The ASUS Vivobook 15 is much less expensive and more suitable for general use, lightweight, and less resource-intensive tasks with a longer battery life, whereas the Dell Alienware m15 R7, while much more expensive, is appropriate for gaming, high-performance 3D rendering, and machine learning. The ASUS is lighter and therefore more portable, while the Dell has a significantly better performance for demanding applications but is heavier and has a shorter battery life. 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 15
Good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m15 R7
Good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 is good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 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
5.9/10
7.8/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is poor.
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
6.1/10
8.2/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
The ASUS Vivobook 15 is fair for engineering and design due to its lower-tier Intel i3 processor, basic integrated graphics, and a standard full HD screen, which may limit performance in demanding engineering software and detailed design work. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m15 R7 is very good for these tasks with its high-performance AMD Ryzen 9 processor, superior Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, and higher resolution screen, offering robust capability for complex computations and vivid visual detail.
Content Creation
6.4/10
7.5/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 is good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 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
6.5/10
7.3/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 is good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 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
8.2/10
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use where tasks like browsing, video streaming, and document editing are common, the ASUS Vivobook's fair screen quality is due to its adequate resolution and brightness, whereas the Dell Alienware offers a more vibrant and sharp display, enhancing the viewing experience. In engineering and design, accurate color representation is crucial, and the Dell's high color gamut coverage ensures that designers see more precise shades, while the ASUS may not reproduce colors as faithfully. However, for 3D and gaming, the ASUS falls short due to its lower refresh rate, which can make fast-moving visuals look less smooth, while the Dell's very good screen quality isn't fully leveraged since its refresh rate doesn't match the highest standards expected by gamers.
Portability
Good
Fair
15.6in
SIZE
15.6in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$530
$2,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has a price of $530 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 costs $2,200.
"The Asus VivoBook 15 is a quiet office notebook with a strong screen. However, the VivoBook 15 still has room for improvement. Office and internet applications as well as simple games do not pose any major challenges for the VivoBook - this is ensured by the built-in combination of Ryzen 7 5700U APU and 16 GB of RAM. Heat and noise emissions are acceptable. But, the laptop has weaknesses that should not be present at this level: lack of keyboard lighting, a slow memory card reader, no fast USB-C port (USB 3.2 Gen 2 or Thunderbolt 4) with Power Delivery and DisplayPort. Battery runtimes can only be described as average."
"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 ASUS Vivobook 15 or the Dell Alienware m15 R7
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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