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 slated to ship at the end of October starting at $1,300. (UK and Australian details weren't available, but directly converted, that's roughly £1,000 or AU$1,830.)

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.

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.

Display options	15.6-inch 1,920x1,080 60Hz IPS, 300 nits 72 percent NTSC; 1,920x1,080 144Hz TN with 5ms response time; UHD 3,840x2,160 60Hz IPS, 400 nits, 100 percent sRGB
Processor options	Intel Core i5-8300H, Core i7-8750H
GPU options	Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 (overclocked), GTX 1070 Max-Q
Memory	Up to 32GB DDR4 2,666 MHz
Storage	Up to 2TB
Networking	Killer Networks E2500 Gigabit Ethernet, Dell 802.11ac 2x2 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0; Killer Wireless 1550 2x2 AC and Bluetooth 5.0 (optional)
Connections	2x USB 3 Type-A, 1x USB-C/Thunderbolt, HDMI 2.0, Mini DisplayPort 1.2, Alienware Graphics Amplifier, audio out, headphone
Battery	60Wh; 90Wh optional
Dimensions	0.8 x 14.3 x 10.8 in (21 x 363 x 275 mm)
Weight (est.)	4.8 pounds (2.2 kg)
Price	Starts at $1,300