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Alienware updates m17 R5 and x17 R2 gaming notebooks with an 'industry-first' 480Hz panel

By The Count - on 22 Jul 2022, 10:40am

Alienware updates m17 R5 and x17 R2 laptops with an 'industry-first' 480Hz panel

Alienware is also touting new AMD-centric features for the m17 R5. (Image source: Alienware)

If you thought 360Hz was just a bit excessive, it seems it wasn't even enough for Alienware. The gaming-focused subsidiary of Dell has launched its first (and maybe even the first) notebook with a 480Hz refresh rate panel, in the form of a new configuration option for its m17 R5 and x17 R2 gaming notebooks. In addition, the AMD Advantage versions of the m17 R5 will also be getting a slew of AMD technologies and features.

But before that, let's get into the big kahuna with these two. The m17 R5 and x17 R2 now feature a 1920x1080 480Hz 3ms panel option, which falls squarely in the 'fast' camp of displays rather than the 'pretty' camp. This new panel complements a 4K 120Hz 3ms configuration for the m17 R5 which is the highest resolution you can get for this laptop, and a 1080p 360Hz 1ms option, which is currently the m17 R5's fastest display configuration.

As for the x17 R2, the new 480Hz display option is a step up from the laptop's fastest 1080p 360Hz 1ms configuration.

The Alienware x17 R2. (Image source: Alienware)

The 480Hz-configured notebooks will also be complemented by existing Dell features, including ComfortView Plus, which is a hardware-based low blue light filter, Dolby Vision and Advanced Optimus, which controls the MUX switch for switching between the integrated and dedicated GPU (though, as it's an NVIDIA-built feature, it may not be available on AMD Radeon configurations).

As for the AMD Advantage versions of the m17 R5, which feature both Ryzen processors and Radeon graphics, specific configurations will be getting some special AMD features. These include 

  • AMD SmartShift Max which switches power between a Radeon GPU and APU
  • AMD SmartAccess Graphics which enables discrete Ryzen or Radeon graphics to handle rendering while maintaining FreeSync (though it's only available for the Radeon 120Hz 4K configuration)
  • AMD FreeSync Premium

Speaking of the GPU and CPU, the m17 R5 is configurable with either a Ryzen 7 6800H or 9 6900HX processor, and either an AMD Radeon RX 6700M or 6850M XT GPU. Should you choose to go with an NVIDIA GPU, you also get quite a large range, with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, 3070 Ti and 3080 Ti available to you.

As for the Alienware x17 R2, it strays from the AMD route with a 12th Gen 17-12700H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 as its only CPU and GPU options at the moment (the latter of which you may have to drive hard to get the full 480Hz experience). However, Alienware's spec sheet for x17 R2 lists a 12th Gen i9-12900HK and two unspecified NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series GPUs as other configurable options, so we may see those down the line.

 

Availability and Pricing

The 480Hz display option will arrive on the Alienware m17 R5 and x17 R2 notebooks on 10th August. Though we don't have much information in regards to how much the displays will add to the price, the current starting prices for the two notebooks are S$3,049 and S$3,039.21 respectively. If you want to check out the m17 R5 and x17 R2 as they're offered now (or if you want to bookmark the pages), you can configure them at Dell's online store here for the m17 R5 and here for the x17 R2.

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