Alienware M15 vs Razer Blade 15: The Main Differences
The Razer Blade 15 outdoes the Alienware M15 in terms of design and portability. It is about 1.5-inches smaller and looks as stylish as a MacBook Pro. But if you want greater battery life and a 4-zone RGB Keyboard to get you into the mood, the Alienware M15 is the better choice. Both laptops cost around the same and have ample power to support all games.
If you have been on the lookout for a new gaming laptop under 2000, the two laptops you are likely to come across are Alienware M15 and Razer Blade 15.
But with both costing around the same and having equally good features, how do you pick one that is worth the money?
Well, experts at LaptopVerge did all the digging for you, and here are the pros and cons of each laptop so you can make an informed buying decision.
Alienware M15 vs Razer Blade 15 in Detail
Design and Portability
When it comes to design, there’s one thing common between the two, they both look modern and are much sleeker and lighter than previous generations without compromising on build quality (nope, gaming laptops are no more, hefty).
But as a comparison, Razer Blade 15 takes the cake. That is because the Alienware weighs a tad more than the Razer Blade 15 at 4.65lbs than the 4.40lbs of the Blade 15.
Furthermore, the Razer Blade’s compact profile (0.78″x9.25″x13.98″) means it has been compared to the likes of the Dell XPS 15 and the MacBook (a feat not many gaming laptops can boast of).
So if you are a person that likes to move around a lot and yet does not want to sacrifice game time, the Razer Blade 15 is going to be easier to carry around.
Don’t get us wrong, the Alienware isn’t too heavy and can be equally eye-catching with its soft-touch, Nebula Red lid, the bold Alienware Logo in tandem with the angled edges considering you are a person that loves such designs. But for many, the design is a bit over the top.
Display
Whether you are a professional gamer or a hobbyist when the battle lines are drawn, everybody wants to win, and giving you the edge over some competitors is the frame rate.
Both the laptops come with a 144Hz refresh rate if you go with the 1080p models giving you reduced blurring and ghosting. There are also 4K variants but you will have to compromise with the refresh rate which is 60GHz for both brands.
If you go for the higher-end models you can enjoy refresh rates of a whopping 300Hz which is one of the highest ever so far.
As for the display size, both laptops feature a 15.6-inch screen but it is the size of the bezel that differs. The Blade 15 has 4.9mm bezels whereas the Alienware has 5.6mm bezels which means you get a bigger display with even wider angles on the Blade 15.
If you are an outdoorsy person then the Alienware would best fit your needs as the display has a brightness of 300nits which means it will give you equally good colors and contrast in bright sunlight as well.
On the other hand, the Blade 15 has a brightness of around 262nits, a tad lesser but nonetheless, works well outdoors.
Battery Life
Don’t you just hate it when your laptop runs out of battery after just a couple of hours of Fortnite or FIFA? Well, not anymore.
Not just the size and portability, the new generation is turning over a new leaf when it comes to battery life as well.
The Alienware M15 features a 6-Cell Battery, 86WHr battery whereas the Razer Blade 15 comes with a 65WHr battery. This means the Alienware will easily give 5-6hrs of battery life even with full usage whereas the Razer Blade only manages to deliver 3-4hrs.
So if battery life is important to you, Alienware is the better choice. But if you go with the Razer Blade 15, you can boost battery life by reducing the frame rate from 144Hz to 60Hz whenever fit.
But it isn’t all bad for Razer Blade users. During a video loop test, the Blade managed to deliver 6-7hrs. This comes as no surprise since the Blade supports NVIDIA Optimus.
In case you didn’t know, NVIDIA Optimus automatically enables the use of the integrated graphics card in a laptop when it senses that the GPU’s power isn’t needed, in turn, saving you battery without compromising on power or speed.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Being a gamer, if you are picky about having only an RGB keyboard then the Alienware M15 will leave you disappointed. But if not, you might like the subtle Blue as it also makes it comfortable to use the laptop in offices, colleges, etc.
Alienware M15
Another minor drawback with the Alienware Keyboard is the 1.1mm travel time. The ideal travel time would be 1.5mm but the keyboard is still surprisingly comfortable and gives good feedback without being too bouncy.
The touchpad is smooth and accurate to use. That means functions like pinch-zoom, two-finger scroll, three-and-four finger, etc. take minimal effort.
Razer Blade 15
On the other hand, the Razer Blade comes with an RGB backlit keyboard that is clickier and has the perfect travel time (1.7mm) making gaming or even typing long-form emails, letters, or chats with teammates, etc. pretty easy.
Furthermore, each of the Razer Blade 15 keys comes with optical switches that allow the keys to recognizing every press more accurately and quickly (you just need to press them halfway).
Cooling
Alienware M15
The gaming laptop must remain cool all day long (you don’t want a frying pan, right?). For this purpose, the Alienware is fitted with Cryo-Tec cooling technology. This includes a vapor chamber that not just cools the laptop but also helps keep it compact and increases performance.
Furthermore, it has a dual-fan system that pulls in cool air from the outside and exhausts hot air through the multiple vents in the top, bottom, and rear.
Razer Blade
The Razer Blade 15 also sports a vapor chamber and thermal materials on the inside that help maximize performance by ensuring the heat dissipates quickly.
All in all, both laptops perform well when it comes to staying cool under pressure ensuring your laptop does not turn into a frying pan by the end of your marathon game-night.
Performance
Both brands of variants of the models thus when it comes to processor power or GPU units, are pretty much at par.
For example, the models we took for comparison come with a 10th Generation, 6-core, Intel® Core™ i7-10750H processor that clocks at 5GHz thanks to Turbo 2.0 technology.
Furthermore, both laptops also feature 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD which means all your games and apps load in seconds. Plus, you can run multiple tabs, windows, programs, etc. without the laptop lagging.
GPU
One of the main differences was the GPU unit. The Alienware came with the GeForce RTX™ 2060 6GB GPU whereas the Razer Blade was armed with the GeForce RTX™ 2070 with 8GB GPU which means Razer Blade, hands down wins this battle.
Not only does it have a more powerful, updated GPU but an additional 2GB of dedicated RAM which means you get an even smoother, fluid working/gaming environment.
Conclusion
Both laptops are pretty good gaming laptops if you need a gaming laptop less than $2000 and which model you opt for comes down to your budget and needs.
If you need a laptop with better battery life or a brighter display, the Alienware M15 should be your next laptop.
But if an eye-catching design, durable build, portability that is almost equal to a MacBook, and more graphics power is what you want, then the Razer Blade is the go-to choice.
