The Dell Alienware M16 R1
The Alienware M16 R1 is a 16-inch laptop with a 2560x1600p IPS panel and a 240 Hz refresh rate. The processor is an AMD Zen4 Ryzen9-7845HX and an Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU, accompanied by 32 GB DDR5-4800 RAM, a 1 TB NVMe SSD and powered by an 86 Wh battery.
We start by unpacking the device, which comes in a suitcase-style box. Next to it we have the 330W charger.
The charger is a 330W power supply unit using special connectors to be plugged into the back of the laptop.
Presentation
To begin with, we have the weight with 3.3 Kg on the scale, it holds perfectly in place and the screen can be opened with a single finger even if a little stiff. The overall design is mainly aluminum, with a plastic screen. All in all, this Alienware M16 R1 exudes quality and offers the same high-end performance as the M18 R1. When I unpacked it and put it into operation for the first time, it was the first laptop under test to make me think “I want the same thing”.
We begin our tour with the keyboard, which is quite pleasant to use. We regret, however, that the choice of mechanical keyboard is not available in AZERTY. With the rigidity of the laptop, we have an excellent, quiet keyboard. There’s no numeric keypad here, which isn’t a bad thing, as it would have been to the detriment of its overall ergonomics.
Moving on to the trackpad, it’s extremely smooth and really pleasant to use. It’s large enough to use the laptop without a mouse. There’s no fingerprint reader here. The PC will be secured by password or via the camera.
Let’s move on to the audio section. Here, we have a large audio section on top of the keyboard and two woofers at the rear. The sound is very good, and this laptop is not very noisy when gaming, which means it can be used without headphones.
Then there are the connectors, a very complete solution. We have nothing on the right-hand side of the laptop. On the left we have 1 USB type-A 3.2 gen 1 port, a headphone jack and an RJ45 Ethernet port. Finally, on the rear we have 2 USB type-C 3.2 gen 2 ports, 1 SD card reader, an HDMI port, a mini-DiplayPort and, last but not least, a USB type-A 3.2 gen 1 port and a charger socket. So there’s plenty of connectivity here, even if you’ll need a dock for USB type-A keyboard, mouse and headphones.
As for the camera, it’s an FHD (30 fps @ 1080p) with infrared, and is relatively acceptable for troubleshooting or videoconferencing.
