Team Liquid has officially rejoined the Apex Legends competitive scene, unveiling its brand-new roster in partnership with gaming hardware powerhouse Alienware. The announcement marks the organisation’s return to the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) and sets the stage for an exciting 2026 Championship campaign.

You thought we were leaving? Sikezz! There’s Zer0 chance this won’t be Fuhhnq.
And what’s a horse without its Winnie?🐴

Welcome To Team Liquid Alienware💙@Alienware | #LETSGOLIQUID | #TLWIN pic.twitter.com/agQdnFJavQ

— Team Liquid Apex Legends (@TeamLiquid_APEX) November 5, 2025

A Triumphant Return to the Arena

After stepping back from Apex Legends competition, Team Liquid is back in full force. Their new lineup comes from the rising team ZZ, which made waves in the 2025 Split 2 Pro League Americas by finishing as runners-up among 30 top-tier rosters.

The new Team Liquid Alienware Apex Legends roster features:

• Rhys “Zer0” Perry
• Nochilas “Sikezz” Odom
• Nicholas “Fuhhnq” Wall
• Winnie “tiltedwinnie” Long (Coach)

Winnie joins as the team’s coach after previous stints with notable organisations like NRG, bringing valuable experience to guide Liquid’s new Apex division.

Star Power and a Fresh Start

Perhaps the biggest headline is the signing of Zer0, a proven champion who previously played for Team Falcons alongside ImperialHal. During his tenure there, Zer0 lifted the 2025 Split 1 Pro League Americas trophy, claimed victory in the 2025 Open, and secured a third-place finish at the Year 4 Championship.

Now wearing Liquid blue, Zer0 expressed his excitement online:

“Finally get to be with an organisation I grew up watching. Couldn’t be happier with how everything’s turned out. Time for Liquid Apex to actually win something.”

His enthusiasm mirrors that of the Liquid faithful, who have been eagerly awaiting the team’s return to the Apex Legends Global Series stage.

The Road to Sapporo

Fans won’t have to wait long to see Team Liquid Alienware in action. The roster will debut at the ALGS 2026 Championship, set for January 15–18, 2026, in Sapporo, Japan.

The event will feature 40 of the world’s best teams from regions including Europe, the Americas, APAC North, and APAC South, all battling for their share of a $2 million USD prize pool.

Team Liquid will go head-to-head with Apex Legends powerhouses such as Team Falcons, TSM, Alliance, and Gen.G Esports. With its new roster, the organisation aims to reclaim its spot among the world’s elite and capture its first ALGS title.

A New Chapter for Team Liquid Apex Legends

Team Liquid’s re-entry into Apex Legends, coupled with its long-time partnership with Alienware, signals renewed ambitions for one of esports’ most recognisable names. With a strong mix of experience, chemistry, and hunger to win, Team Liquid Alienware looks poised to make a major impact heading into the 2026 season.

As Zer0 put it, it’s time for Liquid to finally take the crown.

The post Team Liquid Returns to Apex Legends with Alienware-Backed Roster appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Explode your gaming prowess into something out of this world with Alienware’s newest 34 inch QD-OLED Curved Monitor.

From the box there is a need for some basic DIY.

And I do mean basic.

The base, monitor stand and screen are all in separate bits. While there are instructions, it’s straightforward with the monitor stand neatly screwing in to the weighted base and the stand clip and securing in to the back of the monitor, with an easy release.

You’re not going to need tools, unless you decide to wall mount the screen.

Then it’s straight in to some curvy eye candy, and I don’t just mean the OLED popping screen visuals, there’s some lighting going on at the rear.

The Alienware 34 inch Curved QD-OLED Monitor (model: AW3423DW) has a looped RGB LED effect around the stand mount, with the signature ‘Alien’ branding illuminating to match.

The monitor is NVIDIA G-Sync compatible. If you have a graphics card that is enabled with G-Sync you’ll get silky smooth gaming graphics.

Battles, tearing up the asphalt or looting can go beyond the screen and project an LED lit atmosphere to the wall behind.

It’s bright, and depending on the game played or synced to, is also effective, but you will need a darker gaming den or room. In a well lit environment you’re not going to experience much at all.

Now for that screen.

Coming in at 3440 x 1440 px with a 175Hz refresh and a 0.1 ms response rate the screen is just absolutely crisp and detail loaded.

For those who like to game and multitask, being the wideness that this monitor is, you can have the likes of Discord chat (if not already integrated into your game) fully open to one side and gameplay in another window without compromising the play view scope.

And sure, if you’re a super multitasker use this screen to have multiple windows open at once.

The Alienware 34 inch Curved QD-OLED Monitor while it is primarily designed for gamers, also has the vivd detailed visuals for content creators.

The monitor has a full suite of ports as well, 2x HDMI, 3x USB3, 3.5mm audio (in and out), 1x Display port and of course AC power. These are discreetly tucked away in the back allowing for a natural cable drop.

The stand allows for tilt and swivel and while heavy does not have a large footprint – the monitor itself does require a large scope though, so a wide desk is recommended.

While there is a line-out port for audio the Alienware 34 inch Curved Gaming Monitor does not have built-in speakers.

Pricewise, it’s actually a bit less than I thought it would be.

This QD-OLED beast will set you back at around $2.5K. Given the visuals, port array and additional RGB G-Sync this is a truly outstanding investment.

The Alienware 34 inch Curved Gaming Monitor (AW3423DW) is the best gaming screen I’ve reviewed this year at it’s current price point.

Game like you mean it and as it should be seen and experienced with this must-have.

The post ALIENWARE 34″ CURVED QD-OLED GAMING MONITOR REVIEW appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Alienware continues its mission to create premier gaming experiences with a triple release of new devices, including a revamped Aurora R15 Gaming Desktop, a compact and feature-rich Tenkeyless Gaming Keyboard, and their second QD-OLED Gaming Monitor positioned at a lower price point.

The new Alienware Aurora R15 desktop sees a significant performance boost, thanks to the latest 13th Gen Intel Core processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series GPUs and an armada of system refinements.

To achieve higher thermal efficiency and help ensure peak performance, they’ve equipped the following advancements with all 13th Gen Intel Core K-Series configurations:

• 240mm liquid cooling, with the option to upgrade to 240mm Cryo-tech liquid cooling.
• Five 120mm fans: a 240mm LC unit serving as two exhaust fans up top, one more exhaust fan in the rear, and two intake fans up in front.
• Hexagonal side-venting to generate additional airflow.
• 12-phase, processor, voltage regulation helps enable long-lasting peak performance.
• Voltage regulator heatsinks on the motherboard help ensure maximum cooling.
• 80 Plus Platinum-rated power supply, delivering high levels of power efficiency
• Increased memory speed to DDR5 4800MHz (or MT/s).
• Defined memory architecture enables the highest speed UDIMM for faster performance.

With these advancements, we’re delivering 58% more power to the processor, obtaining double digit performance improvements and simultaneously running the CPU up to 5˚ Celsius cooler.  Additionally, their new thermal strategy increases system airflow by up to 19%, which is up to 66% quieter in CPU intensive tasks and 9% quieter in GPU intensive tasks.

The Aurora R15 now also includes up to a 1350W power supply (up from 1000W in the previous generation), designed to support NVIDIA’s flagship GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card.

Speaking of the graphics card, they repositioned the graphics slot to enable larger card designs (up to triple wide cards). In addition to offering NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series and 30 Series GPUs, Aurora R15 will also be configurable with AMD Radeon RX 6000 Series graphics which pair nicely with our first QD-OLED AMD FreeSync monitor.

Alienware’s new space-saving Tenkeyless Gaming Keyboard (AW420K) helps you win back valuable desktop real estate while staying at the top of your game. Whether you’re curating a minimal desk setup or looking for more room to manoeuvre your mouse, this smaller form factor design drops the number pad to maximise space and free up more area for fast-action swipes. Promoting a clean and organised gaming environment, the AW420K makes cable management simple and versatile. With a cable routing layout etched into the underside of the keyboard, you can direct the connection cable left, right, or down the centre to keep it out of the way and streamline your gaming setup.

Another benefit to this compact keyboard is that it’s more travel friendly than its full-size siblings.

When it’s time to hit the road and head to a tournament or friend’s house, the small footprint (14.46”W x 5.81”L) makes it possible to transport in your Alienware Horizon Travel Backpack or other compatible travel cases. When packing up, just remove the USB paracord cable for easier storage. And since changing environments can expose your keyboard to unwanted particles, they have mounted the key switches to the smooth metal top plate to help limit the spaces where dust and crumbs can hide and make cleaning simple and quick.

Outfitted with a robust suite of technology, the AW420K delivers a typing experience that is responsive, consistent, and long-lasting. Industry-leading CHERRY MX Red switches provide incredible reliability and durability with their gold-based cross-point contact system. The thick gold layer makes the electrical contact enclosure self-cleaning and gives the key switch permanent protection against corrosion, guaranteeing more than 100 million actuations without loss of quality.

In addition, double-shot PBT (Polybutylene Terephthalate) keycaps feature two layers of plastic moulded together for reliable durability with key legends moulded into the caps for dependable rigidity and wear resistance.

But wait, there’s more!

Hot off unveiling the world’s first QD-OLED gaming monitor earlier this year, they are continuing to expand on their QD-OLED offerings with the introduction of a new Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor (AW3423DWF), delivering a premier and immersive gaming experience.

For those seeking increased realism the Alienware 34” Curved QD-OLED Gaming Monitor delivers stunning picture quality and ultra-smooth frame rates that transform your entire gaming experience.

Just like the previously launched AW3423DW model, this new monitor offers the same impressive picture qualities of Quantum Dot-OLED technology including consistent colour uniformity, wide colour coverage, deep black tones and incredible brightness. With WQHD (3440 x 1440) resolution and blazing-fast 0.1ms GtG response time, gamers can stay ahead of the competition without stuttering, input lag or motion blur while playing fast-paced games. It also supports the latest generation of consoles with VRR up to 120Hz.  

Availability of all of these new Alienware products is to be announced.

The post Alienware Upgrades Flagship Desktop appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Small but out of this world, Alienware pack a lot of punch in a 15 inch form factor gaming laptop with their new M15 R6.

Sleek, stealthy and the customizable RGB lighting of a mothership the 15 inch beast isn’t the thinnest on the market, or the lightest, but this is due to the goods under the hood.

First notable feature of the M15 R6 is the massive vents at the rear of the device.

Necessary to keep it cool during intensive gaming marathons the surrounding and customizable RGB lighting gives an impression of a high performance sports car. This doesn’t seem to wholly prevent the laptop from heating up during extended gaming though.

Onboard there’s eight Intel’s 11th gen i7 processors crunching data @4.6GHz (not overclocked), 16GB RAM and to sweat out those super crispy graphics is a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Graphics Card (GC) with 8GB GDDR6 RAM.

Sadly no 4K to be had here though with the maximum resolution coming in at FHD 1920 x 1080.

The refresh rate is excellent however – 360Hz.

Dell have been generous with their range of ports on the M15 R6. A lot of laptops, even gaming ones, are getting a bit thin on the ports they offer up. That’s great if you use wireless peripherals – but incase of any connection glitches serious gamers still prefer cabled for better response time.

The M15 R6 has three type-A USB 3.2 ports (one with PowerShare), one USB-C port (Thunderbolt), Display Port, and one HDMI 2.1 output socket. There is of course a power socket which is located at the rear of the laptop, ethernet and a traditional 3.5mm headset jack.

You’ll find Windows 11 pre-installed.

Specs are one thing, but how does this wee beast perform when pitted against some fast-paced lengthy gametime.

Making sure that nothing is dumbed down and  getting into Forza 5 saw no screen lag or game performance issues. For FPS it was smooth as.

Borderlands 3 also rocked a few hours without a hitch. Infact screen response time was superb.

The M15 R6 does have one issue though. Battery.

The only way you’re going to get through a decent length gaming session or stream is plugged in. On battery, Forza 5 killed the life of this laptop within around 45 minutes from full charge.

Borderlands 3 with nothing toned down fared a bit better coming in at 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Pricewise, an Alienware M15 R6 is going to set you back a bit.

This model that I received for review, having a 1TB SSD and beefed up GC is just over $4K NZD.

Pricey given that it has not opted for 4K and does tend to be needed to be used as a desktop when gaming due to the lack of grunt in the battery.

Still the M15 R6 most definitely has the look and feel of wielding interstellar power at your fingertips. And for the most part it isn’t just looks.

Despite the mentioned portable power issue and lack of super high resolution I did still love my time with the Alienware M15 R6.

If you’re a serious PC gamer who prefers to be at a desk, and own an external 4K or higher monitor this one has the inner specs to seriously get you in to the game.

The post Alienware M15 R6 Laptop Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

For nearly 10 years, Team Liquid and Alienware have partnered to stretch the limits of competitive gaming.

Along the way, Liquid levelled up from a StarCraft clan and website into one of the winningest, highest-valued and most-watched esports organisations in the world.

This sort of thing isn’t possible without the right hardware partner.

Alienware supports Liquid’s 110+ athletes and 120+ support staff across five continents through providing cutting-edge gaming PCs, monitors, headsets, peripherals and an array of Dell Technologies solutions – delivering the technical power needed to perform at the highest level.

With an eye on innovation and player performance, Alienware and Team Liquid catapulted the partnership to the next level and opened the doors to not one, but two state-of-the-art training facilities.

The first facility of its kind in the West, the Alienware Training Facility (established Spring 2018 in Santa Monica, California) set the paradigm for multiple organisations to open their own facilities to train and house North American athletes and teams. A few years and championships later, we opened a second Alienware Training Facility in Utrecht, Netherlands, where the organisation was first founded. This marked the first time an esports organisation planted such a flag in two continents.

Now, Team Liquid and Alienware extend their legacy, announcing the renewal of the longest gaming hardware partnership in esports history.

The partners will commemorate this team-up and its 10th anniversary through a series of new programs – first by redefining fan engagement.

On January 27th, 2021, Alienware will join Team Liquid as the official launch partner of Liquid+.

This virtual stadium for 3.5+M Liquid fans brings them closer to their favourite teams, athletes and personalities. But that’s not all. Liquid+ levels up fan engagement by offering unique ways to collect on fandom through personalised Quests, Experiences and the opportunity to earn exclusive rewards and long-lasting memories.

Alienware and Liquid will celebrate the launch of Liquid+ into orbit with an all-day live-streamed Cosmos Party, and an actual space launch.

Fans will pull prizes from a giant arcade claw machine giveaway (featuring plenty of Alienware products), play Among Us show matches, and help Blue prepare for take-off, before our smol horse rides off into the great beyond.

After ushering fans into the new Liquid+ galaxy, Alienware and Team Liquid are setting our sights back on earth.

Throughout this year, Alienware will launch additional programs and initiatives focused on elevating player performance through technology and creating opportunities for underrepresented voices in esports through a mixture of mentorship, scholarship, and events.

Stay tuned.

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The post Alienware x Team Liquid: The Legacy Duo Start Their Second Act appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Dell Technologies has partnered with Fortress Melbourne,the largest video gaming and esports venue in the Southern Hemisphere, to become its end-to-end technology partner.

Located within luxury shopping centre Emporium Melbourne, Fortress Melbourne will support esports players, fans and gamers of all skill levels, fostering a gaming community that will invite inquisitive parents and casual patrons looking for a premium entertainment experience.

Fortress Melbourne will include a 200-seat main arena – the Alienware Arena – and a LAN Lounge that will be equipped with some of Alienware’s most powerful PCs, featuring Intel Core processors, and cutting-edge gaming peripherals. The space will house more than 150 of Alienware’s Aurora R9 gaming PCs in the new Legend ID design with liquid cooling and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 and 2070 SUPER GPUs, and Dell Pro Support services provided for all devices. Fortress Melbourne will also feature a mix of Alienware 27” and 34” gaming monitors with Legend ID design, RGB keyboards, gaming mice and headsets, offering gamers the best in class game performance.

“According to the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association’s (IGEA) Digital Australia 2020 Report, our local gaming industry continues to grow with two out of three Australians playing video games and total sales in the retail gaming industry exceeding AUD$4 billion in 2018.

Melbourne is at the epicentre of this growing community as it’s home to PAX Australia and the Melbourne Esports Open,” said Ben Jackson, General Manager, Consumer and Small Business, Dell Technologies ANZ. “We’re passionate about making Australia’s esports scene the best it can be, and we couldn’t be happier to partner with Fortress Melbourne. We believe that the venue will become the unofficial home for professional and casual gamers alike.”

In addition to the slew of high-end Alienware gaming PCs and equipment, Fortress Melbourne will be supported by a complete end-to-end infrastructure solution, from Dell Technologies, that will power its business, as well as deliver the best gaming experience for visitors. The IT infrastructure solution includes; Dell EMC PowerEdge R640 servers featuring 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, which will ensure the smooth and secure running of the corporate operations as well as the PC Gaming services, Dell EMC SC Series storage, providing multi-media support for gaming streaming services and Dell EMC N-Series & S-Series networking for high availability and low latency that is critical to the gaming industry.

“We want Fortress Melbourne to become the go-to venue for all Australian gamers, which is why we’re so excited to be partnering with Dell Technologies,” said Jon Satterley, CEO at Fortress Australia. “By having our venue equipped with Alienware’s powerful gaming PCs and peripherals, as well as infrastructure from Dell Technologies, gamers of all skill levels will be able to experience the best gaming equipment in the world.”

The partnership between Dell Technologies and Fortress Melbourne comes at an exciting time for Australia’s professional gaming culture. The IGEA Digital Australian 2020 Report shows that Australian audiences are continuing to flock to esports tournaments and gaming events, as the local sector follows the lead of the United States and Europe’s billion-dollar esports industries.

“By creating a professional-grade esports facility that’s open to the public, Dell Technologies is proud to be in the driver’s seat and lead our local gaming community’s exciting transformation,” said Jackson. “The response from gamers across the country has been amazing and Australia is set to see more world-class esports and gaming venues emerge in the years to come.”

The post Dell & Fortress Melbourne Unit appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

It’s good news for gamers and the local Australian esports industry as Alienware has locked in a major partnership with local esports team ORDER after the team chose to power its team members with Alienware PCs exclusively. As Australian esports continues to thrive – and shows no sign of slowing down – this announcement displays both parties’ commitment to growing the local gaming scene even further.

So, what does the partnership entail?

Alienware will provide ORDER with a suite of brand new Alienware Aurora PCs (i7 8700 & GTX1080ti / RTX2080) and m15 gaming laptops, Alienware’s thinnest and lightest laptop to date, and Pro Support will be provided for all devices. ORDER will also receive a mix of AW2518HF and AW3418DW monitors, Alienware Wireless Gaming Headsets, Alienware Pro Gaming Keyboards, and the Alienware Elite Gaming mouse. With built-in access to Alienware’s streamlined Command Center interface, ORDER can continue to blaze a trail with their already impressive skillsets at local and international esports tournaments.

ORDER eSports Team

This extends to the entire ORDER team roster, as well as Alienware being the exclusive hardware provider for ORDER’s League of Legends and CS:GO teams with its top-of-the-range, high-performance, specialised gaming PCs and peripherals.

Fans of both Alienware and ORDER can rejoice as they will also gain access to exclusive content to help them take their gaming to the next level. Players can upskill with pro tips and tricks, ‘How-To’ guides, player and game statistics, as well as informative, entertaining and exclusive behind-the-scenes access – content that will be available to everyone through Alienware and ORDER social media accounts.

“Australia’s esports scene is well established and has incredible potential,” said Ben Jackson, General Manager Consumer and Small Business, Dell ANZ. “We’re incredibly proud to continue Alienware’s long history of supporting esports and we are excited to be partnering with ORDER not only because they are an outstanding team with impressive runs on the board already in their first year – they also have a vision for the team and their business that complements our own.”

Professional players need cutting-edge innovation and power to perform at the highest level. By equipping ORDER’s esports athletes with Alienware’s top-of-the-line, high-performance gaming PCs, the team has an edge to compete at a world-class level – they’ll also gain knowledge and insights from Alienware’s decade-long experience in supporting esports around the world.

Dell’s General Manager – Consumer and Small Business, Ben Jackson. Photo by Chris Pavlich/The Photo Pitch

Jackson added, “We are whole-heartedly committed to the Australian esports industry and gaming community pushing forward both in national and international competition. We are fostering and nurturing new talent and cultivating an environment for all gamers – professional and amateur – where they can strive to improve, learn new skills and be equipped with what they need to level up.

“We look forward to working with ORDER as the Australian esports industry and local gaming community grows.”

Taking away some incredible victories at the Gfinity Australia Elite Series, ORDER is the new kid on the block who’s arrived as a serious competitor, both locally in Australia and internationally.

“ORDER is thrilled to have Alienware join us as a major partner in 2019 to support our teams,” said ORDER CEO, Chris Derrick, said: “Last year, we have established ourselves as being highly competitive in the Australian esports scene, winning the club championship of Gfinity series 1 and series 2, won our first international tournament and established ourselves as a destination club for esports players.

“High performance and professionalism is core to the ORDER team and we’re excited to have Alienware powering our League of Legends and CS:GO teams with their powerful gaming machines.”

Alienware Aurora

This partnership sparks an exciting time for Australian gaming and esports fans alike. Alienware’s long history of supporting gamers of all levels of experience, such as the Alienware Training Centre, Alienware Arena hub and Alienware Command Center, means it wants to partner with the best. And for Alienware, partnering with ORDER is a no-brainer.

Alienware’s decades-long commitment to esports has helped launch an international Alienware Training Facility in Los Angeles for aspiring gamers. Esports fans in Australia won’t have to miss out on the action, however, with free-to-use online training available on the Alienware Academy platform.

The post Game ON as Alienware & ORDER Announce New Partnership appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Gaming PCs are some of the most powerful personal computers on the market. With high-end CPUs, giant GPUs and an array of RGB lights, fans, flashy RAM and storage drives, they are often sights to behold. But once you take into account an ATX case, a monitor, keyboard and mouse they often dominate the room they’re in, demanding a large desk, resolutely pinned down to one location.

It’s long been the dream to take all of that power and wrap it up in a portable device. Small form factor PCs, like mITX cases help somewhat, and gaming laptops have been around for a long time now, but they have often (though not always) had compromises in terms of CPU power, noise or thermal limits.

Alienware’s 17 R5 laptop is an attempt to solve this problem, to have one’s cake and eat it too. It features a ridiculously powerful 6 core / 12 thread CPU that routinely turbos up to 4.2GHz, a Max-Q GTX 1080, up to 32GB of RAM and a gigantic 17” display. It’s a gaming and productivity workhorse, with enough power to drive almost any task you could throw at it. But does it manage to power past the compromises that have held back most gaming laptops from greatness so far? How can such a huge amount of power even work in a laptop form?

Firstly, let’s talk about the design.

There’s no doubt that the Alienware 17 R5 is a large machine. A Razer Blade Stealth this is not. Designed to be a full desktop replacement, it is portable mainly in the sense that it can be picked up and moved around easily, not that it would fit into your laptop as an everyday carry. While that may put some people off, that’s the trade off it makes for its power and large screen. It features a good (though not exactly resplendent) array of ports too, including a wide range of external display options, including USB-C, Mini Displayport, HDMI 2.0 and Thunderbolt 3 – which will be great for faster network access or for future GPU upgradability. It also keeps around two USB-A ports and the usual headphone jack. My only annoyance was that there were no USB-A ports on the rear of the device, meaning my mouse and headphone dongle stuck out from the laptop like little T-Rex arms.

But at least those stubby dongle arms will be well lit by the 17 R5’s RGB lighting, including its surprisingly small RGB trackpad. In comparison to the garishness of most modern RGB-festooned “gaming” branded equipment, the RGB lighting on the keyboard, trackpad and external chassis was thankfully limited, and restrained – this laptop won’t be mistaken for a Christmas tree anytime soon and wouldn’t look out of place at work.

The large screen is bright and vibrant, with good colour reproduction, even at angles. It is G-SYNC, which will benefit gamers stressing the GTX 1080 and help it hold up over time as games become more demanding and eventually run at sub-60FPS on the built-in display. Disappointingly, it is only 1080p and 60Hz, to me a baffling decision that means the laptop by itself fails to make the most of its huge amount of grunt. Seemingly 1440p is available in other markets, but on Dell’s Australian website I could only see a 1080p option. While 4K gaming is only just in reach of the very best 20 series NVIDIA GPUs, I would have preferred either a 1440p 60Hz or a 1080p 144Hz display. On the other hand, at the moment there will be almost no game that is able to make the 17 R5 break a sweat (as we will see later), and it will maintain above 60FPS and native resolution even in the most stressful situations.

Over a number of games, the 17 R5 proves itself, with strong results across the board. In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, a 2018 title finishing up the successful 2013 reboot of the franchise, the 17 R5 manages an average of 89.6FPS on Very High at 1080p. In Deus Ex: Mankind Divided the laptop completes the benchmark at 54.8 FPS in DX12, 59.7 in DX11, and with some small tweaks to shadows and running only TAA with no MSAA, you can get it running above that magic 60FPS mark at 80.7FPS.

In esports titles such as Fortnite, CS:GO and Overwatch, the R5 tears strips off these games, and you’ll have no issues running these at Max settings and high frame-rates. CS:GO averages 325 FPS, Fortnite runs at 128.8FPS and Overwatch averages over 160FPS.

Even PUBG runs at an average of 102FPS, though the moment to moment gameplay may vary from this average based on what’s happening on screen. In DOOM 2016 using Vulkan it seemed we were limited by a FPS cap of 200, which it ran at for a large portion of the the time, with even the 0.1% lows at 139.9 FPS. Other non-benchmarked games like Battlefield V also performed excellently, and of course indie titles or less-demanding games such as Cities: Skylines run great.

The 17 R5 also gave excellent scores in specialised benchmarks, with 3DMark’s Timespy giving an overall mark of 6950 and FireStrike Ultra (4K) providing a score of 5115.

The 17 R5 isn’t a cheap machine, and the larger range of tasks that you can find for it the easier it is to justify. Luckily, for productivity tasks the 17 R5 is a great mobile workstation, with excellent results in synthetic and productivity tests. Cinebench is marked at 936 on its CPU test, which is impressive given the power and thermal constraints of a laptop chip. Geekbench 4 scores are even more telling, posting 5529 for single and 20808 for its multi-core results. The single-core performance here is especially impressive, given that the R5 17 can maintain a higher clock on a single thread in its power and heat-limited environment.

So for gaming on the go or just not to have a full-sized PC tower, or engaging in some productivity tasks (with this level or performance and its screen size, this laptop would be great for working in a co-working environment for example), the Alienware R5 17 will be able to meet whatever task you throw at it. The combination of a Core i9 8950HK and Max-Q 1080 are a potent combination that will let you get your work done, and take some time off afterwards with even the most recent 3D titles.

But is performance limited anywhere else? How does the laptop deal with the limited thermal envelope of a laptop chassis? Let’s start by examining the noise. On its default “balanced” power plan setting my review unit maintained an audible use of its fans, seemingly as the clock speed of the CPU tried to maximize itself at around 4.3GHz or even 4.4GHz. Turning the power plan to “power saver” fixed the issue, running the fans at a much lower, almost silent volume and down-clocking the CPU to around 3GHz or lower – which is still plenty to play many titles and to do your usual web searches, emails or word processing. I’m not sure why this is happening, perhaps it’s an issue with the way the BIOS or Windows is handling the CPU P-States or other aspects of power management in the device, but at least there’s an easy fix.

Of course, when set to high performance in a modern AAA game or productivity app, and the CPU and GPU really stretch their legs, the laptop throws everything at trying to cool itself down. Heat pours out the back and left hand side of the laptop as the fans run at full blast. The top decibel reading I got was about 65dB, enough to hear from another room, and almost necessitating headphones to block out the noise.

But it’s hard to complain about that, given the results I have had so far, and I appreciate that I was able to make the choice between noise and performance, with one exception. Thermal performance while gaming with an unlocked frame rate was unfortunately hit or miss. Sometimes the Core i9 processor would hit the 100 degrees mark, causing some drastic drops in FPS when running at that temperature as the CPU emergency downclocks itself to prevent it from melting down. Nevertheless, with the display capped at 60FPS, for the most part this situation can be easily avoided by sticking a 60FPS cap on a game or by enabling V-Sync, and is more a symptom of benchmarking than real-world gaming use of this device. It could, however, affect some productivity workloads, though unless these workloads address both the GPU and CPU simultaneously as in gaming, it shouldn’t be as much of an issue. For example, CPU core clocks under prolonged CPU load tended to settle down at 3.1GHz, below its peak of 4.2GHz but still 200MHz above the base clock of 2.9GHz.

If you want a computer with some of the most powerful PC components, but also want to take it places – LAN parties, trade shows, your mate’s place – or to simply make it easy to put away and keep your space clean, or you don’t have the space for a full PC set up, the Alienware 17 R5 is a great choice. It’s peak portable power, though that still comes with the trade-off of heat and noise. Unfortunately this isn’t the laptop that allows you to have your cake and eat it too, heat and noise are still issues, though it does a reasonable job at managing itself.

And while I tested the top end configuration with an eye-watering recommended retail price, there are many customisation option to fit varying budgets. While its straight up parts for parts price comparison with a DIY solution won’t be flattering to the R5, you do get the entire package in something much more manageable than a tower PC, as well as extended support through Alienware. Would I buy one?

It’s tempting, to get back all that space on my desk, and to be able to play wherever I want (family holidays anyone?). If I were starting from scratch with no gaming PC to speak of, it’s a great start, and given future GPU upgradability is possible with the Thunderbolt 3 port, it’s certainly a solid option that could last you years to come.

The post Alienware 17 R5 Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Engineering is the branch of science and technology involved with the design and building of machines and it’s not every day that a machine gets smaller and lighter while maintaining premium performance.

Now, Alienware is proud to announce the Alienware m15 with their “Epic” industrial design featuring magnesium alloy surfaces built for both power and portability. Available in Epic Silver and Nebula Red, Alienware m15 lets gamers play where, and how, they want to play – without sacrificing the performance they have come to know and love from Alienware.

Whether heading to a friend’s house to chew up opponents in a late-night battle royal game, spectating your favorite esports tournament on-the-go or dominating from the hotel on your next road trip, it’s a light-weight piece of artillery that will deliver powerful PC gaming experiences.

Adding to a growing and award-winning portfolio of gaming systems, the Alienware m15 is the lightest and thinnest 15” gaming laptop ever from Alienware and the best solution for gamers who prioritize weight and thinness allowing for even more portability. Attuned to the evolving on-the-go lifestyle of the gaming community, Alienware has in its DNA a 22-year history of designing premium, high-performance desktops, laptops and other PC gaming devices. Both Alienware and Dell share a commitment to innovation driven by visionary pride, consumer need and community.

Did Alienware compromise performance and quality by going thinner and lighter on the m15? If you know Alienware, you don’t need to ask. Optimized for performance, quality and maximum mobility, our design and engineering teams worked tirelessly to pack it all into a form factor approximately 14.3” by 10.8” and less than .83” from front to back cover, weighing a mere 4.78 pounds. Its sleek design features a narrow side bezel to maximize screen space to view explosive action and another first, a numeric keypad on a sub-17” Alienware laptop. The new Alienware mSeries keyboard even features 1.4mm of key travel, anti-ghosting keys and four Alien-FX enabled zones to light up the room during any gameplay, while also supporting in game lighting reactions for over 150 game titles.

The Alienware m15 cranks up the performance with 8th generation Intel processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 OC and 1070 Max-Q graphics cards capable of VR and beyond, with additional support for the Alienware Graphics Amplifier. Of course, it comes with all the bells and whistles you expect, including our Alienware Command Center technology with AlienFX customizable RGB-lighting across six unique zones, Alienware Cryo-Tech 2.0 for superior thermal management, and while on idle up to a maximum of 17 hours of battery life with the optional 90Whr battery. It’s a lean and efficient gaming machine.

Ben Jackson, General Manager, Consumer and Small Business, Dell ANZ said: “As the gaming community evolves, so do the requirements of the devices gamers use. Australian and New Zealand gamers have a high take up of new technology and, like everyone else, are increasingly on the go – whether they’re commuting to and from work or meeting up with friends. Our State of Gaming survey discovered that 43 per cent of ANZ gamers love travelling and 60 per cent love spending time with friends, so the demand for a premium, ultra-portable gaming laptop is there. With the new Alienware m15 being thinner and lighter without compromising on power and performance, gamers can be confident that their game-play on the go will not only be powerful, but comfortable as well.”

For sale globally on October 25th, 2018, starting at $1,299 USD, $2799 AUD, $3099 NZD, direct from Alienware.com and in retail stores. You can check out the Alienware m15 at this years Australia PAX for a hands-on.

GAME ON! Any Time! Any Where!

The post Designed to Pack Power appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

All PC Gamers know that Alienware are serious when it comes to PC gaming.

This is what they do and they do it with unrivaled expertise.

From their laptops to desktops and monitors, Alienware, owned by Dell, also produce PC gaming peripherals.

Dell has sent STG one of their newly released Pro Gaming Keyboards to have a play with.

The single corded USB plug is simply plug and play.

The RGB illumination will instantly kick into effect. The lighting is not just the keys, Alienware have added stealth lighting to the Pro Gaming Keyboards casing aswell, making the keyboard’s base light up giving it an almost hovering experience.

Customizable via the downloadable Alienware Command Center software, the RGB lighting can be tailored to suit your personal preferences or to the game you are playing. It can also be instantly turned off aswell via the Alienware button to the top right of the unit.

Setting up hotkeys and short cuts is simplistic aswell – again you will need the Command Center software to do this via it’s GUI.

To the left of the Pro Gaming Keyboard there’s a series of separate illuminated keys; 1 – 5. These are your specialist keys and can be used for whatever your gaming heart desires. In all there’s up to 15 on-the-fly programmable macro keys and all are built with Anti-ghosting and N-key rollovers.

Whether gaming or using as a ‘normal’ PC keyboard, the mechanical tactile keys are fully responsive and the biggest feature that I noticed is the soft to touch keys. The Pro Gaming keyboard can be like typing on marshmallow for your fingers.

The side keys are a little close together though – this meant when typing I really had to watch the text on screen as the CAPS button was real easy to bump and turn on. All keys have a low impact, so this meant the slightest nudge would set everything in to CAPs.

Most PC gamers will have a headset – or a booming sound system hooked up to their laptop or RIG. Alienware know this and also added volume controls to the Pro Gaming keyboard which will work with any media that you maybe playing.

Weighted at 1,460g – the Alienware Pro Gaming keyboard is not likely to slide about your desk in the moments of heated fierce battle and the hard plastic casing is likely survive alot of punishment.

The Alienware Pro Gaming keyboard is yet another weapon in your gaming arsenal to wield, and has been built and designed for the more experienced gamers aswell as those that are just starting out or dabble in PC gaming bouts every now and then.

Embrace an Alien takeover as they equip you with the power to game like a Pro.

The post Alienware Pro Gaming Keyboard (AW768) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.