"Albemarle" was long overall, with a beam of and a draft of . The "Duncan"-class battleships displaced normally and up to fully loaded. Her crew numbered 720 officers and ratings. The "Duncan"-class ships were powered by a pair of 4-cylinder triple-expansion engines that drove two screws, with steam provided by 24 Belleville boilers. The boilers were trunked into two funnels located amidships. The "Duncan"-class ships had a top speed of from . This made "Albemarle" and her sisters the fastest battleships in the world for several years. At a cruising speed of , the ship could steam for .