As Dell’s self-proclaimed “world’s thinnest laptop”, the Alienware x14 is certainly compact piece of hardware. And what Dell has managed to pack inside this tiny chassis is surprising. It is almost as if Dell Alienware is using the same technology as used in the T.A.R.D.I.S.

If you don’t understand that reference, go search up Doctor Who and his T.A.R.D.I.S. “It is bigger on the inside than it looks from the outside.”

Performance

Straight up, gaming on the x14 is everything you would expect from a machine with this hardware under the hood. The RTX-3060 GPU combined with the 12^th Gen Core i7 allows gaming at higher than average quality and frame rates. Playing games like Destiny 2, God Of War & Forza Horizon 5 can be enjoyed at over 60fps in FHD with ease, while bumping up to 1440p does require a little graphical tweaking at times to keep that smooth frame rate at or above 60fps. Still, there is nothing too shabby about 1440p60 gaming in my opinion.

Should you want to try some 4K gaming, go for it, but you will sacrifice quality for quantity when it come to frame rate here. Even when utilising DLSS to help beef up the FPS.

For those who like to create, thanks to beefy overhaul of the 12^th gen intel chips compared to the 11^th gen, the Adobe suite of apps work wonderfully on the x14 even though the 3060 GPU isn’t the most powerful of video cards.

One issue still remains with the x14 as with just about every other gaming laptop out there, and that is heat dissipation. As with almost every other Alienware gaming laptop I have tested, except one, the keyboard gets extremely hot in any extended session that is putting a heavy load on the hardware.

The thing is, if you want power and real portability, heat dissipation is always going to be a very high hurdle to jump for any hardware manufacturer in the laptop world. I say “real portability’ because you can have a laptop that is portable and deals very well at expelling all that heat, but the portable part while true, doesn’t deter from the thickness and weight of such machine. See Alienware Area 51 r2 – My favourite of all Alienware laptops.

Battery

As with the majority of gaming laptops, battery life is generally average at best. I mean, these laptops aren’t meant to be run for long periods on battery, and there is always a balancing act to be had, but at least you can charge this beasty with USB-C. No, it doesn’t mean you can use your USB-C charger that came with your phone, BUT, you can use your laptop charger with your USB-C equipped phone if needed. So at least you aren’t necessarily adding yet another charger to your backpack.

The x14 carries the familiar Alienware look and the chassis is constructed using magnesium alloy, stainless steel & aluminum to aide in a lightweight, yet solid laptop build. Also of note, the x14 uses a new hinge design that allows it to move back and forwards along a track. This helps add durability and tension, which helps by creating less wobble and lasting longer.

My Thoughts

Overall, I really like the x14 and what it offers as an all-round package. I can’t say that it excels at any one thing in particular, but it does its best to balance power, speed, portability & battery life with a good result. I don’t think you can ever really get the best of everything in a laptop because thermals, weight and price have to meet the realistic needs of the consumer, but the x14 does a damn good job of stepping up to the plate and having a swing at it!

Head on over to the Alienware store to have a look for yourself….

Specifications

• Processor

  12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700H (24 MB cache, 14 cores, 20 threads, up to 4.70 GHz Turbo)

• Operating System

  Windows 11 Home, English

• Video Card

  NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060, 6 GB GDDR6

• Display

  14″, FHD 1920×1080, 144Hz, Non-Touch, 3ms, Advanced Optimus, ComfortView Plus, NVIDIA G-SYNC

• Memory *

  16 GB, LPDDR5, 4800 MHz, integrated

• Hard Drive

  512 GB, M.2, PCIe NVMe, SSD

• Choose your colour

  Lunar Light

• Microsoft Office

  None

• Security Software

  No anti-virus software

• Support Services

  1Y Premium Support and Onsite Service

• Accidental Damage Protection

  NONE

• Keyboard

  Alienware X Series 1-Zone AlienFX keyboard – US International

• Ports

  1 USB 3.2 Gen 1 port
  1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C^® with Power Delivery and DisplayPort™
  1 Thunderbolt™ 4 port with Power Delivery and DisplayPort™
  1 Thunderbolt™ 4 port with Power Delivery and DisplayPort™
  1 headset (headphone and microphone combo) port
  1 HDMI 2.1 port

• Slots

  1 microSD-card slot

• Dimensions & Weight

  Height (rear): 14.50 mm (0.57 in.)
  Height (peak): 14.50 mm (0.57 in.)
  Height (front): 14.50 mm (0.57 in.)
  Width: 321.50 mm (12.65 in.)
  Depth: 262.77 mm (10.34 in.)
  Starting weight: 1.79 kg (3.96 lb)*
  Maximum Weight: 1.84 kg (4.06 lb)*

• Camera

  720p at 30 fps, HD RGBIr camera
  Dual-array microphones

• Chassis

  AlienFX Lighting Zones
  Programmable with up to 16.8 million distinct colors

  Color Options
  Lunar light

  Customized Features
  Alienware Command Center
  AlienFX Lighting Technology
  Game Library with auto-tune game profile functionality

  Keyboard
  1-zone RGB keyboard
  Includes N-key rollover technology

  Touchpad
  Microsoft Premium Precision Glass TouchPad with Muti-touch Gesture

• Wireless

  Intel® AX211, 2×2 MIMO, 2400 Mbps, 2.40/5/6 GHz, Wi-Fi 6E (WiFi 802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.2

• Primary Battery

  6 Cell, 80 Wh, Lithium Ion, Alienware Battery Defender

• Power

  130W Type-C Small Form Factor adapter

Written by: Kurt Frohloff

A Founder of MKAU, a gamer, a family man. I have a love of all things gaming and a wish of mine is to have more time to actually play the games we review here!