Conclusion

Powerful and stylish

The Alienware m15 R2 is one of the better-looking gaming laptops around today. If you found something like the Razer Blade 15 or Aftershock Vapor 15 Pro too plain, the m15 R2 may be right up your alley. Its design is both tasteful and futuristic, helping it stand out from the crowd in a big way. Build quality is absolutely stellar too, and it truly feels like a premium product in hand. 

But design aside, the laptop kind of fades into the background when compared to the competition. Gaming performance is good, but it's not significantly better than what other similarly configured notebooks offer. Furthermore, its thermal design isn't the best either and it could use some improvement when it comes to noise and heat.

One unique feature is the support for Tobii eye-tracking, but this really isn't much of a game-changer in the overall scheme of things. It's cool and nice to have, but it doesn't quite make up for Alienware not really taking care of more fundamental issues such as cooling and battery life. I'm not saying that the m15 R2 does terribly in these areas. The problem is that the competition does it better, and for a lower price too. 

At S$4,498, this is the most expensive GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q laptop I've reviewed so far (by a considerable degree) and it seems like the Tobii eye-tracking tech commands quite a premium. That's unfortunate since Tobii really doesn't offer enough core functionality to justify the higher price. While I totally understand that the level of integration does justify the premium, it's just that the applicability isn't as extensive for you to appreciate it all the time. Let's not forget that the fans can get fairly noisy too.

The Alienware m15 R2 feels like a luxury machine, and it's priced accordingly. If price is no object for you, I think you'll be very happy with Alienware's unique look and build. But if you're looking to get a more well-rounded laptop for your money, this isn't quite it.