If you prioritize a high-resolution touchscreen and superior color accuracy for tasks like photo editing or design, you may prefer the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, which also offers a secondary screen for multitasking. However, this comes with a higher price and heavier weight, making it less portable. Alternatively, the Dell Alienware m17 offers a larger screen and is configured more for gaming with a much higher refresh rate and vibrant RGB keyboard lighting, at a lower price and better heat management, but has a lower resolution display and less color precision, which could be a compromise for creative work. Choose the ASUS for creative tasks and the Dell for gaming or if you need better portability for a lower price. 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 Duo 15
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Good portability
Good battery life
Best in class speakers
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m17 R5
Very good keyboard
Key differences
General Use
8.5/10
7.8/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
332.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
5.5/10
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is very good for general use, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 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.
Engineering and Design
9.0/10
8.1/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.7/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is very good.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
8.7/10
7.8/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is very good for content creation, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 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.
Software Development
8.3/10
7.4/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is very good for software development, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good.
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.
Screen Quality
8.3/10
8.1/10
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
480Hz
332.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
301.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo 15 has a better screen than the Dell Alienware m17 R5 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 excels in general use and engineering tasks with its high-resolution displays that offer brilliant colors and brightness, making visuals sharp and vibrant, which is ideal for detailed design work. However, its screen falls short for gaming and 3D applications due to a lower refresh rate, which can make fast-paced scenes less smooth. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 provides a balanced experience for general and engineering uses with good color accuracy and adequate brightness, but similarly, its lower refresh rate isn't optimal for the fluid motion required in high-end gaming and 3D rendering.
Battery
7.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo 15 has 7 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
Good
Poor
15.6in
SIZE
17.3in
5.1 lbs
WEIGHT
7.3 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$2,000
$1,100
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 has a price of $2,000 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 costs $1,100.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 and Dell Alienware m17 R5 are both good for gaming and AI.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15, with its more powerful RTX 3070 Ti GPU, is excellent for gaming and 3D tasks, but its screen refresh rate is lower, making it less ideal for fast-paced gaming. In contrast, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a less powerful RTX 3060 GPU, yet offers a significantly higher screen refresh rate, providing smoother visuals for gaming.
Build Quality
7.6/10
7.8/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 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 Pro Duo 15 and the Dell Alienware m17 R5 compare to other laptops
"Benchmarks aside, the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo is hard to compare with other PCs. Its closest competition may be a multi-monitor desktop, or a laptop with an attached travel monitor. The Pro Duo is more portable and versatile than either of those options, especially with the software tools Asus has thrown on top. For a certain niche of artists, media creators, and gamers, all that might add up to something special, even if it’s unattainable for the rest of us."
"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 Pro Duo 15 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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