At a look

Expert’s Rating

Pros

• Solid gaming efficiency
• Excellent construct high quality
• Great battery life

Cons

• Relatively dim show
• Not the best performing gaming laptop computer

Our Verdict

The Alienware m16 R2 is a “do it all” 16-inch laptop computer for players who additionally desire a moveable PC with good battery life. It delivers sturdy RTX 4070 GPU efficiency with a succesful, compact cooling system at an inexpensive value.

Price When Reviewed

$1,849.99

Best 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 delivers strong gaming efficiency, however it’s additionally centered on being compact and providing lengthy battery life. It doesn’t even supply the highest-end GPUs as an improve possibility. It really caps out at an RTX 4070, and also you’ll must get one other laptop computer if you need an RTX 4080 or RTX 4090.

The trademark glowing alien head logos are nonetheless right here, however Alienware instructed me its audience for this laptop computer was players who desire a PC for extra than simply gaming — one that may go to high school or to the workplace as properly. Alienware delivered, however there’s only one factor I want was completely different. Read on to study extra.

Looking for extra choices? Check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best gaming laptops out there proper now.

Alienware m16 R2: Specs

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The Alienware m16 R2 is on the market in quite a lot of completely different {hardware} configurations. The machine we reviewed 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 may get a mannequin with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 graphics for $200 much less. Alienware instructed us that you simply’ll quickly be capable to purchase fashions with Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics and that these will probably be even cheaper.

Additionally, Alienware says it’ll supply fashions 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. On prime of that, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 will probably be out there as an possibility — the bottom machine 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

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

Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD

Webcam: 1080p webcam with HDR

Connectivity: 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 headphone jack, 1x microSD card reader

Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3

Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition

Battery capability: 90 Watt-hour

Dimensions: 14.33 inches x 9.82 inches x 0.93 inches

Weight: 5.62 kilos

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

Alienware m16 R2: Design and construct high quality

Alienware was proud to inform me that the m16 R2 is now 15 p.c extra compact than the earlier m16 laptop computer because of the elimination of the “thermal shelf” in the back of the laptop computer.

The Alienware m16 R2’s cooling nonetheless works properly. The keyboard stayed a really affordable temperature in lengthy gaming periods and many of the scorching air appeared prefer it was being expelled from the again of the laptop computer quite than blowing straight out the appropriate vent and onto my mouse hand — an issue with some gaming laptops.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The aesthetics really feel modern: It’s very Alienware, however it’s additionally pretty restrained. You’ve received a metallic lid (anodized aluminum) with extra of a grey colour, that includes as a centered Alienware emblem that glows whereas the laptop computer is on.

Inside, a glowing Alienware emblem that capabilities as an influence button sits above the keyboard, in the midst of some vents. The keyboard helps RGB backlighting, and the touchpad is surrounded by a pleasant LED gentle bar. The keyboard deck has a pleasant, rubbery-feeling “soft-touch” floor — not exhausting, chilly metallic or low cost, creaky plastic.

The construct high quality is strong. You most likely shouldn’t be choosing up this laptop computer from the nook and holding it commonly — it’s slightly heavy for that — however I did a couple of instances, and it was strong with none unusual flexing. The hinge feels good to open and shut, and it opens to 180 levels if you wish to lie the laptop computer flat. There’s nothing dangerous to report right here — the construct high quality is principally pretty much as good as I may hope to see.

Alienware instructed me that they need the m16 R2 to be a laptop computer that may be comfortably used exterior of gaming environments like espresso retailers and assembly rooms, too. The laptop computer has a “Stealth Mode” that quiets the followers and turns off the glowing Alienware emblem on the again. You can tone down the gamer aesthetic when vital.

Of course, that is nonetheless an Alienware laptop computer — even in the event you flip off that glowing alien head emblem, it’ll nonetheless be sitting there on the again of your laptop computer. That’s not essentially dangerous, however anybody who provides this machine a second look will know that it isn’t simply a typical enterprise laptop computer.

Even the charger is good: Our evaluate mannequin got here with a small type issue GaN charger, additional boosting the laptop computer’s portability.

The laptop computer has a couple of helpful utilities, just like the Alienware Command Center for configuring the LED colours and accessing different settings like these, however the included purposes are very streamlined. It isn’t filled with junk software program, and that’s all the time good to see.

Alienware m16 R2: Keyboard and trackpad

The keyboard feels nice to sort on, too. There’s loads of journey, and whether or not I had my fingers glued to the WASD keys for motion in a recreation or I used to be really typing, I used to be very proud of the keyboard.

If you’re a mechanical keyboard fan and that’s essential characteristic for you, bear in mind that this isn’t a mechanical keyboard. But you may have a fantastic typing expertise with any sort of keyboard, and this can be a good keyboard.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The touchpad may be very good to make use of, too. (These days, we PC customers are spoiled for good touchpads.) It’s responsive and feels good to slip your finger over. It’s a lot massive, and I do love the look of the LED gentle bar. I’ve had barely higher expertise with glass touchpads — the rubbery-feeling coating right here isn’t fairly as good as a few of these glass touchpads I’ve used — however that is good. For gaming, you’ll most likely be utilizing a mouse or a gamepad, anyway.

Alienware m16 R2: Display and audio system

This is a really affordable show for the value level. You’re getting a 16-inch QHD+ (2560×1600 decision) show with a speedy 240Hz refresh charge. It helps NVIDIA G-Sync, AMD FreeSync, and Dolby Vision HDR.

That’s all fairly nice on paper, and it appears to be like good. But that is an IPS panel, not an OLED panel. That’s not a shock — that is far more within the “affordable” vary so far as gaming laptops go. But extra gaming laptops are coming with OLED shows, so it’s value noting. Some folks will need to hunt down a laptop computer with an OLED show as a substitute, and that’s comprehensible — however you’ll most likely spend more cash for a laptop computer with that characteristic.

Personally, I exploit a laptop computer with an IPS show day by day and I’m completely wonderful with it. Still, there’s no denying a few of these OLEDs I’ve been taking a look at these days are extremely stunning. (But they’re additionally dearer!) In abstract: This is a wonderfully good show, however it’s an IPS show.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

The foremost concern I’ve is the brightness of the m16 R2’s show — it’s fairly dim. Alienware says it has 300 nits of brightness, and I needed to crank it up excessive for PCWorld’s commonplace battery take a look at. I gamed at one hundred pc brightness in a darkish room at evening, and even at one hundred pc brightness, it didn’t really feel overly shiny — I didn’t need to flip it down.

The show isn’t dangerous, however it’s not one of the best you should buy — which is not any shock at this affordable value level! Just pay attention to that.

The audio system appear a lot loud, and you may get some gaming achieved with out the followers drowning out the audio an excessive amount of. They’re not going to check with a very good pair of headphones or exterior audio system, although.

Alienware m16 R2: Webcam, microphone, biometrics

The Alienware m16 R2 features a 1080p webcam with HDR, dual-array microphones, and an IR digital camera for Windows Hello help — biometric logins along with your face.

The 1080p webcam appears to be like wonderful. For a gaming laptop computer, it’s greater than wonderful. I’ve seen gaming laptops with a lot worse webcams — I’ve even seen gaming laptops with no webcams in any respect! And, as a result of this has an Intel Meteor Lake chip with a neural processing unit (NPU), you get entry to Windows Studio Effects. That package deal of results delivers methods that may make it seem like you’re all the time making eye contact with the digital camera, for instance.

The built-in microphone is definitely usable. I’ve been in on-line conferences the place professionals used a lot worse microphones. I wouldn’t say the microphone is wonderful: I made a decision to plug in an exterior USB microphone for my gaming session and my co-op companion thought the audio high quality was a lot improved. But in the event you’re studying this, I’m positive you already anticipate that you simply’ll need to plug in a headset — or separate headphones and a microphone — for one of the best audio expertise.

This is a reasonably commonplace Windows Hello webcam that labored simply wonderful in my expertise, too. It’s good to have biometric login help.

Alienware m16 R2: Connectivity

On the again of the Alienware m16 R2, there’s the trusty energy port, and an HDMI 2.1 port. There are additionally two USB-C ports with completely different logos: One is a Thunderbolt 4 port (USB 4 Gen 2, 15W Power Delivery, and DisplayPort 1.4), and the opposite is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 port with DisplayPort 1.4.

The HDMI port and that USB 3.2 Gen 2 port are linked on to the discrete GPU (the Nvidia GeForce GPU) and never the built-in GPU. If you’re going to be gaming on an exterior show, you may join it to both of those ports, skipping the built-in GPU for improved efficiency.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

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

Overall, the connectivity choices are moderately in depth. There’s a very good probability you may go with out a dongle or a port-packed laptop dock.

The laptop computer helps Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, so it’s received the usual fashionable wi-fi radios you’ll be on the lookout for. This is Intel Killer Wi-Fi {hardware} — particularly, Intel Killer AX1675 {hardware}. Intel talks up its Killer Wi-Fi technology, claiming it has “powerful gaming network technology to minimize lag, latency, and packet loss.” I’m unsure Killer Wi-Fi is a must have characteristic, however it’s right here.

Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 {hardware} is on the market as an optionally available improve, however it’s not out there within the base model of the laptop computer. Wi-Fi 7 isn’t very widespread but — you nearly definitely don’t have a Wi-Fi 7 router but — so this isn’t an enormous deal.

Alienware m16 R2: Performance

Now let’s get all the way down to brass tacks. Sure, Alienware m16 R2 has good construct high quality, a sensible design, and a aggressive choice of ports. But after I’m taking a look at a gaming laptop computer, I’m all the time eager about the value to efficiency ratio.

The Alienware m16 R2 we reviewed packed one in all Intel’s new Meteor Lake chips — the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H. It’s more focused on power efficiency than performance than the previous Raptor Lake hardware. It’s additionally received an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 — not the highest-end GeForce chip for a laptop computer, however not the bottom one both. But we are able to speak on-paper specs all day — how properly does it really carry out in our commonplace benchmarks?

Before we even have a look at benchmark outcomes, we all know from the specs that we’re taking a look at a extra mid-range, moveable gaming laptop computer. This doesn’t have the highest-end CPU or the beefiest GPU. It’s on the compact facet, so it doesn’t have the craziest cooling setup. That’s wonderful: Laptops with extra excessive efficiency could also be considerably dearer and considerably bigger, with extra weight and worse battery life.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Our first test, PCMark 10 is designed to measure the system’s total efficiency — not simply gaming efficiency. It’s an all-around benchmark, however it’s far more centered on the CPU than the GPU.

The outcomes have been about what we’d anticipate to see. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU helps the system pull forward of a laptop computer with a Intel Core i5 processor from the Raptor Lake era. Unsurprisingly, laptops with the higher-end Intel Core i9 Raptor Lake chips ship greater efficiency numbers.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Next, we run Cinebench R20, a closely multithreaded benchmark that appears at CPU efficiency. Cinebench R20 is a fast benchmark, so cooling isn’t a lot of an element.

Again, CPU efficiency pulled forward of the typical previous-generation chips. The Alienware m16 R2’s CPU couldn’t ship the efficiency of the high-end gaming laptops with Intel Core i9-14900HX chips, nevertheless.

That’s no shock, both: The Core Ultra 7 155H chip on this laptop computer is a 16-core chip, whereas the Core i9-14900HX is a 24-core chip. In a multi-threaded CPU benchmark like this one, extra cores imply extra efficiency. And a closely optimized multithreaded benchmark doesn’t inform you how the laptop computer will carry out in precise video games.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

We additionally encode a video file with Handbrake. This benchmark can be a closely multithreaded CPU benchmark, however it takes for much longer to run. It calls for the laptop computer’s cooling does some critical work. If a laptop computer’s cooling system isn’t as much as snuff and the CPU efficiency goes down over time underneath heavy CPU hundreds, this benchmark reveals that.

Again, the Alienware delivered a strong outcome, behind solely the high-end Core i9 chips with further cores.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Now let’s get to the graphics benchmarks. The Alienware m16 R2 delivers strong efficiency in 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that’s very GPU centered. Here, it’s in spitting distance of the Razer Blade 16, each of which have Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPUs. This illustrates how the GPU is far more necessary than the CPU in most video games.

The m16 R2 is crushed by the MSI Raider GE78 — that system has a high-end, power-hungry, costly RTX 4090 GPU. But that MSI machine is a $5400 laptop computer that weighs nearly eight kilos! The Alienware mannequin we’re benchmarking right here is lower than $2,000 and weighs about 5 and a half kilos.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Now, let’s get to some recreation benchmarks. We run the benchmark in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. It’s an older title, however a superb option to examine efficiency throughout completely different PCs. The Alienware m16 R2 averages 144 frames per second within the benchmark, proper consistent with different RTX 4070-powered laptops.

It’s solely 4 frames per second slower than that Razer Blade 16 that was pulling forward of it within the CPU benchmarks, as soon as once more displaying simply how necessary the GPU alone is to many video games. And that Razer Blade begins at $3,000.

As all the time, that MSI with the RTX 4090 takes the crown. At 203 frames per second, it’s 41 p.c quicker than this Alienware laptop computer. But it’s additionally practically 3 times the value.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

Finally, we end up with the benchmark in Metro Exodus, a extra demanding recreation the place we run the benchmark at 1080p decision on the Extreme element setting. The Alienware m16 R2 was as soon as once more proper consistent with the opposite RTX 4070 laptops at 50 frames per second, displaying much-improved efficiency over an RTX 4050-powered laptop computer. That MSI delivered 80 p.c extra frames per second right here — however once more, it did so at practically 3 times the value.

This is a strong Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070-powered laptop computer. The cooling is doing its job very properly, and the GPU doesn’t appear to be held again. Obviously, this laptop computer can’t sustain with a no-expense-spared, heavier, and extra power-hungry RTX 4090-powered system, however we knew that entering into.

The CPU performs properly, and it’s solely crushed in multi-threaded CPU efficiency by extra power-hungry chips which have further cores. But these further cores don’t essentially translate to vital efficiency beneficial properties in most video games.

Alienware m16 R2: Battery life

Gaming laptops normally don’t have nice battery life. The prime concern is commonly most efficiency whereas plugged in. But this Alienware aspires to be not only a gaming laptop computer, but additionally a “daily driver.” It’s additionally helped by Intel’s new, extra power-efficient Meteor Lake chips right here.

The Alienware m16 R2 packs a 90-Watt-hour battery. That’s among the many highest you’ll discover — the U.S. Transportation Security Administration requires batteries be 100 Watt hours or much less if you wish to take them on an airplane.

IDG / Chris Hoffman

To take a look at the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat within the Movies & TV app on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled and keyboard backlighting disabled till the laptop computer suspends itself. This is a best-case situation for the laptop computer — native video playback may be very environment friendly, and battery life in the true world will probably be much less as you open browser tabs and use purposes.

We all the time set the display screen to 250 nits of brightness for this, and with the dim show, that meant actually cranking up the laptop computer’s brightness.

The Alienware m16 R2 delivered very spectacular outcomes, enjoying the video for 435 minutes on common — that’s seven hours and fifteen minutes. It’s very respectable and for a gaming laptop computer, it’s fairly spectacular.

Here, the Alienware m16 R2 crushed these power-hungry Core i9 laptops. Those laptops aren’t higher at all the things — they’re higher at uncooked energy, however they solely lasted about 4 hours and eighteen minutes — and that’s in an very best scenario.

The Alienware delivers on its promise right here, offering longer battery life that maximum-performance-at-all-costs gaming laptops don’t match.

Alienware m16 R2: Conclusion

The Alienware m16 R2 is a good laptop computer. It delivers sturdy graphics efficiency because of its Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 together with respectable CPU efficiency. And it delivers all that whereas providing lengthy battery life away from an outlet — lengthy battery life for a gaming laptop computer, anyway. However, the show is an effective IPS show, however it’s on the dim facet, and I can see that being a problem for some folks.

This Alienware machine is a good worth for its specs, its retail value beats related techniques just like the Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 and the HP Victus 16 (2023). If you discover an RTX 4070 laptop computer with a fair cheaper retail value, it might make some sacrifices. For instance, it might have a lower-resolution display screen with a decrease refresh charge. If you’re purchasing for a laptop computer on this value vary and also you desire a machine that may do extra than simply be tethered to a desk and play video games, it’s a fantastic match. I simply want its show might be a bit brighter – however that’s not a deal-breaker contemplating all the things else this laptop computer will get proper.