Why I’m still taking this 2024 Dell laptop to the office – even though it’s for gamers

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 option to tone down the RGB lighting through Stealth Mode.
• You may must maintain that charger shut by, because the M16 R2’s battery does not final very lengthy.

extra shopping for selections

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Gaming laptops are sometimes on the reducing fringe of know-how, housing a few 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 can be clamoring to purchase certainly one of these machines for themselves, however that is not likely the case. 

Gaming laptops aren’t precisely ubiquitous, however why? Properly, it might need to do with their flashy RGB lights that mild up like Disney’s Electrical Parade. 

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Gaming gadgets usually come outfitted with RGB lighting, which seems cool, however may be fairly distracting, particularly whenever you’re in a piece assembly attempting to look critical 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 selections right here. The m16 R2 strikes a superb stability of wanting aesthetically cool whereas additionally sustaining practicality. On the skin, you will have a shiny darkish grey exterior with a stylized quantity 16 and an Alienware emblem 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. House owners will want all the assistance they will get for the reason that m16 R2 is not simple 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 clean 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 stage is not what I like most in regards to the m16’s keyboard. 

In case you look intently on the operate keys, you may discover totally different icons than what you’ll see on an ordinary keyboard, as they’ve distinctive functionalities made particularly for this laptop computer.

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F2 is essentially 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 whenever you’re in a public setting and do not need to appeal to consideration to your self. Urgent F1, alternatively, 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 very least the followers do work properly at holding 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 capabilities have been moved to the far proper. Apart from 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 cushty typing expertise. 

Options like these enable the m16 R2 to drag double obligation at being a gaming and work-centric laptop computer and point out that Dell put plenty of thought into designing the mannequin. 

One factor value noting, although, is that I did discover the trackpad to be a bit 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 needless to say they are not 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 usually discovered on many 2024 laptops. It is a good possibility because it affords 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 take a look at, the place the processor earned a rating of 12,725, outperforming the Extremely 9’s common rating of 12,611. So on the precise 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 will’ve been good to have 32GB. I skilled a dip in efficiency once I was enjoying Helldivers 2 at excessive graphical settings. However 16GB is ok; it will get the job carried out 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 charge of 240Hz. A excessive refresh charge permits clean and responsive gameplay, making it a close to necessity for fast-paced titles.

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All this {hardware} does include an influence price, nevertheless. 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 ordinary take a look at of working an endlessly enjoying YouTube stay stream at 720p and 50 % brightness, and it lasted 6.5 hours with Finest Energy Environment friendly enabled.  

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

I like to recommend the Alienware m16 R2 to individuals who need a laptop computer that may do double obligation. It excels at being an leisure/gaming machine, but it surely’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 may be purchased for $1,900 at Finest 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 could customise sure elements of the system even after you have bought it. For instance, you possibly can improve the SSD from 1 TB of storage to eight TB. To learn to do that, observe the directions on pages 36 to 44 of the laptop computer’s Proprietor’s Guide, which yow will discover on Dell’s website.