Alienware m18 R2 review: A premium, beastly laptop for no-compromises gaming

Dell announced a new lineup of gaming laptops earlier this year at CES 2024, including the Alienware m18 R2. It’s a gaming powerhouse with an 18-inch display that succeeds the original Alienware m18 R1. Unlike its smaller counterpart, the m16 R2, Dell didn’t redesign the Alienware m18 R2 this year. Instead, the m18 R2 got a spec bump. The laptop still features Nvidia GeForce RTX 40-series graphics, but now includes the Intel 14th-generation HX processor platform. While not as flashy of an upgrade, this makes the m18 R2 — which was already an excellent performer — even better. It’ll easily replace the outgoing Alienware m18 R1 as our favorite 18-inch laptop for gaming.

Usually, picking out a gaming laptop means giving up a few things based on your needs. You can pick a laptop with a great display and a thin form factor, but you’ll give up performance. However, the Alienware m18 R2 puts together all the essential features of a quality gaming PC and crams them into a tiny form factor. It has a responsive and color-accurate display, fast gaming performance, and a compact design. There are two main compromises that you’ll make by choosing the m18 R2, and those are the laptop’s weight and price. If you can deal with a heavy laptop and are willing to pay a lot, the Alienware m18 R2 won’t disappoint.

About this review: Dell loaned us an Alienware m18 R2 for review. The company had no input in this review, and did not see its contents before publishing.

Alienware m18 R2

Gaming beast

It’ll crush any game and provide stunning graphics

Dell took the Alienware m18 and gave it a boost to Intel’s 14th-generation HX platform for the R2 model, and made an already-good gaming laptop great. Owners of the original Alienware m18 or another Nvidia RTX 40-series laptop probably won’t feel the need to upgrade. However, people looking for a no-compromises gaming laptop will love the m18 R2. It crushes in-game performance, has a stunning display, and features a sleek design.

Pros

• Having 14th-gen HX Intel processors and Nvidia RTX 40-series GPUs makes for a performance champion
• The display is excellent and responsive, with great color accuracy
• The design and build is better than similarly-priced gaming laptops
• Superb port selection includes Thunderbolt 4, SD, and more

Cons

• Some m18 R2 configurations can weigh nearly 10 pounds
• The laptop is fairly thin, but it’s still not very portable
• The speakers lack fullness, sound tinny, and could be better overall
• Our review unit as tested is expensive, retailing for $3,600

Pricing and availability

The Alienware m18 R2 released earlier this year as a follow-up to the original Alienware m18, which was a performance-focused gaming laptop. There is a lot of variety in the Alienware m18 R2’s price and performance, depending on the configuration you choose. The laptop starts at $1,900, and includes an Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia RTX 4060 graphics, and a 1200p display. As tested, our review unit retails for $3,600 and includes the top-of-the-line Intel Core i9 processor, Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU, and 1600p display. Keep in mind when configuring your m18 R2 that cheaper configurations will undoubtedly perform worse than the expensive configuration we reviewed.

Specs

Design and ports

Sleek, heavy, and packed with a ton of connectivity options

The Alienware m18 R2 is one of the better-looking gaming laptops out there, featuring a thin form factor and a chassis made of mostly metal. At its thickest point, the laptop is just over an inch thick. The design is subtle, and if not for the large thermal shelf, you might mistake it for a large workstation laptop. There are some RGB elements, such as the Alienware logo and the loop around the back of the thermal shelf. However, compared to most gaming laptops, the design of the Alienware m18 R2 offers a low-key look.

Dell redesigned the Alienware m16 R2 this year, ditching the laptop’s thermal shelf to make it more portable and better looking. But the bigger Alienware m18 R2 retains this element in order to keep its high-end components and larger cooling system. The m18 R2 is also extremely heavy, with the heaviest configuration weighing nearly 10 pounds.

An Alienware m18 R2 (left) compared to an Alienware m16 R2 (right).

The Alienware m18 R2 offers plenty of ports, and they’re spread out between the back and sides of the laptop. On the right side of the m18 R2, there’s a USB-C port near the palm rest that is extremely easy to access in a pinch. The back houses most of the I/O options, including two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB-A port, an HDMI port, a mini-DisplayPort, an SD card reader, and a barrel charging port. The left side offers two more USB-A ports, an RJ45 jack, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Put simply, the m18 R2 will be able to handle all of your connectivity needs.

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Keyboard and touchpad

The Cherry MX mechanical laptop switches are a game-changer

There are a few benefits that you’ll receive from picking a big, bulky 18-inch laptop over something smaller. The obvious thing is performance, but on the Alienware m18 R2, a more subtle one is the keyboard and touchpad. The m18 R2 features fully-mechanical switches with 1.8mm of total travel, and that made it the best laptop keyboard I’ve ever used. The switches are CherryMX variants modified to fit in the laptop form factor, and they are excellent. You can feel and hear the click of each key, which feels the same regardless of where you press it. Underneath, the keyboard offers per-key RGB lighting that can be customized in software.

There is also a numpad and plenty of function keys, as well as full-sized arrow keys. The arrow keys aren’t shifted down on the m18 R2 like some other gaming laptops, but that wasn’t an issue while gaming. Of the standard function keys, there are a few specifically designed for the m18 R2. The F1 key, for example, changes the laptop’s performance mode. The F2 key can activate “stealth mode,” a setting that will tame the fans and RGB elements to make the laptop blend in better.

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As for the touchpad, it’s good for a gaming laptop, but you’ll still want to use a mouse whenever possible. The area of the touchpad isn’t as large as you might expect, considering the 18-inch form factor. However, the thermal shelf and cooling system in the Alienware m18 R2 pushes the keyboard down. This limits how much diagonal space can be allocated to a large touchpad.

Display

Visually stunning in everyday use, and color-accurate in display tests

The Alienware m18 R2 comes with a lot of configuration options for many of its components, and the display is no different. With the screen, you have to decide whether you prioritize refresh rate or resolution. One option is an 18-inch, QHD+ display with a 2560 x 1600 resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. The other is an 18-inch, FHD+ panel with a 1920 x 1200 resolution and a 480Hz refresh rate. The 480Hz refresh rate option will certainly feel more responsive than the 166Hz variant, the latter of which I tested. There are some similarities between the two panels, such as Dell’s claimed 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

Before even running my display tests, I noticed the colors popped more than usual in Forza Horizon 5. Gaming laptops aren’t often known for their color accuracy, so the difference between the Alienware m18 R2 and other laptops I’ve tested recently was immediately perceptible. The display blows the ones on cheaper gaming laptops, like the Lenovo LOQ 15, out of the water. The tests back this up, too. I measured 100% coverage of the sRGB gamut, and 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut. The last number is slightly less than Dell claims, but my result is definitely within the margin of error for my testing equipment.

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For my needs, I’d rather have the higher resolution display on the m18 R2 than the higher refresh rate. The 165Hz screen was more than enough for games to feel snappy and smooth in my testing. However, if you’re a professional gamer playing at a high level, you might be able to get more usage out of the better responsiveness. Speaking of, both versions of the display feature 3ms gray-to-gray response time. Regardless of which one you choose, the colors will be vibrant and stunning. Dell advertises a 300-nit brightness rating, and my unit actually beat that in our tests, measuring 313 nits.

Performance

I hate to sound cliché, but this laptop handles everything you throw at it

Even on gaming laptops with RTX 40-series graphics cards, I often have to turn down the graphics settings on my favorite games to get high refresh rates. However, with the Intel Core i9 14900 HX processor and RTX 4090 graphics card, the Alienware m18 R2 was different. Every game I tried on the m18 R2 ran on the highest settings by default after detecting my system’s components. I manually adjusted a few things to make sure I was stressing the Alienware m18 R2 as much as possible, and the laptop still didn’t show many signs of faltering. The computer did begin to get hot, and the fans became loud, but that was to be expected.

I played a variety of titles on the Alienware m18 R2, including Fortnite, Forza Horizon 5, and Grand Theft Auto V. Fortnite ran at the highest “epic” settings and unlimited frame rates with no problems at all, and the game hovered around 80–120 FPS most of the time. In Forza Horizon 5, the m18 R2 put up a score of 82 FPS while running on the “extreme” preset. There wasn’t a single game I tried that didn’t run at the highest setting at frame rates well above playable levels.

You can see how the Alienware m18 R2 performs against other high-end RTX 4090 systems, as well as the smaller m16 R2 with the RTX 4070, in the table below. We tested the laptop in PCMark 10, Geekbench 6, 3DMark: Time Spy Extreme, and Cinebench 2024 using the “performance” mode while connected to power.

As the results show, the Alienware m18 R2 can hang with the best of the best in terms of performance. The laptop beat the liquid-cooled Lenovo Legion 9i in PCMark 10 thanks to its 14th-gen HX processor, but narrowly lost to the Legion 9i in graphics-based tests. Compared to the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16, which has the same CPU and GPU as the Alienware m18 R2, the m18 R2 lagged behind slightly in most tests. However, the m18 R2 did manage to beat out the Strix Scar 16 in the Cinebench 2024 graphics test. Keep in mind that you will see a performance dropoff on battery power, but the m18 R2 will remain a great performer. I expect most people to use the m18 R2 connected to wall power often, but when using battery, you’ll get anywhere from a few hours to five or six depending on the performance setting and your tasks.

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Should you buy the Alienware m18 R2?

You should buy the Alienware m18 R2 if:

• You want an expensive, large laptop for no-compromise gaming
• You want the latest Intel processor and Nvidia graphics card for gaming
• You’re willing to pay a lot for an all-in-one laptop gaming setup

You should NOT buy the Alienware m18 R2 if:

• You want a portable gaming laptop for travel, or a dual-purpose laptop for work and play
• You would do fine with a cheaper laptop with decent specs and a more approachable price
• You’d rather buy a gaming laptop that is larger and bulkier, but lighter

An 18-inch gaming laptop like the Alienware m18 R2 appeals to a niche audience. That’s because laptops with the size and weight of the m18 R2 are certainly not portable, and they can be very expensive as well. For these reasons, the Alienware m18 R2 makes sense for someone who wants to play PC games without the hassle of building a gaming PC. Going a step further, laptops like the m18 R2 are for people who don’t even want to build a setup around a great pre-built gaming PC. The Alienware m18 R2 is an all-in-one package with a great display, refined design, and top-of-the-line components for excellent performance. If you’re willing to pay the price required to check all those boxes in the laptop form factor, you’ll enjoy the Alienware m18 R2.

Alienware m18 R2

Gaming beast

It’ll crush any game and provide stunning graphics

Want a large gaming laptop that’ll become an all-in-one gaming powerhouse? With a 14th-generation HX processor and Nvidia RTX 40-series graphics, the Alienware m18 R2 is up for the challenge. You’ll just have to look past the heavy build and high price tag for higher-end configurations.