The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 will save you money and offers decent performance for general use and gaming, but it may fall short for more intensive tasks and have a shorter battery life. The Dell Alienware m18 R1, on the other hand, is pricier but delivers high performance suited for demanding engineering applications, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks. It also has a larger battery, higher resolution display, and more RAM for smoother multitasking. It's not as portable due to its weight and thickness. Both have 17-inch displays good for gaming and workstation use, but the Alienware provides better image quality and a higher refresh rate. 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 F17
The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has no clear advantages over the Dell Alienware m18 R1.
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m18 R1
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Excellent for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.1/10
8.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
264.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
4.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
6.4/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.1/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for general use, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is good.
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 offers much higher performance with a far more powerful CPU and significantly more RAM, providing smooth multitasking and fast operation, which is ideal for intensive applications; it also boasts a higher resolution and brighter screen, enhancing the viewing experience. In contrast, the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is less expensive and lighter, making it more portable, but comes with less RAM and a lower-grade processor, alongside a lower quality display, which might make it less suitable for very demanding tasks but a reasonable option for everyday use and light gaming.
Gaming and AI
6.6/10
9.1/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is only fair.
The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 pairs a mid-range Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti graphics card with a screen refreshing 144 times per second, making it fairly suited for gaming and 3D tasks. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m18 R1 features the more powerful Nvidia RTX 4080 graphics card and a screen with a higher 165 times per second refresh rate, contributing to its excellent gaming and 3D performance.
Engineering and Design
6.9/10
9.1/10
6.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is excellent for engineering and design, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is excellent for engineering and design due to its higher performance components like a superior CPU, more RAM, and a more powerful GPU compared to the ASUS TUF Gaming F17, also offering a higher-resolution screen with better color accuracy that is beneficial for design work. While the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is still good for such tasks, the tradeoff is that the Alienware's increased capabilities come with less portability and potentially more operating noise.
Content Creation
7.1/10
8.4/10
6.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 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
6.7/10
8.0/10
6.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.9/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for software development, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 is only fair.
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
6.9/10
7.8/10
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
264.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 has a better screen than the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 provides a decent viewing experience with sufficient resolution and brightness, making it comfortable for daily tasks like browsing and video streaming; however, the Dell Alienware m18 R1 outshines with a better balance between resolution and brightness for crisper and more vibrant visuals. When considering engineering and design, the Dell Alienware m18 R1 has superior color accuracy covering a wider range of the color spectrum, crucial for professional photo-editing and CAD work, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 falls short, offering less precise color representation. In the realm of 3D gaming, both laptops lack the preferable high refresh rates that deliver smoother motion and gameplay, but crispness and viewing angles are maintained at acceptable levels, albeit not at the peak performance desired by enthusiasts or professionals in the field.
Portability
Fair
Poor
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
5.7 lbs
WEIGHT
8.9 lbs
0.9in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has only fair portability, while the Dell Alienware m18 R1 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.2/10
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 has very good build quality, while the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$2,600
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The ASUS TUF Gaming F17 has a price of $1,000 and the Dell Alienware m18 R1 costs $2,600.
"One of the Asus TUF Gaming F17’s highlights is without a doubt its excellent gaming performance. The fact that Asus configured the RTX 3060 GPU for its specified maximum of 140 W is became immediately noticeable in our benchmarks. For a 17-inch notebook the F17 also offers a very long battery life, which makes it somewhat portable. On the flip side is the display. It may be saved by its good overall contrast ratio, but its overall brightness is simply too low, and its response times are too slow for a gaming device. The F17’s successor needs to improve upon this."
"Dell's Alienware m18 delivers on its promises: This is a large, powerful gaming laptop with the premium flair and feel you expect from an expensive purchase. The drawbacks are really the price and battery life, which in context are reasonable. (We'd also like to see more ports on the laptop's sides.) This price tier exists for deep-pocketed enthusiasts, and if you’re considering anything in this range, the m18 isn’t an outlier. For the majority of shoppers, of course, all of these mighty 18-inch systems are likely too expensive."
Get a great deal on the ASUS TUF Gaming F17 or the Dell Alienware m18 R1
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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