The ASUS Vivobook 15 offers significant savings and is more portable with longer battery life, best suited for general use like browsing and office applications. It has a decent screen size, but with limited storage and basic integrated graphics, it isn't ideal for performance-heavy tasks. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is more expensive and heavier but comes with high-end components, including a powerful processor and dedicated graphics card, appropriate for 3D rendering, machine learning, and gaming. It also has a larger screen with a much higher refresh rate for smooth visuals, better build quality, and more superior performance overall for engineering and intensive gaming. 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 m17 R5
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 speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
6.5/10
7.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
250.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.8/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
The ASUS Vivobook 15, while lightweight and offering decent portability, is limited by its lower-tier CPU, smaller RAM, and lower screen brightness compared to the Dell Alienware m17 R5, which comes with a more powerful CPU and additional RAM, enhancing its performance for general use. Additionally, the Alienware's larger and higher quality screen paired with a significantly longer battery life makes it better suited for a broader range of tasks, though this does come at the expense of greater weight and less portability.
Gaming and AI
5.9/10
7.7/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
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 m17 R5 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
8.1/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Vivobook 15 is only fair.
The ASUS Vivobook 15 is less suited for engineering and design due to its basic Intel i3 processor, integrated graphics, and lower RAM, which may struggle with demanding tasks, whereas the Dell Alienware m17 R5 excels with a more powerful AMD Ryzen processor, dedicated Nvidia RTX graphics card, and double the RAM, greatly enhancing performance for complex workloads.
Content Creation
6.4/10
7.8/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 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
7.4/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 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
8.1/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
250.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 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, the ASUS Vivobook 15 offers a balance of resolution and brightness suitable for everyday tasks, but may not stand out in color accuracy or high-end visuals. The Dell Alienware m17 R5 boasts a higher-quality panel, with greater brightness and resolution, enhancing the visual experience for common applications. However, both laptops fall short for Gaming and 3D due to lower refresh rates, which are critical for smooth visuals and gameplay despite their adequate resolutions and panel types for other tasks.
Portability
Good
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
3.7 lbs
WEIGHT
7.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
7.8/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and ASUS Vivobook 15 both have good build quality, though the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has somewhat better build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$530
$1,100
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The ASUS Vivobook 15 has a price of $530 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 costs $1,100.
"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."
"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 ASUS Vivobook 15 or the Dell Alienware m17 R5
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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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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