The ASUS Vivobook 16X is significantly less expensive and more portable with a longer battery life, making it suitable for general use and carrying around. The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a more powerful processor and graphics, larger storage, and more RAM, which translates to better performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks, as well as an outstanding experience in intensive gaming. However, it's bulkier and has a shorter battery life, making it less ideal for frequent travelers. Consider the Vivobook for affordability and mobility or the Alienware if you require top-tier performance and are less concerned about price and portability. 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 16X
Good portability
Advantages of the Dell Alienware X17 R2
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.6/10
8.2/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
300.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
2.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for general use, while the ASUS Vivobook 16X is good.
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
7.7/10
8.9/10
8.5/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
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 16X is good.
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
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
8.5/10
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 Vivobook 16X is very good.
The ASUS Vivobook 16X is tailored for engineering and design work with a capable i7 processor, a RTX 4060 GPU, and high-quality IPS screen, which suits detailed visual work, while the Dell Alienware X17 R2 offers even more power with an i9 processor and RTX 3080 Ti GPU, making it excellent for the most intensive tasks but at the cost of reduced portability due to its larger size and heavier weight. Both laptops come with sizable RAM and high-resolution displays, but the Alienware's significantly higher screen brightness and contrast ratio promise a better visual experience, which can be crucial for precision in design, though it's less convenient to carry compared to the more compact ASUS Vivobook.
Content Creation
7.7/10
8.3/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook 16X 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.
Screen Quality
7.3/10
8.5/10
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
300.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 16X for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the ASUS Vivobook 16X offers satisfactory clarity and visibility due to its resolution and brightness, while the Dell Alienware X17 R2, with its superior brightness and resolution, delivers a crisper and more vibrant display which amplifies the user experience. Concerning engineering and design tasks, both laptops provide accurate colors important for precision work, yet the Dell again edges out with higher coverage of professional color gamuts, making it ideal for detailed color work. However, both fall short for gaming and 3D requirements because their refresh rates are not optimal for the smooth visuals demanded by such applications, despite their adequate resolutions and panel types.
Battery
5.0 Hours
2.0 Hours
The ASUS Vivobook 16X has 5 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
16.0in
SIZE
17.3in
4.2 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The ASUS Vivobook 16X has good portability, while the Dell Alienware X17 R2 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.0/10
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 16X has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,200
$2,000
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The ASUS Vivobook 16X has a price of $1,200 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 costs $2,000.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and ASUS Vivobook 16X 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.
Give feedback
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How the ASUS Vivobook 16X and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 compare to other laptops
"I think the ASUS Vivobook 16X is fantastic. Great performance, decent battery life, good keyboard and trackpad, and a massive screen – just that the screen quality itself is kinda subpar. If you’re okay with the screen, then I think this is an okay laptop. However, I’d like to see a price drop."
"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 16X 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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