Alienware fully unveils new X-series to show what it can do

Back when Intel unveiled its latest H-series processors, Dell announced a bunch of laptops too. What might have flown under the radar at the time was the Alienware X-series, more specifically the X17. It was just a teaser, but now the wraps are being taken off.

In Dell’s blog post, it refers to the “X factor”, a quality that makes something great. It’s something that makes it stand out above the rest. With the Alienware X-series, this is where the company intends to show what it can do. As the blog post puts it, that’s where Alienware X-series “exemplifies our values of bold innovation, high performance, iconic design and premium quality.”

Alienware x17

The two laptops in the X-series are the Alienware x15 and x17, obviously 15- and 17-inch laptops, respectively. They’re showing up with the new Alienware design language, Legend 2.0, and that actually debuted with the latest Alienware m15. Obviously, Legend was the design language that we’ve been seeing for the past few years, and it’s been pretty iconic. These laptops are also strangely thin. The x15 is less than 16mm, and Dell is making the claim that it’s the world’s most powerful sub-16mm 15-inch gaming laptop.

Part of that is the new cooling, which is the main thing that it teased in May. Both laptops introduce a new thermal interface material called Element 31. It’s made from Encapsulated Gallium-Silicone liquid metal compound, and it sits between the CPU and thermal elements. Alienware is promising a 25% improvement over what’s available on the market.

Alienware x15

Thermals are super important when it comes to gaming laptops. The reason for this is because all of these PCs have the same parts, including 11th-gen Intel Core H-series CPUs and NVIDIA GeForce 30 series graphics. Whichever laptop can keep those components the coolest is the one that will get the best performance, and moreover, it’s sustained performance.

Another thing being touted with the Alienware X-series are the hexagonal vent patterns. The laptops are meant to be pretty, but they’re also meant to be functional. You get the pretty lighting, and those pretty vents also keep the machine cool.

Aside from the obviously 11th-gen Intel processors and up to an RTX 3080 GPU, there are plenty of other options. There’s a Thermal Control Circuit feature that lets you set a limit to the CPU temperature, and along with that, there are Tailored Power States including full speed, performance mode, balanced mode, battery saver, and quiet mode. All of those can tweak the cooling, the fan, and so on for different levels of performance or efficiency.

The Alienware X-series also comes with an optional Cherry MX keyboard with a 3.5mm ultra-low-profile design. This is a partnership that Alienware announced a few months ago.

Limited configurations of the Alienware X-series are available today, with the x15 starting at $1,999.99 and the x17 starting at $2,099.99. Full configurations will be available on June 15.

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