The idea of using a gaming notebook as a workstation is actually obvious due to the similar hardware requirements. This is because the demands on the CPU, GPU, RAM and mass storage are high in gaming as well as in the areas of 3D, HD video and media content creation. If you take a look at the hardware equipment of the Alienware m15, you would be forgiven for believing it could be used as a workstation. The notebook was delivered in a sturdy shipping box, which keeps the device well padded on the inside.

Case

The housing of the m15 appears stable and accurately finished. All plastic parts are clean and flush, the display hinges are secure and run smoothly and evenly. The 15.6-inch UHD display with 4K resolution delivers good, high-contrast images even at less than ideal viewing angles and has enough brightness reserves to work outdoors on a summer’s day.
We were positively impressed by the keyboard, which, in addition to good keys and a generous surface area, even offers a full alpha-num pad, which makes it much easier to operate 3D, audio and video programmes. The track pad with two mouse buttons can also be controlled safely and precisely.

On the left side of the Alienware m15 is a USBA 3.1 port and the Gigabit LAN socket, with two more USBA 3.1 ports on the right. On the rear, Dell has accommodated the HDMI 2.0, a mini display port, Thunderbolt 3 and the Alienware Graphics Amplifier port.

Equipment

When selecting the CPU and graphics card for the Alienware m15, the maxim “a lot helps a lot” obviously applied. Dell has packed an Intel i9-8950HK CPU with six cores and the Nvidia Geforce GTX 2080 Max Q, one of the currently most powerful mobile graphics cards with 8 Gbytes of RAM, into the m15 and additionally garnished it with 32 Gbytes of RAM memory. This should be sufficient for most workstation tasks such as HD video editing or 3D modelling. However, the capacity of the internal NVME SSD could be a little tight, as only 256 Gbyte for programmes, one or two libraries and project data will quickly become cramped. However, it is then possible to connect a lot of fast mass storage via one of the available high-speed interfaces.

Performance

With the Intel Core i9-8950HK processor, the Alienware m15 achieved an impressive 2,546 points in the Cinebench 20 CPU benchmark, 1,221 points in the older Cinebench 15 and 117 frames per second in its OpenGL test for the Nvidia Geforce 2080 Max Q. The Alienware m15 also performed well in the V-Ray benchmark for CPU and GPU:
1 minute and 52 seconds of computing time for the CPU test and 1 minute and 43 seconds for the GPU test.
In the Blender 2.7 render test of the classroom scene, the i9 8950 HK needed 23 minutes and 44 seconds. With version 2.8, the same scene calculated on the CPU then only took 18 minutes and 6 seconds and just 4 minutes and 37 seconds on the GPU of the Geforce RTX. The unofficial Octane-Bench beta render test resulted in 151 points without and a whopping 445 points with RTX support.
With the default preset “4K Full”, the 256 Gbyte NVME SSD achieved 650 Mbytes per second when writing and 2,409 Mbytes per second when reading data with a continuous transfer rate of at least 1,182 Mbytes per second in the Aja system test. This is a little low for writing, but the Alienware m15 will probably not be used for 8K capturing.

The Dell Alienware m15 achieved the second-highest DPC latency value of 734 microseconds, traditionally caused by a Dell driver. This is a pity, because apart from this singular peak value, the latencies were in significantly lower ranges, which makes the Alienware m15 appear worse in this area than it actually is.
An Intel i9-8950HK CPU and an RTX 2080 are very fast, but they also have to be cooled somehow, which is always a bit difficult in notebooks due to the limited space available. If you then consider that the case is quite flat for the hardware power it contains, a thermal disaster seems inevitable. Even when idling, the Alienware’s fans repeatedly started up audibly. At around 20 to 30% load, the fans then ran continuously in the lower speed range.
During the test runs with the benchmarks, the fans then started up audibly to loudly and the underside of the case became noticeably warm after a few minutes. Under synthetic load with the Aida 64 stress test, in which the CPU, GPU, memory and all mass storage devices ran simultaneously at full capacity, the temperature of the CPU initially rose to 100°C and that of the GPU to 92°C. This led to the CPU clock frequency being reduced by 10 to 20% to protect the CPU from overheating. Normally, a notebook does not recover from such a heavy thermal load and continues to run at a slower pace under load. Not so the Alienware m15, which heroically picked itself up after about two to three minutes of thermal throttling of the CPU with audible fan noise and from then on continued to calculate unchecked with CPU temperatures of 92°C and GPU temperatures of around 80°C – permanently and without fluctuations. Although this is close to the limit, it is okay considering the form factor and performance. A warning for all male readers who have the idea of using the Alienware m15 under full load as a classic laptop on their lap: This could lead to thermal sterilisation in the long run.

Conclusion

The idea of misusing the Alienware m15, which was actually designed for gaming, as a workstation is not so far-fetched. There are a few points that will irritate professional workstation users, such as the many pre-installed software helpers and assistants that interrupt your work at the most inopportune moments and have to be deactivated manually. Or the relatively high fan noise under partial and full load, the low SSD storage space and the brief thermal throttling. In return, the user gets a computer with a huge variety of configuration options, a good display and casing and more than enough CPU and GPU performance to be able to work decently on the move without having to spend a fortune. And you can also use it for gaming.

The post Notebook Alienware m15 tested first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Björn Eichelbaum.

As you would almost expect from a gaming laptop, the Razer Blade was delivered in stylishly designed packaging, secure and shockproof. The bright green logo on the display lid is certainly not to everyone’s taste, but if young people like it …

Case

As soon as we unpacked it, we noticed the pleasantly high-quality feel of the black housing, which is largely milled from a single piece of aluminium. One disadvantage of the beautiful black surface is the fact that you can see almost every fingerprint and therefore constantly endeavour to avoid them.

Incidentally, the test device is the professional model, which houses an Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 and is slightly flatter than the normal model. All sockets, such as the USB or HDMI connections, appear firmly locked and of high quality. The power cable from the power supply unit to the notebook is angled and secured so well that it seems impossible to remove it unintentionally. This is not always an advantage, as notebook power supply cables lying loose in the area can be easily tripped over, the cable gets stuck and pulls the notebook down with it. Two plastic strips run from left to right on the underside of the case, which ensure an undisturbed flow of cooling air to the intake slots of the fans when the notebook is placed on a smooth surface.

Features

The first thing that catches the eye is the display with its narrow bezel and vibrant colours. For the fact that it is “only” equipped with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, but with a 144 Hz refresh rate, the resolution appears finer than it actually is. If that’s not enough, the Razer Blade can also be ordered with an optional 4K OLED touchscreen display. The viewing angles are wide from the sides, top and bottom and also allow several people to gather in front of the display, for example to watch a presentation or a video. If the display needs to be expanded with additional external monitors for a presentation, there are three simultaneously usable options with one HDMI 2.0, one Thunderbolt 3 and one mini DisplayPort.

As is usual with gaming notebooks, the keyboard is equipped with RGB backlighting, which offers various, extremely colourful lighting modes – don’t worry, the keyboard can also be illuminated in plain white. Nice detail: The FN shortcuts are now also RGB-illuminated. Unfortunately, the keyboard lacks an alpha-num pad, which is often used for transport control in video or for switching 3D views in Blender, etc.

With its six cores, the Intel i7-8750H CPU together with the 16 GB RAM should provide sufficient performance and memory for content creation. With the Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 8 Gbyte Max-Q, the Razer Blade is definitely up to date in terms of graphics cards and should also cut a fine figure in GPU-supported rendering. The capacity of the M.2 SSD with 256 GB is probably sufficient for gaming, but for HD video you will need to expand with external mass storage, which is easily possible via the Thunderbolt or USB interface. The quality of the integrated speakers is good and they are loud enough to produce an appropriate sound backdrop within the radius of the display.

Performance

In the Cinebench 20 multi-core CPU test, the Intel i7-8750H installed in the Razer achieved 1,918 points, compared to 923 points in the old Cinebench. Although this is the lowest CPU score in the test field, it is still possible to work quickly with this performance in most applications. The graphics card is more responsible for the large renderings, which calculates a good four times faster than the CPU in Blender 2.8, for example. The RTX 2070 needed just 5 minutes and 3 seconds for the classroom scene in Blender 2.8, whereas the i7 CPU needed 22 minutes and 26 seconds.

In the V-Ray render test, the i7-8750H calculated for 2 minutes and 47 seconds, while the Nvidia RTX 2070 Max-Q needed 1 minute and 37 seconds and output 15,111 frames per second in the Cinebench 15 OpenGL test.

With a write rate of 1,424 and a read rate of 2,417 in the Aja system test, the M.2 SSD delivered the expected transfer rates, and in the continuous transfer rate under HD Tune it was able to impress with 1,584 Mbytes per second.

The DPC latency left a less favourable impression. At 928 microseconds, it was the highest of all test computers, but still just within the tolerable range. However, with a little fiddling with the Windows services and installed additional programmes, it should be possible to reduce this value.

Even under full utilisation of all components in the synthetic stress test of Aida 64, all components remained within the safe temperature window and there was no thermal throttling at any time, so that the CPU and GPU were able to fully develop their performance at all times. The relatively low noise level emitted by the Razer’s fans was surprising in all benchmark runs. Although the Razer is audible under full load, the fan noise is in a frequency range that is perceived as less annoying.

Conclusion

Although the competition offers higher peak values in individual areas, the Razer Blade 15 impresses with its sensible hardware equipment, which can be cooled well and reasonably quietly in the compact case, even under everyday conditions. For workstation users, the Razer is also suitable for somewhat more demanding rendering or editing tasks thanks to the display connection options and GPU power.

The look and the RGB keyboard are certainly a matter of taste and disqualify the Razer for the gentlemen from the executive floor. For content creators, on the other hand, I can well imagine the Razer as a mobile addition, because after work a little gaming is supposed to relieve stress and inspire immensely. For the price of just under €2,500, the Razer Blade is a well-balanced, powerful notebook that doesn’t exceed its thermal limits and is also up to date in terms of rendering power thanks to the Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070.

The post Notebook Razer Blade 15 in test first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Björn Eichelbaum.