Alienware brings a slew of announcements to CES 2024, unveiling a robust lineup of new gaming laptops, monitors, and peripherals. With a range of laptops, peripherals, and displays, they have managed to uphold expectations and ensure we know just how serious the brand is about performance and gaming. Beyond delivering power, this year’s range looks to refine the typical concept we expect from the brand, bringing the best of Alienware styling with new twists that make it more exciting than ever.
Alienware Laptops
Let’s start with what most people know Alienware for: powerful gaming laptops. Alienware has redesigned its popular m16 notebook from the ground up, dramatically reducing its size while packing more power. By eliminating the iconic thermal panel on the back, the m16 R2 has a 15% smaller footprint, making it easy to slip into backpacks. Alienware engineers developed an all-new thermal solution that increases airflow efficiency by 43% to compensate. The result is a slim yet powerful gaming laptop that manages to keep the unique look for which the brand is known.
Adding to the portability and mobility of this powerful gaming machine is a clever “Stealth Mode” feature new to the m16 R2. With the press of a function key, the RGB lights are instantly muted, and the fan noise is reduced, allowing the notebook to blend into professional environments such as coffee shops and libraries. With brands like Razer building laptops that keep the performance but feel less “Gamer,” this is a brilliant move by Alienware, allowing them to expand beyond their standard demographic in a clever way without losing any of the performance.
The redesigned m16 can be configured with Intel’s latest 13th-generation Core processors and up to an NVIDIA RTX 4070 graphics card to smoothly run even the most graphically-intensive games. On the display side, you get a gorgeous 240Hz QHD+ panel with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, ensuring everything looks fantastic no matter what you choose to put the laptop’s power to. The Alienware m16 R2 is slated to be released starting January 11th with an MSRP that starts at $1,649.99 ($2,249.99 CAD), depending on your configuration.
As powerful as the m16 R2 is, there are those who demand a full desktop replacement with all the bells and whistles, and for these people, Alienware has also introduced the no-holds-barred m18 R2. It shares the same industrial design but ramps things up to an Intel Core i9-13900HX CPU and RTX 4090 graphics for uncompromising performance.
This machine brings desktop-class hardware and manages to cram it all into an 18-inch chassis. While not small by any stretch of the imagination, the simple level of hardware on offer should have many gamers salivating at the prospect of slaying demons on this monster of a machine. The m18 R2 is slated to launch at the same time as the m16 R2 on January 11th, with a starting MSRP of $1,899.99 ($2,599.99 CAD).
Finally, Alienware has updated its ultra-premium x16 gaming laptop with Intel Core Ultra silicon and RTX 4000 GPUs up to an RTX 4090. Unique features like the x16’s smart hinge, console-style triggers, HDMI input and eye-tracking camera carry over from the previous generation. The new machine retains everything that makes the series so exciting, including the all-metal construction, Cryo-TechTM cooling technology, and Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos technologies, giving gamers a truly uncompromised gaming experience. With it boasting some of the most impressive specs, the Alienware x16 will set you back a fair bit of change with an MSRP that starts at $2,099.99 ($2,899.99 CAD), although no firm release has been announced just yet.
Alienware Monitors
Moving from laptops, let’s discuss those groundbreaking monitors Alienware announced. They expanded the QD-OLED lineup with two new models — the first 4K and 360Hz QD-OLED gaming displays in the world. Keeping with the iconic Alienware design, these new monitors push the bar on what to expect from a gaming display and look fantastic doing so.
For graphics-intensive games that demand sharp visuals, there’s the 32-inch AW3225QF. It combines a 4K resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, 0.03ms response time, and VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 400 certification. The AW3225QF is also the first gaming monitor to support Dolby Vision HDR. The monitor is priced at a starting $1,199.99 ($1,499.99 CAD) and goes up from there.
More fast-paced competitive titles will benefit from the 27-inch AW2725DF. It has a blistering 360Hz refresh rate at 1440p resolution with a 0.03ms GtG response time. The AW2725DF features AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility for smooth gameplay. This display is made for people who want to push the limits of what a PC can do, and provided you have a GPU that can power this thing, the 360Hz is sure to set a new benchmark that people will be looking to achieve. The 27-inch AW2725DF is priced at $899.99 ($1,199.99 CAD), making it on par with many high FPS monitors currently on the market.
Both monitors leverage Quantum Dot technology to achieve superior contrast and colour compared to standard OLED. And they are backed by a 3-year burn-in warranty for peace of mind.
Alienware Accessories
Rounding out Alienware’s CES showing are its first gaming mice and keyboards tailored for eSports professionals, all looking sleek and delivering the specs gamers crave. Developed with input from over 100 pro gamers, the Alienware Pro Wireless Mouse and Pro Wireless Keyboard focus on delivering high polling rates, low latency, and durable designs to withstand tournaments.
Priced at $149.99 ($199.99 CAD), the Pro Mouse packs an exclusive magnetic keyplate with optical switches for rapid actuation along with a 26,000 DPI sensor. Alienware is claiming up to a 0.125ms response time when wired. For connectivity, it uses a 2.4GHz wireless dongle and Bluetooth.
As for the Pro Keyboard ($199.99 / $269.99 CAD), it features a compact 75% layout to save room and linear mechanical switches rated for 100 million keystrokes. You can hot-swap switches, connect up to three devices via Bluetooth 5.1, or go wired over USB-C. Battery life is equally impressive at 72 hours with RGB enabled.
Both the Pro Mouse and Pro Keyboard can integrate with Alienware’s Command Center software for customization and battery conservation tools. They will come in white and black colour options.
Alienware delivered where it mattered most with this CES 2024 lineup. The new m16 R2 gaming laptop stands out to me as an excellent balance of performance and portability. And the expansion into eSports peripherals shows Alienware is attentive to a wider gaming audience. I’m looking forward to getting hands-on time with Alienware’s latest tech, so check back for full reviews once we have time with the hardware in our office for testing.
Keep up to date on everything CES 2024 here.
