Alienware's skinniest gaming laptop now available starting at $1,380

The planets seem to have aligned for Alienware to join the club of gaming laptop manufacturers, embracing Nvidia's Max-Q low-profile design. While some other manufacturers have moved on to their second-generation models, Alienware is finally getting ready to launch its debut entrant, the Alienware m15.

It's shipping now starting at $1,380, a little higher than the $1,300 initially pitched by the company. (UK and Australian details weren't available, but directly converted, that's roughly £1,070 or AU$1,950.)

The Max-Q design plus thinner display bezels lets the company shave roughly 0.2 inches (4 millimeters) off the thickness and about an inch off the other two dimensions -- and a nontrivial 2.8 pounds (1.3 kilograms) off the weight. Despite this, it essentially maintains the same aesthetic as its big brother, the Alienware 15 R4. It also has an updated cooling design to compensate for the smaller chassis and for the reduced noise required by the Max-Q architecture.

The m15 delivers smaller, lighter Alienware

+14 More

See all photos

While it offers the same display options as the bigger system, you can't get them with G-Sync enabled internally. You can still drive an external monitor with G-Sync via the Mini DisplayPort connection, though.

There's nothing here that screams "worth the wait!" unless it performs better than average. But Alienware fans who've been waiting for something lighter and slightly more modern than the standard fare may be intrigued.