Alienware m15 R6 laptop review: More efficient, but the RTX 3080 is slower than in the predecessor
It is quite surprising, how many models of the m15 Dell has introduced in such a short time. We already tested the m15 R4, the m15 R5, and now the m15 R6 - all of them in this year.
What is confusing is that since the R6 now contains a Tiger Lake CPU, it really is a successor of the R4 with the Comet Lake CPU and more of a sibling of the R5 with the AMD processor. The case and many other characteristics correspond to the m15 R5, which is the reason why we won't discuss the characteristics of the case, input devices, connection equipment, etc. unless there are some changes. You can find information on these areas in our review of the Alienware m15 R5.
Of course, we also compare the Intel m15 R6 with the AMD m15 R5 and the m15 R4 Comet Lake predecessor, and in addition also with the Aorus 15P YD, the Razer Blade 15 pro model, and the Schenker XMG Neo 15.
Possible competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86.1 % v7 (old) | 11 / 2021 | Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 22.85 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 84.7 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2021 | Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition R7 5800H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 22.85 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.1 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2021 | Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 i9-10980HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | 2.4 kg | 20 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 86.4 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2021 | Aorus 15P YD i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | 2.2 kg | 27 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 | |
| 87 % v7 (old) | 06 / 2021 | SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | 2.2 kg | 26 mm | 15.60" | 2560x1440 | |
| 88.9 % v7 (old) | 07 / 2021 | Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | 2 kg | 16.99 mm | 15.60" | 1920x1080 |
Case - Well-known design
Alienware laptops are known for their large cooling system in the back, so it is hardly surprising that the current model also is significantly deeper than the competitors from other manufacturers. But at least it is slightly slimmer than the Schenker or the Aorus, even though none of the models is able to beat the Razer Blade in this regard.
With a weight of 2.5 kg (~5.5 lb), the Alienware laptops are also 200 - 500 g (~7 - 18 oz) heavier than the comparison devices.
Connection Equipment - Intel Alienware with Thunderbolt
In contrast to the m15 R5 AMD version, the m15 R6 now supports Thunderbolt 4 thanks to the Intel CPU, and the corresponding USB-C port also supports USB 3.2 Gen 2 instead of Gen 1. In addition, the USB-C port now also supports Power Delivery, which means that it can be used for recharging, but only at up to 15 watts. Otherwise, the connections remained the same.
Communication
Webcam
Display - Speed increased to 360 Hz
According to HWinfo, the display is the same matte FHD panel from AU Optronics as in the m15 R5. However, the current model offers a refresh rate of a speedy 360 Hz, while that in the AMD m15 "only" masters 165 Hz. Alternatively, you can also purchase the R6 with the same 165-Hz panel, and in addition a QHD panel with 240 Hz is also available. But why is there no 4K option for a gaming laptop with the RTX 3080?
Despite sharing the same label, the values of both panels are also different. While the brightness is slightly better, its distribution is worse. The black value and contrast are also slightly worse than in the sibling model.
The very short and therefore outstanding response times of the two panels are positive.
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Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 360 cd/m²
Contrast: 1026:1 (Black: 0.35 cd/m²)
ΔE ColorChecker Calman: 3.3 | ∀{0.5-29.43 Ø4.83}
calibrated: 3.28
ΔE Greyscale Calman: 3.66 | ∀{0.09-98 Ø5.1}
75.7% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 3D)
99.5% sRGB (Argyll 3D)
74.1% Display P3 (Argyll 3D)
Gamma: 2.43
CCT: 5896 K
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 AU Optronics AUO9092 (B156HAN), IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition B156HAN, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 LG Philips LGD066E (156WFG), IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Aorus 15P YD BOE09B9, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake BOE CQ NE156QHM-NY2, IPS, 2560x1440, 15.6" | Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) TL156VDXP02-0, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -4% | -3% | -5% | -7% | ||
| Display P3 Coverage | 74.1 | 70.1 -5% | 70.2 -5% | 68.6 -7% | 66.9 -10% | |
| sRGB Coverage | 99.5 | 99.8 0% | 98.5 -1% | 98.6 -1% | 97.1 -2% | |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 75.7 | 71.5 -6% | 72.4 -4% | 69.3 -8% | 69 -9% | |
| Response Times | -47% | -121% | -236% | -293% | -65% | |
| Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 2.8 | 4 ? -43% | 7.6 ? -171% | 14 ? -400% | 16 ? -471% | 4.2 ? -50% |
| Response Time Black / White * | 5.6 | 8.4 ? -50% | 9.6 ? -71% | 9.6 ? -71% | 12 ? -114% | 10 ? -79% |
| PWM Frequency | ||||||
| Screen | 15% | 24% | -9% | -8% | 13% | |
| Brightness middle | 359 | 329 -8% | 347 -3% | 337 -6% | 324 -10% | 353.4 -2% |
| Brightness | 344 | 321 -7% | 318 -8% | 316 -8% | 307 -11% | 340 -1% |
| Brightness Distribution | 85 | 92 8% | 86 1% | 85 0% | 91 7% | 92 8% |
| Black Level * | 0.35 | 0.27 23% | 0.31 11% | 0.31 11% | 0.27 23% | 0.31 11% |
| Contrast | 1026 | 1219 19% | 1119 9% | 1087 6% | 1200 17% | 1140 11% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 3.3 | 2.78 16% | 1.68 49% | 3.87 -17% | 3.36 -2% | 2.17 34% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 4.84 | 4.88 -1% | 3.03 37% | 8.09 -67% | 9.87 -104% | 5.69 -18% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 3.28 | 1.63 50% | 1.08 67% | 1.15 65% | 1.23 62% | 1.05 68% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 3.66 | 2.5 32% | 1.8 51% | 6.1 -67% | 5.8 -58% | 3.4 7% |
| Gamma | 2.43 91% | 2.106 104% | 2.262 97% | 2.132 103% | 2.311 95% | 2.2 100% |
| CCT | 5896 110% | 6201 105% | 6592 99% | 6891 94% | 7087 92% | 6830 95% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 76 | 71 | 72 | 69 | ||
| Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 99 | 94 | 94 | 93 | ||
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | -16% /
4% | -34% /
-3% | -83% /
-40% | -102% /
-48% | -20% /
-2% |
* ... smaller is better
At almost 100% sRGB and about 76% AdobeRGB, the color space coverage is very good, while many competitors don't quite reach those values.
The display is calibrated fairly well already at the state of delivery, and a manual calibration brings almost no significant improvement in terms of the color deviations.
Display Response Times
| ↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
|---|---|---|
| 5.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ ms rise |  |
| ↘ ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 16 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (20.5 ms). | ||
| ↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
| 2.8 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ ms rise |  |
| ↘ ms fall | ||
| The screen shows very fast response rates in our tests and should be very well suited for fast-paced gaming. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 10 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is better than the average of all tested devices (32.1 ms). | ||
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
| Screen flickering / PWM not detected |  | ||
In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 8327 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 343500) Hz was measured. | |||
The fact that there isn't much sun during this test contributes to easier readability of the Alienware's display contents. Even at steep viewing angles, the matte and fairly bright display ensures good readability, at least on cloudy days and in the shade.
As is typical for IPS screens, the viewing angle stability is less of a subject. However, it is still noticeable that the brightness is better when looking directly at the screen than from steep viewing angles, but this slight decrease is still acceptable.
Performance - Only 125 W for the RTX 3080
With its Intel Core i7-11800H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile GPU, our test unit represents the top end of the configurations. Alternatively, you can also configure the Alienware, which can clearly be considered a gaming laptop, with an RTX 3070 or RTX 3060, and even with a weaker Intel Core i5 11400H CPU.
Test Conditions
The Alienware Command Center offers many fan profiles with names that are not very intuitive, and the mode description is only implemented by a system of little stars. What might the differences between "Performance," "Full Performance," and "Cooling" be? Since the fans always rev up noisily in all three modes even during idle operation ("Full Performance" is even louder than the noise in the "Performance" mode), we run the benchmarks and noise measurements in "Balanced" mode. Even though this contradicts our approach to test gaming laptops using the highest performance mode, at least the noise measurement will then make sense.
The Alienware Command Center (ACC) also needs a particularly long time to complete loading during each system start. Even when subjectively all the other Windows processes have finished loading, the ACC still needs more time. Although you can start it already, you still cannot select the fan modes in the overview for quite some time.
The behavior of the Alienware when turning it on is also strange. When you press the power button, it lights up in blue for several seconds, but then nothing else happens. Only when you press the button for a second time will the laptop really boot up - very annoying!
Windows 11 is installed as the operating system, which might still lead to some problems with some benchmarks.
Processor
The Intel Core i7-11800H comes from the Tiger Lake series, and its 8 cores can reach clock speeds between 2.3 and 4.6 GHz (single core Turbo).
In the Cinebench loop, we measure a slight performance drop after the first four runs. After that, the performance is comparable to that of the Intel Core i7-11800H in the Aorus. During the first four runs, the TDP is around 90 watts. Afterwards it starts to get limited, and in each new run, the TDP will only reach the maximum briefly, before dropping to about 50 watts.
In the direct comparison, the Core i7-11800H in the Schenker delivers the best performance, but most of the time the Alienware places about 5% behind.
In battery mode, the Cinebench R15 CPU performance drops only by about 10% compared to the performance in the beginning.
Cinebench R15 Multi Constant Load Test
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
| CPU Performance Rating | |
| Average of class Gaming | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) -2! | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H | |
| Aorus 15P YD -2! | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Cinebench R23 / Multi Core | |
| Average of class Gaming (5668 - 40970, n=144, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (6508 - 14088, n=48) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Cinebench R23 / Single Core | |
| Average of class Gaming (1136 - 2267, n=144, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (1386 - 1522, n=45) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core) | |
| Average of class Gaming (2179 - 16108, n=144, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (2498 - 5408, n=50) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core) | |
| Average of class Gaming (439 - 870, n=144, last 2 years) | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (520 - 586, n=47) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit | |
| Average of class Gaming (1537 - 6271, n=144, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (1342 - 2173, n=50) | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit | |
| Average of class Gaming (191.9 - 343, n=143, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (201 - 231, n=46) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (217 - 454, n=46) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Average of class Gaming (80 - 517, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 | |
| Average of class Gaming (23795 - 148086, n=142, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (33718 - 56758, n=46) | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| 7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1 | |
| Average of class Gaming (4199 - 7573, n=142, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (5138 - 5732, n=46) | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core | |
| Average of class Gaming (4557 - 27010, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (4655 - 9851, n=40) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core | |
| Average of class Gaming (986 - 2423, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (1429 - 1625, n=40) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset | |
| Average of class Gaming (7.7 - 44.3, n=142, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (7.38 - 17.4, n=46) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Average of class Gaming (19 - 96.6, n=140, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (38.6 - 59.9, n=45) | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (0.548 - 0.615, n=46) | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Average of class Gaming (0.3551 - 0.759, n=143, last 2 years) | |
* ... smaller is better
AIDA64: FP32 Ray-Trace | FPU Julia | CPU SHA3 | CPU Queen | FPU SinJulia | FPU Mandel | CPU AES | CPU ZLib | FP64 Ray-Trace | CPU PhotoWorxx
| Performance Rating | |
| Average of class Gaming | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Aorus 15P YD -9! | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake -9! | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) -9! | |
| AIDA64 / FP32 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Gaming (7192 - 85542, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (8772 - 15961, n=20) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Julia | |
| Average of class Gaming (35040 - 252486, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (39404 - 65636, n=20) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU SHA3 | |
| Average of class Gaming (1728 - 10389, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (2599 - 4439, n=20) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| AIDA64 / CPU Queen | |
| Average of class Gaming (50699 - 200651, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (85233 - 91941, n=20) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU SinJulia | |
| Average of class Gaming (5020 - 33636, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (6420 - 9792, n=20) | |
| AIDA64 / FPU Mandel | |
| Average of class Gaming (17585 - 134044, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (23365 - 39464, n=20) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU AES | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (74617 - 149388, n=20) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Average of class Gaming (19065 - 328679, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| AIDA64 / CPU ZLib | |
| Average of class Gaming (373 - 2531, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (461 - 830, n=43) | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| AIDA64 / FP64 Ray-Trace | |
| Average of class Gaming (3856 - 45446, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (4545 - 8717, n=21) | |
| AIDA64 / CPU PhotoWorxx | |
| Average of class Gaming (10805 - 62916, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (11898 - 26757, n=21) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
System Performance
The PCMark 10 benchmark doesn't differentiate the competitors very well from each other, at least not in the overall score. The Razer Blade seems to be slightly ahead in the sub tests, but the Alienware is challenging it, remaining about 5% behind only in the Essentials benchmark.
| PCMark 10 / Score | |
| Average of class Gaming (5776 - 9852, n=128, last 2 years) | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (6673 - 7470, n=11) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Average of class Gaming (9057 - 12600, n=128, last 2 years) | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (9862 - 11064, n=11) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
| Average of class Gaming (6662 - 14612, n=128, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (8278 - 9803, n=11) | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
| Average of class Gaming (7440 - 19351, n=128, last 2 years) | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (9881 - 11323, n=11) | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| PCMark 10 Score | 7177 points | |
Help | ||
| AIDA64 / Memory Copy | |
| Average of class Gaming (21750 - 97515, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (24508 - 48144, n=21) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Read | |
| Average of class Gaming (22956 - 104349, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (25882 - 50365, n=20) | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Write | |
| Average of class Gaming (22297 - 133486, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (22240 - 46214, n=20) | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| AIDA64 / Memory Latency | |
| Average of class Gaming (59.5 - 259, n=141, last 2 years) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| Average Intel Core i7-11800H (71.9 - 104.1, n=44) | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latencies
The LatencyMon tool does not detect any significant delays, neither when opening several browser tabs, nor streaming videos or during CPU load via Prime95. On the other hand, our 4K/60-fps YouTube video was reproduced with a total of 68 dropped frames.
| DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
| Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Aorus 15P YD | |
| Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 | |
| SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake | |
| Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition | |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Solution
Dell has equipped the m15 R6 with two 1-TB NVMe SSDs from Samsung, so there is ample amount of storage with a total of 2 TB. Even though the Samsung PM9A1 occupies the third place in our SSD database, it is unable to even come close to its theoretically high speeds in the R6. There is some wasted potential here, but the speed still isn't bad by any means.
* ... smaller is better
Constant Performance Reading: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
Graphics Card
The R6 contains an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile GPU that is able to consume 125 watts, including 10 watts dynamic boost. Considering the fact that some RTX 3080 laptops are configured with up to 165 watts, this seems fairly low, particularly for an Alienware laptop. For example, even the R6 with the RTX 3070 option is able to use 130 watts.
In the 3DMark tests, the Alienware's performance corresponds fairly exactly to the average, in terms of its RTX 3080. However, the "old" R4 with the RTX 3080 and Intel Core i9-10980HK Comet Lake CPU is noticeably faster most of the time. This is not a surprise, since the GPU in the R4 is able to use 140 watts.
In battery mode, running the 3DMark 11 results in only 16,083 points instead of the 30,178 points before, which corresponds to a decrease of 47%.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 30178 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 53399 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 24014 points | |
| 3DMark Time Spy Score | 10763 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
Despite the slightly throttled RTX 3080, the Alienware is able to display all the modern games at maximum detail and in Full HD resolution, and there should even be sufficient reserves for 4K resolutions.
Overall, the R6 performance is again fairly close to the average of other laptops with an RTX 3080 from our database. However, most of its direct competitors are still faster, with the old m15 R4 at the top. It seems a bit strange that one would limit the performance compared to the predecessor, possibly to be able to provide better cooling of the system.
The fan modes appear to have only little influence on the performance. In Performance mode, many games will only hardly or not at all benefit from the theoretical additional cooling (GTA V), but in some games we can see a minimal advantage (Strange Brigade, + 3-5%).
| New World | |
| 1920x1080 Medium Video Quality | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (80.8 - 105.4, n=4) | |
| 1920x1080 High Video Quality | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (75.1 - 96.7, n=4) | |
| 1920x1080 Very High Video Quality | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 | |
| Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU (71.5 - 90.4, n=4) | |
During one hour of running The Witcher 3, the frame rate only drops slightly, so the performance is fairly constant, and outliers or drops remain the exception.
The Witcher 3 FPS Chart
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTA V (2015) | 183 | 177 | 166 | 99.5 |
| The Witcher 3 (2015) | 312 | 276 | 149 | 108.4 |
| Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 168 | 151 | 144 | 135 |
| X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 127 | 110 | 87.9 | |
| Far Cry 5 (2018) | 132 | 126 | 119 | 113 |
| Strange Brigade (2018) | 424 | 261 | 216 | 190 |
| New World (2021) | 115.5 | 95.7 | 91.3 | 84 |
Emissions - Hotter than most competitors
Noise Emissions
During idle operation, the fans in the 6 often remain turned off, at least in Balanced or Quiet mode. In Performance mode, they are also loud during idle operation, and likewise in the "Cooling" mode. In Full Performance mode, they become even louder.
In Balanced mode, the fans can even rev up from time to time in maximum idle operation, up to a noise level of about 30 dB. Under average load (3DMark06, first benchmark), the R6 now remains even quieter than some of its competitors.
On the other hand, the fans rev up quite a lot under heavy load. But at least they aren't louder than the Aorus or the Schenker here as well. However, this is not the case when you use the Full Performance mode. So every user has to decide for themselves whether a few frames more are also worth the increasing noise level.
Under some types of load (3DMark06), we can hear an electronic noise in form of a hum. Probably it is only noticeable under medium load level, and after that it will be drowned out by the fan noise.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 23 / 23 / 30 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 41.26 / 53.37 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 23 dB(A) | ||
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR | Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H, Toshiba KBG40ZNS512G NVMe | Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i9-10980HK, 2x WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-512G (RAID 0) | Aorus 15P YD GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR | SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H, Samsung SSD 980 Pro 1TB MZ-V8P1T0BW | Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H, SSSTC CA6-8D1024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noise | -4% | -7% | -10% | -11% | 0% | |
| off / environment * | 23 | 24 -4% | 25 -9% | 25 -9% | 25 -9% | 25.1 -9% |
| Idle Minimum * | 23 | 24 -4% | 25 -9% | 26 -13% | 27 -17% | 25.3 -10% |
| Idle Average * | 23 | 25 -9% | 29 -26% | 30 -30% | 30 -30% | 25.3 -10% |
| Idle Maximum * | 30 | 35 -17% | 33 -10% | 34 -13% | 32 -7% | 25.3 16% |
| Load Average * | 41.26 | 44 -7% | 48 -16% | 43 -4% | 46 -11% | 42 -2% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 53.4 | 48 10% | 46 14% | 50 6% | 52 3% | 45.6 15% |
| Load Maximum * | 53.37 | 50 6% | 49 8% | 57 -7% | 55 -3% | 51.6 3% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
In idle operation, the R6 now remains cooler than the R4. However, under load it gets just as hot again, and that although at least the 3D performance is slightly lower.
Under heavy stress, the surfaces on the top and bottom can reach temperatures of around 60 °C (140 °F), which is definitely not suited anymore for operation on one's lap. On the other hand, those who live in a cold garden hut can profit from the R6 in some other ways: While gaming, the temperature around the WASD keys still reaches a cosy 40 - 45 °C (104 - 113 °F), but at least the palm rests remain relatively cool.
Interestingly, the R5 with the weaker RTX 3060 and Ryzen 7 5800H becomes similarly hot. However, the rest of the competitors remains noticeably cooler.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 61 °C / 142 F, compared to the average of 40.5 °C / 105 F, ranging from 21.2 to 68.8 °C for the class Gaming.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 58 °C / 136 F, compared to the average of 43.3 °C / 110 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 29.6 °C / 85 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(-) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 40.7 °C / 105 F, compared to the device average of 33.9 °C / 93 F.
(±) The palmrests and touchpad can get very hot to the touch with a maximum of 39 °C / 102.2 F.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.9 °C / 84 F (-10.1 °C / -18.2 F).
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 Intel Core i9-10980HK, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | Aorus 15P YD Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heat | 2% | -7% | 9% | 15% | 7% | |
| Maximum Upper Side * | 61 | 62 -2% | 59 3% | 49 20% | 39 36% | 51 16% |
| Maximum Bottom * | 58 | 61 -5% | 61 -5% | 57 2% | 50 14% | 52 10% |
| Idle Upper Side * | 38 | 36 5% | 43 -13% | 33 13% | 34 11% | 35.2 7% |
| Idle Bottom * | 36 | 33 8% | 41 -14% | 36 -0% | 37 -3% | 37.8 -5% |
* ... smaller is better
Stress Test
In the hour-long stress test, the cores start off at around 4.2 GHz. After less than half an hour, the clock speed is only 2.7 GHz. Until the end, it varies slightly between 2.7 and 2,9 GHz.
During this time, the core temperatures remain at a completely uncritical 80 °C (176 °F), even if they can temporarily increase up to 98 °C (208 °F), which triggers thermal throttling.
At the same time, the clock speed of the GPU varies between 1.3 and 1.7 GHz during the whole test. Its temperature lies around 77 °C (171 °F), and the hot spot reaches around 85 °C (185 °F).
| CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | Average GPU Temperature (°C) | |
| Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 2.7 - 2.9 | 1,395 - 1,710 | 80 | 77 |
Speakers
The positive aspect is that the speaker can become fairly loud. But unfortunately, they lack bass, and we also heard better models in terms of the mids. Because of the loud fans, the use of headphones is recommended anyways, and there is an audio port for this.
Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (85.2 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 23.8% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 8.3% higher than median
(+) | mids are linear (6.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 3.3% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (5.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (21.8% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 77% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 17% worse
» The best had a delta of 6%, average was 18%, worst was 132%
Compared to all devices tested
» 60% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 33% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 6% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 91% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 4% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 24%, worst was 134%
Power Management - More efficient than the predecessor
Power Consumption
Thanks to the Optimus switching, the R6 now consumes noticeably less power than the R4 at least during idle operation. Under load, the consumption is also slightly lower than that of the competitors, but this might also be due to the lower 3D performance.
We measure a maximum consumption of just above 200 watts, which means that the 240-Watt power supply should be sufficient to be able to recharge the device reliably in any situation.
| Idle | 14 / 18 / 29 Watt |
| Load |
93 / 203 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Metrahit Energy | |
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition R7 5800H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, Toshiba KBG40ZNS512G NVMe, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 i9-10980HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, 2x WDC PC SN730 SDBPNTY-512G (RAID 0), IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Aorus 15P YD i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, Samsung SSD 980 Pro 1TB MZ-V8P1T0BW, IPS, 2560x1440, 15.6" | Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, SSSTC CA6-8D1024, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6" | Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU | Average of class Gaming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 4% | -70% | -29% | -0% | -18% | -24% | -10% | |
| Idle Minimum * | 14 | 11 21% | 37 -164% | 23 -64% | 15 -7% | 19.5 -39% | 19.8 ? -41% | 14.2 ? -1% |
| Idle Average * | 18 | 14 22% | 40 -122% | 25 -39% | 17 6% | 23.3 -29% | 24.3 ? -35% | 20.2 ? -12% |
| Idle Maximum * | 29 | 25 14% | 53 -83% | 35 -21% | 22 24% | 40.1 -38% | 33.3 ? -15% | 27.2 ? 6% |
| Load Average * | 93 | 123 -32% | 121 -30% | 101 -9% | 101 -9% | 98.9 -6% | 108.1 ? -16% | 107.7 ? -16% |
| Witcher 3 ultra * | 190 | 176 7% | 193 -2% | 190 -0% | 195 -3% | 174 8% | ||
| Load Maximum * | 203 | 226 -11% | 246 -21% | 280 -38% | 230 -13% | 214 -5% | 230 ? -13% | 260 ? -28% |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption The Witcher 3 / Stress Test
Power Consumption with an External Monitor
Battery Life
Despite its more powerful GPU, the R6 isn't equipped with a larger battery than the R5 with the RTX 3060. However, this doesn't appear to necessarily have a negative effect on the battery life, since during our battery tests, the integrated GPU is active most of the time. The WLAN test results are at eye level, and only when playing videos, the R6 lasts noticeably less time with 5.5 hours than the R5 with 8 hours.
| Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080 i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, 84 Wh | Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition R7 5800H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 86 Wh | Alienware m15 R4 RTX 3080 i9-10980HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, 86 Wh | Aorus 15P YD i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, 99 Wh | SCHENKER XMG Neo 15 Tiger Lake i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, 93 Wh | Razer Blade 15 Advanced (Mid 2021) i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU, 80 Wh | Average of class Gaming | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battery Runtime | 5% | -61% | 18% | 27% | 17% | 18% | |
| H.264 | 333 | 525 58% | 114 -66% | 352 6% | 457 ? 37% | ||
| WiFi v1.3 | 302 | 306 1% | 110 -64% | 319 6% | 338 12% | 353 17% | 387 ? 28% |
| Load | 98 | 55 -44% | 45 -54% | 126 29% | 161 64% | 85.8 ? -12% | |
| Reader / Idle | 881 | 448 | 570 ? | ||||
| Witcher 3 ultra | 96 | 46 | 69.5 ? |
Pros
Cons
Verdict - Why so hot?
Compared to the R4, the Tiger Lake update makes the R6 mainly more efficient and frugal, but not necessarily faster. Even though the CPU performance has increased, the 3D performance has decreased due to the lower TGP. This also lowers the consumption. The cooling modes appear to only have little influence on the performance, and the RTX 3080 still doesn't get a higher power allocation.
The CPU performance is comparable to that of the Ryzen m15 R5. In addition, there is the advantage of Thunderbolt support. But otherwise, the R5 and the R6 are extremely similar. So you should choose according to the price and how important Thunderbolt is for you.
The cooling system still reveals further need for optimization: Despite the low power consumption of the RTX 3080, the surfaces of the Alienware get hotter than in most of the competitors, some of which offer a higher 3D performance.
The m15 R6 is more efficient and frugal than its R4 predecessor. However, the RTX 3080 is throttled here, and the surfaces of the Alienware still get very hot.
The Aorus 15P YD produces a minimally higher performance while still staying cooler, but it also has a higher consumption. The Schenker XMG Neo 15 also offers a significantly higher 3D performance and also stays cooler. In addition, it offers the longer battery life, but on the other hand it is also even louder.
Price and Availability
Various configurations of the m15 R6 are currently available from Dell starting at around $1200. Amazon offers a higher-end configuration for $1783.
Alienware m15 R6, i7-11800H RTX 3080
- 11/25/2021 v7 (old)
Christian Hintze
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