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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and HP EliteBook 845 G9 are similar in price but cater to different needs. The Dell Alienware, with its larger screen and high-performance GPU, is excellent for gaming and intensive engineering tasks, albeit at the cost of heavier weight and shorter battery life. On the other hand, the HP EliteBook's stronger build quality, lighter weight, and longer battery life make it more suitable for on-the-go professionals and general use. If gaming or demanding graphics work is your priority, the Dell Alienware is the better fit, whereas the HP EliteBook is ideal for business users who value portability and battery life. 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 speakers
Advantages of the HP EliteBook 845 G9
- Very good overall build quality
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.7
6.3
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
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
8.0/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is good for gaming and AI, while the HP EliteBook 845 G9 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
7.2
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.3/10
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is very good for engineering and design, while the HP EliteBook 845 G9 is good.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5, with its high-performance AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU, is especially suitable for demanding engineering and design tasks that require robust processing and graphics capabilities, though it's less portable and has a lower resolution screen than some counterparts. In contrast, the HP EliteBook 845 G9 offers a balance between portability and power with a more portable design, high-quality screen, and mid-tier AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and Radeon 660M GPU, making it suitable for engineering and design, but less geared towards the most intensive graphical tasks.
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
402.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen than the HP EliteBook 845 G9 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design, while the HP EliteBook 845 G9 has a better screen for content creation.
For general use, both the Dell Alienware m17 R5 and HP EliteBook 845 G9 have screens with high resolutions and panel types that offer crisp images and wide viewing angles, while brightness levels ensure visibility even in well-lit environments. In engineering and design, their displays cover a broad range of colors with good accuracy, which is essential for tasks that require precise color representation. However, for gaming and 3D applications, their lower refresh rates lead to less fluid motion compared to laptops specifically built for gaming, which generally have higher refresh rates to support fast-paced visuals.
Battery
5.0 Hours
12.0 Hours
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has 5 hours of battery life. The HP EliteBook 845 G9 has 12 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
3.0 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The HP EliteBook 845 G9 has very good portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,100
$740
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a price of $1,100 and the HP EliteBook 845 G9 costs $740.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.8
7.7
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
301.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
402.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
12.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
5.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.3/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and HP EliteBook 845 G9 are both good for general use.
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.
Content Creation
7.8
7.6
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and HP EliteBook 845 G9 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
6.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The HP EliteBook 845 G9 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.
Build Quality
7.8
8.0
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers HP EliteBook 845 G9 to have 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.
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How the Dell Alienware m17 R5 and the HP EliteBook 845 G9 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware m17 R5 | HP EliteBook 845 G9 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,100 | $740 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | June 1, 2022 | May 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.6'' x 11.8'' x 1.05'' | 12.4'' x 8.8'' x 0.76'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 7.3 lbs | 3.09 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.64" | 12.42" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.76" | 8.82" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H | AMD Ryzen 5 6650U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5 Hours | 12 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 97 Wh | 51 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 | 402 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 8/10 | |
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 | Yes | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7/10 | 8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 7.5/10 | |
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 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 1 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 2 | 3 | |
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."
HP EliteBook 845 G9
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sebastian Jentsch | July 2022
"The high-end version of the HP EliteBook 845 G9 with a Ryzen 9 PRO 6950HS, 32GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD packs a lot of power, but is still quiet and cool enough to operate in noise-sensitive environments. Quiet, cool and drawing on a massive 40 watts from the APU at the same time, however, is not possible. The 14-incher only has a single-fan solution and it only just manages to keep an near unthrottled Ryzen 9 in check."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware m17 R5 or the HP EliteBook 845 G9
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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