Design
Alienware has been using its new "Legend" design for a few years now, and it's clear why it's stuck around. The Alienware m17 R4 is a gorgeous laptop, and while this design isn't new, it still feels like a rebellion against the edgy gamer aesthetic that has dominated the gaming laptop space for so long.
The model we have for review is the gorgeous Lunar Light colorway, which is white, with a black band around the back where the ventilation is. Along the back vent there is an RGB lighting strip, and it's kind of an iconic look at this point. In between the two giant vents on the back of the laptop, you have a number of ports - namely HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, power and the proprietary Alienware Graphics Amplifier port for an external GPU.
There are more ports along the side, too. On the right side of the laptop you get two USB-A ports and a microSD card reader near the front of the laptop. Over on the left there is another USB-A port, along with an ethernet and a combo 3.5mm audio jack.
Having all the display and expansion ports on the back of the laptop is one of the best things about the Alienware m17. It means that when you're gaming plugged in (which will probably be all the time), you won't have to fight against a mess of cables to get the job done.
The lid of the laptop is all white, with only the number '17' and an RGB Alienware logo. This theme is repeated on the keyboard deck, which is all white and is simply stunning. The power button is shaped like the Alienware logo and is RGB, along with the entire full-sized keyboard.
That's right, Dell has taken advantage of the extra space inherent in a 17-inch gaming laptop, and has included a numpad on the right side of the laptop. Numpads aren't quite as handy as there were in the past, but it's nice to have, especially if you do work outside of just gaming - and let's face it, these days our computers are way more important than ever before.
Luckily, the keyboard is nice and comfortable to type on. Travel isn't as deep as it could be, considering that this is a gaming laptop. This doesn't have the mechanical keyboard that something like the MSI GE75 Raider has, but it's definitely still good enough to get some gaming done. Though, pro esports players might want to invest in one of the best gaming keyboards.
Typing on this keyboard is great, but this is a laptop that weighs nearly 7lb, so it's not something that you're going to be using on your lap all the time to type up papers.