It’s also much more compact than its predecessor and offers excellent battery life for a gaming laptop.
Including a Stealth Mode hotkey makes it easy to turn off all distracting RGB in a public setting.
It has limited brightness levels and loud fans, but it’s a fantastic unit for your gaming needs.
Alienware m16 R2 is relatively hefty and thick like many gaming laptops are.
1.Pricing & specs2.Design & build3.Software & lighting4.Display5.Performance6.Battery life7.Keyboard & touchpad8.Camera, mic, & audio9.Competition10.Scorecard11.Should you buy it?
I’ve also been writing up articles and attending work meetings with it to see how it performs.
Here’s what I learned.
This review was made possible thanks to a review unit provided by Dell.
The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.
Alienware’s laptops are generally well-built and provide plenty of power and ports.
The same applies to the Alienware m16 R2.
Meanwhile, various RAM and storage options are available.
This Alienware m16 R2 can be purchased at Best Buy and the Dell website.
Alienware m16 R2 is relatively hefty and thick like many gaming laptops are.
It may also make its way to Amazon, but it isn’t there at the time of writing.
As far as availability goes, Dell ships to over 110 countries around the world.
However, you’ll need to check with Dell to see if this laptop ships to your area.
It genuinely is one of thebest Alienware gaming laptopsavailable right now.
Overall, Alienware says this redesign provides a 15% smaller footprint.
The laptop is still hefty, starting at 5.62 pounds.
There is an RJ45 and a headphone jack on the left side of the Alienware m16 R2.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
Overall, it looks classy and well-built.
Besides its physical appearance, the laptop also offers a good selection of ports.
Overall, a good range of ports will serve people well.
A microSD card reader and two USB-A ports are located on the Alienware m16 R2’s right side.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
This software is well-organized and easy to navigate.
It looks good and is very simple to interact with.
Preset colors and effects are available, or I can create new presets.
Two USB-C ports and an HDMI port are found on the back of the Alienware m16 R2.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
The keyboard lighting is very colorful and looks very good.
Preset colors and effects are available, or I can create new sets.
As with many RGB lights, only the most vibrant and pastel colors tend to come through.
Alienware Command Center is clean and easy to navigate.(Image credit: Windows Central)
I can blend in better when at the coffee shop, at work, or otherwise in public.
It’s a thoughtful and helpful hotkey that I appreciate so much.
However, even at its maximum brightness level, the screen doesn’t get very bright.
You can view system performance from within Alienware Command Center.(Image credit: Windows Central)
This gaming laptop honestly provides one of the best PC gaming experiences I’ve ever had.
I didn’t experience any latency issues, screen tearing, or choppiness while using it.
What I can say about the cooling system is that it does its job well.
There’s also a game launcher library in Command Center.(Image credit: Windows Central)
After getting a personal gauge for game performance, I opened Cyberpunk 2077 and ran a benchmark test.
These are very demanding configs that only the most powerful gaming devices can handle smoothly.
Altogether, these are good speeds that will allow the laptop to save and load game data quickly.
You can customize each individual key with color and effects in Command Center’s AlienFX tab.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Altogether, the battery lasted eight hours and five minutes before calling it quits.
The Alienware m16 R2 will last around eight hours or less on average when running day-to-day programs.
Overall, it managed to last a relatively long time, clocking in at 13 hours and 20 minutes.
It’s a comfortable setup that feels good to use.
But once I did, it became easy enough to work with.
Overall, it’s a good layout that will serve you well whether you’re gaming or typing.
In a color gamut test, the Alienware m16 R2 display produced 99% of sRGB, 79% of AdobeRGB, and 81% of P3.
As we previously discussed, F2 is the Stealth Mode hotkey.
you might record Macros or punch in in specific keystrokes.
For example, I decided to make F3 a Task Manager button.
Alienware m16 R2 runs heftier games like Cyberpunk 2077 very smoothly.
Overall, the keys feel good to press down and are spaced well to prevent awkward accidental button presses.
Overall, it’s a good layout that will serve you well, whether gaming or typing.
My voice carries clearly to those on a call with me.
Alienware m16 R2 averaged 75 fps when doing the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark on low ray tracing settings.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Strangely enough, though, there is no webcam shutter.
Still, this oversight is easy enough to fix with a simple adhesivewebcam shutter from Amazon.
However, going into the included Dolby Atmos software and adjusting tweaks can improve the experience.
Alienware m16 R2 averaged 75 fps when doing the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark on overdrive ray tracing settings.(Image credit: Windows Central)
It can be purchased at Best Buy for $1,699.99.
Both offer 16-inch displays with an Intel Core Ultra CPU and an RTX 40-Series GPU.
However, this laptop is relatively expensive at $3,299.99 MSRP.
Alienware m16 R2 averaged 34 fps when doing the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark with path tracing and ray reconstruction on.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Alienware m16 R2: Scorecard
Alienware m16 R2: Should you buy it?
you’re free to always purchase a sticker slider to cover or uncover the camera.
But if you’d prefer something built-in, you might want to look into another laptop.
Alienware m16 R2 earned a score of 6,988 in PCMark 10 Modern Office.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
Its performance and how long the battery can last when running average office programs thoroughly impressed me.
Still, you’re free to’t argue with the solid game performance it provides.
It’s a fantastic laptop overall.
Alienware m16 R2 earned a single-core score of 2,439 and a multi-core score of 12,614 in Geekbench 6.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
In CrystalDiskMark, Alienware m16 R2 produced a write speed of 5,174 MB/s and a read speed of 6,911 MB/s(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
In CrossMark, Alienware m16 R2 earned an overall score of 1,718.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
In 3DMark Time Spy, Alienware m16 R2 earned a score of 12,289.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
In Cinebench R23, Alienware m16 R2 earned a single-core score of 1,792 and a multi-core score of 18,359.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
Alienware m16 R2 gets power through the included barrel plug power adapter.
I sometimes found the touchpad light loop to be a bit much so I turned it off and left the keyboard RGB going.
The Alienware m16 R2 has a 1080p camera that captures good clarity and color.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
There is no shutter for the Alienware m16 R2 webcam.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
Vents and speaker slots are visible on the underside of the Alienware m16 R2.
ASUR ROG Zephyrus G16 has similar specs to the Alienware m16 R2.
My customized Cyberpunk 2077 touchpad and RGB keyboard lighting presets.
