Choosing between the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 depends on your needs. The MacBook Pro offers superior build quality, longer battery life, and is more portable, making it ideal for general use and professional creative tasks. However, the Alienware provides better performance for gaming and other graphics-intensive applications, due to its powerful dedicated GPU. The Alienware's larger screen is a boon for immersive experiences but makes the device heavier and less convenient to carry. The MacBook is more expensive, but you're paying for a device that's well-rounded for non-gaming tasks with a premium build and support for professional applications in design and video editing. In contrast, the Alienware, while less expensive, is tailored for high-performance gaming and may not be as suitable for general portability or battery efficiency. 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 Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021)
Excellent for general use
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Good portability
Best in class battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m17 R5
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021).
Key differences
General Use
9.0/10
7.8/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
497.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
17.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is excellent for general use, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in general use because it has a robust CPU, plenty of RAM, a high-quality Mini LED screen, and exceptional battery life, packaged in a slim and relatively lightweight design for better portability. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 offers a powerful CPU and GPU suitable for gaming, more storage, and a quality keyboard, but is heavier with shorter battery life, making it less ideal for on-the-go use.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
7.7/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) are both good for gaming and AI, though the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 offers high-quality screen resolution and powerful graphics processing suitable for 3D design, however, it limits gaming options since many popular games are not available for macOS. The Dell Alienware m17 R5 boasts a high-refresh-rate screen and a robust graphics card favoring smooth gameplay and 3D rendering, but it may be bulkier and have shorter battery life compared to the MacBook.
Engineering and Design
8.7/10
8.1/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
5.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) and Dell Alienware m17 R5 are both very good for engineering and design, though the Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is somewhat better.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 is highly regarded for engineering and design due to its powerful CPU, ample RAM, high-quality GPU, and excellent screen quality, which are critical for these tasks. The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is similarly praised for its strong performance in CPU, RAM, and GPU departments, and it also boasts a superior screen, but its greater weight makes it less portable than the MacBook.
Content Creation
8.8/10
7.8/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for content creation, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 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
8.9/10
7.4/10
7.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) is very good for software development, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good.
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
9.4/10
8.1/10
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
3456 x 2234
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
497.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has a better screen than the Dell Alienware m17 R5 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) excels in screen quality for general use and engineering due to its high-resolution display with bright, color-accurate panels covering wide color gamuts, ensuring crisp and vibrant visuals. For those in design and engineering, the color fidelity, with accurate DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB coverage, is essential for precise work. However, it falls short for 3D applications, where a higher refresh rate is crucial for smooth rendering, something more common in laptops designed specifically for gaming or 3D modeling.
Battery
17.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 has 17.5 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
16.2in
SIZE
17.3in
4.7 lbs
WEIGHT
7.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has best in class build quality, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,949
$1,100
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) has a price of $1,949 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 costs $1,100.
"The Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023: M2 Max challenges GeForce RTX 3080 Ti. The new MacBook Pro 16 2023 with the M2 Max SoC is the most powerful laptop Apple has on sale right now. While we do not get the expected performance and efficiency improvements from completely new 3 nm chips, which we expected ahead of the launch, the 2023 model is still a solid update. The CPU of the M2 Max can be up to 20 % faster than the old model and we also see an advantage of 25-30 % for the GPU with 38 cores. However, both components also consume more power, so the efficiency did not change that much under maximum load."
"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 Apple MacBook Pro 16 (2021) or the Dell Alienware m17 R5
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Laptops Expert
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