Alienware’s new m18 is among the many largest laptops we’ve ever reviewed, with a show measuring 18 inches diagonally. Nevertheless it’s not simply the show that’s bigger than life; the chassis is very large, thick, and heavy, whereas the keyboard is sort of the identical measurement as a desktop counterpart.
Trying inside, the m18 R1 is loaded with flagship elements, together with as much as an Intel Core i9-13980HX Raptor Lake cell processor and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 discrete GPU. However Alienware doesn’t cease there; an optionally available panel on the 18-inch show has a 1920 x 1200 decision with a dizzying refresh fee of 480 Hz. That’s a brand new excessive watermark for laptop computer shows, and the RTX 4090 is as much as the problem of driving that show.
The Alienware m18 R1 begins at $2,099, however our evaluation unit rings in at $3,599. It’s an absolute benchmark powerhouse, as you’ll see, and simply ranks among the many finest gaming laptops.
Design of the Alienware m18 R1
The Alienware m18 R1 is bigger than life, and its immense dimensions bear that out. It measures 16.15 x 12.59 x 1.05 inches (410.3 x 319.9 x 26.7 mm) and weighs a hefty 8.9 kilos (4.03 kg). That is strictly a desktop substitute that you’re going to be unlikely tolug round.. Nevertheless, it’s not too far off in measurement from the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18, which measures 15.71 x 11.57 x 1.21 inches, although that’s considerably lighter at 6.83 kilos (3.09 kg).
Alienware’s acquainted Legend 2.0 design language (beforehand seen in our Alienware m15 R7 evaluation) is on full show with the m18 R1, with honeycomb-style vents above the keyboard, an RGB alien head energy button and an rectangular RGB lighting aspect on the rear I/O panel. There’s additionally a second RGB alien head emblem within the top-center of the lid, whereas an “18” is embossed on the lid’s decrease proper nook.
The general construct high quality of the m18 R1 is superb, with minimal flex within the chassis and no creaks, as you’d anticipate from a premium laptop computer. Nevertheless, the black soft-touch end on the keyboard deck is definitely scratched. In some way, I managed to scratch it just under the touchpad inside minutes of taking it out of the field. It’s doubtless a results of my fingernail scraping it as I opened the lid, however hold this in thoughts should you manhandle your laptops.
Picture 1 of 7
Given the large footprint of the m18 R1, Alienware had ample area to load the laptop computer up with ports. Consequently, you’ll discover a single USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-C port on the laptop computer’s proper aspect, whereas a headphone jack, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-A ports, and a 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet port reside on the left aspect. Nevertheless, the actual occasion is on the again panel with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Sort-A, HDMI 2.1, mini-DisplayPort, an SD card slot, and a proprietary barrel-style connector for energy enter. The ability wire for the m18 R1 is among the many thickest I’ve seen for a laptop computer, coming in at over 1 / 4 of an inch thick. The ability brick itself weighs two and a half kilos and is rated for 330 watts.
Alienware m18 R1 Specs
| CPU | Intel Core i9-13980HX |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 (16GB GDDR6, 2,040 MHz Enhance Clock, 150 W Max Graphics Energy) |
| Reminiscence | 32GB DDR5-4800 (2x 16GB) |
| Storage | 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD |
| Show | 18-inch, 1920 x 1200, 480 Hz, 16:10 |
| Networking | Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675i, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | 1x USB 3.2 Sort-C Gen 2, 2x USB 3.2 Sort-A Gen 1, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x mini-DisplayPort, 3.5mm headphone jack, 2.5 GbE, SD slot |
| Digicam | 1080p |
| Battery | 97 WHr |
| Energy Adapter | 330 W |
| Working System | Home windows 11 Professional |
| Dimensions (WxDxH) | 15.71 x 11.57 x 1.21 inches (399 x 294 x 23.1 mm) |
| Weight | 8.9 kilos (4.03 kg) |
| Worth (as configured) | $3,599 |
Gaming on the Alienware m18 R1
Undoubtedly, the Alienware m18 R1 involves the desk with some spectacular {hardware} credentials. Our evaluation pattern included a Core i9-13980HX processor, GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, and a wholesome 32GB of DDR5-4800 reminiscence.
When taking part in Overwatch 2, I noticed body charges hover between 400 and 460 frames per second throughout on-line gameplay with the Extremely graphics setting toggled to attempt to reap the benefits of the blazing quick show. Gameplay was quick and fluid, though the benefits that I may have extracted with this high-performance show had been wasted, provided that I’m a mean first particular person shooter participant at finest. I, most of the time, discover myself on the receiving finish of a well-placed bullet.
Picture 1 of 5
The m18 R1 finds itself pitted towards a trio of Raptor Lake / GeForce RTX 40 Collection-equipped rivals from Asus, together with the ROG Strix Scar 18 (Core i9-13980HX, RTX 4090, 1600p), MSI Raider GE78 HX (Core i9-13950HX, RTX 4080, 1600p) and the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 (Ryzen 9 7945HX, RTX 4090, 1600p). We are able to confidently say that the m18 R1 was an absolute beast in our gaming benchmark suite. It took prime honors throughout the board within the 1080p and 1200p checks.
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, the m18 R1 (192 fps) edged out the ROG Strix Scar 18 (181 fps), whereas the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16, which additionally has an RTX 4090, may solely muster 151 fps at 1080p. The MSI Raider GE78 HX, with its RTX 4080, was only a few paces again at 181 fps at 1080p. All the remainder of the opponents on this subject have 1600p screens, which is why you see such a steep falloff on the chart in comparison with their efficiency at 1080p attributable to them pushing much more pixels. For instance, the m18 R1 has a minimal drop to 163 fps at 1200p, whereas the ROG Strix Scar 18 hit 124 fps at 1600p.
The m18 R1 continued its 1080p successful streak in Grand Theft Auto V, the place it recorded 181 fps, and stepped down simply barely to 175 fps at 1200p decision. The MSI Raider GE78 HX and ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 weren’t far behind, coming in at 157 fps and 158 fps, respectively, at 1080p. Nevertheless, each machines noticed a extra substantial drop at 1600p decision, with the previous hitting 88 fps.
Far Cry 6 once more noticed the m18 R1 (123 fps) open a large lead over the second-place ROG Strix Scar 18 (107 fps) at 1080p. Whereas the m18 R1 noticed a small drop to 121 fps at 1200p, the relative drop in efficiency at 1600p wasn’t extreme for the competitors.
We witnessed the m18 R1 cost forward once more within the Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2 benchmark at 135 fps at 1080p decision, blowing previous the ROG Strix Scar 18 at 123 fps. Sadly, the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 pulled up final place with 107 fps at 1080p; the Ryzen 9 7945HX didn’t have sufficient to push the RTX 4090 into rivalry with the 18-inch huge boys.
Lastly, the Alienware m18 R1 took on all challengers in Borderlands 3, and emerged victorious with 186 fps at 1080p, and an equally spectacular 176 fps at 1200p. The ROG Strix Scar 18 additionally confirmed robust promise at 1080p with 165 fps, dropping to 112 fps at 1600p.
Our Metro Exodus stress take a look at places methods by 15 runs at 1080p utilizing the RTX preset. The m18 R1 averaged 114.23 fps, which was constant throughout all of the runs. The Core i9-13980HX’s efficiency cores averaged 4.39 GHz, whereas the effectivity cores ran at 3.05 GHz and the CPU bundle measured 95.3 levels Celsius. As for the GeForce RTX 4090, it averaged 2,220.13 MHz at 64.15 C.
Productiveness Efficiency on the Alienware m18 R1
With a Core i9-13980HX processor and GeForce RTX 4090 on the helm, together with 32GB of DDR5 reminiscence and a 1TB SSD, our Alienware m18 R1 configuration was no slouch in our productiveness benchmark suite.
Within the artificial CPU benchmark, Geekbench 5, this gaming laptop computer group is carefully clustered in each the single-core and multi-core scoring. The MSI Raider GE78 HX took prime honors within the single-core benchmark (2,121), whereas the m18 R1 landed first place within the multi-core benchmark (21,005).
Picture 1 of 3
The file switch take a look at, which includes copying 25GB of recordsdata, noticed the ROG Zephyrus 16 (1,947.37 MBps) edge out the second-place ROG Strix Scar 18 (1,885.81 MBps). The Raider GE78 HX got here in third place at 1,521.53 MBps, whereas the m18 R1 pulled up the rear at 1,521.53 MBps.
The Handbrake take a look at once more noticed a neck-and-neck race between the m18 R1, ROG Strix Scar 18 and ROG Zephyrus Duo 16. The m18 R1 secured first place with a time of two minutes and 39 seconds, whereas the Raider GE78 HX got here in final place at 4 minutes and eight seconds.
Show on the Alienware m18 R1
The Alienware m18 R1 is accessible in two show configurations. The bottom configuration is an 18-inch QHD (2560 x 1600) 165 Hz IPS panel, whereas an FHD+ (1920 x 1200) 480Hz IPS panel is a $50 upcharge. Our evaluation unit got here with the latter.
Measuring 18 inches throughout, the m18 R1 is the true definition of a desktop-replacement gaming laptop computer. To achieve the magic 480 Hz refresh fee, Alienware needed to “settle” on a decrease 1920 x 1200 decision, but it surely’s completely high quality for desktop use and gaming. As well as, the matte end does an incredible job of minimizing reflections.
On our checks, the show was about common in brightness at 336 nits, placing it behind all of the opponents on this subject. Nevertheless, the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 was the runaway winner right here with an eye-searing 684 nits most brightness from its mini LED panel.
The Alienware m18 R1’s show covers 109 % of the sRGB coloration gamut and 77.4 % of the DCI-P3 gamut. Whereas each figures aligned with the IPS-based competitors, they fell wanting the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 with 121 % sRGB and 85.5 % DCI-P3 protection.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the Alienware m18 R1
The Alienware m18 R1 has a comparatively massive keyboard to go together with its colossal chassis. The keys are properly spaced, and there was loads of room to suit a quantity pad off to the fitting. Our evaluation unit’s optionally available, CherryMX ultra-low-profile mechanical keyboard has easy and silent key presses. Per-key AlienFX RGB results are enabled right here, though I settled on the default blue for your complete keyboard throughout my testing.
My go-to for testing keyboards is keyhero.com, and I cruised by at 77 phrases per minute with 94.42 % accuracy. For comparability, I hit 75 phrases per minute with 90.61 % accuracy on the Samsung Galaxy E book 3 Extremely and 59.29 phrases per minute with 87.13 % accuracy on the Gigabyte Aorus 15X.
Given the scale of the m18 R1, its touchpad is a bit underwhelming. It measures simply 5.1 x 3.1 inches. And whereas I had no bother mousing round with the touchpad, I missed the comically massive 6 x 4.2-inch touchpad that I examined on the smaller Samsung Galaxy E book 3 Extremely. This would possibly not be as huge a deal when gaming with a mouse, in fact.
Audio on the Alienware m18 R1
The Alienware m18 R1 includes a pair of 2-watt audio system mounted close to the entrance of the keyboard deck, the place your palms relaxation. Whereas the audio system produce clear sound at most quantity stage, they’re sorely missing in bass and depth.
I actually anticipated extra from a laptop computer with a worth approaching $3,600. And given how massive the chassis is, it looks like it will have been trivial to throw in one other pair of high-quality audio system. I performed “King of Could” by Natalie Service provider, and her angelic vocals fell flat with the default audio settings. I opened the Dolby Entry app and switched the Dolby Atmos setting from Music to Dynamic, which enhanced the vocals barely, however wasn’t sufficient to make a drastic distinction.
Explosions in video games additionally lacked any significant affect and landed with a dull “thud” in Overwatch, whereas gunfire in Grand Theft Auto V was muddled. Nevertheless, most avid gamers are doubtless going to placed on a pair of headphones whereas gaming for a extra immersive expertise and to keep away from the 4 howling followers contained in the chassis.
Upgradeability on the Alienware m18 R1
Accessing the within of the Alienware m18 R1 is achieved by eradicating eight Philips head screws from its backside panel. As soon as the screws are eliminated, the underside panel lifts off, offering direct entry to a bevy of user-replaceable elements.
Picture 1 of 4
The battery will be swapped out after eradicating just a few screws, and there are two M.2 slots (one already occupied by the 1TB SSD) for increasing storage. The Killer Wi-Fi 6E card is to the left of the SSD, and on to its left are the 2 DDR5 SO-DIMMs (2 x 16GB in our evaluation unit). You’ll additionally see two unused 2230 slots beside the reminiscence.
Battery Life on the Alienware m18 R1
On condition that the Alienware m18 R1 is a large gaming laptop computer with an enormous, ultra-high refresh fee show a flagship processors and high-end GPU configuration, we weren’t anticipating a lot battery life. So we weren’t too shocked to see the m18 R1 final simply two hours and 39 minutes throughout our battery take a look at, which consists of shopping the net, streaming movies and performing OpenGL checks whereas connecting to Wi-Fi with the show dialed in at 150 nits.
The m18 R1’s endurance happened an hour and a half wanting the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 and about 25 minutes wanting the ROG Zephyrus Duo 16, which relies on an AMD processor. Alternatively, the m18 R1 did final s6 minutes longer than the MSI Raider GE78 HX.
You’ll wish to hold the m18 R1’s hefty energy brick shut by should you determine to enterprise away out of your desk to sport.
Warmth on the Alienware m18 R1
With a heat-spewing Core i9-13980HX and GeForce RTX 4090 underneath the hood, the Alienware m18 R1 can get toasty. As well as, its followers spin up quickly to expel the surplus warmth to maintain the system cool.
Picture 1 of 2
We measure a number of locations on the chassis in the course of the Metro Exodus stress take a look at to see how laptops deal with warmth. Whereas working the take a look at, we measured 36.5 levels Celsius (97.7 levels Fahrenheit) between the G and H keys. Transferring down, the touchpad measured 22.7 C (73 F), whereas the underside of the chassis was a balmy 38.6 C (101.5 F). The most well liked level we measured was on the prime of the keyboard, which registered 51.7 C (125.1 F).
Webcam on the Alienware m18 R1
Like a rising variety of premium gaming- and business-oriented laptops which have lately launched, the Alienware m18 includes a larger decision 1080p webcam as a substitute of the 720p relics from years previous. As well as, the digicam has good general high quality with minimal artifacts and good coloration illustration.
The webcam captured sufficient element to select up the stubble of my beard and what few strands of hair I’m hanging on to on prime of my head.
Software program and Guarantee on the Alienware m18 R1
The Alienware m18 R1 comes with a minimal quantity of put in, that are restricted to Alienware Command Heart, Alienware Buyer Join, Alienware Digital Supply and Alienware Replace. Alienware Digital Supply means that you can entry software program bought along with your m18 R1, whereas Alienware Replace downloads the newest drivers, BIOS updates, and firmware on your system.
Nevertheless, you’ll in all probability spend essentially the most time inCommand Heart, which lets you monitor your system vitals, modify energy plans, and configure AlienFX lighting (amongst different issues).
Different preinstalled apps embrace two intelliGo apps for the onboard microphones, the Killer Intelligence Heart, and the Realtek Audio Console. You’ll additionally discover shortcuts for the standard Home windows 11 staples like TikTok, Disney Plus, and Spotify.
The Alienware m18 R1 comes with a one-year producer guarantee.
Alienware m18 R1 Configurations
We examined the Alienware m18 R1 with an Intel Core i9-13980HX processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU, 16GB DDR5-4800 reminiscence, 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and an 18-inch Full HD 480 Hz show. Our config carries an MSRP of $3,599.
The bottom configuration has a Core i7-13700HX, GeForce RTX 4060, 16GB DDR5-4800, 512GB SSD, and an 18-inch QHD 165 Hz show with a price ticket of $2,099. There are numerous configurations in between, with choices for 512GB and 2TB SSDs, and GeForce RTX 4060 or GeForce RTX 4080 GPUs. You possibly can even buy the laptop computer with as much as 64GB of DDR5-4800.
Backside Line
There’s no query that the Alienware m18 R1 is a powerful beast. Its optionally available Core i9-13980HX processor, GeForce RTX 4090 and 32GB of DDR5 clobbered the competitors within the gaming benchmarks and was equally spectacular in our productiveness suite.
The machine is well-built, with nary a creak and minimal chassis flex. The 480 Hz show is a game-changer for eSports fanatics searching for each potential aggressive edge, whereas the mechanical keyboard is comfy to kind on (and sport with) for prolonged durations. We additionally like that Alienware included varied ports and the extremely configurable AlienFX lighting results.
On the flip aspect, the audio system are subpar, given the $3,599 price ticket of our evaluation unit and the soft-touch end on the highest deck is definitely scratched. The immense dimensions and hefty weight are to be anticipated given this class; nevertheless, 9 kilos remains to be rather a lot to lug round when you want to transport the laptop computer. Additionally, think about the quick battery lifetime of underneath three hours, making you closely depending on the large energy brick should you determine to take a break out of your desk.
The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 might be the closest competitors for the m18 R1 concerning efficiency and has a better decision show (2560 x 1600). Nevertheless, that laptop computer tops out with a 240 Hz show and can be priced $300 larger as reviewed.
For the cash, the Alienware m18 R1 is the quickest gaming laptop computer we’ve ever examined and is the final word energy play for any fanatic desirous to have the most effective device for destroying any competitor that enters the taking part in subject.
MORE: Learn how to Purchase a Gaming Laptop computer
MORE: Greatest Gaming PCs