The ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 offers a more portable and lighter option with a unique dual-screen design, making it suitable for multitasking and general use. It also has a slightly better battery life. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 boasts a larger screen, superior graphics, and a more powerful processor, which makes it ideal for gaming, 3D rendering, machine learning, and other performance-intensive tasks, but it is heavier and less portable, with a shorter battery life. Either laptop delivers robust capabilities, but your choice should be based on whether portability and battery life or high-performance gaming and engineering tasks are your priority. 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 Zenbook Duo 14
Very good portability
Good battery life
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m17 R5
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Very good speakers
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.1/10
7.8/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
314.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
8.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
6.7/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 are both good for general use, though the Dell Alienware m17 R5 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
6.1/10
7.7/10
3.7/10
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
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 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
6.6/10
8.1/10
5.5/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
3.7/10
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 Zenbook Duo 14 is only fair.
The ASUS Zenbook Duo 14's Intel i7 CPU and integrated graphics make it suited for light engineering and design tasks and offer the benefit of a dual-screen setup, which boosts productivity in multitasking scenarios. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m17 R5, with a more powerful AMD Ryzen CPU and Nvidia RTX GPU, is tailored for heavy-duty engineering and design work, delivering superior performance but at the cost of reduced portability and higher weight..
Content Creation
7.3/10
7.8/10
5.5/10
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 Zenbook Duo 14 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
6.8/10
8.1/10
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
314.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
When considering screen quality for general use, the ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 and Dell Alienware m17 R5 both offer high resolution and brightness with panel types that render sharp images and vibrant colors, making them suitable for everyday activities like browsing and video streaming. For engineering and design tasks, their wide color gamuts ensure accurate color reproduction, crucial for professionals in those fields who require precise color matching. However, their lower refresh rates make them less ideal for 3D applications and gaming, where a higher refresh rate is necessary to ensure smoother motion and an overall better visual experience.
Battery
8.5 Hours
5.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 has 8.5 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.
Portability
Very Good
Poor
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
3.6 lbs
WEIGHT
7.3 lbs
0.6in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 has very good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$999
$1,100
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 has a price of $999 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 costs $1,100.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 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.
Build Quality
7.8/10
7.8/10
The ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 and Dell Alienware m17 R5 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 compare to other laptops
"The Asus ZenBook Duo's second screen is like the Apple Touch Bar, but better. Most would agree that having two screens instead of one can really boost productivity and the ZenBook Duo is no different in this regard. It's tough going back to just one screen after becoming accustomed to spacious dual-screen setups. For a laptop form factor, however, users will have to accept some compromises. Firstly, weight is the most obvious drawback as the system is several hundred grams heavier than a regular ZenBook 14. Additionally, colors on the second screen will not be as vivid as the main display."
"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 Zenbook Duo 14 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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