Dell Fuels Inspiron 7000 Series, Alienware Gaming Laptops With Kaby Lake And GeForce GTX 10 Series
The Inspiron 14 and 15 7000 gaming notebooks are of course powered by the latest Intel Kaby Lake processors -- in this case, you have a choice of Core i5-7300HQ or Core i7-7700HQ processors. Systems come from the factory configured with 4GB to 16GB of RAM, but each supports up to 32GB.
Dell also gives you plenty of options when it comes to display choices (14-inch or 15.6-inch), as you have two 1080p IPS panels to choose (anti-glare or Truelife) along with a 4K (3840x2160) IPS anti-glare panel. Powering those displays are NVIDIA’s entry-level Pascal GPUs. The Inspiron 14 7000 can be equipped with the GeForce GTX 1050, while the Inspiron 15 7000 can be had with either the GeForce GTX 1050 or an optional GeForce GTX 1050 Ti.
To deal with the heat output by the Pascal graphics, the Inspiron 7000 Series notebooks have ventilation at both the front and back of the chassis, dual fans and oversized heat pipes/heat exchangers for additional cooling. Likewise, 56 WHr and 74 WHr batteries are standard on the Inspiron 14 and 15 7000 respectively.
Dell wisely offers SSD and HDD options, or hybrid offerings combining an SSD with a HDD. Up to a 1TB SATA HDD can be ordered, and Dell offers up to a 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. And for those that like to perform upgrades on your own, an oversized service bay door on the bottom of the notebooks gives you access to the memory and storage components.
For those that require a little more style and performance with their gaming laptops, there’s the new Alienware 13, 15 and 17. The Alienware 13 features a 13.3-inch display that is available in 1366x768 or 1920x1080 screen resolutions. There’s also an optional 2560x1440 OLED display that will set you back a pretty penny, but is well worth it once you see the inky blacks and vibrant colors. Quad-core Kaby Lake Core i5 and Core i7 processor are available and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti and GeForce GTX 1060 graphics options are available.
Up to 32GB of RAM can be installed the Alienware 13 supports a wide variety of SATA SSD and HDDs along with PCIe SSDs. You’ll also find a generous 76 WHr battery to keep you up and running when on the go.
The Alienware 15 carries on the same basic formula as its little brother but is available with a 15.6-inch 4K (3840x2160) IPS display, up to a Core i7-7820HK that can be overclocked to 4.4GHz and up to a GeForce GTX 1070. The Alienware 15 comes with a standard 68 WHr battery, but can be equipped with a 99 WHr battery if you need more juice.
At the top of the totem pole is the Alienware 17 with is available with a 17.3-inch 4K display, up to an Intel Core i7-7820HK and up to a GeForce GTX 1080. Despite the increased footprint, larger display and beefier GPU, the Alienware 17 still maxes out with a 99 WHr battery.
The Alienware 13, 15, and 17 are priced from $999, $1,199 and $1,299 respectively.