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日本Alienware x16 R2 review – Not a Real Alienware but a Great Workstation
There is a high demand for thin laptops in every price class. Nowadays, many users want to own a compact and powerful laptop. Alienware has tried to make one, with their x16 R2 model. This is an incredibly thin and unique-looking machine and you can also order it with up to GeForce RTX 4090.
But there’s a nuance. Since the 13th and 14th Gen Raptor Lake-H and HX CPUs dissipate tons of heat they aren’t suitable for such a slim profile. That’s why this notebook can be found with Meteor Lake-H processors. These efficient chips are a preferable choice for slim notebooks. You can choose between a 28W Core Ultra 7 155H, and 45W Core Ultra 9 185H. Based on our previous tests, we don’t find 28W CPUs suitable for GPUs like RTX 4080 so we chose the more powerful option.
Alienware x16 R2 is a very expensive gadget but at least it’s loaded with features such as a 6-speaker audio setup, Wi-Fi 7 + Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, G-SYNC, Advanced Optimus, and a MUX switch. The IR web camera and the fingerprint reader are optional. The top-end configurations have a vapor chamber cooling and Alienware’s own Element 31 liquid metal preapplied on both CPU and GPU chips. The not-so-powerful iterations are configured with regular cooling and the special thermal interface can be found on the GPU die only.
If you tend to play competitive online shooters like Counter-Strike 2 or Call Of Duty, the 1200p 480Hz display seems like a logical choice if you pick a laptop with at least RTX 4080 (to push the FPS as high as possible). However, we can confirm that the 1600p 240Hz panel is also good. The snappy screen comes with a nice bonus – astonishing color accuracy.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/alienware-x16-r2/
Contents
Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box
Alienware x16 R2 - Specs
- HDD/SSD
- up to 4000GB SSD
- M.2 Slot
- 2x 2230 / 2280 PCIe NVMe 4.0 x4 See photo
- RAM
- up to 32GB
- OS
- Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro
- Battery
- 90Wh, 6-cell, 90Wh
- Body material
- Aluminum, Magnesium alloy
- Dimensions
- 364.81 x 289.98 x 18.57 mm (14.36" x 11.42" x 0.73")
- Weight
- 2.66 kg (5.9 lbs)
- Ports and connectivity
- 2x USB Type-A
- 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Sleep and Charge
- 1x USB Type-C
- 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort
- 1x USB Type-C
- Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
- HDMI
- 2.1
- Displayport mini
- Card reader
- microSD (microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC)
- Ethernet LAN
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11be
- Bluetooth
- 5.4
- Audio jack
- 3.5mm Combo Jack
- Features
- Fingerprint reader
- Web camera
- FHD IR
- Backlit keyboard
- Microphone
- Digital Array Microphones
- Speakers
- 6x 3W Stereo Speakers
- Optical drive
- Security Lock slot
All Alienware x16 R2 configurations
Drivers
All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/alienware-x16-r2-laptop/drivers
What’s in the box?
Inside the package, there is a smaller fancy-looking black and white box that offers great protection for the laptop itself.
Depending on the notebook’s power, you get a 240W, 330W, or 360W barrel plug adapter. We also found a USB Type-C to 2.5GbE LAN adapter in the box.
Design and construction
The Alienware x16 R2 seems fresh and distinctive in Lunar Silver color. The 18-inch m18 R2 model has similar design lines with the Alien head logo on the top. The lid and the bottom panel are made of anodized aluminum, the keyboard is surrounded by stainless steel, and the palm rest zones are crafted from magnesium alloy. This laptop looks completely flat thanks to the super thin 18.57 mm profile. The minimal weight for the configurations with more modest hardware is 2.66 kg and it can reach 2.72 kg for the top dogs.
The hinges are a bit stiff so you have to apply more force than usual when opening the lid with one hand. The unit can be flexed but nothing too extreme. The base is solid which is nice to see. Both the lid and bottom plate are almost fingerprint-proof while the area below the keyboard attracts smudges easily. The signature illuminated ring on the back looks cool. Sadly, there are no port icons above the connectors on the rear.
The bottom bezel that houses the Alienware logo is thick, but the other three are thin. The upper one is home to a 1080p Web camera with optional IR functionality for Windows Hello.
Our laptop features the RGB LED AlienFX lighting touchpad which is reserved for the RTX 4080 and 4090-configured notebooks. The glass unit is a bit smaller (112 x 65 mm) and its clicking mechanism isn’t among the quietest we’ve tested. Still, the pad is smooth and accurate which is the most important thing.
The keyboard is surrounded by tall speaker grills for the two 2W front-firing tweeters on the sides and a top-placed honeycomb pattern ventilation grill that reveals a pair of cooling fans. You can choose between two board models. The base one is labeled as an “RGB per-key backlit keyboard” but you can opt for the Cherry unit that boasts premium features such as per-key AlienFX lighting alongside stainless steel switches and gold-plated electrical contact enclosures. Again, the latter is available only for the most powerful configurations. The keycaps are grippy, and pleasantly soft to the touch, with long travel and great feedback. The Power button doubles as an optional fingerprint reader.
All the RGBs of this machine are controlled with the aid of the Alienware software.
The bottom looks standard for an Alienware machine. We can see a huge honeycomb ventilation grill, two speaker cutouts for the four bottom-placed 3W woofer speakers, and a sizable rectangular rubber foot with rounded edges.
The heat is guided via four vents – two on the rear and two on the sides.
Ports
All connectors are placed on the back of the laptop which is great for the cable management on your desk. Let’s check the ports from left to right – an Audio Combo jack, a MicroSD card reader, a 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 port with DisplayPort 2.1 and 15W Power Delivery functionality followed by a 10 Gbps USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port that supports DisplayPort 1.4 and 15W Power Delivery, an HDMI 2.1, two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) ports with PowerShare extra, a Mini DisplayPort 1.4, and a power connector.
Display and Sound Quality, Get our Profiles
Alienware x16 R2 is equipped with a WQXGA (Wide Quad Extended Graphics Array) panel, model number AUO RHJNF-B160QAN (AUO3CA2). It comes with a 240Hz refresh rate. Its diagonal is 16.0″ (40.6 cm), and the resolution – 2560 x 1600. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 189 ppi, and their pitch – 0.13 x 0.13 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 46 cm (this is based on the pixel density and the typical viewing distance at which individual pixels cannot be distinguished by the human eye).
Viewing angles are good. We offer images from different angles to evaluate the quality.
Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.
The maximum measured brightness is 338 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 335 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 8%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6290K.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 180 nits) – in this particular case at 61% Brightness (White level = 179 cd/m2, Black level = 0.16 cd/m2).
Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1090:1.
To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.
Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.
Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.
The yellow dotted line shows Alienware x16 R2’s color gamut coverage.
Its display covers 100% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976 and 100% of DCI-P3.
We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results in factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.
Below you can compare the scores of the Alienware x16 R2 with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right), compared to the Display P3 color space.
The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.
The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is enhanced with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.
Response time (Gaming capabilities)
We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.
We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 7 ms. Short pixel response time is a prerequisite for a smooth picture in dynamic scenes. Gamers should be happy.
After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.
Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering)
Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.
Alienware x16 R2’s display doesn’t flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use.
Health Impact: Blue light emissions
Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.
Health Impact: Screen Reflectance
Glossy-coated displays can be inconvenient in high ambient light conditions due to reflections. We measure the screen reflection level for each laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is set at 60°.
The reflectance of Alienware x16 R2’s screen is 67.1 GU.
High Gloss: >70 GU
Medium Gloss: 30 – 70 GU
Low Gloss: <30 GU
Sound
Alienware x16 R2’s speakers produce a sound of very good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.
Buy our profiles
Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Alienware x16 R2 configurations with 16.0″ AUO RHJNF-B160QAN (AUO3CA2) (2560 x 1600) IPS.
*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].
Read more about the profiles HERE.
In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.
Office Work
Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.
Design and Gaming
This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.
Health-Guard
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.
Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount
Performance: CPU, GPU, Storage
All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “Performance” profile and the MUX switch activated in the Alienware Command Center app. The “Best performance” preset is applied in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu.
CPU options
This Alienware laptop is offered with Intel Core Ultra 7 155H or Core Ultra 9 185H.
As we said earlier, we chose a configuration with the Core Ultra 9 185H CPU.
Here, we evaluate the CPU's performance using a real-world 3D rendering task, assessing its ability to handle complex computations and rendering workloads efficiently.
Results are from the Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
Single-core performance ensures smooth operation and responsiveness in operating systems, providing a better user experience.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Single-Core test (higher is better)
Multi-core performance is essential for handling complex and demanding tasks, such as Video editing, CAD, and Scientific simulations.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
GPU options
You get a lot of different choices when it comes to GPU options – GeForce RTX 4060, RTX 4070, RTX 4080 (175W), and RTX 4090 (175W).
The notebook we bought has an RTX 4080.
The results are from 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics). Higher is better.
The results are from 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited. Higher is better.
Alienware x16 R2 GPU variants
Here you can see an approximate comparison between the GPUs that can be found in the Alienware x16 R2 models on the market. This way you can decide for yourself which Alienware x16 R2 model is the best bang for your buck.
Note: The chart shows the cheapest different GPU configurations so you should check what the other specifications of these laptops are by clicking on the laptop’s name / GPU.
The results are from 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics). Higher is better.
Results are from the 3DMark: Fire Strike (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the 3DMark: Wild Life (Graphics) benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Results are from the Unigine Superposition benchmark (higher the score, the better)
Here comes the shock: During just one Time Spy test, the Alienware x16 R2’s CPU and GPU memory temperatures both exceeded 100ºC!
We accidentally deleted the screenshot, but we have this photo that we shared in our internal group chat while discussing it
Gaming tests
| Metro Exodus | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Extreme (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 214 fps | 152 fps | 54 fps |
| Borderlands 3 | Full HD, V.Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Badass (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 164 fps | 148 fps | 131 fps | 116 fps |
| Far Cry 6 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 140 fps | 114 fps | 105 fps |
| Gears 5 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average FPS | 230 fps | 178 fps | 153 fps | 154 fps |
The GeForce RTX 4080 doesn’t perform as well as we expected. The results don’t even look that convincing compared to the Alienware m16 R2 with an RTX 4070.
Storage performance
This notebook has a 1TB SK Hynix PC811. This is a very fast Gen 4 NVMe that reaches a whooping 80°C during benchmarking even though it’s additionally cooled by two thermal pads. Chin up, the temperatures are way lower while gaming or just browsing the Web.
[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT Your Laptop
You can make your laptop Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we have yet to see a notebook that couldn't be made more powerful through modifications.
That's why we decided to bundle everything we know about how to achieve this in an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested, all in one project.
Read more about it here:
[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT Your Laptop
🛠️ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
⚙️ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
💻 Hardware upgrade tips for best results
🖼 Display enhancing
💾 OS Optimization for best performance
Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life
Max CPU load
In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.
Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; Average LP E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power
| Intel Core Ultra 9 185H (45W Base Power) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alienware x16 R2 | 3.99 GHz @ 3.29 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 83°C @ 149W | 3.79 GHz @ 3.29 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 88°C @ 145W | 3.44 GHz @ 3.29 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 92°C @ 124W |
| MSI Stealth 16 AI Studio A1V | 3.60 GHz @ 2.99 GHz @ 1.85 GHz @ 71°C @ 90W | 3.56 GHz @ 2.98 GHz @ 1.85 GHz @ 78°C @ 90W | 3.16 GHz @ 2.69 GHz @ 1.67 GHz @ 86°C @ 72W |
| Acer Predator Triton Neo 16 (PTN16-51) | 3.43 GHz @ 2.87 GHz @ 1.85 GHz @ 71°C @ 83W | 3.54 GHz @ 2.95 GHz @ 1.90 GHz @ 81°C @ 85W | 3.29 GHz @ 2.70 GHz @ 1.79 GHz @ 82°C @ 70W |
| Alienware m16 R2 | 3.94 GHz @ 3.29 GHz @ 2.02 GHz @ 85°C @ 115W | 3.42 GHz @ 3.29 GHz @ 2.40 GHz @ 93°C @ 110W | 3.45 GHz @ 2.92 GHz @ 1.84 GHz @ 85°C @ 78W |
| MSI Stealth 14 AI Studio A1V | 3.76 GHz @ 3.00 GHz @ 1.92 GHz @ 74°C @ 95W | 3.74 GHz @ 2.97 GHz @ 1.91 GHz @ 80°C @ 95W | 3.62 GHz @ 2.88 GHz @ 1.85 GHz @ 92°C @ 90W |
| ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 OLED (N6506) “Full-speed fan mode” | 3.79 GHz @ 3.25 GHz @ 2.16 GHz @ 91°C @ 114W | 3.16 GHz @ 2.85 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 95°C @ 86W | 3.26 GHz @ 2.57 GHz @ 1.70 GHz @ 73°C @ 65W |
| ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 OLED (N6506) “Performance fan mode” | 3.74 GHz @ 3.08 GHz @ 1.88 GHz @ 82°C @ 114W | 3.47 GHz @ 3.22 GHz @ 2.41 GHz @ 94°C @ 106W | 3.02 GHz @ 2.35 GHz @ 1.59 GHz @ 72°C @ 60W |
| ASUS Zenbook DUO (UX8406) | 3.13 GHz @ 2.54 GHz @ 1.68 GHz @ 78°C @ 64W | 2.55 GHz @ 2.25 GHz @ 1.39 GHz @ 90°C @ 53W | 2.09 GHz @ 1.88 GHz @ 1.00 GHz @ 78°C @ 35W |
No matter the load, the E and LP E-core clocks of the Core Ultra 9 185H look bolted on to 3.29 GHz / 2.49 GHz which is impressive. The P cores boost to nearly 4.00 GHz in short stress and 3.44 GHz in long 100% loads, and that’s a record-breaking result for the Alienware x16 R2.
Real-life gaming
| NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 | GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 2 min) | GPU frequency/ Core temp (after 30 min) |
|---|---|---|
| Alienware x16 R2 | 2210 MHz @ 79°C @ 161W | 1898 MHz @ 79°C @ 130W |
| MSI Vector 17 HX A13VHG | 2380 MHz @ 80°C @ 174W | 2360 MHz @ 83°C @ 174W |
| ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 16 (G634, 2024) | 2217 MHz @ 80°C @ 174W | 2210 MHz @ 83°C @ 174W |
| ASUS ROG Strix SCAR 18 (G834, 2024) | 2222 MHz @ 77°C @ 175W | 2245 MHz @ 79°C @ 172W |
| Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (16″, Gen 9) | 2403 MHz @ 80°C @ 172W | 2406 MHz @ 80°C @ 172W |
| MSI Vector 16 HX A13V | 2400 MHz @ 78°C @ 174W | 2364 MHz @ 83°C @ 174W |
| Acer Predator Helios 3D 15 SpartialLabs Edition (PH3D15-71) “Turbo” preset | 2227 MHz @ 79°C @ 173W | 2208 MHz @ 83°C @ 174W |
| Acer Predator Helios 3D 15 SpartialLabs Edition (PH3D15-71) “Performance” preset | 1886 MHz @ 73°C @ 139W | 1868 MHz @ 77°C @ 140W |
On the other hand, the GPU performance is disappointing. The RTX 4080 TGP hits just 130W because of the high memory temperatures – the VRAM reaches 110°C!
Gaming comfort
The Alienware Command Center app is the easiest way to tune the machine’s power. Okay, it could be. But IT IS NOT.
In most cases, it doesn’t even start. It’s loading for about a minute and then shows a “Something went wrong” message. It managed to boot on the 5th or 6th try, however, it’s buggy and seems unfinished.
Now, as the x16 R2 has a serious overheating problem, we tried to set custom fan curves in AWCC. Unfortunately, we could not tune the second GPU fan as the application UI shows just half of that part and there’s no horizontal scroll to view the whole segment.
Regarding the regular presets, “Overdrive” isn’t suitable for work or gaming because it ramps the fans to their max speed even in idle and the result is unbearable noise. The “Performance” mode seems like the right choice then for all kinds of usage – the fans are averagely noisy when the internals are stressed and almost quiet for light tasks.
During gaming, we measured 51°C on the WASD section and 53°C on the hotspot of the keyboard. That still feels warm to the touch, not scorching hot.
Also, the center of the board reaches 48°C, the front speaker zones – 56°C, and you can expect around 64°C on the top ventilation grill which warms up the screen’s bottom bezel to around 49°C.
The “Balanced” mode provides lower CPU clocks and noise levels compared to the “Performance” preset. This makes it a suitable choice for CPU-intensive tasks, as the frequencies are still adequate for any type of work.
The GPU doesn’t perform optimally because of the 110°C VRAM temperature. Even with the “Overdrive” mode that maxs out the fan speed, the power limit is around 158W, not 175W. You get around 130W plus short spikes to ~160W when the “Performance” mode is applied. Like the Alienware m18 R2, the “Quiet” preset is fantastic. The fans are almost silent and the TGP reaches around 118W – great! In addition, that’s the only mode where the memory thermals don’t hit 110°C and that’s why the TGP is stable.
Gaming “Overdrive”
Gaming “Performance”
Gaming “Performance” (TGP spikes)
Gaming “Quiet”You can also activate the “Stealth” mode to turn off all RGBs and activate the “Quiet” preset.
Battery
We conducted the battery tests with screen brightness adjusted to 180 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with.
This laptop’s 90Wh battery pack lasts for around 3 hours of video playback. To achieve that, you have to select the “Battery” preset in the Alienware Command Center app and apply the Optimus mode in the NVIDIA Control Panel.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance
To open this thin gaming machine, you have to undo 6 Phillips-head screws. The ones in the middle and the bottom are captive and they will slightly lift almost half of the panel up which makes the disassembly process a lot easier. Fully pry the sides and the front. Don’t pop the back. Raise the front of the metal plate, slide it forward, and lift it away from the chassis.
Here’s how the bottom plate looks on the inside.
This device is equipped with a 90Wh battery. To detach it, pull out the connector from the motherboard, and undo the 4 Phillips-head screws that fix the unit to the base. The capacity is enough for around 3 hours of video playback.
The memory is soldered. You get 16GB or 32GB of LPDDR5x-7467MHz RAM in dual-channel mode. All GeForce RTX 4080 and 4090-based laptops have 32GB of memory. The Wi-Fi card and the storage section are protected by metal shrouds. The two M.2 slots are compatible with 2230 and 2280 Gen 4 SSDs. There are long thermal pads on the inside of the metal caps and another pair of pads in front of the slots. RAID 0 is also supported. The Wi-Fi card also gets a similar cooling treatment.
The motherboard is inverted and that’s why part of the cooling isn’t visible. The vapor chamber thermal system like the one here is reserved for top-end notebooks with RTX 4080 and 4090. The same iterations also come with preapplied Element 31 liquid metal on both CPU and GPU dies while the other variants of the notebook have this thermal interface material on the GPU only. We can spot a massive quad fan setup and four heat sinks.
Verdict
Sorry, this is not a real Alienware. But let’s start with the positives. Alienware x16 R2 is a mind-blowingly thin laptop which is a rare find. Most of the build is made of metal and there is a soft rubberized finish on the palm rests which feels nice. The hinges seem stable and the overall chassis rigidness is on point. The optional Cherry keyboard is a good choice for gaming and the small illuminated glass touchpad is accurate.
The 1600p IPS display transforms this laptop into a multipurpose workstation. The screen is ideal for gaming since it has a 240Hz refresh rate and fast pixel response times of 7 ms. This panel is a wet dream for content creators. It covers fully the DCI-P3 gamut and if you apply our “Design and Gaming” profile, it’ll enhance the color accuracy to an average dE result of just 0.6 which is a superb score.
The Core Ultra 9 185H can maintain ~ 4.00 GHz / 3.29 GHz P and E core clock in short loads and 3.24 GHz / 3.29 GHz in long stress and yes, that’s the highest frequencies that we’ve seen from this CPU compared to the other devices that we have tested with the same chip. Yep, that’s why this notebook is appropriate for work – 3D rendering, compression, decompression, photo editing, you name it. Alienware x16 R2 is a great workstation!
The comfort under load depends on the power preset. The “Quiet” mode is nice – the GPU can sustain 118W, the fans are almost quiet, and the overall performance is more than acceptable. On the other hand, the “Overdrive” preset immediately maxes out the fan speed and the noise is so extremely high. The “Performance” mode is the way to go for gaming or work. The noise is average and the CPU clocks are great.
Despite its vapor chamber cooling, the GPU memory temperatures of the GeForce RTX 4080 always hit 110°C (except when using the “Silent” preset). That’s why the average TGP value is just 130W if the “Performance” mode is applied. That’s too bad because we were curious to see if a super-clocked Meteor Lake chip (like the one here) is powerful enough to handle an RTX 4080 and reveal the full GPU potential.
Still, if your wallet is wide enough and you need a thin high-end laptop for work, the Alienware x16 R2 can amaze you with its great build quality, unique design, color-accurate display, comfortable input devices, and modern port selection that is entirely placed on the rear of the laptop. Just don’t buy it for gaming.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/alienware-x16-r2/
Pros
- Solid premium build
- Thin profile (18.57 mm)
- Vapor chamber cooling + liquid metal for the CPU and GPU dies (for RTX 4080 and 4090-based laptops)
- High CPU frequencies under long load (3.44 GHz / 3.29 GHz P and E-core clock)
- Wide viewing angles + 1600p resolution (AUO3CA2)
- Snappy pixel response times of 7 ms (AUO3CA2)
- PWM-free (AUO3CA2)
- 338 nit max brightness + 240Hz refresh rate (AUO3CA2)
- 100% sRGB and DCI P3 coverage + accurate colors with our “Design and Gaming” profile (AUO3CA2)
- 2x M.2 slots
- Thermal pads for the SSDs and the Wi-Fi card
- Great Cherry keyboard (option)
- Precise illuminated glass touchpad (option)
- Modern port selection that is entirely placed on the back
- The fans aren’t loud in “Performance” mode
- Low noise and a 118W GPU TGP in “Quiet” mode
- The Alienware Command Center app is full of useful extras
- NVIDIA Advanced Optimus, G-Sync + MUX switch
- Optional fingerprint reader and IR Web camera
- Fast Gen 4 NVMe (1TB SK Hynix PC811)
Cons
- High price
- Soldered RAM and no Gen 5 SSD slots
- Super High VRAM temperatures – 110ºC, which lead to TGP throttle
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This problem with the vram temperature is certainly caused by incorrect placement of a thermal pad.
It appears to be a widespread issue, as many users on Reddit are also complaining about high temperatures. By the way, the laptop we reviewed is from an online store, not a review sample.
Could you share a link to where you read about the thermal pad issue, or is this something you’ve noticed yourself with this model?
The vram is cooled either through thermalpads (Dell/Alienware) or with thermal putty. If the Vram is reaching its temperature limit (110°C) adequate contact is certainly not occurring. I already tested an X16 R2 that could maintain ~170W on the GPU in both performance and Overdrive mode with Vram at ~94°C after more than half an hour of playing. There is a huge variation in the quality of thermal paste application on the CPU/GPU (Dell/Alienware models in particular suffer a lot from this lack of quality control) between units and possibly, although rarer in my personal experience, in the correct placement… Read more »
If the laptop is purchased a content suggestion is to open it and fix the thermalpad(s) and compare the results.
Maybe even replace it with thermal putty (I recommend Upsiren UTP-8)…
A shame because according to the CPU tests, the Element 31 has a great application on your unit…
While your suggestion is certainly interesting, our workflow is bound by a strict schedule, and we typically can’t allocate time to ‘repair’ faulty devices.
We’ll revisit the issue if an opportunity arises, but we’ve found multiple reviews with similar results, so it would be more effective to first seek Alienware’s perspective on this matter. Honestly, we’d be pleased if there’s a fix because the notebook is otherwise excellent, but we won’t hold our breath.
For now, let’s just forward this to Dell/Alienware 🙂