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Updated January 10, 2024·
When choosing between the Acer Nitro 17 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7, consider that the Acer Nitro 17 is usually less expensive, and offers a larger 17-inch screen, but with a lower resolution compared to the Dell's 15.6-inch higher-resolution display. The Acer Nitro has a longer battery life and a numeric keypad, making it more suitable for general use and casual gaming. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware, while more pricey, has a more powerful processor and a higher-end graphics card, which translates into better performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks; it is also lighter and more portable than the Acer. Both have similar RAM and storage expansion capabilities, but note that the Dell offers lesser storage capacity out of the box. The Dell also has a higher refresh rate display, making it better for fast-paced gaming. 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 Nitro 17
- Good battery life
- Very good speakers
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m15 R7
- Very good for engineering and design
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.4
8.2
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
280.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Acer Nitro 17 has a better screen than the Dell Alienware m15 R7 for content creation, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 has a better screen for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Acer Nitro 17's screen provides sufficient brightness, resolution, and panel quality ensuring comfortable viewing in various lighting conditions and sharp images, which is essential for general use and engineering tasks that demand fine detail. Its panel, while offering rich colors that cater to engineering and design professionals relying on color accuracy, falls short for gaming due to a lower refresh rate, making it less smooth for fast-paced action. Conversely, the Dell Alienware m15 R7 boasts a display that excels in both color reproduction and high resolution, enhancing the experience for general use and design-related work, but like the Acer, it doesn't support the high refresh rates preferred for fluid motion in gaming and 3D applications.
Battery
8.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 17 has 8 hours of battery life. The Dell Alienware m15 R7 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
Poor
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
6.8 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
1.1in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has only fair portability, while the Acer Nitro 17 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4
8.5
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has very good build quality, while the Acer Nitro 17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$970
$2,200
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Acer Nitro 17 has a price of $970 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 costs $2,200.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.8
7.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
280.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
8.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
5.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The Acer Nitro 17 and Dell Alienware m15 R7 are both good for general use.
The Acer Nitro 17 is favored for general use because it combines a strong CPU with sufficient RAM, and a large, high-quality screen, though it has lower portability due to its size and moderate battery life. The Dell Alienware m15 R7, while more portable and boasting a higher resolution screen, also packs a more powerful CPU for demanding tasks but offers shorter battery life and might be more suited to gaming due to its design and GPU.
Gaming and AI
7.4
7.8
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 and Acer Nitro 17 are both good for gaming and AI.
The Acer Nitro 17 offers a solid gaming experience with its Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card and a screen refresh rate of 165Hz, which is ideal for smooth, fast-paced gaming, but has a less powerful CPU compared to the Dell Alienware m15 R7, which has a stronger Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU and a higher 240Hz refresh rate for exceptional gaming and 3D performance, along with a higher resolution screen for better image quality.
Engineering and Design
7.9
8.2
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Alienware m15 R7 to be very good for engineering and design, while the Acer Nitro 17 is good.
The Acer Nitro 17, with its sufficient CPU and GPU, is good for engineering and design due to its large screen and solid performance, but the Dell Alienware m15 R7 offers very good capabilities with its higher-tier CPU and GPU, and higher resolution and refresh-rate screen which makes a difference for detailed design work, despite being less portable with a shorter battery life. Both laptops have enough RAM for most engineering tasks, but the Alienware's superior screen quality and raw performance make it better suited for more demanding design work.
Content Creation
7.8
7.5
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Acer Nitro 17 and Dell Alienware m15 R7 are both good for content creation.
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
7.4
7.3
7.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Acer Nitro 17 and Dell Alienware m15 R7 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.
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How the Acer Nitro 17 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 17 | Dell Alienware m15 R7 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$970 | $2,200 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | May 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.8'' x 11.6'' x 1.1'' | 14'' x 10.7'' x 0.94'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.83 lbs | 5.93 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.77" | 14.02" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.59" | 10.73" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS | AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 8 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 90 Wh | 86 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2560 x 1440 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 165Hz | 240Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 280 nits | 300 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.4/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.6/10 | 6.5/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 6.8/10 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 7.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 3 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
Acer Nitro 17
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Dig into reviews and images
PCMag
Mark Knapp | October 2023
"The Acer Nitro 17 isn't an exceptional gaming laptop; it's kind of chunky even among 17.3-inch notebooks, with a lackluster keyboard, and it doesn't outperform comparably priced machines. But there's a lot to like about it, including a good array of ports, a screen that's sharp and bright for work and play alike, and battery life that soundly beats the competition. All this comes at an affordable price. If size and weight aren't big concerns, you'll find the Nitro 17 a dependable big-screen gaming rig. If you crave higher quality, consider a slight step down or up in screen size with the Lenovo Legion Slim 5 Gen 8 or Alienware m18 respectively."
Dell Alienware m15 R7
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Dig into reviews and images
Tom's Hardware
Brandon Hill | October 2022
"The Alienware M15 offers solid gaming and leading endurance. It makes the most of its CPU and GPU while delivering stellar battery life for a gaming laptop. Opening the lid presents a full-size keyboard with honeycomb cutouts above it on the deck. An oblong RBG lightning element surrounds the entire rear panel and can be color-synced with the other lights on the laptop. There’s not a lot to dislike about the M15 Its productivity performance lagged in some areas, particularly in the storage benchmark, and it’s a bit heavy. Alienware has a clear winner here with the M15 based on its strong overall performance and endurance."
Get a great deal on the Acer Nitro 17 or the Dell Alienware m15 R7
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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