The Alienware m16 r2 is a gaming laptop stealth bomber
One-touch quiet mode lets you go incognito
Alienware has been at the forefront of gaming laptops for decades, but I’ve never been able to call its otherworldly creations ‘understated’. Until now, that is. The Alienware m16 r2 has slimmed down and adopted a new Stealth Mode, letting it fly under the radar when you’re in between gaming sessions.
The previous-gen m16 was already on the subtle side, but this refreshed version has a 15% smaller footprint. It’s 25.5mm at its thickest point, and weighs in at 2.55kg, which sounds perfectly portable to me. The palm rest and touchpad have grown significantly, so it should be more comfortable to use on the daily.
An anodised aluminium lid and bottom plate look every bit as high end as you’d hope for a pricey gaming laptop. While there’s no shortage of RGB illumination, a keyboard shortcut can disable it all – handy when you’re working in public and don’t want to be lit up like a Christmas tree. Stealth Mode also puts the 94-blade Cryo-Tech cooling fans to their quietest speeds.
Once it’s play time, you have the choice of Nvidia RTX 4050, RTX 4060 and RTX 4070 graphics chips. All three can run at their peak thermal power, meaning you’re not giving up a lick of performance compared to rival gaming machines.
Alienware’s online configurator will let you really stretch your bank account’s credit limit, with a choice of Intel Core Ultra 7 or Ultra 9 CPUs, up to 64GB of speedy DDR5 RAM, and as much as 8TB of NVMe SSD storage. Both memory and SSDs are user-upgradeable, too, so you could add more at a later date if you prefer.
The Alienware m16 r2’s 16in LCD display has demanding gamers in mind, with a 240Hz adaptive refresh rate courtesy of AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. The 2560×1600 resolution shouldn’t demand too much from the dedicated Nvidia graphics, and the 16:10 aspect ratio is useful for work as well as play.
The Alienware m16 R2 is going on sale in the US and Canada first, on the 11th of January. Prices will start from $1650 in America, and CA$2250 in Canada. Expect Europe and the UK to follow soon.
For those with more cash to splash, the Alienware x16 R2 updates the original model with new Intel Core Ultra 7 and 9 CPU options, adds HDR support to the built-in webcam, bumps maximum storage capacity to 8TB, and makes 240Hz the new standard display refresh rate (up from 165Hz before).
Alienware also launched a host of new QD-OLED gaming monitors at this year’s CES. The 32in AW3225QF is the first 4K QD-OLED with Dolby Vision HDR, and the 27in AW2725DF is the first QD-OLED with a 360Hz refresh rate. The former has a curved panel, while the latter is flat. Both have a three-year OLED burn-in warranty, which should put gamers’ minds at ease.
The AW3225QF starts at $1200/CA$1500 and the AW2725DF costs $900/CA$1200. Both start shipping from the 11th of January, direct from Dell/Alienware.
Tom Morgan-Freelander
Deputy Editor