ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Alienware m16 R2 goals to be the right laptop computer for avid gamers 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 strategy to tone down the RGB lighting by way of Stealth Mode.
- You may must preserve that charger shut by, because the M16 R2’s battery does not final very lengthy.
extra shopping for decisions
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Gaming laptops are sometimes on the chopping fringe of know-how, housing a number of the trade’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 on the lookout for high-end machines could be clamoring to purchase one among these machines for themselves, however that is not likely the case.
Gaming laptops aren’t precisely ubiquitous, however why? Effectively, it might need to do with their flashy RGB lights that gentle up like Disney’s Electrical Parade.
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Gaming gadgets usually come geared up with RGB lighting, which appears cool, however could be fairly distracting, particularly once you’re in a piece assembly making an attempt 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 an enormous fan of Dell’s design decisions right here. The m16 R2 strikes an excellent steadiness of trying aesthetically cool whereas additionally sustaining practicality. On the skin, you’ve gotten a shiny darkish grey exterior with a stylized quantity 16 and an Alienware brand on the prime. You may discover there is not an enormous 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. Homeowners will want all the assistance they will 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 snug keyboard, however the consolation degree is not what I like most in regards to the m16’s keyboard.
For those who look intently on the perform keys, you may discover completely different icons than what you’ll see on a typical keyboard, as they’ve distinctive functionalities made particularly for this laptop computer.
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F2 is probably the most helpful for my part 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 once you’re in a public setting and do not need 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 least the followers do work nicely at maintaining 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. In addition to the keyboard, I get pleasure from 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 snug 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 lots of thought into designing the mannequin.
One factor value noting, although, is that I did discover the trackpad to be slightly small. Maybe they needed to make room for the audio system above the keyboard, wherein case I say it was a worthwhile transfer for the reason that audio sounds nice for a laptop computer. Simply understand that they don’t seem to be highly effective sufficient to fill a room.
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The Alienware m16 R2 runs on an Intel Core Extremely 7 155H, a processor I discover is often discovered on many 2024 laptops. It is a good choice 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 the Geekbench check, the place the processor earned a rating of 12,725, outperforming the Extremely 9’s common rating of 12,611. So on the fitting 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 might’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 performed in most conditions.
Talking of video video games, the avid gamers on the market will love the system’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 allows easy and responsive gameplay, making it a close to necessity for fast-paced titles.
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All this {hardware} does include an influence value, nonetheless. Whereas it is unplugged from an influence supply, the battery on the m16 R2 does not final very lengthy regardless of all of the tech meant to help its longevity. I carried out my regular check of operating an endlessly taking part in YouTube dwell stream at 720p and 50 % brightness, and it lasted 6.5 hours with Greatest 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, however it’s inconspicuous sufficient for the workplace. Costs for the laptop computer have risen in latest months. A construct carrying an Intel Core Extremely 7 processor, a GeForce RTX 4070 graphics card, and 16GB of RAM could be purchased for $1,900 at Greatest Purchase. A extra highly effective configuration with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD is accessible for $2,479 at Amazon.
I ought to point out that you may customise sure components of the system even after you’ve got bought it. For instance, you’ll be able to improve the SSD from 1 TB of storage to eight TB. To discover ways to do that, observe the directions on pages 36 to 44 of the laptop computer’s Proprietor’s Guide, which you’ll find on Dell’s website.
