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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 provides reasonable performance and better portability with a lighter build and longer battery life, suitable for general use and basic creative tasks. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware X17 R2 offers superior performance, especially for 3D, machine learning tasks, and gaming due to higher-end graphics and a faster processor, but it is heavier and has a shorter battery life. If portability and cost are more important to you, the ASUS may suit your needs, while the Dell would be the better choice for high-demand activities despite its higher price and reduced ease of transport. 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 Pro 15
- Good portability
- Excellent battery life
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
- Best in class speakers
- Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.7
8.2
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
346.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
12.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
2.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
7.6/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 is good.
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 is recognized for general use because it has a balance between performance with its capable CPU and RAM, and portability thanks to its lighter weight and longer battery life, along with an OLED screen that offers good quality visuals. In contrast, the Dell Alienware X17 R2 is rated very good for general use due to its superior CPU and RAM, larger and faster screen, and better speakers, though it is less portable and has a shorter battery life.
Gaming and AI
6.7
8.9
4.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
6.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 is only fair.
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has a less powerful RTX 3050 Ti graphics card and a standard 60Hz OLED screen, making it fair for gaming and 3D tasks. In contrast, the Dell Alienware X17 R2 boasts a top-tier RTX 3080 Ti graphics card and a high 480Hz IPS screen, providing a very good experience for gaming and 3D applications.
Engineering and Design
7.5
9.1
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
4.8/10
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 Zenbook Pro 15 is good.
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 is equipped with decent hardware suitable for engineering and design, including an AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU, but the Dell Alienware X17 R2 surpasses it with a more powerful Intel i9 CPU and Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU, making it highly suitable for even more demanding engineering and design tasks. The ASUS offers better portability and a high-quality OLED screen with touchscreen capabilities, while the Dell provides a larger screen and superior performance albeit with reduced portability due to its size and weight.
Content Creation
7.7
8.3
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 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
7.6
8.5
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
346.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
367.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 for gaming and AI, content creation, and software development.
When choosing between the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 for general use, both laptops have displays that offer sharp images and bright visuals, making them suitable for daily tasks like browsing and video streaming. For engineering and design, the displays' wide color gamuts ensure that professionals can see accurate colors and gradients essential for their work. However, for gaming and 3D applications, both laptops may not be ideal due to lower refresh rates, which can result in less fluid motion and lower responsiveness during fast-paced scenes.
Battery
12.5 Hours
2.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has 12.5 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
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
4.4 lbs
WEIGHT
6.8 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.8in
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware X17 R2 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.6
8.5
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,109
$2,000
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has a price of $1,109 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 costs $2,000.
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Key similarities
Software Development
7.5
7.8
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 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.
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We’re constantly working to improve.
How the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 and the Dell Alienware X17 R2 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 | Dell Alienware X17 R2 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,109 | $2,000 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | October 1, 2021 | December 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 13.9'' x 9.4'' x 0.7'' | 15.7'' x 11.8'' x 0.82'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 4.41 lbs | 6.82 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 13.94" | 15.72" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 9.37" | 11.79" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 5800H | Intel i9-12900HK | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 4 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 12.5 Hours | 2 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 96 Wh | 87 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 15.6" | 17.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | OLED | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 480Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 346 nits | 367 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.6/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 7.7/10 | 6.1/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | No | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 6.5/10 | 7/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 7/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7/10 | 9.5/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | Yes | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | No | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 1 | 4 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 4 | |
Shopping
ASUS Zenbook Pro 15
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | May 2022
"The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 offers a strong CPU, chassis, and display. One of the most popular 15.6-inch prosumer or multimedia laptops out there is the Dell XPS 15. Thus, comparisons between it and the Asus Zenbook Pro 15 are inevitable. Asus has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that XPS users are still missing out on including 1080p OLED and an AMD Ryzen CPU which help separate the Zenbook Pro 15 from the XPS 15. It also integrates a numpad and a few more port options albeit at the cost of a larger chassis size."
Dell Alienware X17 R2
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | May 2022
"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 Zenbook Pro 15 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.
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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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