You have two ranges – you’re pushing the Alienware OLED laptop and the Inspiron Gaming series branded as Dell; what are your key markets for them in terms of the perfect gamer/target audience?

Daniel: The rise in the popularity of gaming, combined with the advancements in PC gaming components and technology, made this the right time to invest in growing the Dell gaming business.

Alienware products represent cutting-edge technology, commercial-grade build, durability, premium materials, and iconic design with lighting effects and more – however we recognise that not all who play PC games (or their parents) can afford or want to invest in an Alienware premium systems with features such as VR, Tobii eye tracking etc. Dell’s new Inspiron Gaming line will allow Dell to leverage the learnings we’ve garnered from being in the gaming market over the past decade to bring the joy of PC gaming to more people.

Our research shows that gamers who prefer Alienware want high-end quality in graphics cards, processor speeds and memory, and enjoy VR experiences, while heavily influenced by the recommendations of professional players playing in League of Legends or Counter Strike gaming tournaments. Inspiron can power the latest PC games such as Titanfall 2, Overwatch, No Man’s Sky and many more, but ultimately, it’s the customer’s desire for performance and price that will drive their choice in gaming systems. The Inspiron 15 gaming laptop will be able to power top AAA games.  However, those seeking to play with the highest frame rates, top end graphics capabilities with the latest gaming feature advancements (including VR, Tobii eye tracking etc) will look to Alienware.

Do you think gaming laptops will ever surpass that desktop gaming rigs?

Daniel: With the launch of Nvidia Pascal architecture graphics cards, we have seen gaming laptops that are now extremely close in performance to comparable single graphics card desktop systems. I believe the two will continue to coexist with laptops for people that need their system on the go, or for those that want to use as little space as possible in their homes.

Where as desktops will be wanted by users that want to use multiple graphics cards (keep in mind our Alienware Area 51 can work with up to 3 graphics cards at the same time!) to either deliver above and beyond performance, or allow play with multiple high resolution screens for a maximum immersion.

Gaming laptops are usually either “cheap” but not that good or so expensive that they can be unattainable for some gaming enthusiasts. How are you looking to open up the current market to gamers who might only have around £600-800?

Daniel: We want to design systems that offer the best experience possible, without compromising on the quality and rigidity of the laptop chassis – after all, damaging your laptop on the go would be a terrible disappointment. Similarly we cannot compromise its thermal cooling design, which could also limit the performance of the processor and graphics.

In this price range, you could consider an Alienware Alpha ultra-small (20cmX20cm) and light (2kg) desktop that starts from around £549. However, the sub-1” Inspiron 15 Gaming is game-ready right off the shelf and delivers the most aggressive performance design and components offered within the Inspiron notebook family.

Equipped with 6th or 7th Gen Intel i5 and i7 Quad-Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti graphic card that bring environments of top PC games to life.  A redesigned chassis that comes in black complete with huge rear-exiting cooling vents and dual cooling fans to keep heat and noise away from user, plus deep-reserve battery life to game for up to 13 hours for uninterrupted weekend tournaments, ultra-high definition displays, and rich, immersive audio with Waves MaxxAudio Pro for additional sensory overload. The Inspiron gaming laptop starts at £799.

How are the two ranges you are looking to push different from say the Razer line of laptops or the MSI range?

Daniel: While the most important components are often similar across the main brands, what differentiates Inspiron Gaming and Alienware from the crowd is the quality of the components our customers will not always be able to see, but will most certainly appreciate.

For instance, our laptops are built with premium materials such as magnesium alloy for structural rigidity, anodized aluminium for protection, copper for thermal dissipation and maximal performance, and reinforced steel for the overall tactile comfort. The steel back plate under our Alienware keyboards that provides rigidity and solidity has been tested for over 10 million keystrokes.

Additionally, customer experience has always been Dell’s main focus, and we are able to offer attractive warranties and support that help provide the peace of mind which you may not be able to find elsewhere. We even offer Dell Premium Support with on-site repair for those systems eligible in select countries.

For someone looking to get a gaming laptop for the first time, what three tips would you give them?

Daniel:

1. Try get the best graphics card possible you can afford, as this is what will impact the gaming performance the most, and will maximise the lifespan of the system.
2. Do not overlook the performance gain you’ll have by getting a system with an SSD. Loading Windows and your games in a matter of seconds will have a huge impact on your experience vs. a regular hard drive.
3. Read as many reviews as possible before you make up your mind, and do not forget to check if the systems internals are as good as its other specs. It is common to find systems with great specs, at a great price, but limited by their heat dissipation systems. The thinner and lighter it gets, the more of a performance bottleneck cooling could be.

Your Inspiron 15 Gaming range, all come with GTX960M cards, was there a reason for them all to have the same? Do you think you’ll bring out a range which will have the later cards in or is this something you’d like to push with the Alienware range?

Daniel: In early January, we launched a new version of the Inspiron 15 gaming laptop, with Kaby Lake processors and the GeForce GTX 1050 and 1050ti graphics that were announced at CES a few days earlier. We are constantly re-evaluating our systems’ components to make sure our customers have as wide a choice as possible.

Same as the above question but the range also mainly has 8GB ram, apart from the highest tier. I tried to customise it to add more RAM but was unable to do so. With gaming/gamers needing more hardware, are you looking to increase the base ram memory as it probably would not affect the cost too much?

Daniel: This also has been considered with the launch of our new Inspiron gaming laptops, and now you can find two additional configurations with 16GB memory.

How are you looking at differentiating yourself now there are a lot of competitors starting to flood the market more than ever before?

Daniel: Dell will continue to innovate, focus on delivering the best customer gaming experiences, and always strive to find the components and technologies that allow us to improve our offering. We launched the first gaming laptop with an OLED screen last year, we have worked hand in hand with VR headset manufacturers to have both VR ready desktops and laptops, and we will keep adding or supporting any new technology that might improve or change the way we game.

What do you think gamers are looking for in a gaming laptop and how can/why should Dell be the answer?

Daniel: Gamers will be looking first at performance and price of course. Differentiation will come from service, design and lighting effects, options to choose the configuration you want and ease of upgrade. We have over 20 years of experience building innovative gaming systems and operate globally. With Dell, you can choose from a range of fantastic warranty options and configuration options, plus there are opportunities to upgrade your system over time, which is one of the many reasons why our systems have a very long lifetime and can be used for years.