Alienware 17 R4 (Late 2016)

performance, reliability, durability, energy, price

portability

100% of the reviews on Amazon.com give this product a positive rating.

Worthy of the "desktop replacement" moniker ; Excellent performance even under full load ; Display comes in 1440p/120Hz and 4K variants

Tons of fan noise despite larger size ; Extra-large hinge/vent area makes an enormous laptop even more so ; Some of the lower-tier models make baffling choices (like only 8GB of RAM)

There are rough edges. Zone backlighting is a bit outdated, the fans are loud, battery life is average, and the extra inch-plus of venting adds insult to injury in terms of the Alienware 17’s size. I’d love to see Alienware branch out and bring its...

Top-end gaming performance. Highly configurable. Sturdy build. Attractive customizable lighting. Tobii eye-tracking. Plenty of storage. Strong array of ports.

Expensive. 9.7-pound weight and 2.5-pound power brick are not travel friendly. Short battery life. Loud fans under heavy load.

The revamped 17-inch Alienware flagship laptop delivers on the expectation of high-end performance, coupled with some premium extras and a sturdy but stylish design. You'll have to cough up for the fastest components, but the price falls in line with...

Strong gaming performance; Sharp and colorful quad-HD display; Long battery life on cheaper model; Graphics amp support; Plenty of ports

Bottom gets hot while gaming; Dim display on starting model; Slower SSD than on competing laptops;

Wide display options (FHD, QHD, UHD, 120 Hz, G-Sync, IPS, TN) ; 2x USB Type-C, Thunderbolt 3, Graphics Amplifier support ; no CPU or GPU throttling; extreme performance ; very high quality chassis; strong base and lid ; very fast display response times...

very warm CPU and GPU temperatures when gaming ; fans are always active and very loud when gaming ; slight creaking when opening and closing the lid ; fewer internal storage bays compared to 17 R3 ; fingerprints and grease accumulate quickly ; no...

We revere the Alienware 17 series for its high standards in quality that thankfully remain unfazed in this latest iteration. A notebook is about much more than just the CPU and GPU configuration, but also the skeleton and design that fortify the core...

Good feature and performance to price ratio. Excellent build quality and mature design. Many configurable options. Good CPU and GPU temperatures. Has both Thunderbolt 3 and Alienware Graphics Amplifier port for graphics upgrades later

Though slim the weight is very high at 10 pounds. Fans are a little louder than the 17" competition

Alienware laptops have grown up in looks and are modernized--gone is the ultra-chunky and overly aggressive look. We welcome the modern cooling design and lower heat internals that are very 2016, and the classy looking aluminum and soft touch black...

The Alienware 17 R4 is built like a tank, offers a well-designed lighting scheme and controls, and you can get a reasonably fast configuration for the money.

The fans are loud and seem like they're always on, battery life doesn't impress, could use more USB connectors and Alienware doesn't make it easy to tweak or monitor performance.

If you want something that's fast out of the box but don't yearn to endlessly fiddle for that last bit of speed, the Alienware 17 delivers.

There's no doubt that the Alienware 17 R4 is one of the most capable gaming laptops we've seen, making easy work of our CPU and GPU benchmark tests and providing generally smooth gameplay. The design is eye-catching too, sporting a flurry of...