Pros
- Decent performance for its class
- Dual-refresh display
- Not as much of a performance drop on battery compared to older CPU generations
Cons
- Display has just-OK image quality
- Keyboard feels a little stiff
- Side vents can get quite hot
- Comparatively heavy
- Has a little trouble with weak wireless signals
For its second-gen midrange gaming laptop, Alienware rejiggered its midrange 16-inch m16 to fit more comfortably into its place in the company’s gaming laptop universe. That meant lowering its configurations and redesigning it to meet the lower price target buyer. That puts the m16 R2 in competition with Dell’s own G series, which is a lot cheaper for configurations with similar power, but also clunkier with last-generation components.
There’s a good set of options available for the m16 R2 line — you can run the price up to $3,795. I wouldn’t recommend that, though, since that’s a lot to pay to get stuck with the meh display, unless you typically plan to use it connected to an external monitor.Â
The line starts at $1,499 with the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, GeForce RTX 4050, 16GB DDR5-5600, 1TB SSD and the basic single-zone RGB keyboard. The only display available is the sRGB 16-inch, 2,560×1,600, 120Hz/240Hz dynamically switchable model. Bumping to an RTX 4060 costs $100 and to the RTX 4070 another $200. 32GB of RAM adds $150, or $250 over that for 64GB. Â
Alienware m16 R2
Price as reviewed | $1,850, £1,899, AU$2,999 |
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Display | 16-inch 2,560×1,600 120Hz/240Hz IPS sRGB |
PC CPU | 1.4GHz Intel Core Ultra 7 155H |
PC Memory | 16GB DDR5-5600 |
Graphics | 8GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 mobile, 140w max |
Storage | 1TB SSD, micro SD slot |
Ports | 2 x USB-C (1 x Thunderbolt 4, both with DP 1.4), 2 x USB-A 3.2, 1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x combo audio |
Networking | Intel Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE202, Killer E3100G 2.5Gb Ethernet, Bluetooth… |
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