The Acer Aspire 3 14 is more budget-friendly, lighter, and offers longer battery life, making it suitable for general use and portability. Its performance is adequate for everyday tasks, but not for heavy-duty computing. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware X17 R2 is significantly more powerful with a high-end processor and top-tier graphics card, excellent for gaming, 3D rendering, and engineering software, but it is heavier and has a shorter battery life, which affects its portability. So, choose the Acer for casual use and easy carrying, or the Dell for demanding applications where performance and large display are priorities. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Acer Aspire 3 14
Very good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Dell Alienware X17 R2
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0/10
8.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
9.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
2.0 Hours
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for general use, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is good.
The Acer Aspire 3 14 is suitable for general use with its solid battery life, fanless operation for a quiet experience, and reasonable weight for portability, but it has relatively basic CPU and RAM, which may not handle demanding tasks as smoothly. In contrast, the Dell Alienware X17 R2 excels in general use with a high-performance CPU, ample RAM, and superior screen quality, although it is less portable due to its larger size and significantly higher weight.
Gaming and AI
5.9/10
8.9/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is poor.
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has an AMD Radeon 610M GPU and a screen refresh rate of 60Hz, which offer limited performance and fluidity for gaming and 3D applications, whereas the Dell Alienware X17 R2 boasts a substantially more powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU and a much higher screen refresh rate of 480Hz, providing a superior gaming experience with smoother visuals and better handling of complex graphics.
Engineering and Design
6.1/10
9.1/10
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
3.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 outshines the Acer Aspire 3 14 in engineering and design use mainly because it boasts a significantly more powerful CPU, a considerable amount of RAM, and a top-tier GPU, which are critical for intensive tasks like 3D modeling and computational simulations. Additionally, while the Alienware's larger and higher-quality screen provides a superior visual experience for detailed work, it is less portable and has a louder operating noise, contrasting with the quieter and more portable Acer Aspire 3.
Content Creation
7.2/10
8.3/10
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for content creation, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.1/10
7.8/10
4.3/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.2/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and Acer Aspire 3 14 are both good for software development, though the Dell Alienware X17 R2 is somewhat better.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Screen Quality
6.1/10
8.5/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire 3 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Acer Aspire 3 14's screen likely offers enough clarity and brightness for tasks like browsing and document editing, making it suitable for general use, but its limited color range and lower resolution may not suffice for detailed engineering or design work. The Dell Alienware X17 R2's display, with its high resolution and broad color spectrum, caters well to the precision required in engineering applications and the richness needed for design, but its lower refresh rate may not be ideal for the smooth visuals demanded by 3D applications and gaming. In gaming and 3D scenarios, where motion clarity is crucial, screens with higher refresh rates are typically preferred, which might be a shortfall for both laptops discussed.
Battery
9.5 Hours
2.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has 9.5 hours of battery life. The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has 2 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has very good portability, while the Dell Alienware X17 R2 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.2/10
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the Acer Aspire 3 14 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$434
$2,000
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Acer Aspire 3 14 has a price of $434 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 costs $2,000.
"The Alienware x17 R2 recognizes targets a significantly higher TGP of 175 W for a roughly 30 percent performance boost over laptops running on the ~100 W GeForce RTX 3080 Ti like the Razer Blade 15 or Gigabyte Aero YE5. Similar results can be found through the CPU as well. This single aspect of the Alienware is perhaps the biggest differentiating factor between it and other ultrathin gaming laptops. Of course, the "performance at all cost" approach comes with drawbacks. Power consumption in particular is through the roof and battery life suffers because of it even when on the lowest performance settings."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire 3 14 or the Dell Alienware X17 R2
About Acer
Acer is a prominent Taiwanese electronics brand which makes a wide range of laptops, with multiple product lines catering to personal use, gaming, and business use. They are renowned for having exceptional value for money, as they frequently offer good specifications at a lower price than other manufacturers.
About Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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