A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
Last updated -- hours ago | Report incorrect information
Company ProductName Specs
Company ProductName Specs
What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The Acer Nitro 5 15 is more budget-friendly and provides good performance for general use and gaming with its RTX 4050 graphics card, but it has a lower screen resolution and refresh rate when comparing it to the Dell Alienware m15 R7. The Alienware, on the other hand, comes with a premium price tag, a more powerful AMD Ryzen processor, a higher-end RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, and a higher resolution and refresh rate, which make it better suited for demanding tasks like 3D rendering, machine learning, and intensive gaming. It also has a larger battery. However, the Alienware is slightly heavier, which impacts portability. If on a tighter budget, the Acer Nitro may be sufficient, especially for less demanding tasks; however, for the best gaming experience or work involving complex computations, the performance advantages of the Alienware may justify its higher cost. 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 5 15
- The Acer Nitro 5 15 has no clear advantages over the Dell Alienware m15 R7.
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m15 R7
- Very good for engineering and design
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good overall build quality
Key differences
Screen Quality
6.9
8.2
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
262.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has a better screen than the Acer Nitro 5 15 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
The Acer Nitro 5 15 offers a display that provides clarity and brightness suitable for everyday tasks but may lack the wider color gamut needed for precision in engineering and design, and its lower refresh rate isn't ideal for the smooth visuals required in high-speed gaming and 3D applications. The Dell Alienware m15 R7, with higher brightness and resolution, enhances the general use experience and its superior color reproduction benefits professionals in engineering and design, but like the Acer, its screen falls short for gaming and 3D due to a less optimal refresh rate. The limitations in refresh rates for both laptops mean gamers and 3D designers would not experience the fluid motion and fast response times preferred in those fields.
Build Quality
7.2
8.5
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has very good build quality, while the Acer Nitro 5 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$780
$2,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has a price of $780 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 costs $2,200.
Let Us Help Find Your Perfect Laptop
Find your new laptop
Key similarities
General Use
7.6
7.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
262.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
5.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
6.3/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 and Dell Alienware m15 R7 are both good for general use.
The Acer Nitro 5 15, with a solid CPU and ample RAM, is a reliable choice for general use, and is equipped with a decent screen, though its portability and battery life are just standard. Alternatively, the Dell Alienware m15 R7 also offers strong CPU and RAM capabilities, better screen resolution and color coverage for superior visual experience, but with a tradeoff in portability due to a slightly higher weight and comparably modest battery life.
Gaming and AI
7.5
7.8
7.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 and Acer Nitro 5 15 are both good for gaming and AI.
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
7.9
8.2
8.5/10
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 5 15 is good.
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 stands out for engineering and design use primarily due to its stronger AMD Ryzen 9 processor and superior Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, which allow for better performance in intensive tasks, and its higher resolution screen enhances visual clarity and detail for design work; in contrast, the Acer Nitro 5 15 is equipped with an Intel i5 processor and Nvidia RTX 4050 graphics card which are capable but less powerful, yet it may be preferred for its slightly lighter build and potentially lower noise output.
Content Creation
7.5
7.5
8.5/10
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 5 15 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
8.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Acer Nitro 5 15 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.
Battery
5.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Acer Nitro 5 15 has 5.5 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
Fair
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
5.5 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 and Acer Nitro 5 15 both have only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Acer Nitro 5 15 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Acer Nitro 5 15 | Dell Alienware m15 R7 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$780 | $2,200 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | May 1, 2023 | May 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 14.2'' x 10.7'' x 1.06'' | 14'' x 10.7'' x 0.94'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 5.51 lbs | 5.93 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 14.19" | 14.02" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10.67" | 10.73" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i5-12500H | 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 | 512 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5.5 Hours | 5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 59 Wh | 86 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2560 x 1440 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | 240Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 262 nits | 300 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.2/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.4/10 | 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 | 7.5/10 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 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 | 1 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | No | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Acer Nitro 5 15
See more
Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | June 2022
"The Acer Nitro 5 is a fast QHD gaming notebook. The Nitro 5 is a well-balanced gaming laptop for just under US$ 2400. A Core i7-12700H CPU and a GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU enable QHD gaming at high to maximum settings, accompanied by fast PCIe-4-SSD (1 TB) and 16 GB of RAM. Acer delivers a solid QHD gaming notebook with the Nitro 5 AN515-58. However, the laptop is not completely free of shortcomings. The CPU and GPU can work at consistently high clock rates. The laptop heats up noticeably under load, but not excessively. Noise development is on the usual class level. Once again, however, Acer needs to improve the fan control."
Dell Alienware m15 R7
See more
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 5 15 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.
Give feedback
We're constantly perfecting our model
Laptop guides you might be interested in
More comparisons for you
Compare Acer Nitro 5 15 vs. Dell Inpsiron 14 7435
VS
Compare Acer Nitro 5 15 vs. Lenovo Flex 5 16
VS
Compare Acer Nitro 5 15 vs. ASUS Zenbook 14X
VS
Compare Dell Alienware m15 R7 vs. Razer Blade 14 (2024)
VS
Compare Dell Alienware m15 R7 vs. Apple MacBook Air (2022)
VS
Compare Dell Alienware m15 R7 vs. Dell Alienware X17 R2
VS
FAQs
FAQs about laptops
Why trust us
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
110,895
Recommendations made
24,028
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
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.
Featured in
