Dell Alienware m16 R2 Review: Gaming Power in a Business Suit

The Alienware m16 R2 makes use of a 2,560 X 1,600-pixel decision IPS show that’s first rate for its worth however not significantly exceptional. The show lacks HDR assist, as an alternative choosing a fundamental sRGB shade gamut. This isn’t an enormous deal, however when equally priced laptops like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 pack vibrant OLED panels, it’s onerous to disregard.

It peaks at 300 nits of brightness, which is barely decrease than some gaming laptops I’ve just lately examined. Sitting subsequent to a window through the day, I may nonetheless simply make out what was on the display screen, however I began to battle whereas outside in broad daylight.

The m16 R2’s show does have one benefit: It has a 240-Hz refresh rate, which is very welcome in fast-paced video games that may reap the benefits of it. Whereas taking part in Doom Everlasting on medium settings, I acquired an extra of 200 frames per second, which made leaping round and capturing demons a buttery-smooth expertise.

Many different gaming laptops at this worth (just like the Zephyrus G14) are restricted to 120 Hz, in order that makes the m16 R2 a beautiful different in case you’re on the lookout for extra-smooth gameplay. It’s price noting that the refresh fee is helpful provided that video games can reap the benefits of it, which suggests you’ll want to think about your spec choices fastidiously.

For Work and Play

The bottom mannequin of the Alienware m16 R2 comes with an Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, however it may be upgraded to an RTX 4070, which was within the mannequin I examined. With the RTX 4070, I performed Overwatch 2 on medium settings whereas hitting nicely over 200 fps. In a aggressive sport the place split-second decisionmaking issues, it is a large profit.

In additional fashionable, graphics-intensive single-player video games like Starfield, I reliably acquired 50 to 60 fps in crowded areas like New Atlantis, with larger body charges in less-demanding areas of the sport. Cyberpunk 2077 fared equally, recurrently sustaining 70 to 80 fps throughout fight, dipping to 50 to 60 fps whereas driving by way of crowded elements of town.

All of those exams have been completed whereas plugged in, nevertheless it’s necessary to keep in mind that in case you plan to play on battery, extra frames means extra energy drain. The m16 R2 has a considerable 90-watt-hour battery, which is among the many largest you’ll discover in a laptop computer. However cranking graphics settings to their most will burn by way of that quick. Performing regular duties on the m16 R2, I achieved roughly 9 to 10 hours of battery life on a single cost. Gaming dropped that quantity considerably, however I used to be capable of get an hour and a half to 2 hours of steady gaming if I used to be cautious to optimize my graphics settings and never push the machine too onerous.

Total, the Alienware m16 R2 balances energy with on a regular basis wants. You should use this laptop computer as your every day driver for work and get a full day of battery life out of it, then plug it right into a dock on the finish of the day to do some fairly sturdy gaming.