Alienware m15 R6 test - Slower 3D performance than the predecessor?

In the first part of this year, the Alienware m15 R4 ran through our tests, at that time still with a Comet Lake CPU, but also already with the RTX 3080. The latter was able to consume up to 140 watts of power.

After the R5 with an AMD processor, we now tested the current Alienware m15 R6, which uses a Core i7-11800H and also the RTX 3080. Although the new processor alone should ensure a higher efficiency and lower power consumption, Dell decided to also lower the TGP of the RTX 3080.

Instead of being able to use 140 watts like in the R4, which also didn't represent all that should be possible, the new RTX 3080 is only allowed to use 125 watts. Those who are hoping to at least get a quieter and cooler laptop as a result will be disappointed. The R6 still gets hotter than the competitors, and the fans only became quieter during idle operation at best.

You might wonder why this is the case. Alienware laptops share the largest cooling system in laptops altogether, and most of the time, they are also larger than the competitors, since they have a deeper build. The new RTX 3080 consumes less power than the predecessor and the CPU is more efficient, so why does the laptop get just as hot, without even producing less noise? Probably only Dell can answer this, but it might be busier with the new X15 than the old m15 series.