Latest news with #Alienwarex16R2
Tom's Guide
23-05-2025
- Tom's Guide
Wow! Epic Memorial Day gaming deal knocks $900 off the Alienware x16 R2 with RTX 4090
There's been a massive amount of news for PC gamers to chew through this week, courtesy of Computex 2025. But none of it had me spit out my coffee in surprise the same way this epic Memorial Day Alienware deal did. Right now, you can bag the Alienware x16 R2 with an RTX 4090 for $900 off at Dell. That brings the price down by nearly a grand to $2,699. Yes, okay, it's still expensive, but what you're getting in return is a premium gaming setup (with eye-catching looks) capable of taking on pretty much any triple-A game you throw at it. With a $900 discount, you can now grab this beefy Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop for an all-new low price. Sporting an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 32GB of DDR5X RAM, a 2TB SSD and a neat 16-inch FHD (1920 x 1200) 480Hz display, you bet it can make any game you throw at it look spectacular. Alienware holds something of a special place in my heart. My first ever gaming laptop was the Alienware m14x back in 2012. And while I've had my ass whupped by cruel Father Time over the last decade or so, you can't say the same about Dell's gaming sub-brand. This RGB-encrusted laptop comes with a 16-inch FHD+ (1920 x 1200) display with a 3ms response rate and a crazy 480Hz refresh rate. That will make competitive multiplayer games look as smooth as ever. Meanwhile, the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, RTX 4090 GPU and 32GB of DDR5X RAM will crunch through the most demanding games without producing a single bead of sweat. Plus, there's 2TB of glorious SSD space to store all those big PC titles. If you need more proof this is a decent investment — especially at $900 off the asking price — check out our Alienware x16 R2 review. Our reviewer was suitably impressed with the surprisingly thin design and all the customization options (there's an RGB touchpad!) that are a hallmark of Alienware rigs. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. As a taste of its power, we ran Cyberpunk 2077 at Ultra settings with ray tracing, and it hit a solid 64 frames per second. That's not so much a mic drop as a mic chokeslam. But to prove I've not lost my cynical edge, a couple of things may hold you back from hitting that "add to cart" button. Firstly, like any gaming rig, this thing will get loud when it's put under pressure. It also doesn't have an Ethernet port, which is weird. Still, if you're after one of the best gaming PCs around and like yourself a good deal, then I highly recommend this one. It's the perfect way to spend Memorial Day; tell the family you're sick, chuck your phone in another room and hunker down with your game of choice for 72 hours. Safe in the knowledge you've saved yourself nine Benjamins in the process.
Business Mayor
22-05-2025
- Business Mayor
The Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop with RTX 4090 is $900 off
You have to be prepared to spend a significant amount of cash if you want a powerful gaming laptop, but you should also be on the lookout for any opportunities at savings. Take a look at Alienware deals at Dell, which has tempting offers like this one: the Alienware x16 R2 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card with a $900 discount. From its original price of $3,600, it's down to $2,700, which is still pretty expensive, but an excellent price for a device of its caliber. You need to hurry though, as it may be back to its regular price as soon as tomorrow! The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card that's found in this configuration of the Alienware x16 R2 is an extremely powerful GPU. When you combine it with the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and 32GB of RAM, which our guide on how much RAM you need says is the sweet spot for high-end gamers, you'll enjoy an unparalleled gaming experience when playing the best PC games — and that's even if you select the most demanding settings. The Alienware x16 R2 is equipped with a 16-inch screen with Full HD+ resolution and a 480Hz refresh rate, which will allow it to give justice to modern graphics. You'll be able to install several titles on the gaming laptop as it comes with a 2TB SSD, and with Windows 11 Home out of the box, you can start building your video game library as soon as you turn on the Alienware x16 R2 for the first time. Gamers who want an upgrade should check out gaming laptop deals, as there are some excellent bargains on top-of-the-line models. Here's one from Dell — the Alienware x16 R2 with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card for $2,700, for savings of $900 on its sticker price of $3,600. We don't expect the discount to stick around for much longer though, so if you want to take advantage of this offer, there's only one thing to do: add the Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop to your cart and finish the checkout process immediately.
WIRED
13-03-2025
- WIRED
Make Your Windows PC Last 30 Percent Longer by Adjusting These Settings
By dictating how your computer manages its battery power throughout the workday, you can vastly extend your PC's daily uptime. Photo-Illustration:The phrase 'you're doing it wrong' can apply to just about anything. For me, it's cooking an egg soufflé (too much mixing), cross-country skiing (not enough glide), and—worst of all—cranking on a Windows laptop all day and allowing it to die prematurely. It's a problem, because I tend to increase the brightness setting too high and rely on Windows' default battery-saving options to get me through the day. I also like to be mobile, and so I rarely bother with a charger. When my PC laptop suddenly turns off, all the productivity hacks in the world can't save me. Windows PC laptops can be tweaked to last about 30 percent longer if you adjust a few settings and create a 'power plan' for the day. These tactics can extend the battery life of a new machine and also make an older machine more usable by keeping it running further into the workday. For a typical machine, you can add a good 90 minutes of battery usage by following these tips. Use a Quick Standby Key Command I'll start with the biggest power-saving tip that worked for me. While I'm working on a laptop, I sometimes switch to my phone or tablet and forget to put my laptop into standby mode. The laptop sits idle for a while with the screen running, which consumes power. I started using a key command that remedies that problem. With Windows 11, when you press Alt + F4, you'll see a menu showing options to put the laptop to sleep or into standby mode. Either option will save power. I decided to measure the impact of doing this. I used an Alienware x16 R2 gaming laptop all day without putting it into sleep mode, and it lasted about six hours with continuous usage (the company says the battery is supposed to last seven hours). I then used my trick to put it into sleep mode each time I made a phone call or switched to an iPad. The laptop ran about 90 minutes longer that day! It's a little annoying having to wait for the laptop to wake back up when you come back to it, but it's worth it. Lower the Refresh Rate on Your Display I didn't realize this until I started testing laptops to squeeze out more battery power, but lowering the screen's refresh rate is also extremely effective at saving power. The reason has to do with how a laptop displays information, especially on older models. A high refresh rate makes games and videos look smoother (more images are 'refreshed' on the screen), but the laptop has to work harder to push those pixels, and this drains the battery. Newer laptops like the Alienware x16 R2 I tested will lower the refresh rate automatically when battery reserves are low, but if your Windows PC is a few years old, you can manually adjust the refresh rate. Click Start, then go to Settings > System > Display > Advanced display settings. Look for the refresh rate setting and select 60 Hz. Microsoft estimates that reducing your refresh rate to this setting alone can save between 10 to 30 percent on battery life. Your games and videos may not look as smooth, but if you're like me and use Google Docs all day, you'll barely notice. Create a Complex Power Plan If you're not as willing to run at a reduced refresh rate all day, another trick is to use a power plan. Windows 11 lets you create multiple power plans for various tasks or parts of your workday, and then switch between them. For example, you might check email in the morning and can rely on a lower brightness setting, lower performance, and a shorter delay before the laptop goes into standby mode. In the afternoon, you might prefer more power for watching videos and browsing the web. Then, at night, you can use a more balanced battery setting to finish the day. To create power plans using Windows 11, open the Control Panel, navigate to the Hardware and Sound tab, then select Power Options and click Create a power plan. Name the first plan 'Morning' and set the timer for going on standby and dimming the screen to only about 5 minutes when you're on battery power (not plugged into a power source). That saves more battery, but means you have to wait for the laptop to resume more often. This shouldn't be a problem if you're banging out emails. Click Change advanced power settings and lower the setting for Max performance rate to only 50 percent. Now create an 'Afternoon' power plan that has a longer delay for screen dimming and standby (say, 30 minutes) and allows the computer to run at 100 percent max performance. Windows 11 has a built-in 'Balanced' power plan you can use in the evening. This will automatically adjust Windows' power-saving and performance settings based on how much battery life you have remaining. Now, all you have to do is select the plan you want for each part of the day. You will find each power plan listed under Control panel > Power Options. Experiment with the power plan settings to see what works best for you. Configure a Few More Settings It's worth experimenting with the power plans, but to achieve 30 percent more power on your laptop, there's a few other tweaks you should make. One is to use dark mode in Windows and whatever apps offer it. Surprisingly, this does save some battery power since the laptop doesn't have to work as hard to show a black background. To use dark mode, go to Settings, select Personalization, then Colors. Under Choose your mode, select Dark. There's one last tweak to make your Windows laptop last longer, and it was a surprise to me. I am familiar with several of the power-saving tips before researching what works the best, but I didn't know about this one. On a Windows 11 laptop, you can designate that specific apps use less power. First, start the Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc. Look for the app you want to configure, such as Microsoft Edge. Use the drop-down arrow to select the main app process (with Edge it's called 'browser'). Right-click on it and choose Efficiency mode. This means the app won't use as much CPU processing when it's doing that process. This will save on battery power. Adjusting all of these settings will have a major impact on your power usage. For me, the Alienware x16 lasted about 30 percent longer during a full day. You may even see more gains depending on which laptop you use. It means more productivity—and not having to carry a charger everywhere you go.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Yahoo
Alienware X16 R2 review: "style and substance"
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Alienware has a long and storied history in the world of gaming laptops, producing some of the most expensive, chunkiest, and best looking rigs in the game. Two of those hereditary features continue to the Alienware X16 R2 - it's certainly attractive, and definitely premium - but it's certainly trimmed down compared to the machines that ran before it. The 16-inch market is a heavy one, though, and with some of the best gaming laptops available using this middling form factor, the latest Alienware X16 has some serious competition. This is by no means a gaming laptop for all. Its high price point, premium chassis, and luxury extras put it firmly in the upper echelons of the market. It is, however, one of the best Alienware laptops on the shelves today - especially if you're happy to splash a little extra cash for a true investment. Very little has changed between generations, with the Alienware x16 R2 still offering the same slimline, svelte form factor as its predecessor. This is a skinnier machine than you'd usually find among enthusiasts, but it's not exactly the lightest on the market. The super-thin profile is hiding a lofty 6lb weight - the Razer Blade 16 only weighs in at 5.29lbs and the slightly chunkier Alienware M16 R2 slides in at 5.75lbs. Still, it weighs less than the 6.17lb Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9, and is still carryable in a backpack - though I did feel the relief when removing it after an extended period of time. I received the Lunar Silver version, a lighter, almost white design. A previous black model was also available, but it seems to have been lifted from Dell's store at the moment. With the new Alienware Area-51 gaming laptops on their way, its return is a little difficult to predict. Still, I prefer the crisp finish of the metal build I received. It's not exactly understated, that RGB lighting flashing across everything from the Alienware logo on the back panel to the touchpad under the hood certainly makes your intentions known from the outset. However, the slimline design certainly makes it feel more professional than chunky RGB-laden machines like the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16. The top lid is fairly subtle, not counting those vivid logo LEDs, with a simple soft-touch metallic finish and an embossed 'X' in the lower left corner. I switched that RGB off when working from a coffee shop during testing, though the large rear shelf is still pretty imposing. I'm not a fan of this cooling vent, and I haven't been since I reviewed my first Alienware laptop all those years ago. I had hope when the M16 R2 shrunk its footprint, removing the shelf entirely and finally leaving some space for the rest of my desk. Unfortunately, it's back here - and it's just as annoying as ever. It means the Alienware X16 R2 struggles to fit in some smaller laptop backpacks. I also missed the softer finish of the palm rest area in the M16 R2 here. While the cheaper device features an almost rubbery surface that provides excellent grip and ironically feels a little more premium under the hands, we're back to cold hard metal in the X16. It's plenty solid, with no flexing to the main rest area, even under heavier pushes, and the main keyboard stands firm against heavier keypresses. However, it doesn't feel quite as smart as the brand's cheaper alternative. Those classic Alienware hexagonal grills remain along the top of the deck, with additional stripes lining each side of the keys. They make for an understated internal design that still has fun with its gaming focus - the perfect combination of class and individualism in its aesthetic. The Alienware X16 R2 I've been testing features an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 GPU, which puts it around the middle of the configuration pack. The base model drops things down to an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with an RTX 4070 GPU for just under $2,500 / £1,950 - a costly price tag for the power you're buying. These are premium machines, and you'll easily find similar specs to my test unit that could well be $1,000 cheaper than its $3,199.99 / £2,999.99 MSRP - but there's more to the Alienware X16 than its internals. This is a rig for those who want the headroom to reach higher framerates in a portable chassis, sure, but it's mostly for those who want to do it in style. The rig I tested uses Alienware's standard laptop keyboard, which feels snappy and controlled under the hand, but it can also be configured with a Cherry mechanical deck for a super slick experience. I tested a similar deck on the MSI Titan 18 HX, produced in collaboration with SteelSeries, and loved the clacky, responsive feel overall (minus some ping). The keyboard I received is nice and all - everything still feels rigid and secure, there's no mush or flex to the deck, and repeat keypresses are fast and accurate, but if you're already spending $3K on a gaming laptop you might as well spring for the boosted experience. That seems to be Alienware's whole ethos with the Alienware X16 R2's feature list. From the massive 8TB of configurable storage to the customizable RGB trackpad, the brand wants you to really treat yourself to this investment. That philosophy may have been backed up when the X16 first launched, but in 2025 there are a few signs of aging. The display is a perfectly serviceable 16-inch QHD+ IPS level panel running at 240Hz, but it lacks the punch and brightness I loved on the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9. OLED screens aren't for everyone, but the Razer Blade 16's display is running marathons around the X16 from both a contrast and brightness perspective. This is a trend I've noticed in quite a few Alienware laptops, their faces are often a little too muted to truly compete with the vibrancy from the rest of the market. I like my games to pop - it's unfortunate that I've also been testing the fantastic 2025 Asus ROG Flow Z13, but side-by-side, the X16's display appears a little lackluster. I could overlook these drawbacks in the cheaper M16 R2 model, but at over $3,000 this is a considerable sacrifice. While it's not exactly a treat for the eyes, the ears are well catered to. The Alienware X16 R2 features two 2W tweets, and four 3W woofers, with Dolby Atmos certification. Straight out of the box, the basslines are certainly working overtime. There's a considerable lean towards the lower ranges in this default setting, which pleased me personally but provided a clearer audio profile across all ranges with a few tweaks. Some more bass-heavy songs did come across fairly muffled, but these are powerful speakers overall, tuned to a high volume. I did notice some distortion when set at the full 100%, but kept to a reasonable 20% there was a nice sense of texture and force. Ports are all located towards the rear of the device, which is a massive win for those neat freaks among us. I much prefer this orientation, keeping all those wires and dongles out of the way at the back for a more attractive desk-based setup. Quickly adding or removing accessories is a little trickier (when set on a desk I had to pull the whole laptop away slightly rather than just reaching over), but it's a tradeoff I would make any day of the week. The X16 R2 offers a fairly standard collection of ports, with two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 options (a little older than others on the market, but the real-world differences are negligible in most cases), a Thunderbolt 4, and a DisplayPort compatible USB-C 3.2 Gen 2. You'll get more USB-A connections with the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 (which offers four), and the Razer Blade 16 ups both the generation of those ports and adds an extra for a total of three. I was able to get by with a wireless gaming mouse and keyboard receivers plugged in, and a separate dock connected to the Thunderbolt 4 slot. If you use a gaming headset and like to keep a PC controller connected, things might get a little tight. There's also a suspicious lack of Ethernet support here - while it's generally reserved for larger 18-inch rigs, both Lenovo and Razer's competitors include the necessary RJ45 slot. The Alienware X16 R2 is a firm middler, coming behind the Razer Blade 16 in accordance with the price and GPU disparity, but often also being beaten by the more affordable (relatively speaking) RTX 4080 Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9. This is still a lightning fast device, it would be difficult not to be with an RTX 4080 at the helm, but it's not topping the charts in the same way as its price tag. Easier titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider give the X16 R2 a chance to spread its wings. While the difference between the PC's 'performance' and 'overdrive' settings are negligible from a framerate perspective, the system scored highly in older titles like this. Not as highly as other RTX 4080 gaming laptops, but high nonetheless. It's really competing against the MSI Stealth 18 AI in the thin 'n' light category - both rigs aim to offer luxury experiences with a portable form factor, without sacrificing framerates and both were tested with RTX 4080 GPUs. In-game, the Alienware X16 R2 is comfortably the better performer when faced with the cooling limitations of a more slimline system. Its thermals are better managed, allowing that GPU to run at framerates that regularly beat out the clunkier MSI model at 1080p. Things are a little more squeaky in this matchup when we dial things up to 1600p. Here, the MSI Stealth actually leads the pack in its class across Total War: Three Kingdoms, with the Alienware X16 R2 falling to the bottom of the RTX 4080 pack. Still, these two are trading places, as Returnal's 1440p benchmark proves far easier for Dell to manage. If the Alienware X16 R2 is simply holding its own in in-game benchmarks, it's striding out in front across synthetic tests. It sits at the top of my testing pool in the Fire Strike test, coming in at 33,420 - beating a similarly slimline RTX 4090 Razer Blade 16 in the process. While Time Spy is a tougher battle, it's still comfortably outpacing the larger MSI 18 AI Studio and the chunkier Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 as well. I rarely get to test the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, but luckily the MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio in my testing pool also features the Meteor Lake CPU. Unfortunately for Alienware, the extra chassis size goes in MSI's favor, with PC Mark 10 results edging slightly ahead of the X16 R2. This CPU isn't particularly geared towards gaming, so it's easy to see why the more traditional 14th Gen Intel i9 chips in the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 and Razer Blade 16 were so far ahead. The Alienware X16 R2 would have been impressive last year, and it certainly had its fans. In 2025, though, the machine doesn't make quite enough sense. If you're a die-hard fan of the space-age brand looking for both power and portability, it's the only option open to you. The Alienware M18 is too chunky to fit into a backpack, and the Alienware M16 R2 caps out at an RTX 4070 GPU. I'd recommend the Alienware X16 R2 to anyone who prioritizes a luxury feel and a slick design over raw performance - from both a framerate and overall display perspective. There are plenty of players who will have a ball with this machine, especially if they don't want to sacrifice speed for form factor - but there are also a wide range of machines doing a lot more for a lot less these days. If you're simply looking for a 16-inch investment laptop, I'd point you towards either the Razer Blade 16 at a slightly higher price point or the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 9 at a slightly lower one. Both rigs are configurable all the way up the RTX 40-Series chain, offer better displays, pack more connection value, and sit more comfortably in a backpack. Neither has the pzazz of the Alienware X16 R2's light shows or sleek build, but value for money can rarely be argued with. I used the Alienware x16 R2 for all daily play over the course of one week, further testing alongside the Acer Nitro V 14 for another week, and took a week's break in the middle to use the Asus ROG Flow Z13. In that time, I tested across my usual roster of backlog titles, including Fallout 4, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, and Oxenfree 2, while also running Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and dabbling in Avowed for an evening. I benchmarked against Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Returnal, and The Talos Principle 2, at both High and Highest settings in 1080p and QHD. Each of these benchmark tests were run three times, with the results above representing average framerates over the course of testing. I used 3D Mark's Fire Strike, Time Spy, and Steel Nomad synthetic benchmarks, and PC Mark 10's CPU tool as well. For more information on how we test gaming laptops, check out the full GamesRadar+ Hardware Policy. I'm also hunting down all the best Razer laptops on the market if you're after an alternative brand, as well as the best Asus gaming laptops available now. For more portable play, check out the best gaming handhelds we've tested so far.
