Alienware shows off its new laptops at CES 2022, featuring new chips and DDR5

Alienware just unveiled this year’s lineup of laptops at CES 2022, including a svelte 14-incher that is sure to please any gamer who wants a good mix of performance and portability.

Starting with the x-series, we have the Alienware x15 R2 and x17 R2 refreshes, featuring new 12th-generation Intel Alder Lake mobile chips, DDR5 memory, and Nvidia RTX 30-series graphics.

The x15 R2 will come with either a 300-nit 165Hz FHD or 360Hz FHD display, or a 400-nit 240Hz QHD display, all with Nvidia G-Sync. The x17 R2 will have options for a 300-nit 165Hz or 360Hz FHD panel, as well as a 500-nit 120Hz 4K panel.

All x15 R2 and x17 R2 configurations also come with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos certification.

Alienware x14 (Image credit: Dell)

The new Alienware x14 is the thinnest 14-inch gaming laptop ever at just 0.57 ins. (14.5mm), and also features the latest Intel Alder Lake Core i7-12700H chip, with 16GB or 32GB LPDDR5, and Nvidia RTX 3050, RTX 3050 Ti, or RTX 3060 graphics. 

The base power draw for the GPU is 60W, but the RTX 3060 configuration bumps this up to 85W with Dynamic Boost, so you don’t need to sacrifice too much performance for thinness. It’s also the first 14-inch laptop to support Nvidia G-Sync and advanced Optimus tech. 

The Alienware m15 and m17 gaming laptops also got refreshes this year, with the m15 R7 coming in both AMD and Intel varieties, including the new AMD 6000-series mobile processors and Radeon mobile graphics.

The m17 R5 and m15 R7 Ryzen Edition configurations take full advantage of the latest AMD technologies like AMD SmartShift Max, SmartAccess Memory, and SmartAccess Graphics, while also supporting dual-channel DDR5 memory.

Alienware also introduced a couple of new wireless peripherals, the Tri-Mode Gaming Headset and Tri-Mode Gaming Mouse.

The Tri-Mode headset features 40mm audio drivers with support for Dolby Atmos surround sound with active noise canceling. It connects via Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless, and has a claimed battery life of 30 hours on wireless and 55 hours on Bluetooth with Fast Charging for up to six hours on just 15 minutes of charge.

The Tri-Mode gaming mouse is an ambidextrous design that connects via 2.4GHz wireless or Bluetooth, and has a claimed battery life of 140 hours over wireless and 420 hours over Bluetooth. Fast charging tech will get you up to 20 hours of use off a five minute charge.

It also has a max sensitivity of 26K DPI, eight programmable buttons, and a magnetic snap charging adapter. The wired and 2.4GHz polling rate is listed as 1,000Hz, but Bluetooth 5.1 only has a 125Hz polling rate, so if you plan on doing any precision gaming, you’re better off using the 2.4GHz wireless or wired connections.

Follow all of our CES 2022 coverage to find out the latest news on the latest computing tech to expect this year.