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What we think
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Updated January 10, 2024·
If you require intense gaming or demanding tasks like video editing, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 offers high-end performance but comes at a higher cost and is less portable. The Dell Inspiron 16 5635, on the other hand, is more affordable and better suited for everyday use, offering longer battery life and easier portability, but may not handle intensive tasks as well. 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 Dell Alienware m17 R5
- Very good for engineering and design
- Good for gaming and AI
- Very good overall display quality
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Dell Inspiron 16 5635
- Very good for general use
- Good portability
- Good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.7
6.3
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
10.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for gaming and AI, while the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is equipped with a Nvidia RTX 3060 graphics card and a very high screen refresh rate, which are crucial for smooth and visually stunning gaming and 3D rendering experiences, while the Dell Inspiron 16 5635, though featuring a high-resolution screen, only has an integrated AMD Vega 8 GPU and a standard screen refresh rate, leading to fair performance in gaming and 3D tasks.
Engineering and Design
8.1
7.3
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is very good for engineering and design, while the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 is good.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 offers a stronger CPU and GPU combination tailored for demanding engineering software and has a high-quality, larger screen, which is crucial for detailed design work; however, it's heavier which affects portability negatively.
Screen Quality
8.1
6.6
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
301.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
265.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen than the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design, while the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 has a better screen for content creation.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a high-resolution display and brightness, making it great for everyday tasks, while its color gamut coverage suits engineering and design work, but its lower refresh rate isn't ideal for the fast-paced visuals in gaming and 3D applications. On the other hand, the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 offers a balanced screen with decent resolution and brightness for general use and fair color accuracy for engineering and design, yet it falls short for gaming and 3D due to a less impressive refresh rate. Essentially, while both laptops are competent for casual and professional tasks, neither is optimized for the high refresh rate demands of immersive gaming and 3D rendering.
Battery
5.0 Hours
8.0 Hours
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has 5 hours of battery life. The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 has 8 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
Poor
Good
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
7.3 lbs
WEIGHT
4.1 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8
7.0
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Dell Inspiron 16 5635 both have good build quality, though the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has somewhat better build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,100
$700
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a price of $1,100 and the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 costs $700.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.8
8.0
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
301.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
265.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
5.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.5/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Inspiron 16 5635 to be very good for general use, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good.
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 is rated very good for general use due to its lighter weight and longer battery life, which enhances portability and usability away from power sources, along with a higher resolution screen that offers sharper images. In comparison, the Dell Alienware m17 R5, while also good for general use, is heavier and has a shorter battery life, which might make it less convenient for carrying around, despite having a high-performing CPU and GPU that are more suited for demanding tasks like gaming and content creation.
Content Creation
7.8
7.9
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 and Dell Alienware m17 R5 are both good for content creation.
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
7.4
7.7
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Inspiron 16 5635 and Dell Alienware m17 R5 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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How the Dell Alienware m17 R5 and the Dell Inspiron 16 5635 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware m17 R5 | Dell Inspiron 16 5635 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,100 | $700 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | June 1, 2022 | March 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.6'' x 11.8'' x 1.05'' | 14.1'' x 9.9'' x 0.72'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 7.3 lbs | 4.19 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.64" | 14.05" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.76" | 9.92" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H | AMD Ryzen 7 7730U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5 Hours | 8 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 97 Wh | 54 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 16" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2560 x 1600 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 480Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 301 nits | 265 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 7/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.5/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7/10 | 10/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | Yes | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Ports | |||
Thunderbolt Ports | 0 | 0 | |
Shopping
Dell Alienware m17 R5
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Christian Hintze | January 2023
"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."
Dell Inspiron 16 5635
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Dig into reviews and images
UltrabookReview
Derek Sullivan | January 2023
"Compared to the previous year’s Inspiron, Dell upgraded the screen aspect ratio on this generation, but also transitioned to a more minimalistic centered keyboard flanked by up-firing speakers. The 16-inch screen is huge plus and I really appreciate the extra real estate without sacrificing the footprint much. This year’s model is a little larger than last, though, as the former model was already very small for a 15 incher."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware m17 R5 or the Dell Inspiron 16 5635
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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