Alienware X16 R2 Review - Is this really Alienware's top tier gaming laptop?

In this video we review Alienware's new x16 r2, their Flagship gaming laptop for 2024. Have Dell done enough to justify its premium price tag?

⚡️Other 2024 Alienware reviews:

*TIMESTAMPS*
0:00:00 - Intro
0:00:33 - Configuration / Specs
0:01:39 - Externals
0:02:13 - Ports
0:02:50 - Opening / Deck
0:03:06 - Trackpad
0:03:18 - Keyboard
0:04:00 - Speakers
0:05:23 - Screen
0:05:57 - Webcam and Windows Hello
0:06:32 - Internals
0:07:30 - Performance and Gaming
0:10:24 - Battery, PD, and PSU
0:11:31 - Conclusion

[jameselia]

Very Nice! Always a fan of this Channel making detailed & honest reviews of top tier laptops! Way to go Mash IT!

[FauzulChowdhury]

You helped me buy x17 R2 and I still love it, especially the 4k Screen

[Alonso_The_GOAT]

Top tier laptop and Core Ultra doesn't go together! I don't understand why they didn't build on the X17 series. I have the 3080ti, 4K 120hz version and it is still very good. Dell should really offer a 4k screen again before calling their laptops top tier.

[MatthewCimone]

Thanks for this! You asked me about my Alienware in a previous post I made on a past vid and I didn't reply! I'm stilly really happy with my M16 R1. It performs super well. Always above average in benches. BUT...I still really miss my X17. Wow that laptop's aesthetics were amazing. Same as this X16. What a gorgeous system. But, like this unit, the CPU performance just wasn't there. The M16 is still a great looking computer. I love the Alienware designs. And it's great to know that my CPU isn't going to be limited to 30 to 45W when gaming. So as much as I love the look of these X systems, it's nice to know I'm getting 250W of sustained power from my M16. Looking forward to seeing what Alienware does with the 50 series laptops.

[Fun_Science]

I feel like heavy gaming and top tier gaming laptops shouldn't be smaller than 17 inch. I have m17 r5 and it's great. I wanted x17 r2 but it was much more expensive. Also upgreadable ram is a must have. I hope they release X18 in the future

[mildvex]

I'm not interested in this laptop at all but I still watched it because of you, as you can make very interesting reviews even about meh devices while still not being biased about anything. It's also nice to see your progress over the years (I'm a ThinkPad fan(boy) and that's how I discovered you some 3 years back on r/thinkpad 🤠); no slacking, just prioritising quality of both content and production while not following cringe trends and not clickbaiting your own audience. Cheers ✌️

[astaroth]

Completely agree with what you said about the looks being way more impressive in person. Idk why but they look like plastic in videos, but once you see them in person it's obvious it's all metal and it feels so nice.

[lolidasterner]

How about combining this laptop with the IELTS600 ? I am wondering if it is possible to lower the temperatures by 15-20 degrees while having lower noise fan by lowering the temps ? Of course there is the noise of the IELTS itself but well 47db and 47 db is not necessary the same as 57 db. The design is beautiful btw.

[onimisiyusuff]

I absolutely love your content! It's always so detailed and top-notch. If it's not too much trouble, would it be possible to request a direct comparison video with the x16r1? I'd really appreciate it. It would be great if you could highlight key factors like temperature and everything. Thanks so much!

[tinybit]

Really nice production value, gets better and better!
Do you have the AUO or BOE panel on your device?

[unclesly]

thank you, but i only had problems with my x17r2 ( there are a lot people not just me ), not going to dell anymore, bad quality control and customer service pretty much didn't care, pay premium for what?

[JonathanS]

I miss the x17, that was a beautiful laptop, something about the curves on the x16 turn me off. Great review though, I agree with the max RAM configuration being 32GB is disappointing, if someone needs 64 they can't buy this

[TechnicolorTube]

Dave these reviews keep getting better all the time. I wonder if it's the chipset drivers for the Core Ultra that are unfinished, or if Alienware has that bad of an OS image/install that you're getting such poor performance. The wattage should be enough for a Meteor Lake chip to perform better. On my x15r2 going from the stock OS image to a fresh install of Windows, in Timespy, I went from 12, 000 points to 13, 500 points on the CPU score respectively.

[ebabil]

x16 r1 was designed to be an improvement over x17 r2, taking into account the wishes of the users. Improved speakers, 1080p webcam, lighting on secondary buttons, getting rid of the sharp part of the back, RGB touch pad. These were the expectations from the x16 r2 version. Alien head power button, 500 nits brightness, OLED or mini LED screen. And as none of them came, a weaker CPU was switched. Total nonsense. If they were going to release this product, they had to release x17 R3 with 4000 series GPU and 14th generation CPU. While Dell pays attention to the opinions of its users in some years, it does not care about its users in other years.

[TheJmorton]

Great review. You do a great job of giving a balanced viewpoint. I particularly liked it when you got lost for a few seconds in the beat drop in the audio section. You're the first hands on review I've seen on x16r2 which strikes me as a bit odd. I would have thought with a flagship device like this that alienware would be keen to get it out to be reviewed prior to launch. Do you think the reason there are no major outlets with early reviews is an indication that alienware are not happy with their product?? It seems like you buy your equipment yourself (which probably keeps you impartial) but unfortunately your review came a bit late for me as I also received my device earlier than expected! I probably still would have bought the device as I love the aesthetic and probably my use case wouldn't utilise a better CPU. I'm using this mostly for work related activities but I want to game. I would have bought the xps16 but then they wouldn't/couldn't fit an 3090 in there - and the xps16 keyboard looks tragic whereas the cherry KB on x16 is so beautiful it's like magic.
I just don't get two things. Why doesn't alienware let you choose a better screen. Keep this one as the base but how hard is to offer on OLED stunner? People who can afford and want can option it. They make each machine for the user so how hard is it - its not like these panels don't exist. Same goes for 64gb of ram. I mean why not take another $500 if people need it?
The second issue is the core ultra 9. Intel real own this MAJOR own goal here. This company is weel past its used by and the quicker Windows can move to another cpu the better. They messed this one up so badly they've had to keep last year's model as the "refresh". The old tech addage of performance, price and power use pick 2... Well Intel can't even pick one - it's a tragic embarrassment! And then to call it the ultra ffs why not the ultra pro!? I mean this thing should have 10hr battery life with a 300nit screen and a core ultra but it's not even close. I'm very interested to your thoughts on why you think your CPU performance is due to error in thermal paste vs an intrinsic chip issue. If you tell me your CPU benchmark software I will run it on my ultra 9 and see what temps I get.
Anyway great review of an important part of the performance gaming laptop space and congratulations on being first!

[robballer]

I always liked Alienware but my go to is Razer now. Love their build quality/software and playing games on Blade 14 is wonderful. Great review as always!!

[warriorsfg]

Dude even my HP omen 16 with i7 14700HX out performs this LET'S GOOOO

[cueball]

David, curious if you were able to get the temps down a bit on your Alienwares. Going into Command Center, I was able to create a custom profile with the max. temp set to 85C, which did help out a lot. Still able to get over 150fps on 1440p ultra settings with Diable 4 and over 80fps1440p ultra with Helldivers 2.

[Separatist-General-Grievous]

I was wondering if in the future you would make a video giving your top ten choices for best laptops based on a wide range of different things. I love your reviews, they cover everything I need to know but I want to know what you would personally recommend. I am a student who wants to game and video edit as well as maybe stream and I need a good laptop for under £1300 to do so, so I was wondering if you could help. Thank you for producing such great content.

[shuolangliu]

Hi thanks for the review I have received my x16 r2 and the wsad could get uncomfortable when playing games. Also the fans on the right produce a high pitch sound at low to medium speed. Dell is currently sending a technician to replace the fans. Does your model exhibit similar acoustic behaviour for the fans? Thanks!

P.s. I am not sure if I should return it to the m18 r2 :(