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Dell - Alienware m18 R2 vs Lenovo - ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13

Last updated · How Mars Score works
Alienware m18 R2DELLRENDER
Probe A
Dell
Alienware m18 R2
81.9/ 100A
Performance72· 35%
Battery & Ports93· 27%
Design· 20%
Display84· 18%
ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13LENOVORENDER
Probe B
Lenovo
ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
60.0/ 100C
Performance58· 35%
Battery & Ports62· 27%
Design· 20%
Display61· 18%
Quick verdict

Between the Alienware m18 R2 and ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13, the Alienware m18 R2 comes out ahead in cpu cores and battery, while the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 wins on claimed battery life and weight. Overall, the Alienware m18 R2 scores 81.9 and the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 scores 60 on our Mars Score.

Buying advice

Which should you buy?

The Alienware m18 R2 is the clear pick on raw spec strength, leading by 21.9 points on the Mars Score. The margin is wide enough that the underdog only makes sense if its individual strengths line up with what you specifically need.

Pick the Alienware m18 R2 if your top frustration with your current device is running out of charge before the day ends — endurance is the lead spec here. The biggest gaps in its favor are cpu cores, battery, refresh rate, among others.

Pick the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 if your top frustration with your current device is running out of charge before the day ends — endurance is the lead spec here. Its strongest claims are claimed battery life, weight, thunderbolt ports, among others.

Both ship with comparable ram, storage, backlit keyboard, so those specs don't separate the two — focus on the differences below.

Bottom line: the Alienware m18 R2 is the safer default. The other model is the right choice only when its specific advantages line up with your priorities.

Why Dell - Alienware m18 R2 wins

  • CPU cores — 200.00% more. 24 vs 8.
  • Battery — 70.18% more. 97 Wh vs 57 Wh.
  • Refresh rate — 37.50% more. 165 Hz vs 120 Hz.
  • Screen size — 28.57% more. 18 " vs 14 ".

Why Lenovo - ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 wins

  • Claimed battery life — 200.00% more. 18 h vs 6 h.
  • Weight — 3.15 kg less. 0.98 vs 4.13.
  • Thunderbolt ports — 1.00 more. 2 vs 1.
  • Panel type: OLED (vs IPS).
Full readout

Spec comparison

Design

SpecDell - Alienware m18 R2Lenovo - ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
Weight4.13 kg0.98 kglead
Thickness27.4 mm14.4 mmlead
Build materialmagnesium-aluminumcarbon-fiber
Backlit keyboardtruetrue
Fingerprint readerfalsetruelead

Display

SpecDell - Alienware m18 R2Lenovo - ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
Screen size18 "lead14 "
Refresh rate165 Hzlead120 Hz
Panel typeIPSOLEDlead

Performance

SpecDell - Alienware m18 R2Lenovo - ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
CPUIntel Core i9-14900HXIntel Core Ultra 7 268V
CPU cores24lead8
GPUNVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 LaptopIntel Arc 140V
RAM32 GB32 GB
Storage1024 GB1024 GB
Storage typeSSDSSD

Battery & Ports

SpecDell - Alienware m18 R2Lenovo - ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
Battery97 Whlead57 Wh
Claimed battery life6 h18 hlead
USB-C ports22
Thunderbolt ports12lead
HDMItruetrue
Reader questions

Frequently asked

Which has better battery life, Alienware m18 R2 or ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13?+

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 claims up to 18 hours — 6h vs 18h.

Which is lighter, Alienware m18 R2 or ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13?+

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 is lighter at 0.98 kg vs 4.13 kg.

Which has an OLED display, Alienware m18 R2 or ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13?+

ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 has an OLED display; Alienware m18 R2 uses IPS.

Drill down

Spec-level deep dives

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