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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated June 22, 2024·
For everyday tasks, the Acer Aspire Go 15 is a cost-effective choice with a decent performance and a good quality screen, though it falls short in gaming and intensive engineering tasks due to its basic processor and lack of a dedicated GPU. It's also highly portable with its lightweight design and long battery life, making it ideal for on-the-go use. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is designed for high-performance activities such as gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning, thanks to its powerful AMD Ryzen processor and Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU. It has a faster refresh rate screen, which is great for gaming, but this comes at the cost of portability due to its heavier weight and shorter battery life. It's also significantly more expensive, so consider if the performance benefits align with your needs and budget. 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 Go 15
- Good portability
- Good battery life
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m17 R5
- Good for general use
- Very good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.8
7.8
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
284.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for general use, while the Acer Aspire Go 15 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
5.9
7.7
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for gaming and AI, while the Acer Aspire Go 15 is poor.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
6.4
8.1
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Aspire Go 15 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
7.1
7.8
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Acer Aspire Go 15 are both good for content creation, though the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is somewhat better.
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.
Screen Quality
7.3
8.1
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
284.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen than the Acer Aspire Go 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
9.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Acer Aspire Go 15 has 9 hours of battery life. The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has 5 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
Good
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
3.8 lbs
WEIGHT
7.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Acer Aspire Go 15 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$299
$1,100
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Acer Aspire Go 15 has a price of $299 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 costs $1,100.
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Key similarities
Software Development
7.1
7.4
3.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Acer Aspire Go 15 are both good for software development.
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.
Build Quality
7.4
7.8
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Acer Aspire Go 15 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Aspire Go 15 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Aspire Go 15 | Dell Alienware m17 R5 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$299 | $1,100 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | February 1, 2024 | June 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.3'' x 9.4'' x 0.74'' | 15.6'' x 11.8'' x 1.05'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 3.86 lbs | 7.3 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.29" | 15.64" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.44" | 11.76" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i3-N305 | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 8 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 128 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 9 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 50 Wh | 97 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 17.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 480Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 284 nits | 301 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 7.8/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.7/10 | 5.5/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | N/A | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | No | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | No | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
Dell Alienware m17 R5
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | January 2023
"Overall, the all-AMD system in the Alienware m17 R5 is impressive, especially the graphics performance. However, various driver issues and unnecessary inconsistencies prevent us from truly enjoying such a potent gaming machine. In addition to strong 3D performance, we particularly like the build quality, the fairly bright UHD display with high color space coverage, and the fact that the gamer is often quiet when not under load and also rather quieter than some competitors under load."
Get a great deal on the Acer Aspire Go 15 or the Dell Alienware m17 R5
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.
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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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Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
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Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.
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