If you prefer a more budget-friendly option that is also more lightweight and portable, offering decent performance for general usage like web browsing and office productivity, the ASUS Vivobook 17 may suit your needs. However, if you are looking for a laptop with high performance for intensive tasks such as gaming, 3D rendering, or machine learning, and are willing to invest more, the Dell Alienware m15 R7 would be a better choice, although it will be less portable and have shorter battery life compared to the ASUS. 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 17
Good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m15 R7
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0/10
7.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
263.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.4/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 and ASUS Vivobook 17 are both good for general use, though the Dell Alienware m15 R7 is somewhat better.
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
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
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook 17 is only fair.
The ASUS Vivobook 17 is less suited for gaming and 3D applications because it has a less powerful integrated GPU and a standard 60Hz screen refresh rate, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 excels with a high-end dedicated Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU and a much higher 240Hz screen refresh rate, allowing for smoother visuals and better performance in demanding tasks.
Engineering and Design
6.3/10
8.2/10
6.2/10
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 17 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 is favored for engineering and design due to its strong AMD Ryzen 9 CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU, delivering better performance for intensive tasks and also offers a higher-quality screen, beneficial for detailed design work.
Screen Quality
6.2/10
8.2/10
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
263.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
300.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 17 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
If you prioritize a higher-quality display for tasks like browsing and document editing, the Dell Alienware m15 R7 might suit you better with its superior resolution and brightness. For engineering and design work, the Alienware's wider color gamuts ensure more accurate color representation. However, for gaming or 3D purposes, neither laptop is ideal due to their lower refresh rates, but keep in mind that the Alienware boasts better resolution and panel type, which can still enhance overall visual fidelity.
Portability
Good
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
4.6 lbs
WEIGHT
5.9 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The ASUS Vivobook 17 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m15 R7 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook 17 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$429
$2,200
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
The ASUS Vivobook 17 has a price of $429 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 costs $2,200.
The Dell Alienware m15 R7 and ASUS Vivobook 17 are both good for content creation.
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
6.9/10
7.3/10
6.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
8.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Alienware m15 R7 to be good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook 17 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.
Battery
6.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The ASUS Vivobook 17 has 6 hours of battery life. The Dell Alienware m15 R7 has 5 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.
Give feedback
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How the ASUS Vivobook 17 and the Dell Alienware m15 R7 compare to other laptops
"The ASUS Vivobook 17 is an affordable 17-inch laptop with passive cooling. On one hand, you get a really quiet and cool work device with a good system performance, many connections, good maintenance options, speakers acceptable for multimedia enjoyment, and a sharp and clear matte FHD IPS display with the Asus VivoBook 17 (F712JA). On the other hand, the USB-C port lacks Power Delivery and DisplayPort, and the display, a higher brightness and better color space coverage."
"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 17 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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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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