The ASUS Vivobook 17 is a budget-friendly option suitable for general use with moderate battery life and a lightweight design, offering basic performance that suffices for everyday tasks and light productivity work. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is a more expensive, high-performance gaming laptop with a much more powerful processor and graphics card, making it ideal for gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering tasks. However, it's heavier and has a lower battery life compared to the ASUS, affecting its 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 17
Good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m17 R5
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Good for software development
Very good overall display quality
Good overall build quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.0/10
7.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
263.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
6.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
6.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and ASUS Vivobook 17 are both good for general use, though the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is somewhat better.
The ASUS Vivobook 17, with its adequate CPU and modest RAM, is designed for light tasks and has a lower resolution screen, which factors into its fair rating for general use; it is also more portable and has a longer battery life than its contender.
Gaming and AI
6.0/10
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
9.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Vivobook 17 is only fair.
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
6.3/10
8.1/10
6.2/10
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 17 is only fair.
The ASUS Vivobook 17 is equipped with a modest processor and graphics unit making it suitable for less demanding engineering and design tasks, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a higher-end CPU and GPU, providing better performance for more intensive workloads. However, the Alienware m17 R5 is heavier with a larger battery, making it less portable compared to the lighter Vivobook 17, which might be a consideration if frequent mobility is required.
Content Creation
7.0/10
7.8/10
6.2/10
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 and ASUS Vivobook 17 are both good for content creation, though the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is somewhat better.
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
6.2/10
8.1/10
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
263.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook 17 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
For general use, the ASUS Vivobook 17 may offer a balanced experience with adequate resolution and brightness, but it may not excel in visual clarity or vibrancy. In engineering and design, while the Vivobook's screen can provide satisfactory detail, professionals may find it lacks in color accuracy and range, which are crucial for precise work. The Dell Alienware m17 R5, on the other hand, offers a more vibrant and accurate display for creative tasks, but its screen's lower refresh rate could disappoint gamers who prioritize smooth, fast-paced visual performance.
Portability
Good
Poor
17.3in
SIZE
17.3in
4.6 lbs
WEIGHT
7.3 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The ASUS Vivobook 17 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
6.5/10
7.8/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has 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
$1,100
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The ASUS Vivobook 17 has a price of $429 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 costs $1,100.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Alienware m17 R5 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 m17 R5 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
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the ASUS Vivobook 17 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 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."
"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 17 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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
99,795
Recommendations made
21,623
Consumer hours saved
About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.