Alienware 17 R5 (i7-8750H, GTX 1070, QHD) Laptop Review

The graphics card is a high-end chip from Nvidia. While price-conscious gamers will choose the GeForce GTX 1060 with 6 GB of GDDR5-VRAM, passionate gamers may want the GeForce GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 8-GB models. Particularly those who look for resolutions higher than 1920x1080 should splurge on the latter GPUs.

Apropos resolution, one of the most difficult decisions for the customers is the display. Dell is not only selling a classic Full HD IPS screen (60 Hz) but is also offering a very fast QHD TN display (120 Hz). In addition, at the top end of the price range there is an extremely sharp UHD IPS panel that corresponding to the QHD display also brings an eye-tracking module, but it only supports 60 Hz instead of 120 Hz. However you should be careful, as not all the models include Nvidia's G-Sync image improvement.

The range of the working memory of the Alienware 17 R5 reaches from 8 GB up to a maximum of 32 GB DDR4. Windows 10 is installed on an SSD sized between 128 GB and 1 TB.

So what does the whole thing cost? The most affordable version of the desktop replacement is available at a price starting at about 1700 Euros (~$1968; $1550 in the US). On the other hand, for our test unit with a Core i7-8750H, a GeForce GTX 1070, 16 GB of RAM, a 256-GB SSD, and a QHD panel you have to pay around 2400 Euros (~$2778; $2300 in the US). The competitors of the Alienware 17 R5 include other 17-inch gamers based on Coffee-Lake, such as the MSI GE73 8RF, the Acer Predator Helios 500, and the HP Omen 17t.

Since the metal case is identical to the last revision, we are not addressing the case, connections, and input devices here. You can find all the corresponding information in the review of the Alienware 17 R4.

Like in the predecessor, the QHD panel is labeled AUO1496. In our opinion, 2560x1440 pixels is the perfect compromise between image sharpness and computing requirements and is ideally suited for the GeForce GTX 1070. Gamers should also be pleased about a quick response time: 6 ms black-to-white and 20.8 ms gray-to-gray are first-rate measurements in the laptop segment. Combined with the G-Sync technology, many games are incredibly fluid and smooth on the 120-Hz screen.

The fact that the contrast does not reach a top value (780:1 is only mediocre) despite the screen's brightness is due to its meager black value. 0.51 cd/m² often causes dark content to drift into the gray range.

Even if you go without the best CPU (Core i9-8950HK) and strongest GPU (GeForce GTX 1080), the Alienware 17 R5 offers more than enough power for everyday gaming. The Core i7-8750H and the GeForce GTX 1070 do not have any significant problems even with demanding games – at least in the Full HD and QHD settings. The frame rates only start to drop fast at 3840x2160 pixels. In order to be armed for the coming generation of games, you should at least choose 16 GB of RAM for the 17-incher.

The basic clock speed is 2.2 GHz, and up to 4.1 GHz is possible via Turbo Boost (automatic overclocking). However, the Core i7-8750H only reaches this value in single-core scenarios. When all the cores are loaded, the limits are much lower, as our Cinebench loop also shows. During the first run, the clock speed already drops from 3.9 to 2.9 GHz, which is slightly disappointing for a high-end notebook.

Correspondingly, the Alienware 17 R5 falls behind the competitors in the benchmarks. As you can see in the comparison chart, the competitors are in parts more than 10% faster in the multi-core test of Cinebench R15 and R11.5. However, in real life most users should not perceive any difference, particularly since almost all games are GPU limited.

The system performance, which concerns load times, the duration of installations, program starts, and boot processes, etc., depends primarily on the speed of the storage solution. In this regard, the Alienware 17 R5 strikes a good figure, although it does not surpass the competitors. In PCMark 10 for example, it is only sufficient for the last place among the competitors. However, with the exception of the HP Omen 17t, the overall scores are all very close together.

As secondary storage, the manufacturer has also included a 1-TB HDD in the 2.5-inch format. This is the HGST Travelstar 7K1000 that operates at 7200 rpm.

The display output is handled by a Pascal GPU from Nvidia. While the GeForce GTX 1060 is predestined for the Full HD display, we would recommend the GeForce GTX 1070 to buyers of the QHD panel version. The high-end model can score with 2048 shader units as well as 8 GB of GDDR5-VRAM and reaches up to 1873 MHz under load (Render test of the GPU-Z tool). During games and other 3D applications, the GTX 1070 levels out at about 1670 MHz, which is still respectable considering a basic clock speed of 1480 MHz.

Thanks to the GPU overclocking which works well, the Alienware 17 R5 performs well in the graphics tests. The Fire-Strike run of 3DMark 13 places the 17-inch notebook on the level of the MSI GE73 and Acer Helios 500. Despite having an identical CPU/GPU combo, the HP Omen 17t is beaten by almost 10%. Looking at the predecessor, we can guess how the Alienware 17 R5 would perform with a GeForce GTX 1080: The test configuration of the old model performs 23% better.

In the constant load test with The Witcher 3 (Full HD/Ultra) there was nothing that stood out besides the usual Turbo variations. The frame rate remained quite constant even after 60 minutes.

As already mentioned, the GeForce GTX 1070 is a good partner for the QHD display. Although with 2560x1440 pixels, the 120-Hz technology is not always fully used (in high to maximum settings it only sometimes reaches more than 60 FPS), you will be spared any stuttering even in computing-intensive games. 

The chart below shows the results with 1920x1080 pixels, which can make better use of the 120 Hz. Nvidia's most expensive model, the GeForce GTX 1080, is only worthwhile for a very few users, since the higher performance – as long as you limit yourself to moderate resolutions – does not correspond to the higher price, increased cooling needs, and increased power consumption.

Since the components do not heat up excessively in 3D operation, there would really be some room for a lower noise level on the Alienware 17 R5. During typical gaming load, the CPU and GPU only heat up to barely 70 °C (158 °F).

It is positive that the processor and graphics card do not show any throttling even in extreme situations. The Core i7-8750H completed the 60-minute stress test with Furmark and Prime95 at 2.6 GHz on average, while the GeForce GTX 1070 still achieved about 1500 MHz.

It is strange that while the sound system remained unchanged on paper, our audio analysis appears to have found a significant improvement of the sound compared to the predecessor. Besides the bass, the mids and highs have also supposedly improved. The maximum volume also differs from that of the old test.

Due to the lack of graphics-switching, the 17-incher needs quite a lot of power already during idle operation. Together with the result of the Alienware 17 R4, 28-37 watts is the worst value in the test field, and that is even though the Acer Helios 500 and the HP Omen 17 forgo Optimus, using G-Sync instead. On the other hand, with 112-231 watts under load the Alienware 17 R5 places in the middle of the competitors.

Despite its powerful 99-Wh battery, the runtimes are unable to inspire. A maximum of 4.5 hours is no reason for cheering in 2018. Here, the lack of graphics-switching takes a particularly extreme toll. For comparison, the current endurance champion of gaming laptops, the Gigabyte Aero 15X v8, can manage more than 12 hours in an ideal scenario.