In the market for a gaming laptop but cannot decide whether to go with a Razer laptop or Alienware laptop? You are in the right place.
Here’s a detailed Alienware vs Razer comparison that will clear all your doubts and trim down the pack to only the laptops worth your money.
Alienware vs Razer Blade
About Razer
Founded in 2005, Razer has successfully carved itself a name in the gaming industry with its compact, yet power-packed range of laptops.
Now, this range isn’t as wide as with other laptop brands like Dell, HP, etc. but if you are a serious gamer and streamer, their laptops are worth the consideration, and here’s why.
Design
Truth is, Razer doesn’t make cheap gaming laptops that cost less than $1000 and that shows in the build. With an Aluminum and CNC build, the chassis is strong enough to handle the rigors of gaming for years and yet remains light and portable.
And giving their laptops a premium look and feel is the black anodized finish along with the classic Snake Razer Logo that lights up every time you turn on the laptop.
Adding to the look and feel of a gaming laptop is the captivating RGB keyboard. Depending on whether you are going with the base model or the Pro mode, the backlight can be either be single-zone RGB or per-key RGB.
Typing on a Razer laptop is average. The chicklet-style keyboard means the keys have shallow travel. Though their bounciness makes up for it as they require minimal touch.
While the design is great for first-time users, anyone using a Razer for the last 4-5 years will be disappointed as it has few upgrades. That’s something we hope Razer has been sincerely working on especially after the upgrades ASUS has been coming up with.
Support and Warranty
While the design won’t be appealing to everyone, Razer hands down has one of the best customer support services even trumping the likes of HP, Dell, and Apple.
So if you are having trouble with your Razer Blade 15, expect the problems to be handled with care and solved in the fastest possible time whether it is via social media or webchat.
How quick?
Well, it took them bout 5 minutes to solve our problem via their chat support. Similarly, we got a reply to the email sent within 48-hours. You can expect quick responses on their social media pages.
But if these aren’t personal enough for you or take longer than the stated time, there’s a comprehensive phone support service as well that tops our charts.
We made a couple of calls with different problems. The first call took around 13 minutes while the other took about 11 minutes. As for the solution, they were bang-on and easy to follow.
Like any of the top laptop brands in the market, Razer also offers a 1-year warranty on their laptops. This warranty only covers technical faults and services. If you want the laptop protected against physical damage, you can get the RazerCare Elite that costs around $299.
Innovation
We already talked about the three-headed snake logo that is eye-catching and gives the laptop a bold look with the lights but there’s more.
And one of those features is their vapor chamber cooling. Furthermore, they utilize thermal materials that together do an amazing job of dissipating the heat ensuring you use the laptop for hours together without it turning into a frying pan.
The systems also include Synapse 3. This gives you complete control over the fan, keyboard lighting, profiles, and graphics performance so you get the best performance based on your preferences.
Lastly, their laptops are ultra-compact. For example, the Blade 15 is 0.70″ inches thin and weighs a mere 4.5 lbs.
Even the display has minimal bezels ensuring you get a large, wide display with 100% sRGB for excellent color production. As for the refresh rate, it can go up to 300 Hz depending on the variant so you do not have to worry about ghosting and blurring.
About Alienware
Did you know Alienware is a subsidiary of Dell? While Dell is known for its everyday laptops, Alienware is mostly about gaming. Founded in the year 1996, Alienware has gone to become one of the most highly-rated brands for gaming just like Razer and MSI.
And the reason they are so good comes down to their design and innovations. But all these frills do not come at a bargain. Like Razer, even Alienware manufactures powerful and fast gaming laptops so expect yourself to be paying over $1000.
Components
And what makes these laptops so fast are the latest 10th and 9th Gen i7 and i9 processors. As for the RAM, these can vary between 16GB to 32GB. In fact, with the Alienware AREA-51m R2, you can upgrade the RAM up to a whopping 64GB.
And giving you eye-popping graphics, are the dedicated graphics cards. Most of the latest Alienware laptops like the M15, M17, and Area 51M are equipped with the GeForce RTX™ 2080 SUPER.
Design
Gone are the days when Alienware laptops were heavy and bulky. With the advent of the new decade, Alienware has undergone a transition as well.
For example, the Alienware M15 weighs about 4.8lbs and is the lightest amongst the latest releases. As for the 17-inch laptops, the weight varies from 5.6lbs to 6.7lbs making them some of the lightest 170inch gaming laptops on the market.
Furthermore, the Legend Industrial Design is smudge-less. Yup, with an all-new coating, Alienware has ensured the laptop remains spotless even with all-day usage.
The laptops boast excellent durability as well. Constructed using a magnesium alloy, the laptops are rock solid while remaining light. Plus, it looks and feels premium and thus, sure gets tons of compliments.
The Alienware M15 compared to the Razer Blade 15 has a better keyboard. The 1.7mm travel time between the keys makes it ideal for typing. There is also the four-zone, multi-color RGB backlight, and giving you full control over it is the AlienFX Control.
Furthermore, you can choose between a 4k display or a Full-HD display. For gaming, Full-HD display is often the go-to choice since you get a higher refresh rate of about 300 Hz. Brightness can vary from 400-nits to 300-nits which is still bright enough to give you crystal clear images in the sunlight.
Support and Warranty
Razer might top the charts but Alienware easily makes the top 4 as far as customer services go. And one of the main reasons for that is their quick and efficient social media team.
Not as lightning-fast as Razer but you won’t be disappointed. They also have a webchat service and phone support if you are looking for something more personal.
The phone support can be a bit slow as a number of their agents were stumped on our questions about the OnScreen Display but their replies were efficient and solved our problems.
Another drawback of the service is that it isn’t 24*7. So if you get an error in the middle of the night, you will have to seek help from the Forum and FAQ sections on Dell’s website or wait for official hours.
As for the warranty, Alienware also provides a 1-year warranty on their laptops.
Alienware vs Razer Blade: The Main Differences
As you can see, Alienware does offer cheaper models than Razer for those who have a lower budget. In comparison, both offer a good amount of quality specifications for the price. However, Razer machines seem to include more of an edge when it comes to the innovative technology they include.
