Alienware 13 Review: Portable Performer

The Alienware 13 is among the Dell subsidiary’s latest offerings. Dubbed as the king of the streets and master of the house, the latest from Alienware promises to deliver gaming-level performance into a portable chassis.

Configurations

The Alienware 13 comes packed with an Intel Core i5-4210U processor as well as a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 860-M graphics. The base model includes a 1366x768 display, 8GB of RAM as well as a 500GB hybrid hard drive. Buyers can upgrade all the way to a Broadwell Core i7-5500U processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB solid state drive and a QHD display.

Design

With its futuristic look, the Alienware 13 is definitely a head turner. This laptop shares design cues like the gray lid and black soft-touch accents with its bigger stable mates. However, it does so in a compact chassis. At just over an inch thick and weighing in at two kilos, it’s designed for the gamer on the go.

This gaming laptop comes in Epic Silver made from carbon fiber and plastic composites. Two slanted LEDs and the backlit alien head logo make for an elegant design. As is typical with Alienware, eight lighting zones can be customized separately.

Port selection includes three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI and DisplayPort. Also included are microphone and headphone jacks and a Graphics Amplifier port at the back.

Performance

The Core i5 processor and GTX 860M graphics are certainly more than enough to handle daily tasks. The Alienware 13’s true test lies in its gaming performance. Many balk at the processor and graphics card combination, doubting its ability to handle the latest games.

It may not pack as much hardware as its bigger brothers, but it can hold on its own. Games like Batman: Arkham Origins and Borderlands 2 ran at around 45-60 fps maxed out at 1080p. However, more graphically-intense games such as Dragon Age: Inquisition needs to be turned down for playable frame rates.

The Alienware 13 does come with a solution for those graphics-hungry games in the form of Alienware’s own Graphics Amplifier. The optional extra lets users harness the power of any desktop-grade graphics card. In effect, it enables a portable gaming laptop to perform at desktop levels. The solution doesn’t come cheap though, and you’ll have to supply your own graphics card. Still, Alienware should be commended for executing the idea.

Battery life is generally good for this laptop thanks to the low-voltage processor. The battery lasts up to five hours while surfing the web and two hours and fourteen minutes under load at maximum brightness. While abysmal for an ultrabook, the Alienware 13 manages to outperform other gaming laptops.

Verdict

Excellent build quality and a good overall design are some of the strong points of the Alienware 13. The 1080p display is ideal for this size and the keyboard is well suited for gaming.

The Core i5 and GTX 860M combo make the Alienware 13 a mid-range laptop. It gets the job done in most cases, but the Core i7 option might perform better, especially if you want to plug in the optional Graphics Amplifier.

Heat and noise never reach uncomfortable levels even while under load.

While it’s true that other laptops outpace the Alienware 13 in one aspect or another, nothing else comes close with the way it blends portability and performance.