Alienware’s new gaming laptops are insanely thin

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Alienware just announced the first rework of its X-Series gaming laptops for some time, and they’re the thinnest ever from the company. The tiny housing doesn’t skimp on internals though, with 11th-gen Intel CPUs and Nvidia 30-series GPUs baked inside.

I’m not sure what technowizards Alienware has working for them, but their new X-Series laptops seem impossibly thin. The new “Legend 2.0” design language slims the x15 and x17 down to less than 16.3mm on the 15-inch model and less than 21.4mm on the larger 17-inch model.

READ MORE: Alienware’s new laptop display has a ridiculous 480Hz refresh rate

The screens on the new range can be ordered in 120Hz, 165Hz, 240Hz or even 360Hz versions depending on which model and size you’re picking, and external displays are handled by an HDMI 2.1 port.

Alienware has put the majority of ports on the back edge, so cables don’t get in the way of your mousing hand while gaming. That’s thoughtful of them.

Now, anyone who’s carried a gaming laptop around knows that they’re heavy, partly from the cooling systems needed for top-tier components. The x15 is only 5lbs, or 5.2lbs if you add extra storage. The 17-inch x17 weighs in at 6.65lbs, or 7.05lbs fully specced out.

READ MORE: Alienware just launched new Ryzen-powered gaming laptops

Your arms will thank you for that reduction in weight without sacrificing cooling as Alienware’s Cryo-Tech has a new gallium-silicone thermal material to wick heat away from your components and into the heat pipes. Four cooling fans then help transfer that into the air and out of your laptop to game without slowdowns due to heat issues. Those fans are now intelligently controlled by AI, to optimize airflow. Nice.

Oh, and the 240W power brick has been slimmed down too, so you don’t need to carry a literal brick around to power your laptop. You even get a Thunderbolt 4 port that supports power delivery, so you can charge with almost any USB-c charger if you’re caught away from the laptop’s actual charger.

You can order the new x15 and x17 starting today, with limited options. If you don’t see the config you want, Alienware says they’ll all be available on June 15.

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Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.