Dell and RAMageddon are watering down the Alienware brand

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FollowSee All NewsDell and RAMageddon are watering down the Alienware brandThe new Alienware 15 sounds cheap — but it comes at a price. The new Alienware 15 sounds cheap — but it comes at a price. by Sean Hollister Sean HollisterSenior EditorPosts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.

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FollowSee All by Sean Hollister is a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget. I remember a time when Alienware refused to make a thinner laptop — the company didn’t want to compromise on its builds.

But today, Dell is slapping the Alienware name on a piece of hardware that sounds utterly watered down. It’s partly RAMageddon’s fault. The new five-pound Alienware 15 is supposedly an entry-level gaming laptop, one designed to invite those with less cash into the fold.

Industry Implications

That’s an admirable goal at a time all kinds of gaming hardware suddenly costs more. But unlike Alienware’s affordable $350 OLED monitor, the laptop does not sound like good value for the money. Even with a last-gen, entry-level Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics chip, you’ll pay $1,299 and up.

(In some markets the laptop will start with an RTX 3050 — a five-year old chip! ) An RTX 5050 will cost you $1,459 or more, and a mid-range RTX 5060 model costs $1,849 and up. For that kind of money you could easily find more powerful specs from a competing brand.

Generally, a 5060 laptop can be had for $1,400 MSRP or closer to $1,100 on sale. Dell’s RTX 5060 prices are squarely in RTX 5070 territory. Not a bad design, and it’s got a 180-degree hinge, but it definitely looks like a Dell.

This advance offers important signals about the future of the sector, and the tech world is watching closely.