ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Alienware m16 R2 goals to be the proper laptop computer for players and professionals alike, and it succeeds.
- It delivers high-level efficiency and a 2K show that’ll make each teams smile, whereas giving customers a solution to tone down the RGB lighting by way of Stealth Mode.
- You will have to maintain that charger shut by, because the M16 R2’s battery would not final very lengthy.
extra shopping for decisions
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Gaming laptops are sometimes on the chopping fringe of expertise, housing a few of the business’s finest {hardware}. Highly effective Meteor Lake processors, visually beautiful RTX 40-series GPUs, the works. With that in thoughts, you’d suppose that professionals searching for high-end machines could be clamoring to purchase one in all these machines for themselves, however that is not likely the case.
Gaming laptops aren’t precisely ubiquitous, however why? Nicely, it may need to do with their flashy RGB lights that gentle up like Disney’s Electrical Parade.
Additionally: One of the best work laptops I’ve tested has MacBook written all over it (but it’s even better)
Gaming gadgets typically come geared up with RGB lighting, which appears to be like cool, however might be fairly distracting, particularly if you’re in a piece assembly attempting to look severe and have a laptop computer lit up like a Christmas tree in entrance of you. Subtlety is the secret right here.
Fortunately, producers are taking discover of this potential shift in buyer choice. Dell, for one, has provide you with an answer in a brand new gaming laptop computer that additionally has the working skilled in thoughts: the Alienware m16 R2.
I’m a giant fan of Dell’s design decisions right here. The m16 R2 strikes an excellent stability of trying aesthetically cool whereas additionally sustaining practicality. On the surface, you’ve a shiny darkish grey exterior with a stylized quantity 16 and an Alienware brand on the high. You will discover there is not a giant thermal shelf jutting out; the warmth vents are flush with the show when positioned upright.
Ditching the shelf makes this laptop computer simpler to hold in comparison with bulkier fashions. House owners will want all the assistance they’ll get for the reason that m16 R2 is not straightforward to hold round; it weighs almost six kilos.
On the within is a matte black keyboard. The RGB lighting on this darkish background makes the colours stand out properly. Typing on the keyboard was a pleasure, too. The matte floor is easy to the contact, and the keys all have a springy really feel to them. I am a sucker for a comfortable keyboard, however the consolation stage is not what I like most concerning the m16’s keyboard.
In the event you look intently on the operate keys, you will discover completely different icons than what you’ll see on an ordinary keyboard, as they’ve distinctive functionalities made particularly for this laptop computer.
Additionally: Finally, an ultraportable Windows laptop I’d use at the office (even though it’s for gamers)
F2 is essentially the most helpful in my view because it prompts Stealth Mode. The mode causes the RGB lights to immediately flip white, making the machine look extra like a generic work laptop computer. That is tremendous helpful for if you’re in a public setting and do not wish to appeal to consideration to your self. Urgent F1, however, prompts Efficiency Mode.
Hitting the button whereas gaming forces the {hardware} to immediately carry out higher by defaulting the {hardware} to preset settings optimized for gaming. The issue with this mode is that it additionally instantly prompts the cooling followers, and so they’re fairly loud. At the very least the followers do work properly at retaining the laptop computer from overheating.
F4, F5, and F6 are for keybinds, letting you tie customized actions to them, with F3 reserved for saving your keybinds. All the same old audio management features have been moved to the far proper. Apart from the keyboard, I take pleasure in how the sting of the palm relaxation on the entrance of the machine is noticeably spherical. It is softer on the wrists when in comparison with different laptops, guaranteeing a cushty typing expertise.
Options like these enable the m16 R2 to drag double responsibility at being a gaming and work-centric laptop computer and point out that Dell put loads of thought into designing the mannequin.
One factor price noting, although, is that I did discover the trackpad to be a bit small. Maybe they wished to make room for the audio system above the keyboard, by which case I say it was a worthwhile transfer for the reason that audio sounds nice for a laptop computer. Simply needless to say they don’t seem to be highly effective sufficient to fill a room.
Additionally: I tested Dell’s XPS successor, and it made my $3,000 Windows laptop look bad
The Alienware m16 R2 runs on an Intel Core Extremely 7 155H, a processor I discover is usually discovered on many 2024 laptops. It is a good possibility because it gives stable efficiency whereas not inflating the worth tag an excessive amount of. To see what it is able to, I ran it by way of the Geekbench take a look at, the place the processor earned a rating of 12,725, outperforming the Extremely 9’s common rating of 12,611. So on the best laptop computer, the Extremely 7 could be a higher chip than the higher-end {hardware}.
Alongside the CPU are the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card and 16GB of RAM, although it could’ve been good to have 32GB. I skilled a dip in efficiency once I was taking part in Helldivers 2 at excessive graphical settings. However 16GB is ok; it will get the job accomplished in most conditions.
Talking of video video games, the players on the market will love the gadget’s display screen. It is a 16-inch 2K decision show (2,560 x 1,600 pixels) with a refresh price of 240Hz. A excessive refresh price permits easy and responsive gameplay, making it a close to necessity for fast-paced titles.
All this {hardware} does include an influence value, nevertheless. Whereas it is unplugged from an influence supply, the battery on the m16 R2 would not final very lengthy regardless of all of the tech meant to help its longevity. I carried out my standard take a look at of working an endlessly taking part in YouTube dwell stream at 720p and 50 p.c brightness, and it lasted 6.5 hours with Finest Energy Environment friendly enabled.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
I like to recommend the Alienware m16 R2 to individuals who desire a laptop computer that may do double responsibility. It excels at being an leisure/gaming machine, but it surely’s inconspicuous sufficient for the workplace. Costs for the laptop computer have risen in current months. A construct carrying an Intel Core Extremely 7 processor, a GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM might be purchased for $1,900 at Finest Purchase. A extra highly effective configuration with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD is obtainable for $2,479 at Amazon.
I ought to point out you could customise sure elements of the gadget even after you have bought it. For instance, you possibly can improve the SSD from 1 TB of storage to eight TB. To discover ways to do that, comply with the directions on pages 36 to 44 of the laptop computer’s Proprietor’s Guide, which yow will discover on Dell’s website.
