Customer Ratings & Reviews

Pros - Stunning 240Hz QHD+ display - Top-tier CPU/GPU combo for gaming and productivity - Premium build with improved thermals - Excellent keyboard and port selection - Long battery life for a gaming laptop (up to 10+ hours) Cons - Display brightness could be higher (300 nits) - Fan noise spikes during intense gaming sessions

It's been around an year I purchased the Alienware m16 R2, and I must say, this laptop has blown me away. From its sleek design to its unparalleled performance, it truly deserves a 5-star rating. Here’s a breakdown of what makes it so exceptional: Design & Build Quality – 10/10 The Dark Metallic Moon finish is absolutely stunning, giving the laptop a premium and futuristic aesthetic. It feels robust and well-constructed, with no flex or cheap materials in sight. The design is both aggressive and elegant, catering perfectly to gamers who want to make a statement. The AlienFX lighting system adds a customizable touch of flair, making it a centerpiece on any desk. Display – 10/10 The 16” QHD+ (2560 x 1600) screen is a masterpiece. The 240Hz refresh rate ensures buttery-smooth gameplay, while the high resolution makes every detail pop. Colors are vibrant, and the brightness is excellent, making it great for gaming, content creation, and media consumption. The thin bezels add a modern touch, and the 16:10 aspect ratio provides a bit more vertical space for productivity tasks. Performance – 10/10 This laptop is an absolute beast, powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU. It handles AAA games at ultra settings effortlessly, delivering stunning visuals and consistent high frame rates. The 16GB of RAM ensures smooth multitasking, and the 1TB SSD provides ample storage with lightning-fast load times. Whether I’m gaming, streaming, or editing videos, the Alienware m16 R2 never breaks a sweat. Cooling – 9/10 Alienware’s advanced cooling system is impressive. Even during extended gaming sessions, the laptop stays relatively cool, and the fans, though audible, are not excessively loud. The cooling ensures the hardware can perform at its peak without thermal throttling, which is crucial for high-performance gaming. Battery Life – 8.5/10 While gaming laptops are not typically known for their battery life, the Alienware m16 R2 holds up surprisingly well. On moderate use, I get around 5-6 hours, but for gaming, it’s best to stay plugged in to unlock its full potential. This is expected for a machine with this much power, so it’s not a dealbreaker. Value for Money – 10/10 Considering the cutting-edge specs and premium build quality, this laptop offers excellent value for its price. It’s a solid investment for gamers and power users alike. Final Thoughts The Alienware m16 R2 is a dream machine for gamers and tech enthusiasts. Its perfect blend of performance, aesthetics, and features makes it a top-tier choice. Whether you’re playing graphically demanding games, editing 4K videos, or simply enjoying media, this laptop delivers an unmatched experience. If you’re looking for a gaming laptop that ticks all the boxes, the Alienware m16 R2 is worth every penny. Highly recommended!

My gaming experience just received a nice upgrade in the form of this new Alienware m16 R2 gaming laptop by Dell. This isn’t my first Alienware laptop, so based on my previous experience, I had high hopes when selecting it. After using it for about a week I can happily say that it has met and exceeded all of my expectations! The laptop arrived in the Alienware retail box, wrapped in a heavy cardboard-paper shell for shipping. Although the box is thinner than other laptop boxes, Alienware does a great job fitting it in there just right, with the ideal padding, so that it arrives in perfect condition. The laptop comes with a charging cord and power adapter. There is also a paper with a QR code to scan which takes you to the Alienware M16 R2 product support page where you can find the owner’s manual, regulatory information, drivers and downloads, diagnostic tools and other documentation that you may want to review. Getting the laptop set up is a breeze. I let it charge for an hour or so, and then I continued with the Microsoft setup and finally let it work on updates. After getting my Microsoft account set up I restarted the laptop and let it run it’s own firmware, BIOS and OS updates. The first time it ran, the operation failed, because I didn’t have the laptop plugged-in. I plugged it in, restarted it once again, and the update process started on its own. This took about 5-10 minutes to successfully complete. Once it was ready, I got to work installing some games and other apps, along with customizing the laptop just a bit so that it felt a little more familiar to me. I also registered the device with Alienware, for the warranty and support if needed. As usual with Alienware, this new laptop comes preloaded with the Alienware Command Center program. With this app you can customize your performance settings, choosing between five preset modes that can maximize your battery, give you a balanced experience, overclock your laptop for maximum performance and fan speed, or other options. You can also create a custom setting to your ideal specifications, if you desire. With the Command Center you can create preset modes, for different games, that you can switch between quickly. You can customize the lighting, keybinds and other settings so that your laptop is fine-tuned to run each game specifically how you like that game to run. It's a cool feature and I recommend everyone to try it out. I really like the design of this laptop. It has a quality feel and a good weight, while not being too heavy. The customizable RGB lighting on the keyboard, trackpad, and Alienware logos, is a fun and functional touch that takes this laptop’s wow factor to the next level. The keyboard feels nice when typing and performing various tasks.. The trackpad is smooth and solid with no rattles like some other trackpads I’ve used. Another great thing about the design is there is plenty of room on both sides of the trackpad to rest your hands while using the keyboard. I have large hands, so I’m used to working with them resting on the edge of a laptop, but that’s not the case with the M16. The 2560x1600 QHD display looks fantastic for daily usage, watching 4k movies, and of course, gaming. The gameplay at 240hz is smooth and fluid-like, unlike any other display I’ve used. I would like it if this display offered a bit more contrast, similar to an OLED with the deep dark blacks, and I wish it got brighter, but those are just a couple small complaints. To be honest, I’ll have it connected to a gaming monitor for most of its life. The speakers produce a nice rich sound quality that exceeds that of many other laptops that I’ve used. The battery life is sufficient and about normal for most laptops in this category, which is just about enough for 3-4 hours of gaming or about 5-6 hours of very light use. Speaking of the battery, the power adapter that comes with this laptop is on the smaller and more portable side of adapters, which is really nice considering these can be quite large sometimes. Gaming on this laptop is a superior experience with the 240hz display, Intel Core 7 Ultra processor and the RTX 4070 graphics card. Even with just 16GB memory, all of my gaming demands were met at the highest levels available. I do wonder how long that will last, before I need to upgrade the memory, since I haven’t installed much of anything else on here yet, but for now, it’s getting the job done well! I’m really happy with this laptop. It’s flashy, it’s solid and it’s checking all my boxes. If you feed it some more RAM, it will become a beast! I recommend this to anyone looking for a dependable, user friendly, quality build gaming laptop.

Awesome! Beats my 2080 super/ i9-9900kf desktop build out the water; that thing has 8 fans and is water cooled. I have steered clear from AW since the Dell buyout. however, they're still very good value for money. I managed to snag this M16 for $1,3xx.xx on a sale in early Feb, 2025. It's solid, well made. Runs Black Ops 6 pretty much maxed with RTX on etc. 120fps+; World of Warcraft Maxed at 160fps+, and others at this fps or higher. 1TB SSD is decent for a laptop in 2025; i loaded mine up with some pretty heavy files (games) and i still have 420 GB+ left over. Keyboard is nice, the fans are insanely loud when at speed, 80% is very noticeable, 50% is when its quiet, 100% sounds like jet. Those fans move some serious air to keep it cool. The speakers aren't super great, definitely need headphones for the audio. Alienware command center is fun; you can see loads, temps and fan speed along with color affects for backlit keyboard (super nice plus). This laptop is very dense, and you'll understand when it's in your hands. Screen is nice and sleek, using the NVIDIA control panel you can tweak it a little more, don't forget to set your display to the 4070. In the AW Command app you are able to enable HDR and Gsync; just like you can in NVIDIA. Load up time isn't bad; pretty quick. I don't really have any qualms with it yet, my Fiancé did trip over the power cord and block, so just be aware of that occurring while its plugged in. Luckily the brick and cords are well made; i also like the fact the power brick isn't an actual brick, its slender and sleek. It has the ability to power the M16 all of its 280W without becoming an ingot itself. Overall, this is a well worth buy even at retail i would say its worth it still. Of course i recommend saving as much as you can if you can. Just know this small gaming laptop packs a big punch. If you travel and still want to play competitively, this laptop enables you to excel at it. * I have not tested the battery life,

I’ve been using the Alienware M16 R2 for a bit now, and honestly, it’s held up really well. It’s served me solid both as a gaming laptop and a work machine, I do music production and some light video editing, and it chews through sessions without slowing down or glitching out. The 240Hz screen is clean and responsive, whether I’m working on edits or just relaxing with a game. It runs most newer titles at high settings without any issues. Fans are quiet unless you’re in overlocking which is expected. All in all it stays cool enough to not be an issue. Battery life is what you’d expect for this kind of setup (don’t stray too far from a charger if you’re working heavy), but plugged in, it’s a beast. No regrets. It does what I need without hassle, fast, reliable, and just works.

This reviewer received promo considerations or sweepstakes entry for writing a review. Nice easy to read display. 240hz refresh rate really is better on eyes. It runs most of my games at 100fps or higher. The built in fans are not intrusively loud but you can hear them speed up which sounds like a quiet blower fan. There is a problem with the built in Alienware Command Center. Once exiting the game it won't revert keyboard lights back to default. Dell is looking into it. The A03 sound driver is faulty causing intermittent dropouts of sound requiring a reboot each time. rolled back to A02 which then it seemed to work normal. These are software issues and not really anything Best Buy can help with. Only the OOB hardware. 5 stars for performance and quality. Some give 4/5 for heating but I have had many laptops that get warm to the touch. It's just a fact of life with powerful laptops. If your laptop isn't warm while working, then it's not very powerful in comparison. This laptop has 2 GPU's. one is Intel Arc with 128MB VRAM the other is Nvidia RTX 4070 with 8GB dedicated VRAM. The cpu is a Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with 16 cores 22 logical processors. This cpu is more than adequate for X-Plane 12 because this flight simulator is cpu load intensive. GPU isn't used as hard, Same goes for Elite Dangerous. Racing games like Assetto Corsa work really well with a high 100+ FPS. Crisp and clear graphics. This game is what the 240hz refresh rate comes in handy. If you are used to 60hz refrsh rate then 240hz is going to take a week or so for your eyes to adjust. You may feel some slight headache but that goes away.

This is my first gaming pc or laptop so i cant really compare to other PCs. So far it has been working very well with performance being honestly better than i expected. Nvidias software could be better and more user friendly but i cant fault the device for that. Same goes for windows 11 and microsoft. I plan to upgrade the ram which alienware definitely made an easy task compared to other laptops i have seen in reviews and tutorials. Overall i would certainly recommend it if you are in the market for a gaming laptop. It is an especially good deal if you get it on sale like i did. The chassis feels solid but i do wish it had more metal because i hate anything plastic on a device. The fit and finish is good but i wouldnt call it excellent. I also wish it had a camera cover but thats just me and a piece of tape does the job just as well.

Excellent notebook, slightly smaller weight than competitors, but it is still very noisy in performance mode. In addition, it could have an even smaller charger.

The Alienware - m16 R2 QHD+ 240Hz Gaming Laptop - Intel Core Ultra 7 - 16GB Memory - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 - 1TB SSD - Dark Metallic Moon laptop is a great mid-range offering from Dell that is available in several configurations. This version sits somewhere in the middle to upper middle of the pack and offers a nice price to hardware configuration. They also come in AMD configurations that go for less and a version with the Nvidea 4080 GPU that is significantly more. There is also a more expensive AMD version. This laptop comes in just about any configuration you can think of. As someone that has several laptops I can tell you that the screen is dialed in really good on this one and you can put it on max brightness without any issues of degrading anything and it is very visually appealing at full brightness. It is not the best laptop screen I have seen but it is very good and it does have HDR. This is the only 2k screen I have on a laptop and I think it is a great resolution for a laptop that looks great and plays well with the Nvidea 4070 graphics card. You may however want to play some games in 1080p if you are looking for really high frame rates. However, the 240hz display helps a lot with fast-moving objects and the majority of games will play at high to max settings just fine. I played a first-person shooter and it performed really well and looked quite stunning. The speakers are also some of the best I have heard on a laptop and have great range with decent low-end sound. That brings up a point I should make and that is that this laptop looks really good. The backlit keyboard and the cool Alienware power button along with the LED surround mouse touchpad look great. The LED-lit Alienware symbol on the lid is really cool as well and it all looks really good with the dark grey and black case. I have long been a fan of Dell products and they offer some of the best screens in the industry. If you are someone that is a professional looking for a good laptop that will do well both with games and work including video editing this laptop is a good choice. Dell makes high-quality products and they are always at the top of my list when looking for good PC hardware. I doubt to many people would be disappointed with this configuration especially if they have a budget that includes the price of this version.

Well-built, high-end feel, very good display, comfortable keyboard (though it's missing the 10-key), snappy performance around WIndows, and fantastic gaming experience make this a complete desktop replacement laptop, at least for me. It has an open M.2 slot to drop in another SSD, and the RAM was easy to upgrade to the 32GB that this probably should have shipped with at the price Dell is asking for it. I got mine at a significant discount Open-Box, so I have no complaints in the value department, even after spending a little more for the extra storage and RAM. It does run warm when doing gaming laptop things, as should be expected. I set it on top of the fan-powered cooling mat I had for my old gaming laptop, and that addressed the heat. Battery life is one of those things that can vary so much depending on how you're using the laptop and the screen brightness settings. I get a few hours off the plug doing internet browsing, light office work, and other non-gaming stuff before I get to 50%, at which point I plug back in because it's about time to have some fun doing gaming stuff.

I have had this laptop for a couple of weeks now (purchased just before Thanksgiving when it went on sale as a Black Friday Doorbuster). So far, I have been pretty impressed with it. The display is great; it has a matte finish so there are no reflections/glare noticeable. The keyboard is very nice, especially given how many laptops today are not meant for a touch typist. I love the ability of this laptop to be upgraded by the end-user relatively easily, and the online users guide explains how (just need the proper tools which are easily purchased). I have already upgraded the memory from 16GB to 32GB using Kinston Fury SODIMMs, and it is working well. Just be sure it is rated at 5600 MT/s (Dell does not give a spec on the CAS latency). There is a second, unused NVMe slot that can be used to add another drive (either a 2280 or 2230 form factor). WARNING: You will need to purchase separately the proper heat shield for your added drive; they can be purchased directly from Dell at a very reasonable cost. (My machine came with a 1TB 2230 NVMe drive, so if I want to replace it with a larger 2280 form factor drive, I will need to replace that heat shield as well.) The first downside I can see with this machine is its BIOS. First, it is a bit flakey, and will occasionally lock up with an undocumented error code (1 red light, followed by 8 blue lights). I have been in contact with Dell support, and then they suggested that after the firmware update is complete, reset the BIOS to use the "BIOS Defaults" (not the "Factory Defaults", which I found to be counter intuitive). After several emails back and forth, and a couple of phone calls, we have determined that using tools such as HWMonitor will interact wtih the BIOS and cause the issue. Tech support has assured me that Development will have a new BIOS within the next few weeks to address these issues. Secondly, there are very few options for someone looking to modify the BIOS settings for overclocking, etc., other than what they call TCC (which is a way to lower the maximum temperature of the CPU). For those looking to have extreme access to overclocking settings, this is not the machine for you. For my needs, it was good enough; it does automatically set the memory speed to the proper XMP settings for the memory installed. And I am limiting the CPU to 90C max, as I do push the CPU too hard/hot with the simulations I do when not playing games, etc. The second downside is a minor one, in that it does not have any shutter built in for the camera. With some of the lower cost Dell laptops including them, I am dismayed they could not put one into something of this caliber. I put a third party one on this machine, but it is a little too big for the small bezel of this display; I hope to find something more appropriate in the future for this machine.

Ive always veen drawn to the Alienware m series of laptops due to the combination of performance and the ability to uograde ram and storage. However, the old design caused the footprint of the laptop to be much larger. I would call the reddsifn portable, but it makes the m16 R2 in line with other 16 inch gaming laptops. I lucked into an Open Box - Excellent for this laptop, so I welcomed the additional savings. So far I am super impressed with the performance of the laptop (been playing Witcher 3 - Ultra+ settings) and it has been handling it great. I was nervous about the screen - this laptop has gotten flak for sticking with a 300 nit IPS when competing laptops have switched to mini-LED & Oled. For gaming this display is more than capable and gets plenty bright to my eye. I do have a 16” Macbook Pro that I use for watching shows and reading and the much better screen quality is undeniable, but it’s not like the m16 R2 screen is bad.

This is a very expensive gaming laptop. It has good performance, but when it’s running full tilt, the fans are quite loud. One other issue I have is there are only two USB-A ports and I use a few more peripherals than that, so I plugged a USB hub into one of the ports. Even with the USB power management settings adjusted, the power to the USB ports (the one with the hub as well as the one without the hub) cycles power periodically and I lose my mouse and keyboard for a few seconds. Clearly, as a gaming laptop that is not a good thing. The screen is plenty bright with excellent clarity and resolution is good. Love the 240hz capability, even if it only gets up there on lower demanding games (epsorts).

I had this laptop for about two weeks and was pretty happy with it initially. Ultimately I decided to return it and go with the Lenovo Legion 7i. Make no mistake it’s a very good gaming laptop, but it’s outclassed at its price point. Performance was good, and the cooling system did a good job keeping up. The screen is surprisingly good, but disappointed that dell didn’t opt for better panel options for this model. Speakers are terrible, just keep the sound muted unless you’re using headphones. I actually really liked the keyboard, but the trackpad is extremely bad. If you don’t have an issue with plastic trackpads you probably won’t have the same frustrations I had. If I had chosen to keep this laptop I would’ve been happy, but moving to a different laptop with a build quality I prefer and better specs for the exact same price made too much sense to ignore

its ok i just wish they didnt remove the rainbow lights in the back from the m16r1.the fans r loud.i get good fps in valorant roblox and fortnite.the stealth mode comes in handy when not gaming. i would recommend this to any1 looking for a powerful portable laptop

A great laptop experience features fast boot-up and smooth performance, with a sharp, bright display that makes everything from work documents to movies look vibrant; a comfortable keyboard for hours of typing and a precise trackpad; plus long battery life for uninterrupted work and a lightweight, durable design for portability.

Outstanding build quality...fully upgraded it to 64GB and 3TB by simply removing the bottom skin. Works like a champ gaming...consistently getting 250+Fps on all games at full quality. I wish the screen were just a smidge brighter...say 400 Nits instead of 300 Nits...but I play on an external Alienware monitor that is 450Nits...so eggh. I get a full 3hr 15 min on battery...just browser with 10-12 tabs and Excel, Word open....so if anyone needs an affordable Engineering student type laptop...this will run any/all Autocad and decent note taking for lecture so long as you have no more than 3 back to back classes.

I’ve been using my Alienware laptop for several months now, and I’m thoroughly impressed. The build quality is top-notch—sleek, futuristic design with durable materials that feel premium. What really stands out, though, is the performance. Whether it’s AAA gaming titles, video editing, or multitasking, the system handles everything smoothly without overheating or lag. The display is vibrant and crisp, making gameplay immersive, and the customizable RGB lighting adds a fun personal touch. I also appreciate the thoughtful software, like Alienware Command Center, which gives me full control over performance and cooling profiles. Yes, it’s a bit pricier than some competitors, but you get what you pay for—power, reliability, and a brand that understands gamers. Highly recommend for serious gamers or power users who want both aesthetics and top-tier specs.

I tried ACER HELIOS and Lenovo LOQ and the Alienware performed the best. I didn't want an XBOX to play Starfield so I picked this ALIENWARE. The fans are loud in performance mode but it keeps the laptop cool when gaming. It's a little heavy to carry all day but its manageable. I don't like fact that it lacks a touch screen but I manage. I'm going to upgrade the RAM to its max capacity and that's it. Wish the price was a little better but I'm satisfied overall. Thank You to the staff at Best Buy for dealing with my picky decisions when buying products as well. lol

I found a great desktop replacement. Fast processor and powerful video with all the necessary peripherals. Large vivid screen with responsive refresh rate. This laptop is capable of overclocking with manufacturer supported software. A superbly built machine from Dell’s gaming line Alienware. I personally boosted the ram from 16 gb to 64 gb and then benchmarked the laptop. It reached to the 94th percentile for speed in comparison to all the computers in the database. Very impressive and well worth the cost.