If you're looking for a laptop primarily for gaming or performance-heavy tasks, the Dell Alienware X17 R2 offers premium features with likely better performance but at a higher price, while the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 provides good performance at a more budget-friendly price with some trade-offs in build quality and features. If portability is a concern, the ASUS is likely to be lighter and more manageable for travel. For long battery life, the ASUS may hold an advantage, as gaming-focused models like the Alienware often consume more power. However, the Alienware will likely excel in providing a high-end gaming experience with more powerful components and a better display but remember it would be less cost-effective and heavier, which might not suit you if you need to carry it around frequently. 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 ASUS TUF Gaming A15
Good portability
Very good battery life
Advantages of the Dell Alienware X17 R2
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.0/10
8.9/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and ASUS TUF Gaming A15 are both very good for gaming and AI, though the Dell Alienware X17 R2 is somewhat better.
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
8.2/10
9.1/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
8.9/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is excellent for engineering and design, while the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is very good.
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is equipped with a high-performance AMD Ryzen CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU, backed by substantial RAM and a quality IPS screen, which are essential for engineering and design tasks. The Dell Alienware X17 R2 steps up with even more RAM, a top-tier Intel i9 CPU, and a superior Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU, along with an even brighter and higher refresh rate screen, delivering exceptional detail and smoothness in visual-intensive workloads, although it is heavier and less portable than the ASUS.
Screen Quality
7.2/10
8.5/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
271.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and software development.
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 both provide panels with high resolution and brightness, which are key for vivid and clear views for general use and detail-oriented tasks in engineering and design. Their color accuracy, covering wide color gamuts, is excellent for professionals dealing with color-sensitive work, ensuring that designs and projects appear with true-to-life colors. However, for gaming and 3D applications, their lower refresh rates may not deliver as fluid motion as higher-refresh panels, which could detract from the immersive and responsive experience that gamers and 3D artists seek.
Battery
11.0 Hours
2.0 Hours
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 has 11 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
Good
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
4.8 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware X17 R2 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Alienware X17 R2 to be very good for general use, while the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 is good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has double the RAM and a higher-performance CPU compared to the ASUS TUF Gaming A15, as well as a larger screen with higher brightness and color accuracy, which is pivotal for multitask efficiency and visual-intensive tasks. However, the ASUS offers better portability with its lighter weight and longer battery life, making it more suitable for on-the-go use, despite having lower performance specs and screen quality.
Content Creation
8.0/10
8.3/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and ASUS TUF Gaming A15 are both very 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
7.6/10
7.8/10
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and ASUS TUF Gaming A15 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.
Cost
$2,059
$2,000
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The ASUS TUF Gaming A15 has a price of $2,059 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 costs $2,000.
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How the ASUS TUF Gaming A15 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 compare to other laptops
"With the release of the TUF Gaming A15, Asos have concentrated on the essentials: gaming performance. Our base version, which can be had for around $1,169, already provided enough power to play current games smoothly in a native resolution of 1080p and with maximum details - thanks to its new Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop. If you utilize upscaling, then you can even manage to run ray tracing."
"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 ASUS TUF Gaming A15 or the Dell Alienware X17 R2
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
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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