The year is 2026 and Alienware just launched an RTX 4050 gaming laptop for $1300

The hybrid Alienware 15 has just hit the shelves, aiming for a budget friendly price point for a hybrid work / play device. With all that in mind, though, the only two configurations you'll find on Dell's store today are the RTX 5050 and RTX 5060 models - and the latter will run you up to $2,299.99.

So far, so confusing.

Dell is also rolling out RTX 4050 (and even RTX 3050, but only in select territories) options for its slimline machine, but even the 40-Series config starts at $1,299.99 for an AMD build. If you're dropping that far back in time, you're not spending more than $900 to stay comfortable.

It's certainly not the first time one of the best gaming laptop brands has dropped back a few generations to keep prices low, but right now you're spending $1,500 minimum to get yourself an RTX 5050 model.

The Alienware 15 is available in two flavors; AMD and Intel, with RTX 4050, RTX 5050, and RTX 5060 GPUs shared between them. AMD options come with either a Ryzen 7 260 or Ryzen 5 220, while Intel is supporting with Core 7 240H and Core 5 210H chips. RTX 50-series models will offer Alienware's Cyrotech cooling tech and weaker configurations will have slightly less junk in the trunk.

Base level Alienware 15 gaming laptops ship with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. That's roughly half the storage I tend to see in entry level gaming laptops, and we're not even starting off cheaper than the rest of the competition here. The MSI Katana (my current top budget gaming laptop) does offer 512GB options, but for between $1,100 and $1,200 when paired up with an RTX 5050 and 1080p display.

MSI Katana 15 (RTX 5050): $1,149.99 at Newegg

You could spend $1500 on Dell's thinner machine or you could save yourself $360 and grab MSI's 1080p Katana instead. You're still getting an RTX 5050, still getting 16GB RAM, and still keeping that 512GB SSD.

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There are some nifty extra features in here - upgradable RAM and storage compartments (if you can find components), a 180 degree hinge, and up to 100W USB-C charging all keep things flexible enough to satisfy productivity and play. There's also some serious attention paid to the chassis itself, with a durable polycarbonate resin design, soft rounded corners, and up to 2oz liquid spill resistance. Whether or not that's going to be worth the extra spend compared to last year's budget-friendly alternatives will depend on how much gaming you'll do vs work.

Dell doesn't need its Alienware 15 to run the most demanding games at the highest graphical settings. This machine isn't sitting alongside the Alienware 16 Area-51. It's pitched as an everyday (albeit high-end) laptop that can also run more complex games than your standard ThinkPad. It takes what we used to turn to the Dell G-Series for and folds it into the realm of the best Alienware laptops. Does $1500 make sense even in this context? Maybe not, but it's getting closer.

I say that because, price aside, this actually looks like a neat little machine. Without component crises, it could have been an $800 - $1,000 rig with the same simple to-do list as Apple's MacBook Neo. $1,299 for an RTX 4050 machine in 2026 isn't a good deal, though, no matter how much cheaper it is compared to Alienware's premium rigs.

• See all Alienware laptops at Dell

I'm also hunting down all the best Asus gaming laptops and the best Razer laptops for more options.