Alienware m16 R2 review: This gaming laptop can be your daily driver

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$1,849.99

Finest Prices Today: Alienware m16 R2

The Alienware m16 R2 isn’t precisely the kind of PC I ‘d anticipate from Alienware. This 16-inch laptop computer provides strong video gaming efficiency, however it’s likewise concentrated on being compact and offering long battery life. It does not even use the highest-end GPUs as an upgrade choice. It in fact caps out at an RTX 4070, and you’ll need to get another laptop computer if you desire an RTX 4080 or RTX 4090.

The hallmark radiant alien head logo designs are still here, however Alienware informed me its target audience for this laptop computer was players who desire a PC for more than simply video gaming– one that can go to school or to the workplace. Alienware provided, however there’s simply something I want was various. Continue reading to get more information.

Searching for more choices? Have a look at PCWorld’s roundup of the best video gaming laptop computers offered today.

The Alienware m16 R2 is offered in a range of various hardware setups. The device we evaluated is priced at $1,849 and had an Intel Core Ultra 7 155 CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

You can likewise get a design with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics for $200 less. Alienware informed us that you’ll quickly have the ability to purchase designs with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics which these will be even cheaper.

Furthermore, Alienware states it will provide designs with the choice of an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, as much as 64 GB of RAM, and as much as 8 TB of storage. Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 will be readily available as a choice– the base device comes with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 radios.

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 155H

Memory: 16GB DDR5 5600MHz

Graphics/GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070

Show: 2560 × 1600 IPS 240Hz (300 nits)

Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD

Cam: 1080p web cam with HDR

Connection: 1x Thunderbolt 4/ USB-C 4 Gen 2 with 15W Power Delivery and DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-C/ USB 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort 1.4, 2x USB-A 3.2, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Ethernet, 1x earphone jack, 1x microSD card reader

Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Biometrics: Windows Hello facial acknowledgment

Battery capability: 90 Watt-hour

Measurements: 14.33 inches x 9.82 inches x 0.93 inches

Weight: 5.62 pounds

MSRP: $1,849 as checked ($ 1,649 base)

Alienware m16 R2: Design and develop quality

Alienware was happy to inform me that the m16 R2 is now 15 percent more compact than the previous m16 laptop computer thanks to the elimination of the “thermal rack” at the back of the laptop computer.

The Alienware m16 R2’s cooling still works well. The keyboard remained a really affordable temperature level in long video gaming sessions and the majority of the hot air looked like it was being expelled from the back of the laptop computer instead of blowing straight out the best vent and onto my mouse hand– an issue with some video gaming laptop computers.

The visual appeals feel streamlined: It’s really Alienware, however it’s likewise relatively restrained. You’ve got a metal cover (anodized aluminum) with more of a gray color, including as a focused Alienware logo design that shines while the laptop computer is on.

Inside, a radiant Alienware logo design that works as a power button sits above the keyboard, in the middle of some vents. The keyboard supports RGB backlighting, and the touchpad is surrounded by a good LED light bar. The keyboard deck has a great, rubbery-feeling “soft-touch” surface area– not hard, cold metal or inexpensive, creaky plastic.

The construct quality is strong. You most likely should not be getting this laptop computer from the corner and holding it frequently– it’s a little heavy for that– however I did a couple of times, and it was strong with no weird flexing. The hinge feels great to open and close, and it opens to 180 degrees if you wish to lie the laptop computer flat. There’s absolutely nothing bad to report here– the construct quality is generally as great as I might want to see.

Alienware informed me that they desire the m16 R2 to be a laptop computer that can be conveniently utilized beyond video gaming environments like cafe and conference room, too. The laptop computer has a “Stealth Mode” that silences the fans and shuts off the radiant Alienware logo design on the back. You can tone down the player visual when needed.

Obviously, this is still an Alienware laptop computer– even if you switch off that radiant alien head logo design, it’ll still be sitting there on the back of your laptop computer. That’s not always bad, however anybody who offers this device a 2nd look will understand that it isn’t simply a common service laptop computer.

Even the battery charger is good: Our evaluation design included a little kind element GaN battery charger, additional increasing the laptop computer’s mobility.

The laptop computer has a couple of helpful energies, like the Alienware Command Center for setting up the LED colors and accessing other settings like those, however the consisted of applications are really structured. It isn’t loaded with scrap software application, which’s constantly great to see.

Alienware m16 R2: Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard feels fantastic to type on, too. There’s a lot of travel, and whether I had my fingers glued to the WASD secrets for motion in a video game or I was in fact typing, I was really pleased with the keyboard.

If you’re a mechanical keyboard fan which’s an essential function for you, understand that this isn’t a mechanical keyboard. You can have a fantastic typing experience with any type of keyboard, and this is an excellent keyboard.

The touchpad is extremely good to utilize, too. (These days, we PC users are ruined for excellent touchpads.) It’s responsive and feels great to move your finger over. It’s plenty huge, and I do like the appearance of the LED light bar. I’ve had a little much better experience with glass touchpads– the rubbery-feeling finish here isn’t rather as great as a few of those glass touchpads I’ve utilized– however this is excellent. For video gaming, you’ll most likely be utilizing a mouse or a gamepad, anyhow.

Alienware m16 R2: Display and speakers

This is an extremely sensible display screen for the cost point. You’re getting a 16-inch QHD+ (2560 × 1600 resolution) show with a rapid 240Hz revitalize rate. It supports NVIDIA G-Sync, AMD FreeSync, and Dolby Vision HDR.

That’s all quite excellent on paper, and it looks excellent. This is an IPS panel, not an OLED panel. That’s not a surprise– this is far more in the “cost effective” variety as far as video gaming laptop computers go. More video gaming laptop computers are coming with OLED screens, so it’s worth keeping in mind. Some individuals will wish to look for a laptop computer with an OLED screen rather, which’s easy to understand– however you’ll most likely invest more cash for a laptop computer with that function.

Personally, I utilize a laptop computer with an IPS screen every day and I’m completely great with it. Still, there’s no rejecting a few of those OLEDs I’ve been taking a look at recently are extremely stunning. (But they’re likewise more costly!) In summary: This is a completely excellent screen, however it is an IPS display screen.

The primary issue I have is the brightness of the m16 R2’s display screen– it’s quite dim. Alienware states it has 300 nits of brightness, and I needed to crank it up high for PCWorld’s basic battery test. I gamed at 100 percent brightness in a dark space during the night, and even at 100 percent brightness, it didn’t feel excessively brilliant– I didn’t wish to turn it down.

The display screen isn’t badhowever it’s not the very best you can purchase– which is not a surprise at this affordable cost point! Simply know that.

The speakers appear plenty loud, and you can get some video gaming done without the fans hushing the audio excessive. They’re not going to compare with a great set of earphones or external speakers.

Alienware m16 R2: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The Alienware m16 R2 consists of a 1080p cam with HDR, dual-array microphones, and an IR video camera for Windows Hello assistance– biometric logins with your face.

The 1080p web cam looks fine. For a video gaming laptop computer, it’s more than fine. I’ve seen video gaming laptop computers with much even worse web cams– I’ve even seen video gaming laptop computers without any web cams at all! And, due to the fact that this has an Intel Meteor Lake chip with a neural processing system (NPU)you get access to Windows Studio Effects. That bundle of impacts provides techniques that can make it look like you’re constantly making eye contact with the video camera.

The integrated microphone is definitely functional. I’ve remained in online conferences where experts utilized much even worse microphones. I would not state the microphone is incredible: I chose to plug in an external USB microphone for my video gaming session and my co-op partner believed the audio quality was much enhanced. If you’re reading this, I’m sure you currently anticipate that you’ll desire to plug in a headset — or different earphones and a microphone– for the very best audio experience.

This is a quite basic Windows Hello cam that worked simply great in my experience, too. It’s great to have biometric login assistance.

Alienware m16 R2: Connectivity

On the back of the Alienware m16 R2, there’s the dependable power port, and an HDMI 2.1 port. There are likewise 2 USB-C ports with various logo designs: One is a Thunderbolt 4 port (USB 4 Gen 2, 15W Power Delivery, and DisplayPort 1.4), and the other is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port with DisplayPort 1.4.

The HDMI port which USB 3.2 Gen 2 port are linked straight to the discrete GPU (the Nvidia GeForce GPU) and not the incorporated GPU. If you’re going to be video gaming on an external display screen, you can link it to either of these ports, avoiding the incorporated GPU for enhanced efficiency.

On the best side of the laptop computer, you’ll see 2 conventional USB-A ports (USB 3.2 Gen 1) and a microSD card slot. On the left side of the laptop computer, you’ve got an RJ-45 for wired Ethernet networking and a headset jack.

In general, the connection choices are fairly comprehensive. There’s a great chance you can go without a dongle or a port-packed laptop computer dock

The laptop computer supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, so it’s got the basic contemporary cordless radios you’ll be searching for. This is Intel Killer Wi-Fi hardware– particularly, Intel Killer AX1675 hardware. Intel talks up its Killer Wi-Fi innovationdeclaring it has “effective video gaming network innovation to decrease lag, latency, and package loss.” I’m not exactly sure Killer Wi-Fi is an essential function, however it’s here.

Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 hardware is readily available as an optional upgrade, however it’s not readily available in the base variation of the laptop computer. Wi-Fi 7 isn’t extremely prevalent yet– you likely do not have a Wi-Fi 7 router yet– so this isn’t a huge offer.

Alienware m16 R2: Performance

Now let’s come down to brass adds. Sure, Alienware m16 R2 has excellent construct quality, a wise style, and a competitive choice of ports. When I’m looking at a video gaming laptop computer, I’m constantly believing about the cost to efficiency ratio.

The Alienware m16 R2 we examined jam-packed among Intel’s brand-new Meteor Lake chips– the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H. It’s more concentrated on power effectiveness than efficiency than the previous Raptor Lake hardwareIt’s likewise got an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070– not the highest-end GeForce chip for a laptop computer, however not the most affordable one either. We can talk on-paper specifications all day– how well does it in fact carry out in our basic criteria?

Before we even take a look at benchmark outcomes, we understand from the specifications that we’re taking a look at a more mid-range, portable video gaming laptop computer. This does not have the highest-end CPU or the beefiest GPU. It’s on the compact side, so it does not have the craziest cooling setup. That’s fine: Laptops with more severe efficiency might be considerably more pricey and substantially bigger, with more weight and even worse battery life.

Our very first testPCMark 10 is created to determine the system’s general efficiency– not simply video gaming efficiency. It’s a well-rounded standard, however it’s a lot more concentrated on the CPU than the GPU.

The outcomes had to do with what we ‘d anticipate to see. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU assists the system pull ahead of a laptop computer with a Intel Core i5 processor from the Raptor Lake generation. Unsurprisingly, laptop computers with the higher-end Intel Core i9 Raptor Lake chips provide greater efficiency numbers.

Next, we run Cinebench R20, a greatly multithreaded standard that takes a look at CPU efficiency. Cinebench R20 is a fast criteria, so cooling isn’t much of an aspect.

Once again, CPU efficiency pulled ahead of the typical previous-generation chips. The Alienware m16 R2’s CPU could not provide the efficiency of the high-end video gaming laptop computers with Intel Core i9-14900HX chips.

That’s not a surprise, either: The Core Ultra 7 155H chip in this laptop computer is a 16-core chip, while the Core i9-14900HX is a 24-core chip. In a. multi-threaded CPU standard like this one, more cores imply more efficiency. And a greatly enhanced multithreaded criteria does not inform you how the laptop computer will carry out in real video games.

We likewise encode a video file with Handbrake. This standard is likewise a greatly multithreaded CPU criteria, however it takes a lot longer to run. It requires the laptop computer’s cooling does some major work. If a laptop computer’s cooling system isn’t up to snuff and the CPU efficiency decreases in time under heavy CPU loads, this benchmark exposes that.

Once again, the Alienware provided a strong outcome, behind just the high-end Core i9 chips with additional cores.

Now let’s get to the graphics standards. The Alienware m16 R2 provides strong efficiency in 3DMark Time Spy, a visual criteria that’s really GPU focused. Here, it’s in spitting range of the Razer Blade 16, both of which have Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPUs. This highlights how the GPU is a lot more crucial than the CPU in the majority of video games.

The m16 R2 is squashed by the MSI Raider GE78 — that system has a high-end, power-hungry, costly RTX 4090 GPUThat MSI maker is a $5400 laptop computer that weighs nearly 8 pounds! The Alienware design we’re benchmarking here is less than $2,000 and weighs about 5 and a half pounds.

Now, let’s get to some video game criteria. We run the criteria in Shadow of the Tomb RaiderIt’s an older title, however an outstanding method to compare efficiency throughout various PCs. The Alienware m16 R2 averages 144 frames per second in the standard, right in line with other RTX 4070-powered laptop computers.

It’s just 4 frames per 2nd slower than that Razer Blade 16 that was pulling ahead of it in the CPU criteria, as soon as again revealing simply how essential the GPU alone is to numerous video games. Which Razer Blade begins at $3,000.

As constantly, that MSI with the RTX 4090 takes the crown. At 203 frames per 2nd, it’s 41 percent quicker than this Alienware laptop computer. It’s likewise almost 3 times the rate.

We complete up with the standard in City Exodusa more requiring video game where we run the standard at 1080p resolution at the Extreme information setting. The Alienware m16 R2 was when again ideal in line with the other RTX 4070 laptop computers at 50 frames per 2nd, revealing much-improved efficiency over an RTX 4050-powered laptop computer. That MSI provided 80 percent more frames per 2nd here– however once again, it did so at almost 3 times the cost.

This is a strong Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070-powered laptop computer. The cooling is doing its task extremely well, and the GPU does not appear to be kept back. Clearly, this laptop computer can’t stay up to date with a no-expense-spared, much heavier, and more power-hungry RTX 4090-powered system, however we understood that entering.

The CPU carries out well, and it’s just beaten in multi-threaded CPU efficiency by more power-hungry chips that have extra cores. Those additional cores do not always equate to substantial efficiency gains in the majority of video games.

Alienware m16 R2: Battery life

Video gaming laptop computers normally do not have terrific battery life. The leading issue is frequently optimal efficiency while plugged in. This Alienware aims to be not simply a video gaming laptop computer, however likewise a “day-to-day motorist.” It’s likewise assisted by Intel’s brand-new, more power-efficient Meteor Lake chips here.

The Alienware m16 R2 loads a 90-Watt-hour battery. That’s amongst the greatest you’ll discover– the U.S. Transportation Security Administration needs batteries be 100 Watt hours or less if you wish to take them on an aircraft.

To check the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat in the Movies & & television app on Windows 11 with aircraft mode made it possible for and keyboard backlighting handicapped till the laptop computer suspends itself. This is a best-case situation for the laptop computer– regional video playback is extremely effective, and battery life in the real life will be less as you open web browser tabs and utilize applications.

We constantly set the screen to 250 nits of brightness for this, and with the dim display screen, that indicated truly cranking up the laptop computer’s brightness.

The Alienware m16 R2 provided extremely excellent outcomes, playing the video for 435 minutes usually– that’s 7 hours and fifteen minutes. It’s really decent and for a video gaming laptop computer, it’s quite excellent.

Here, the Alienware m16 R2 squashed those power-hungry Core i9 laptop computers. Those laptop computers aren’t much better at whatever– they’re much better at raw power, however they just lasted about 4 hours and eighteen minutes– which’s in an perfect circumstance.

The Alienware provides on its guarantee here, supplying longer battery life that maximum-performance-at-all-costs video gaming laptop computers do not match.

Alienware m16 R2: Conclusion

The Alienware m16 R2 is an excellent laptop computer. It provides strong graphics efficiency thanks to its Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 together with good CPU efficiency. And it provides all that while providing long battery life far from an outlet– long battery life for a video gaming laptop computer, anyhow. The screen is an excellent IPS display screen, however it’s on the dim side, and I can see that being a concern for some individuals.

This Alienware maker is an excellent worth for its specifications, its list price beats comparable systems like the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 and the HP Victus 16 (2023)If you discover an RTX 4070 laptop computer with an even less expensive market price, it might make some sacrifices. It might have a lower-resolution screen with a lower refresh rate. If you’re looking for a laptop computer in this rate variety and you desire a device that can do more than simply be connected to a desk and play video games, it’s a terrific fit. I simply want its display screen might be a bit brighter– however that’s not a deal-breaker thinking about whatever else this laptop computer gets.

Finest Prices Today: Alienware m16 R2

Author: Chris Hoffman