I'm convinced Alienware are cheaping out on their substandard screens because they're just assuming their customers are running them as desktop replacements, hooked upto expensive high end monitors most of the time.

I'll be running my X16 R1 4080 to the ground before I look at a new laptop or go back to a full desktop. I've got it running at a comfortable temps at 75-80c peak with maxed UV allowed in bios, capping the CPU at 4ghz with the CPU and GPU capped at the default nvidia boost clock with UV running comfortably at 65-70c. Paired with a IET 500 cooling pad.

Awesome, Thank you for your time David 👍

Another informative review; I hope Dell listen to you regarding the screens; thank you for what you do to help potential buyers.

thank you very much ! Daivd

Omg Ricky ❤🎉 By the thumbnail I thought you'd grown yourself a very long hair. Nice one. 😂

Great video! Did you check by chance what the power draw while gaming was on the 2 CPUs? My X16 R2 just moved to build complete this morning (04/17/2024) so hopefully be in my hands soon and I'll see if my temps are lining up too. Keep up the great work!

Looking at these for VR gaming and air cooled not liquid cooled. Any thoughts and am I right? Which one to get?

Once again, great video! Wish you made this before I ordered my M16 R2 lol. I received it last week. I went with the Ultra 9, RTX 4070, 64MB Ram, 2GB HDD and threw on a 3 year pro warranty. Price with warranty was $3,700. I am a loyal Alienware customer, I've purchased 3 of their laptops just recently (personal use). But I am extremely annoyed, as are other loyal customers. Limiting the RAM on the X16 while limiting the Graphics capability on the M16 seems like they are playing games...forcing us to pick one over the other. If anything, the M series is supposed to be the powerhouse and the X series is supposed to look prettier (while having some limitations). If the X16 had the capability for 64MB RAM, I would have went with the X. I should note that I also have an X14 (maxed) that I bought almost 2 years ago, in lunar white. Dell offered me $1,150 for it but I love it and am not giving it back. Perhaps they will offer me a decent price for this M16 in 2 years as well, hopefully the screens and device configs are better. If not, I may just order my next laptop elsewhere. I didn't realize only the M16 has the illuminated Alienware head on the keyboard, that's nice to know. I really like it on mine. Also, I play alot of Diablo 4. It's not playable with the M16 R2 unplugged using the same configuration. My little X14 does a much better job on battery power using the rtx 3060 (32MBRam), which was the top config at the time.

It's been over a year since I've been using my x15 and I love it, although I do have some of my complaints. Normally, if I was buying, I like the top teir when it comes to gaming, but I actually think the M16 r2 looks really nice, especially the border lit track pad. The thin and light design style I like better than my old m15 R3, which was way to bulky and jagged. The new ones are modernized and fresh, and they have improved from the performance issues from the entry level x15 laptops.

could you recommend a good cooling pad for this laptop?

Does dual channel ram in R2. gives more game performance than r1 ? . I am taking it for College use is it recommended. Can we use mux switch to increase battery life. Is it worth at 2500 dollars or there any other better models at this price range

I love my M16 R2 - the battery life alone is why I went with this laptop. Great review btw.

X16's Sound, especially Bass tone. Is just noticable and I can even feel it 😅

The m16 is very compelling for the mid-low end. After sales it will most likely be very well priced. Unfortunate that Alienware is going another year with dim lower quality screens in their laptop line-up. It's possible the Meteor Lake chips are harder to cool, than Raptor Lake, as they are a on a smaller process node and thus a denser design. Or the first couple batches just have a bad paste job. Top notch video.

thank you so much for all the comparisons. just bought the m16 r2 and should be coming Friday. x16 sold out yesterday on Dell’s special sale so it wasn’t meant to be

I've made my decision. Thanks!!!

totally agree with the conclution. This year I would pick the m16r2 over the x16r2. But will skip the r2 line in favor for the r3 line next year. Dell is best to take your advices to consideration!

Thank you for the detailed comparison. I think I made the correct decision... I upgraded from a 10-year-old 18" Intel i7 MSI gaming laptop to the M16 r2 with an RTX 4060, Intel Core Ultra 9 - 185H, 32GB RAM, which was discounted to $1499. It would've been + $300 for the RTX 4070, but I won't be gaming on it anyway (or very lightly). It's for my music production and A.I. Artwork and animations for my music creation when traveling, away from my music studio. As a side note, I already own the Aurora R16 desktop with the RTX4080, Intel Core i9-14900KF, 4TB m.2 SSD, and 64GB for my gaming and music production. I upgraded the m.2 SSD and the RAM after purchase. Now, I mentioned this because, I traded in my two-year-old Aurora R13, RTX3080, 16GB, 1 TB m.2 SSD for a whopping $966. The final cost with tax for the M16 r2 was an affordable $660. I am very happy with the transaction! The trade-in value of Alienware used PCs should be considered when people decide which brand to buy. Especially for those who sell their old PC to help offset the new purchase.

Thanks for a thorough comparison, and advice. I would go for the M16. It does make a lot of sense, but having a mechanical keyboard, is very very important for me. I have been having to slug around an external mechanical with my laptop, and I done with that. Can't stand the membranes regardless of how well they are designed. Alienware could have given that option to their customer...

Hi David! I'm stuck between the m16 r2 (core ultra 7 + RTX 4060) and the m15 r7 (i7 12700h + RTX 3070 Ti). (I'm gonna get either one in Black Friday sales). Could you give a suggestion on which one I should go? (PS I give preference to balance and the lifetime of the machine over portability)

How do you think the M18 R2 stacks up to both of these?

Hey, does anyone know the maximum duration of how long the RGB trackpad can stay on for? I’m not sure if there’s a new bios update with this x16 r2 where you can change it in the bios to stay on constantly like the X17? I was disappointed with the X16 R1 how the trackpad would shut off only after a couple seconds. My hopes aren’t high for any change haha. Thanks everyone

Love your videos any recommendations who to talk to / forums about upgrading laptop RAM? Running M15 R7 16gb but want to bump it up

Could you compare the performance of a max spec m18 r2, with the performance of a max spec aurora r16.

Nice! So from the M16 R2 and the X16 R2... I chose the M18 R2 😁

interesting thing about AW laptops, they get their build quality from the use of steel (alongside some aluminum and magnesim)

not a fan with AW anymore but just love how they look. ngl. Thanks for the content as usual!

Is x16 rtx 4070 r1 with 16 gb ddr5 6000mt/s good for coming years

I just bought this M16 and as user of the previous model of the other laptop… one of my big issues with it is having to reach to the back for everything. And it’s quite a burden to move around, just to bring that laptop to travel with me for work had to visit like 10 Samsonite stores to find a backpack to fit it alongside the charger. BTW yes the light on the back is cool but you never ever see it. And collects dust AF. 😂 So it was a no brainer for me to pick the M16 over the X16. With the M16 It was really easy to pick a MacBook PRO Thule case to protect and take it everywhere with me, the charger is quite slim and doesn’t get hot like the X model does. I love that it’s less heavy and for me the material feels really premium. Also loved the On/Off Button on the middle. The HDR looks great for videogames on the go and connecting the laptop to an 8K OLED TV to play videogames is now pretty easy with the additional USB C port. And transitions easily to match the TV resolution. Audio likewise… I use headphones always so… Not much of a difference for me. Loved your video It’s great to know I made a good choice… Didn’t knew I have available another port for an additional SSD. 🤩 I’ll try it soon for sure. I just installed 64GB DDR5 RAM on it and the games and 3D Software I use for work run freakin smoothly.

Nice looking machines. Impressive audio on the X16. Probably the one thing that would prevent me from considering an alienware, though, is that 300 nit screen. I like a bright display and am often using the laptop's internal screen, rather than an external monitor, so I tend to lean more towards Asus, Lenovo or Razer. The competitor from Asus, thr Strix line, I think has a much brighter screen with Mini-LED options. It would be cool if Alienware incorporated that option at least on the higher end models.

how heavy is it

Yeah I’m sticking with the M16 r1

Excellent content! David, I saw in a test that the R2 processors are less "powerful" than the R1! (I9-13900HX x i9 Ultra core 185H) Is this real?

Still holding out for oled or mini led.

Man I hope Alienware makes a comeback like they did with the A51M a couple years ago. I had to go with the Razer Blade 18 (2024) this year again because Alienware has no mini led. I just want an Alienware X18 with mini led ! My 2024 blade 18 gets up to 1260 nits!

Wife and I are holding on to our Alienware M17 R4's until they offer OLED or Mini-LED screens. Maybe by the time RTX 50XX series mobile cards come out.

my biggest issue is the cleaning... those vents that on the keyboard at the top are entirely crap... dust gets on them really easily.. and cleaning them off is merely impossible...

I think a bigger differentiation would have been made with respect to performance, if the x16 had went with the 14th gen core i series processors, rather than the core ultra series chips. The m series was meant to be the lower power, and portable solution, with its restricted 240W power brick, while the x16, with its 330W brick, had enough breathing space to go all out with the chipsets, like the m18 did. At least at the top spec configurations, this one small change would have given better justification for the premium that the x series could charge over the m series.

Can you do x16r2 vs the m18 r2

Can you please talk about temps on these laps. AMD M18 idle at 80c 😵

The day these machines are silent, I will buy!

Wait , gaming laptop with no lan port ?

I had an M16 R1 and returned it, ordered an M16 R2. The screens on these is terrible but other than that the specs and build quality make them better than any other option. I've had Asus gaming laptops too and they aren't even comparable, and almost all have soldered RAM. It's 2024, these should be available with 500 nit 4K screens.

What do we get as an alternative to these?

In spain the X16 R2 is not even available on the dell website :(

Waiting for Alienware to come out with new desktop R17. Quite sad R16 don't have white version.

Half way through this video my wife walked by. She told me I shouldn't be watching you, you are a bad influence and that the monthly allotment for toys has been spent! I only had the weak reply of, "He has all the cool toys!" I'm seriously thinking about the X16. I don't need it, but I do so want it!

Pls try the asus zephrus g14 and see 6

ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 16 AND 18 2024 HAVE 1100 NITS AND PANTONE VALIDATED DISPLAY ALSO MORE

Love these laptops but the displays are multiple tiers under the competition. It sad because they are super nice overall

I need one 😭😫

I would never choose the x16 simply because of the soldered ram. Thats a deal breaker for me

Honestly I'm disappointed in Alienware this year. The Core Ultra 7/9 CPUs in the M16R2 are no match in performance to the R9/i9 HX CPUs in last year's model, theres less expansion options and it loses the option for RTX 4080/4090 GPUs. Alienware still not putting 500 nits IPS LCD screens at minimum on these higher end laptops, particularly the X16 just isn't good enough imo. This year's Legion Pro 7i has been upgraded a 100% DCI P3 coverage 1600P 500 nits screen over the 100% sRGB coverage panel of the previous model and its definitely well priced compared to these Alienwares so not a good look for Dell.

I need XPS 16 vs X16 R2

Honestly best to wait for the X16 R3 (2025)

Both are now disappointments.

Side by side the X16 R2 looks much better with the classic AW design.

It looks like they took some junk out of the M16's trunk

My personal conclusion is: wait for revision 3. I really like Alienware, it’s my favorite laptop brand but… my gosh, this are overpriced BS compared to other laptops brands

I mean 16 not 6

101 C is ridiculous for a 4 fan system. Dont care if its the norm for laptops, they will die in the long run after your warranty runs out and then you're SoL.

i hate the design of the m16 r2 :( the r1 was GOAT, but the r2 looks so shitty :(

Just get a MacBook pro with at least 18gb and be free

PLEASE HELP ME 😭😫😫

Option 3: Don't buy Alienware ;)

bad