Alienware's m18 R2 is one of the best gaming laptops on the market, especially when you add high-end hardware that can easily tackle any title on the market with ease. It's a laptop we've tested and reviewed here at Windows Central, so rest assured I'm not attempting to peddle a subpar gaming PC that's only attractive because of its discounted price. This is the real deal.
Dell's monster flagship gaming laptop usually costs about $2,800 for this specific configuration, which includes an Intel Core i9 CPU and NVIDIA RTX 4080 Laptop GPU. However, it's currently $500 off at Amazon, bringing the price down to $2,299.99. That's a better price than you'll find anywhere, including Dell's official site.
Forget the RTX 5080. Alienware's m18 R2 is powerful enough for most gamers.
With NVIDIA's poorly received RTX 5000 launch that saw the new GPUs sell out in seconds, I know that many gamers are wondering how to navigate the current hardware landscape with several generations of GPUs available. Do you wait and hope to get your hands on a desktop RTX 50-series GPU? Do you spend large on an RTX 5080 or RTX 5090 laptop? Or do you save some money and buy an RTX 40-series system that's enjoying a discount?
If you're keen on the last option I listed and want to grab a great laptop at a discount, this Alienware m18 R2 deal is probably looking too good to pass up. A $500 discount isn't minor, matching many of the best sales I usually see during major events like Prime Day and Black Friday. I poked around to try and find a better deal on the Alienware m18 R2 elsewhere, but it looks like Amazon has this one sewn up.
It's important to note that the NVIDIA RTX 5080 Laptop GPU is expected to offer a more significant improvement over its predecessor than the desktop counterparts. I urge you to check out Senior Editor Ben Wilson's RTX 5080 review, which includes important metrics for the desktop GPU. However, just because the mobile RTX 5080 is faster than the mobile RTX 4080 doesn't mean the older card isn't worth buying.
The RTX 4080 Laptop GPU is still a monster piece of hardware with the ability to run just about any modern game to the built-in display's limit. Intel's Core i9-14900HX CPU is also impressive, boasting 24 total cores, 32 threads, and a 5.8GHz max Turbo frequency. The best part, at least for enthusiasts who enjoy tweaking their system, is that HX-series chips can be overclocked with something like Intel's Extreme Tuning Utility.
Is Alienware's m18 R2 gaming laptop right for you?
As one of Dell's flagship gaming laptops, the Alienware m18 R2 comes packed with premium features that you don't often find in cheaper laptops. I'm talking primarily about the CherryMX mechanical RGB keyboard, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, IR sensor for Windows Hello, and a generous mix of ports (including dual Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and many more).
Don't just take my word for it: Windows Central Editor Rebecca Spear tested and reviewed the Alienware m18 R2, giving it a Best Award and 4.5 stars in the process. Here's what she has to say about the keyboard:
"I could honestly drone on and on for hours when it comes to how amazing the mechanical Cherry MX ultra-low profile keyboard feels. From the moment that I first pressed down on one of the Alienware m18 R2's keys, I fell in love. These linear switches react very quickly with little coaxing from me, which means they relay in-game demands very fast. There's also the option to go with a less expensive RGB backlit M Series keyboard if you want to save some money."
The laptop's display does not have an OLED panel, but it's hard to knock the specs beyond that omission. It's an 18-inch screen with a 2560x1600 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, 3ms response time, NVIDIA G-SYNC, and 100% DCI-P3 color. It tops out at about 310 nits of brightness, but as long as you aren't playing outdoors it shouldn't pose a problem. Here's what Spear has to say about the Alienware m18 R2's screen:
"From the moment I first laid eyes on the display, I knew that the m18 R2's IPS screen provided excellent picture quality and motion clarity. Colors come through vibrantly, everything looks crisp, and game visuals are extremely smooth. The 18-inch IPS QHD+ (2560 x 1600) display offers a 3ms response time with the option of going between a 60Hz or a 165Hz refresh rate. On top of that, G-Sync reduces lag and stutter."
Finally, performance should be nothing less than stellar. The Core i9-14900HX CPU, RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM come together to crush any game on the market. Spear tested Cyberpunk 2077 — one of the most demanding games out there — on the laptop, noting:
"After getting a personal feel for m18 R2 performance, I switched gears and ran some benchmark testing. One of the first tests I ran was the Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark, where I put settings at the default Ray Tracing low. The laptop managed to average a whopping 116 fps. Encouraged by these excellent results, I upped the graphics settings to Overdrive then proceeded to turn on DLSS, Path Tracing, and Ray Reconstruction. Even with these far more demanding settings in place, the Alienware m18 R2 didn't flinch. It provided an extremely impressive average of 87 fps, which is beautifully smooth to watch. That's incredible and shows just how powerful this laptop really is."
