The ASUS Vivobook 14 is a more budget-friendly option with decent performance for general use and portability due to its lighter weight and longer battery life. It's suitable for everyday tasks but not for intensive gaming or heavy engineering software. The Dell Alienware X17 R2, on the other hand, offers high performance for gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks with a much more powerful processor and graphics card, but it comes at a higher price, is heavier, and has a shorter battery life. The Alienware also has a larger screen with a higher refresh rate, better for fast-moving visuals in gaming or video editing. 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 Vivobook 14
Very good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Dell Alienware X17 R2
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.9/10
8.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
2.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 14 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
8.9/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook 14 is only fair.
The ASUS Vivobook 14 is fair for gaming and 3D applications as it comes with an integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics chip, which is less powerful than dedicated gaming GPUs and offers a standard screen refresh rate of 60Hz. In contrast, the Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for gaming and 3D tasks due to its high-end Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics card and a significantly higher refresh rate of 480Hz, which provides smoother visuals and can be a substantial advantage in fast-paced gaming scenarios.
Engineering and Design
6.3/10
9.1/10
6.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is excellent for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook 14 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is superior for engineering and design use because it has a much more powerful CPU, ample RAM, and an advanced GPU that excel at intensive tasks, coupled with a higher quality screen for clearer and more accurate visuals. Although the ASUS Vivobook 14 offers more portability due to its lighter weight and smaller size, its lower-tier CPU, limited RAM, and integrated GPU are less suitable for demanding engineering software or complex design work.
Content Creation
6.9/10
8.3/10
6.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook 14 is only fair.
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
6.8/10
7.8/10
6.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 14 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
6.3/10
8.5/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Asus Vivobook 14 has a decent panel type and resolution, but its lower brightness may not provide the visual clarity needed for high-detail work or outdoor use, which is more sufficient for basic tasks than professional design. The Dell Alienware X17 R2 offers vibrant colors and high brightness, conducive to precision in engineering and design work due to its wide color gamuts, but its lower refresh rate doesn't suit fast-paced 3D applications where smooth motion is critical. Both laptops lack the high refresh rates required for optimal 3D gaming experiences, leading to subpar performance in such scenarios despite their differences in other screen qualities.
Battery
7.0 Hours
2.0 Hours
The ASUS Vivobook 14 has 7 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
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The ASUS Vivobook 14 has very good portability, while the Dell Alienware X17 R2 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$421
$2,000
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The ASUS Vivobook 14 has a price of $421 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 costs $2,000.
"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 Vivobook 14 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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