Verdict
Towering execution and imposing design make the Alienware M18 a genuine gaming desktop replacement , but it ’s big , heavy and cumbersome .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
With the new M18 , Alienware is treading the same path as Acer , Asus , and Razer in replacing its high - end , 17.3 - inch , 16:9 presentation machine with mannequin built around an 18 - inch , 16:10 display .
The extra sieve space is well deserving get for gaming , amusement , and productiveness and represents an important development in the evolution of the gambling laptop .
The latest genesis of CPUs and GPUs from Intel , AMD and Nvidia think that these new 18 - inch super - laptop like the Alienware M18 can be view as genuine desktop replacement and are adequate to of degree of operation that even 24 months ago would have been bordering on inconceivable .
The Alienware M18 also has a trick up its arm that the competing machines from other manufacturers ca n’t match , namely the massive inclination of options you may pick from . To give you a gustatory modality of what ’s on offer , you’re able to choose from threeIntel Raptor LakeCPUs , four Nvidia GPUs , four levels of RAM , eight store quantities and two keyboard .
In the USA , you may also choose your Alienware M18 with a selection of AMD ’s new Dragon Range CPUs and Radeon GPUs , but annoyingly , there ’s no word on European availability .
Design and Keyboard
Visually , the Alienware M18 looks like a bigAlienware M16 , which is not a bad affair in my book . But it is on the turgid side , measuring 410 x 320 x 26.7 mm and weighing a thumping 4.04 kg , which is far wakeless than the 18 - column inch competition from the like of Asus ROG and Razer . There ’s no denying that the M18 is a very well - made laptop computer , as it should be given it ’s made mainly from Al , but that solidity does come at a weightiness toll .
All the traditional Alienware styling cue are present and correct , including the big backend stay out beyond the flexible joint assembly , the LED exotic foreland logotype on the pack of cards and lid ( the former is also the power button ) , and the Stadium LED mob lightness around the rearward ports . If the sheer sizing is n’t enough of a game show , a liberal “ 18 ” is boss on the eyelid . As design go , it is as visually dramatic as they total .
The M18 has more ports than the M16 , and the layout is better . On the left wing are two USB - A 3.2 Gen 1 ports , a 2.5 thou Ethernet port wine and a 3.5 mm audio sea dog , while on the right , there is now aUSB - C3.2 Gen 1 data porthole . insert aside at the back are twoThunderbolt 4ports , HDMI 2.1 and Mini DisplayPort 1.4 video outputs , an SD visiting card expansion slot , a third USB - A port , and the DC power jack .
Wi - Fi and Bluetooth are deal by a Killer AX1690i board , which support the latest6Ghz Wi - Fi 6Efrequencies and Bluetooth 5.3 .
None of the Type - C ports supportsPD charging , but the 330W king brick is wanton and more compact than most ( 600 g , 185 x 85 x 25 mm ) , so this is not the death of the world .
Unscrew the root word , and you’re able to get at the two SODIMM slots , the wireless card , the bombardment , and no less than fourSSDmounts , so you’re able to add up to 9 TB of store . The 1 TB SSD in my review automobile performed well , returning sequential read and write speeds of 5,515MB / s and 4,002MB / s , respectively .
The chiclet keyboard is spacious , with a unanimous deck of cards and well - calibrate key natural process . It ’s a spot plain for a play keyboard : It has none of the enhancements – like spotlight WASD and cursor cay or a consecrated key to set up the Alienware Command Centre – that you get hold on the like of the ROG Strix Scar 18 , though you’re able to engage High - operation way by fight F1 .
In the plus column , you get full - sized arrow key , consecrated mass controls in the top - right corner , a full numerical keypad – something theRazer Blade 18lacks – and per - central RGB kindling . The keyboard light is straightforward to adjust , unlike in some laptops I could name , which require you to skip over through hoops to shift the colour of a few key fruit .
At 130 x 80 mm , the spyglass touchpad looks comparatively small , a side effect of the amount of space around it and the overall size of the M18 . Alienware could have go for something more extended , but it work perfectly well and has a well - angle and positive click - natural process .
Alienware makes no claim for the M18 ’s environmental pedigree , but high - end gaming laptops lean not to be the most eco - witting of gadgets , so that ’s no vainglorious surprisal . The publicity does better , with the only non - cardboard scene being a plastic tray to keep the M18 from sliding around . It can be recycle as any other plastic in domesticated dissipation .
Display and Sound
you could have the Alienware M18 with a480HzFullHD or a 165Hz QHD+ IPS display , but there ’s no 240Hz option , unlike the 18 - column inch competition from Acer , Razer and Asus . Nor can you opt for aMini LEDdisplay , which delivers very high brightness level and gamey - quality HDR support , as you could with the Asus ROG Scar Strix 16 .
The 2560 x 1600 IPS fit to my reappraisal simple machine had a maximum brightness of 315 nits and a direct contrast ratio of 1160:1 . Neither act is particularly undischarged . I ’d have liked the full luminousness to be closelipped to 400 nits .
The display is doubtless colorful , with gamut coverage of 98.9 % sRGB , 94.5 % DCI - P3 and 85.2 % Adobe RGB , but the average Delta E variation arrive in at 3.2 , which is a picayune too gamy for any colour - accurate requirements , though to be fair this is laptop target at hardcore gamers rather than originative types .
The M18 does well regarding question handling , thanks to a 3ms GtG answer clock time , with very little ghosting or smearing showing up in examination or actual gaming .
The display also supports Nvidia ’s G - Sync adaptative sync engineering and utilize Nvidia ’s Advanced Optimus automatic GPU shift in the absence of a manual MUX switch .
The 2 x 2W speaker system organization is extremely telling . Maximum volume is a elbow room - filling 79dB(A ) , and plenty of solid bass underpinning the detailed and well - balanced soundscape .
Performance
Even the most cursory coup d’oeil at the specs of this laptop computer should tell you all you need to hump about performance . No laptop computer build around a 24 - marrow Intel Core i9 central processing unit with 32 GB of RAM and a 175W Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU with 16 GB of video Aries will be anything other than quick .
The raw numbers tell the story more eloquently than speech : The Cinebench R23 multi - core examination track down at 28,034 , while the GeekBench 6 multi - core test execute at 14,953 . The previous X3D version of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 , a hugely powerful laptop by any touchstone , can do slightly better , scoring 32,649 and 15,420 , respectively . The departure is paltry in veridical terms , and both laptops are among the highest - scoring we ’ve encountered here at Trusted Reviews .
The gaming statistics tell the same story . The following frame of reference rates are all at 1080p , with maximum item , no ray tracing and noDLSSupscaling : Cyberpunk 2077 at 110fps , Returnal at 140fps , Horizon Zero Dawn at 157fps and F1 22 at 236fps .
Those operation stats put the Alienware M18 alongside the likes of the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D ; its Strix Scar 16 and Strix Scar 18 stable companion and Razer ’s MacBook - on - steroids Blade 18 at the very top of the gaming laptop computer mass . Take advantage of Nvidia ’s latest DLSS 3 upscaling technology , and the Alienware M18 can persist even the most demanding game at frame of reference rate that would have been inconceivable on a laptop two years ago .
Under stress , the chill fans are hearable , but the noise is n’t what I would describe as uncomfortably loud , peaking at 53dB(A ) . More importantly , the cool system works well . No part of the M18 ever contract warm than 39 ° C ( that was the outlet lattice above the keyboard ) , and there was no preindication of thermal choking , even under extreme accent testing .
Software
The Alienware Command Centre program has a pleasing simplicity , induce it loose to navigate than Asus ’s equivalent Armory Crate software program , even if it ’s not quite as comprehensive , miss any options to change the display colour profiles . One feature it lacks compared to the Asus ’ CP is a manualMUX switch , though the presence of Nvidia’sAdvanced OptimusGPU switch hit that an moot irrelevancy .
Besides the Command Centre , you also get Alienware update and customer military service apps and the usual Intel , Killer , Realtek and Nvidia command board , all of which are utilitarian to varying degrees . curiously , my test auto did n’t have an annoying antivirus rooms instal , but I ca n’t guarantee that a late referee did n’t remove it in a tantrum of anger .
Battery Life
barrage life is never the strong suit of a powerful play laptop computer , and sure enough not a fire - breathing freak like this Alienware . Despite the 97Wh battery capacity , the light only last out on for 4 hours and 45 minutes in the PCMark Office exam .
Run a demanding game on battery power , and you drain the battery in well under an hr . Running a strain examination app that runs the GPU at 100 % puts the light out in 52 minutes . Such is the shock a 175W art circuit card has on assault and battery life sentence .
Latest deals
Should you buy it?
If you are after a background in laptop shape , then the Alienware M18 is severe to stupefy . With towering performance and a large 16:10 display , you’re able to revel even the most visually excessive and demanding games without recourse to a freestanding reminder .
The size and weight of the Alienware M18 , combined with the low battery political campaign fourth dimension , mitigate against using it on the go . It may be a okay distinction , but the M18 is more portable than wandering .
Final Thoughts
Thanks to Alienware ’s full mountain chain of option , you’re able to pick up an M18 for well under £ 2000/$2000 , but let ’s assume you are after a in high spirits - end model with an RTX 4080 or better GPU , then you will be spending around £ 3000/$3000 or more . For that sort of money , you may get the 17 - inchMedion Erazer Beast X40,Razer ’s Blade 18or the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 .
The Medion is worth consideration because it represents excellent value and comes with a mechanical keyboard as criterion . If a super - degenerate display is what you are after , do n’t forget theGigabyte Aorus 17H , which pairs an RTX 4080 GPU with a 360Hz display . For just over £ 2000/$2000 , it ’s an eSports laptoppar excellence .
None of those machine are as physically inflict and visually extreme as the new Alienware M18 . Every sentence I took it down from the ledge and open it up , the sheer over - the - top size and styling brought a cheese - eating grinning to my face , and that ’s what I want when spend this kind of money on a play laptop computer . Check out ourBest Gaming Laptoplist for even more options .
Trusted Score
How we test
Every laptop computer we look back kick the bucket through a series of uniform checks design to gauge key things , include build lineament , performance , screen quality and battery life sentence .
These let in conventional synthetical benchmarks and scripted trial run , plus a serial of real - earth checks , such as how well it tend pop apps .
FAQs
The veneration - urge on operation level away , the M18 is a very impressive and levy gaming laptop . It ’s the very ether of a crowing - screen gaming notebook .
Even though the case is made of aluminium it is very loggerheaded and solid to maintain enduringness and strength .
Test Data
Full Specs
