Alienware's X-series might just make 4K gaming laptops worthwhile

Alienware promises "the ultimate performance for gaming and content creation" with the new X-series gaming laptops

(Image credit: Dell Alienware)

Alienware X-Series Gaming laptops are coming, and Dell is pulling out all the stops to get great performance at up to 4K resolutions. With the latest UHD panels, and high-end GeForce cards, 4K gaming might actually be relevant in laptops now. The gaming PC stalwarts promise "several industry-first innovations" with these new designs, which will be available with the mobile versions of Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3060, RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 GPUs.

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The lineup includes the Dell Alienware x17, the company's thinnest 17.3-incher, and the x15 which takes the crown as the thinnest Alienware gaming laptop to date. For the x15, that's just 16.3mm (0.642-inch) with a 165Hz, 1080p panel, or 15.9mm (0.626-inch) for a 1080p, 360Hz or 1440p, 240Hz panel.

And the x17 isn't far behind with 20.9mm (0.823-inch) for the 1080p, 360Hz panel, or 21.4mm (0.843-inch) for a 4K, 120Hz monitor, or the 1440p, 165Hz panel.

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The Dell Alienware X-Series configuration options are an 11th-gen Intel Core i7 11800H, or 11900HK CPU, with Nvidia RTX 30-series discrete GPUs. The x15's RTX 3080 model only comes with the 8GB GDDR6 variant, whereas the x17 offers the full16GB of VRAM. Y'know, for the pros.

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Dell Alienware's X-Series gaming laptops press imagery — (Image credit: Dell Alienware)

As for innovations, they'll both be getting some cooling love, with exclusive 'Element 31' Gallium-Silicone matrix thermal interfaces for configs sporting Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 3080 GPUs. These are said to deliver a "25% improvement in thermal resistance over the previous generation."

These X-Series lappys will also contain Alienware's new patent-pending Quad Fan and Smart Fan designs for better airflow and control, as well as Alienware's HyperEfficient Voltage Regulation tech for promised longer gaming hours.

These are gorgeous looking laptops; very similar to the previous generation in terms of aesthetics, but with severely upgraded internals. I'm still not so sure about the AlienFX customizable touchpad look, though.

You've gotta hand it to Dell for managing to jam more RGB in when it seemed there was nowhere left for it to infest.

Alienware is optimistic that these new X-Series gaming laptops will deliver "the ultimate performance for gaming and content creation." We'll have to see about that when we get our hands on one for testing. Mainly, we're excited about high refresh refresh rate UHD panels hitting the mobile market now we have Nvidia's powerful 30-series cards to help those frames along.

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Screw sports, Katie would rather watch Intel, AMD and Nvidia go at it. Having been obsessed with computers and graphics for three long decades, she took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni, and has been rambling about games, tech and science—rather sarcastically—for four years since. She can be found admiring technological advancements, scrambling for scintillating Raspberry Pi projects, preaching cybersecurity awareness, sighing over semiconductors, and gawping at the latest GPU upgrades. Right now she's waiting patiently for her chance to upload her consciousness into the cloud.