If you need top-notch screen quality and can spare no expense, the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15, with its 4K OLED touchscreen, excels for creative and engineering tasks, but it is heavier and has shorter battery life. On the other hand, the Dell Alienware x14 R1 is more affordable, far more portable with a better battery life, and sports a high-refresh-rate screen, making it well-suited for gaming and general use, but it has less powerful components and a lower resolution screen. The ASUS has more storage and RAM, beneficial for intensive tasks, while the Dell, despite fewer resources, is designed for gaming with specific features like RGB keyboard lighting. Give Feedback
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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
Very good overall display quality
Best in class speakers
Advantages of the Dell Alienware x14 R1
Very good overall build quality
Very good portability
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
411.0 nits
7.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
9.0 Hours
7.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
7.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.0/10
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is very good for general use, while the Dell Alienware x14 R1 is good.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 offers superior screen quality with its OLED display and higher resolution, along with better performance due to more RAM and a more robust CPU, which justifies its use for general tasks despite being less portable and having a shorter battery life than the Dell Alienware x14 R1.
Engineering and Design
9.0/10
8.2/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
7.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.0/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Dell Alienware x14 R1 is very good.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 excels in engineering and design tasks due to its high-resolution OLED screen, powerful Intel i9 processor, substantial RAM, and a high-end Nvidia GPU, which are very important for such applications, but its heavier weight and lower portability score indicate it's less convenient to carry around. Conversely, the Dell Alienware x14 R1, while also good for engineering and design with a strong Intel i7 processor, plenty of RAM, and a capable Nvidia GPU, offers better portability and higher scores for keyboard and speaker quality, though its screen has a lower resolution and refresh rate which may impact detailed design work.
Content Creation
8.7/10
7.9/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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 x14 R1 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
7.7/10
9.2/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
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 x14 R1 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
7.9/10
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
3840 x 2160
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
332.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
411.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo 15 has a better screen than the Dell Alienware x14 R1 for general use, engineering and design, software development, and content creation, while the Dell Alienware x14 R1 has a better screen for gaming and AI.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 boasts superior screen resolution and brightness, making it ideal for tasks that involve a lot of text reading or video watching, satisfying the needs of general users. Its expansive color gamut ensures that engineering and design professionals enjoy accurate color representation critical for their detailed work. However, its lower refresh rate makes it less suited for gaming and 3D applications, which require quick image changes for smooth visuals.
Battery
7.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo 15 has 7 hours of battery life. The Dell Alienware x14 R1 has 9 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
Very Good
15.6in
SIZE
14.0in
5.1 lbs
WEIGHT
4.0 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.5in
The Dell Alienware x14 R1 has very good portability, while the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.6/10
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware x14 R1 has very good build quality, while the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,000
$1,201
$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 x14 R1 costs $1,201.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 and Dell Alienware x14 R1 are both good for gaming and AI.
The ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 is better suited for gaming and 3D due to its high-quality Nvidia RTX 3070 Ti GPU and OLED screen, although its screen refresh rate is standard. In contrast, the Dell Alienware x14 R1 has a solid Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU and a higher screen refresh rate, which is beneficial for fast-paced games, along with a good IPS screen, but it may not match the ASUS in raw graphical performance.
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How the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 and the Dell Alienware x14 R1 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."
"The Alienware X14 series is thinner, but also slower than the competition. With the X series, you get plenty of modern technology: Intel Alder Lake CPUs, GeForce RTX 3000 GPUs, Thunderbolt 4, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6E, G-Sync, and Advanced Optimus. However, the slim design has some drawbacks, just like its larger siblings. The shifted hinge position results in a very deep device with a large footprint compared to the competition."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo 15 or the Dell Alienware x14 R1
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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