Alienware Too Pricey? Meet Dell's Other Gaming Laptop

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TAIPEI, Taiwan -- When you think of Dell gaming PCs, the company's Alienware brand immediately comes to mind. However, those who want a simpler (non sci-fi) aesthetic and mid-range performance will soon have another compelling choice from the Texas-based company: a new 15-inch Inspiron gaming notebook.

At Computex, the company showed off a gaming-centric version of its Inspiron 15 7000 series, complete with strong Nvidia GTX 960 or 970M graphics, quad-core Intel 5th Generation Core i7 processors and full HD screens. A company rep also said a 4K screen would come later.

The notebook comes in two attractive color schemes: red with black accents and black with red accents. The color accent is carried over to all parts of the notebook, even appearing on as a stripe on the angular air vents.

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The most impressive part of the design is is the soft-touch finish that coats the deck. The palm rest felt soft and spongy when I touched it, ideal for long typing or gaming sessions. The keys themselves felt pretty snappy. Surprisingly, the touchpad is buttonless. Though such clickpads are now very common, most gamers still prefer discrete buttons.

Though the gaming-inspired Inspiron 15 will be a new product, Dell has been selling 14-inch Inspiron gaming systems in China for a while now. The company plans to make the 15-inch available all over the world, including in the U.S. However, when it does come to America, it will probably carry a different name than Inspiron 15 7000. Dell reps told us that the 14-inch notebooks have a different name in China as well.

Dell hasn't announced a shipping date or a starting price for the new Inspiron gaming notebooks, but with their mid-range specs, they could be presented as an affordable alternative to Alienware, whose 15-inch notebook starts at $1,199.

Avram Piltch
Avram Piltch
Online Editorial Director
The official Geeks Geek, as his weekly column is titled, Avram Piltch has guided the editorial and production of Laptopmag.com since 2007. With his technical knowledge and passion for testing, Avram programmed several of LAPTOP's real-world benchmarks, including the LAPTOP Battery Test. He holds a master's degree in English from NYU.