The Alienware m15 r2 is a thinner gaming laptop that is still able to pack in some powerful
hardware, but how well does it actually perform in games?
I’ve tested 20 different games at all setting levels and compared it with other laptops
to help you decide if it’s worth it.
My m15 R2 has the Intel i7-9750H processor, Nvidia RTX 2080 max-Q graphics, 16gb of memory
in dual channel, and there’s a 15.6” 1080p 240Hz screen, but you can also get 60Hz, or
even OLED as there are different specs available.
You can find updated prices for different models linked in the description.
The 10th gen model is probably about to come out, it took me a long time to get this one.
The Alienware command center software lets you select between different performance modes,
I’ve done all testing with the overclock 2 profile applied, which overclocks the GPU
as listed here, and the full speed thermal mode which increases fan speed for best performance.
We’ll only be covering gaming performance in this video, so if you’re new to the channel
get subscribed for the upcoming thermal testing and full review.
Let’s start out by going through all games at all setting levels, then afterwards we’ll
see how the m15 R2 compares with some other laptops.
Red Dead Redemption 2 was tested using the game’s built in benchmark tool, and this
test is tough on pretty much any laptop regardless of specs with max settings, however at high
we’re still able to reach above 60 FPS which is a good result here.
Battlefield 5 was tested in campaign mode, I’ve got the results with RTX enabled, shown
by the green bars, and RTX off, shown by the purple bars.
RTX off was still doing fairly well at higher settings, other lower specced 2060 machines
generally struggle at 40 FPS maxed out, however high settings was close to 60, granted for
this game it makes sense to preference frame rate by not using ray tracing.
Control was also tested with and without RTX enabled, however as the game also supports
DLSS 2.0 I’ve tested this in the red bars.
DLSS runs it at 720p and upscales it, and it looked pretty decent while also still performing
quite well at high settings, very similar to with RTX completely off while looking better
in my opinion.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider was tested with the built in benchmark, and the results were
alright at the higher more GPU bound settings, but lower than expected at lower setting levels,
but we’ll compare the results in this game and others against other laptops soon.
Apex Legends was tested with either all settings at maximum, or all settings on the lowest
possible values, as it doesn’t have predefined setting presets.
I’ve disabled the frame cap, so even maxed out we’re getting pretty nice results, it
played smoothly without issue.
Call of Duty Modern Warfare was tested in campaign mode, and I’ve also tested it with
the settings either maxed out or at minimum.
Max settings was just under a 100 FPS average and was also playing well.
Borderlands 3 was tested using the game’s built in benchmark, and it was still possible
to surpass 60 FPS with the highest setting preset in this test owing to our higher end
GPU.
Ghost Recon Breakpoint was also tested with the benchmark tool, and despite being another
resource heavy game hitting 70 FPS at ultimate settings is a pretty good result for it, though
like other games, the lower results where we’re more CPU bound are lower than more
recent laptops tested like the GS66.
Fortnite was tested with the replay feature, and medium settings was enough to push the
frame rate above the refresh rate of the 240Hz panel, however even maxed out it’s still
playing smoothly at around 150 FPS.
Overwatch is another less demanding game and was tested in the practice range.
Again, even with the epic setting preset the frame rates are very high, stepping down just
one setting would boost average FPS above the refresh rate of the display.
CS:GO was tested using the Ulletical FPS benchmark, and although the results at max settings are
above the refresh rate of the screen, the fps is significantly less when compared to
a laptop that would allow us to disable optimus, which cannot be done with the m15.
Dota 2 was tested playing in the middle lane, and the results aren’t that far off many
other laptops tested.
With over 200 FPS at low settings, it’s another candidate for a smooth experience
with the 240Hz display.
Rainbow Six Siege was tested with the built in benchmark using Vulkan, low settings was
once more around the refresh rate of the screen, though even maxed out performance is still
very good with this hardware.
Metro Exodus was tested using the built in benchmark, most parts of the game perform
a fair bit better than this, so don’t take these results as a good indication of what
to expect throughout the entire game, it’s more of a worst case.
The Division 2 was also tested with the built in benchmark, and compared to the GS66 I recently
tested, the low results are almost half the FPS.
This could be due to the optimus bottleneck, or the m15 may have some other limitations
to the processor which affects lower setting levels.
PUBG was tested using the replay feature, and ultra settings was still playing without
any issues during my test through the erengel map.
Assassin’s Creed Odyssey was tested with the built in benchmark, and as a CPU heavy
test the results are down a fair bit at lower settings, for quick comparison, the GS66 with
10th gen i9 hit 105 FPS at low, but then at ultra high where the GPU factors in more the
difference is minor.
Far Cry New Dawn was also tested with the games benchmark, and as a CPU sensitive test
there was a similar result here, for reference that previously tested GS66 was at almost
123 FPS at low and 94 at ultra, that said these frame rates aren’t going to be an
issue for playing.
The Witcher 3 was playing without problems at maximum settings, I don’t often see above
100 FPS with ultra settings, but it’s possible with the 2080 Max-Q.
F1 2019 was tested using the game’s benchmark tool, and again excellent performance was
still possible at maximum settings with not too much additional FPS to be gained from
lower settings.
Let’s also take a look at how this config of the Alienware m15 R2 gaming laptop compares
with other laptops, use these results as a rough guide only as they were tested at different
times with different drivers.
In Battlefield 5 I’ve got the m15 R2 highlighted in red, and due to request I’ve started
sorting this graph by average FPS.
Out of this selection of laptops tested with similar specs, the m15 is performing quite
well, with one of the highest average frame rates in this game, however the 1% low performance
is on the lower side out of these machines which may indicate weaker CPU performance.
These are the results from Far Cry 5 with ultra settings in the built in benchmark.
This time the average frame rate was more around the middle of the pack and the 1% low
was more in line with many other laptops.
This test seems to be more CPU heavy than GPU though, which would explain why the undervolted
Helios 300 is only just below it despite having a 1660 Ti.
These are the results from Shadow of the Tomb raider with the built in benchmark at highest
settings.
As this is a more GPU demanding test the m15 is back towards the top of the bunch, and
was able to beat a few 115 watt 2070 machines, granted the GS75 with lower 80 watt power
limit 2080 Max-Q was a couple of frames ahead here.
Overall the gaming performance was good with the m15 R2, at least at these higher setting
levels where the GPU can actually get put to work, as you’d expect.
At lower settings in many titles tested there was notably lower performance compared to
other laptops I’ve looked at.
Some of this will be due to the inability of disabling optimus, and it’s unfortunate
that we’re not given this option to further boost performance or gain the benefits of
G-Sync.
This would have given a nice performance boost, particularly in esports titles like CS:GO,
however 5 of these games were still able to utilize the 240Hz screen at lower setting
levels.
The lower performance at lower setting levels could also be an indication of other issues
like CPU throttling, however I’m yet to test that, I’ll cover thermals in depth
in an upcoming video, plus the full detailed review is still to come, so if you’re new
to the channel you’ll definitely want to get subscribed for that future content.