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Updated January 10, 2024·
If performance in 3D rendering, machine learning, or engineering software is a priority, and you need a laptop that can handle intensive gaming, the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is designed with a more powerful graphics card suited for these tasks. However, with its larger size and heavier weight, it's less portable than the HP Dragonfly Pro 14". Meanwhile, the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" offers better portability, longer battery life, and a touchscreen with a higher pixel density, making it excellent for general use and suitable for premium business contexts. Both have similar price points, but the Dell Alienware leans towards gaming and heavy-duty applications, while the HP Dragonfly is geared towards business users who need a balance between performance and mobility. 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
Advantages of the HP Dragonfly Pro 14"
- Very good for general use
- Very good overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
- Best in class speakers
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.7
6.5
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for gaming and AI, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 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
8.1
7.6
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.7/10
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is very good for engineering and design, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" is good.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 offers a larger screen and a more powerful dedicated Nvidia GPU which is beneficial for demanding engineering and design software, but it is heavier and thus less portable than the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" which, while offering a high-resolution touchscreen and integrated AMD GPU, sacrifices a bit of graphical performance for increased portability and better battery life.
Screen Quality
8.1
7.1
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
301.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
405.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen than the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design, while the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has a better screen for content creation.
If you value a high-quality display for general tasks such as web browsing or document editing, both the Dell Alienware m17 R5 and the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" have panels that provide crisp images and bright colors due to their high resolution and brightness. For intricate work in engineering and design, where accurate color representation is crucial, these laptops would be beneficial because they cover a wide range of colors as seen in important color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB. However, for immersive 3D gaming experiences, the slower refresh rates on these laptops may not be as smooth and responsive as models specifically geared towards gaming, making them less ideal for that purpose.
Battery
5.0 Hours
10.0 Hours
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has 5 hours of battery life. The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has 10 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
Very Good
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
7.3 lbs
WEIGHT
3.4 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has very good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.8
8.5
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" has very good build quality, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,100
$1,400
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a price of $1,100 and the HP Dragonfly Pro 14" costs $1,400.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.8
8.0
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
301.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
405.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
10.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
5.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.2/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers HP Dragonfly Pro 14" to be very good for general use, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5, while being powerful with its dedicated graphics and ample storage, is heavy and less portable, which coupled with a lower battery life makes it less ideal for on-the-go use, despite a large display that’s beneficial for multitasking and entertainment.
Content Creation
7.8
7.9
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" 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
7.8
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The HP Dragonfly Pro 14" 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 HP Dragonfly Pro 14" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware m17 R5 | HP Dragonfly Pro 14" |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,100 | $1,400 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | June 1, 2022 | July 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.6'' x 11.8'' x 1.05'' | 12.4'' x 8.8'' x 0.72'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 7.3 lbs | 3.42 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.64" | 12.39" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.76" | 8.78" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H | AMD Ryzen 7 7736U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5 Hours | 10 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 97 Wh | 64.6 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 14" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1200 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 480Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 301 nits | 405 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.5/10 | 8.3/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7/10 | 7.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 8/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 9.6/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1440p | |
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 | 0 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 3 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | N/A | 3 | |
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."
HP Dragonfly Pro 14"
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Dig into reviews and images
PCWorld
Brendan Nystedt | March 2023
"I’d say that the HP Dragonfly Pro checks off most of the boxes for this freelancer. It feels nice to use, is zippy and responsive, has great speakers, and even has a relatively sane price. Although it’s an unorthodox choice to pick AMD for this kind of machine, it’s clear that when Ryzen is given a chance to shine, it can kick a lot of butt."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware m17 R5 or the HP Dragonfly Pro 14"
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.
About HP
HP, also known as Hewlett-Packard, is an American technology company that develops personal computers and computer peripherals. In the laptop industry, HP is known for its entry level Essential series laptops, its mid-range Pavilion, Envy, and Victus series, and high-end Omen and Spectre series, in addition to its business-oriented EliteBook, ProBook, and Dragonfly series laptops. HP laptops generally undercut other mainstream competitors in terms of price, placing itself as the value-oriented mainstream brand.
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