mellow resolution . drop some of the grain back altogether solved that problem . The computer is immobile enough that it should even be able-bodied to handle some VR games , though nothing too visually taxing like Elite Dangerous .
All Images: Alex Cranz/Gizmodo
Battery life while gaming is n’t going to be star . Not even the dispirited top executive requirement of aKaby Lake processoris going to get the computer past the two and a half hour mark . But when used for routine tasks , like watching video or doing browse the internet , I supervise to eek out almost seven hours . This variety of electric battery life is very telling on a laptop computer with this much king
Also impressive is the 2560 x 1440 OLED touch showing . This blind is one of the good I ’ve ever seen on a laptop , with blacks that much disappear into the bezel , a enceinte purview from almost any slant , which is aproblem for some other gambling laptops , and wonderfully pictorial color . Even the blue - emblazon Alienware logotype ca n’t keep me from enjoy this silver screen .
But the price to pay this laptop computer ’s excellence its hulking sizing . At 5.8 pound , it ’s right smart large than any of thebest 13 - inch laptopsI’ve reviewed over the last six months , and even heavier than it ’s closest challenger the3.75 Lebanese pound MSI GS43 . This is not a laptop you want to lug around all the clock time , and people will absolutely mock you for the giant back end of the laptop computer — though it does give you elbow room for a plethora of ports , including USB - A , USB - C , miniskirt - DisplayPort , HDMI , Gigabit Ethernet and that mostly useless Alienware Graphics Amplifier port ( I mean , if you want to purchase a whole other artwork card and the $ 200 adenylic acid to try and soup up your games than be my guest … ) .
But you make love what , the laptop computer is so good in all the ways that count , I do n’t even care ! As a soul who never considered a gaming laptop computer , the Alienware 13 has me filled with hungriness . At $ 2000 , this configuration is a lot more expensive than my Xbox One S apparatus , but it ’s capable of play microcomputer games , doing VR , and the battery life in on - gambling scenarios is good enough for actually father shit done . If you ’re in the marketplace for a good play laptop computer that can also be used as an actual portable computer , the Alienware 13 should be on your list .
README
This thing gets gaudy . play through Resident Evil 7 or Forza Horizon 3 causes the fans to spin with furore . The political machine is red-hot and meretricious . But it ’s a quad - core processor and a very overnice peregrine GPU shoved inside a 13 - inch frame , so I guess this is to be expected .
I had occasional problems with the wi - fi while play games . That is , if I was trying to play a secret plan and download another in the ground , wi - fi would sometimes shut - off . I ’m not sure the laptop computer or Windows 10 is to blame , but regardless it was frustrating .
Again , the OLED screen is just grand .
The keyboard and trackpad are both very effective , not just for gambling , but for typing and get shit done , too .
Other than the trackpad lighting up and the keyboard have some backlight , this affair does n’t even look that much like a gaming laptop computer . Like , it does n’t scream it like some of Razer ’s designs do .
The power brick is enormous because it is 180 Isaac Watts . If you are going to move around with this thing , be aware of that added size and system of weights .
you could configure much cheaper pick that lack the 1060 nontextual matter and the stunning OLED show and still get a good performing laptop .
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