Ever wonder why Alienware is so expensive? Makes you think if there are cheap Alienware laptops too. Since gaming laptops have come a long, long way in recent years, Alienware has become one of the brands leading the charge.
Known for its out-of-this-world gaming laptops, Alienware brought a number of innovations to the table, including its redesigned Alienware Command Centre software.
Dell’s laptops and desktop computers are well built, well priced, and backed by the best customer service in the industry.
The Alienware line-up also fills the niche for the enthusiast and high-end gaming performance rigs. Alienware has maintained its name at a premium level in the list of manufacturers of high-end gaming laptops for many years now.
These machines are simply no questions asked, hands down the best choice for professionals, and especially gamers who are looking for an all-in-all package i.e. the power of a desktop, packaged in a laptop.
People generally believe that expensive laptops are powerful, but this is completely wrong when it comes to buying a gaming laptop. The performance of the gaming laptop depends upon its hardware specifications.
Therefore, an ideal gaming laptop is the one with powerful hardware which can output performance equivalent to the gaming desktop, and provide mobility at the same time!
Thanks to modern components and its relationship with Dell, Alienware has been able to transform its machines to new extents. It now offers thin, lightweight gaming laptops instead of those bulky and oversized machines that required extra space for power and cooling.
These systems are designed to compete with similar offerings from other manufacturers.
Even though Alienware is purely a gaming-laptop/PC brand, today we are going to discuss some of the cheaper and low budget Alienware laptops that fall in a low-price tag but there is no compromise on performance, durability, and appearance. Let’s get started.
The alien theme and the high-powered devices have long been some of the most iconic on the market. We’ve broken down the best and cheapest Alienware laptops you can get right now to help you choose the right one.
Older Variants: Alienware 13 vs. 15 vs. 17
Alienware 13 R1
Number one on our list we have Alienware 13-inch laptop released back in 2014 as a replacement for M11x.
Gamers who want on-the-go fragging will prefer the tiny terror that is the Alienware 13. It’s the perfect size to stow away in a backpack or a large purse while staying on a budget.
Despite its diminutive size, the laptop doesn’t skimp on the glowing Alienware accouterments, but the hands-down best thing about the Alienware 13 is its mesmerizing optional 13.3-inch OLED display in this low-price category.
The glossy 2560 x 1440 touch panel is stunningly vivid with precise detail. In our tests, the screen reproduced an astonishing 206 percent of the sRGB color gamut with a dazzling 292 nits of brightness, In simple words, the display awesome.
Whether playing games, watching movies, or looking at pictures, the Alienware 13 is truly a sight to behold.
In terms of display-pixels, the Alienware 13 also comes in 1080p and 1366 x 768 varieties, but if you can’t spring for the OLED screen, go for the 1080p option. Under no circumstances should you even consider the 1366 x 768 model unless you like looking at lackluster color and muddy graphics.
| Brand | Alienware |
| CPU | 2.5-GHz Intel Core i7-6500U processor |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M GPU |
| Display Size | 13.3 inches |
| Hard Drive | 512 Gb (SSD) |
| RAM | 8 Gb |
| Battery Life | 3.5 hours |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| USB Ports | 3 |
| Video Memory | 4 Gb |
As far as our verdict is concerned, the Alienware 13 has the most dazzling laptop screen of its time in a portable design with powerful graphics performance and excellent audio.
Hence the best buy if you can go for an older version.
The pros and cons of the Alienware 13, which we felt made a difference are as follows:
Pros
- Super vivid OLED display
- Great graphics performance for the price
- Excellent audio quality
- Superb keyboard
Cons
- CPU performance could be better
- Bottom runs hot
Alienware 15 (2015)
2nd on the list we have a 15.6 inch Alienware laptop.
Gaming on the go doesn’t need to break the bank. The Alienware 15 offers a solid mobile gaming machine with all the bells, whistles, and customizable lighting that you’ve come to expect from Alienware.
With a 1920 x 1080 anti-glare screen, very reliable Intel Core-i5 CPU, 16GB of RAM, combo 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD, and an Nvidia GeForce 970M GPU, this affordable portable can push pixels fast, and even faster with the optional Graphics Amp.
While the Alienware 15 isn’t quite as sleek as other gaming notebooks, it also less than competing systems from Razer and Gigabyte, and for that, it deserves some serious consideration.
When you buy an Alienware, you know it. The tri-section aluminum lid looks like paneling from a spaceship and features the trademark glowing alien head.
The black carbon fiber body (Alienware says it’s the lightest 15-inch system it ever made) offers a smooth matte finish, grilles in front that look like they came off of a Ferrari F40, and giant vents on the back and bottom.
Performance vice, a side benefit of the Alienware 15’s gaming-focused design is that it also makes short work of typical workloads such as editing photos or streaming movies.
Thanks to its Intel CPU and 16 gigs RAM, even with 10 tabs open in Chrome and 15 photos open in GIMP, you will have no trouble streaming 1080p movies from YouTube.
| Brand | Alienware |
| CPU | 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5-4210 CPU |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 970M with 3GB GDDR5 |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Hard Drive | 128GB SSD |
| RAM | 8 Gb |
| Battery Life | 6+ hours |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 Home |
| USB Ports | 4 |
| Video Memory | 3 Gb |
While it’s bigger and heavier than gaming notebooks of similar size, the Alienware 15 offers solid graphics performance for less than the competition.
Pros
- Highly customizable
- Optional Graphics Amplifier
- More affordable than the competition
- High-quality audio
Cons
- Runs very hot
- Heavy
Alienware 17 R4
Our third pick is the Alienware 17 R4 offers excellent gaming performance, a comfy keyboard, and an attractive design, but lower-end configurations suffer from dim screens and slow storage.
Alienware’s 2017 offerings keep their classic, angular spaceship cases the same as its previous versions, but much has changed on the inside.
The Alienware 17 packs a 7th-generation “Kaby Lake” Intel CPU and Nvidia GTX 1070 or 1080 GPUs that are perfect for virtual reality.
The laptop also has Tobii eye-tracking to play games with your peepers. If you can spend the money on one of its more expensive configurations, the Alienware 17 is the 17-inch mobile gaming rig to beat.
The Alienware 17 R4 offers a great combination of strong performance, comfortable typing, innovative eye-tracking, and attractive design.
With its lower-end components, you may also get all-day battery life and, with the optional graphics amp, you can get even stronger performance.
| Brand | Alienware |
| CPU | 2.9-GHz Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU |
| Graphics Card | Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti GPU |
| Display Size | 17.3 inches |
| Hard Drive | 1 TB (SATA) + 512 GB (SSD) |
| RAM | 16 Gb |
| Battery Life | 8+ hours |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| USB Ports | 4 |
| Video Memory | 2 Gb |
New Versions of Alienware Laptops
Alienware has updated their popular m15 and m17 gaming laptops to revision 3 (R3), giving them the requisite upgrade to Intel’s 10th gen processors.
They also boast several new features that help keep Alienware at the forefront of enthusiast gaming laptops. The 13-inch laptops from Alienware have been discontinued.
The Alienware m15 R3 and Alienware m17 R3 tick the boxes for what users require in a high-end gaming laptop.
The basics are all there, with the choice of three Intel 10th Gen processors, the i5-10300H (4C/8T), the i7-10750H (6C/12T), or i9-10980HK (8C/16T).
Memory options range from 8 – 32 GB of DDR4-2666.
The graphics options cover the standard range of Nvidia cards but contain a mix of Super and non-Super models.
For example, you can choose the RTX 2080 Super at the top end, the RTX 2060 in the middle, or the GTX 1650 Ti at the bottom.
For our article, we will be discussing the base models, as they lie in the low-price category among their variants.
Alienware m15 R3
Alienware m15 R3 is a Windows 10 laptop with a 15.60-inch display that has a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels. It is powered by a Core i5 processor and it comes with 8GB of RAM.
This is the base model and the cheapest variant of the latest m15 series. In short, a modern-day Super gaming laptop with tons of Top-notch features at this price tag.
| Brand | Alienware |
| CPU | 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H |
| Graphics Card | NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1650 Ti (4GB GDDR6) |
| Display Size | 15.6 inches |
| Hard Drive | 512 + 256 GB (SSD) |
| RAM | 8 Gb |
| Battery Life | 56 WHr, 3-cell smart lithium-ion |
| Operating System | Windows 10 Home |
| USB Ports | 4 |
| Video Memory | 4 Gb |
So, the Alienware m17 R3 serves up plenty of beauty and performance. The base model is the cheapest among its variants but it costs a pretty penny if you get the top-level model with all high-end features.
Pros
- Attractive, lightweight design for a desktop replacement
- Great graphics and overall performance
- Beautiful 4K display
- Comfortable keyboard
Cons
- Expensive than other gaming laptops
- Below-average battery life
The base 17-inch model of the New Alienware 2020 series has almost the same specifications as of m15, the only difference being the screen size (15.6 vs. 17.3 inches) and some minor us and downs in the GPU.
However, the price tag of the base model of m17 is higher than that of m15.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get an Alienware laptop in different colors?
Yes, there are several different color options available, from refined silver or black to bold red.
Do Alienware keyboards come with backlit keys?
In fact, on many models, you can even change the color of the lighting to suit your style and preference.
What is the difference between Alienware m15 and m17?
The Alienware m17 is the bigger of the two, with a 17.3-inch IPS display (1920×1080, 60Hz). However, it’s thin for a gaming laptop, measuring just 0.91 inches at the rear.
The Alienware m15 is a smaller version of the Alienware m17 with the same core specs.
Are Alienware laptops worth the money?
Alienware is like the Apple of gaming systems. Other brands provide more value for money offerings, you might even get a better specification laptop.
They build quality products & after-sales are great, no doubt about that, but generally, Alienware laptops are bulkier than its competition. Yes, Dell Alienware is worth buying.
