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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 offers higher performance, suitable for intensive gaming and engineering tasks, with its powerful CPU and dedicated GPU, but it is heavier and has shorter battery life, making it less portable. On the other hand, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is more portable due to its lighter weight and longer battery life, and it has a touchscreen with a higher resolution, which is better for general use and basic creative tasks, but it lacks the gaming and engineering prowess of the Alienware due to its integrated graphics. Consider the Alienware if performance is a priority and you don't mind carrying more weight or having less battery life; opt for the Lenovo Flex if portability and battery life are more important and you're focused on general usage and less demanding tasks. 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
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Flex 5 14
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.7
6.2
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
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 Lenovo Flex 5 14 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is equipped with a high-powered Nvidia RTX 3060 GPU and a high screen refresh rate, making it well-suited for gaming and 3D applications. In contrast, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 uses an integrated AMD Vega 8 GPU and has a standard refresh rate, which renders it less capable for gaming and 3D tasks.
Engineering and Design
8.1
7.0
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 Lenovo Flex 5 14 is 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.
Screen Quality
8.1
6.4
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
301.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
277.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, and content creation.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 offers a high resolution and brightness that caters to general use and engineering tasks, providing clear images and covering a wide range of colors necessary for design precision. However, for gaming and 3D applications, its lower refresh rate could make fast-paced visuals less smooth, detracting from the experience. The Lenovo Flex 5's moderate resolution and brightness deliver acceptable quality for everyday tasks and design work, but its limitations in color range and refresh rate compromise performance for engineering applications and render it less suitable for high-speed gaming or 3D content creation.
Battery
5.0 Hours
11.5 Hours
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has 5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has 11.5 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
Poor
Very Good
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
7.3 lbs
WEIGHT
3.4 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo Flex 5 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
7.0
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 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
$950
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a price of $1,100 and the Lenovo Flex 5 14 costs $950.
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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
277.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
5.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.3/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both good for general use.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and the Lenovo Flex 5 14 are both suitable for general use, with the Dell offering a larger screen and higher performance hardware, ideal for multi-tasking and more demanding applications, but less portable and with shorter battery life. The Lenovo counters with greater portability, longer battery life, and a touchscreen which is adaptable as a tablet for on-the-go use, although it has lower performance hardware which may limit its capabilities for intensive tasks.
Content Creation
7.8
7.6
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 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
7.4
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Lenovo Flex 5 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 Lenovo Flex 5 14 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware m17 R5 | Lenovo Flex 5 14 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,100 | $950 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | June 1, 2022 | December 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.6'' x 11.8'' x 1.05'' | 12.3'' x 8.9'' x 0.7'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 7.3 lbs | 3.42 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.64" | 12.32" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.76" | 8.85" | |
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 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 5 Hours | 11.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 97 Wh | 52.5 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 | 277 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 7/10 | |
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 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 6/10 | |
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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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."
Lenovo Flex 5 14
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | May 2021
"The highlight of the latest IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is clearly its AMD CPU. The octa-core Ryzen 7 5700U is insanely fast even when compared to the best Tiger Lake Ultrabooks in the market or even Core H CPUs in many gaming laptops. It's a lot of raw processing power for what is supposed to be a budget 14-inch convertible. If your daily workloads can benefit from extra multi-thread CPU performance, then look no further than the inexpensive AMD-powered Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14. For regular on-the-road browsing or video streaming, however, a slimmer and lighter 10th gen Core Yoga, Spectre, or XPS would be a more balanced option."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware m17 R5 or the Lenovo Flex 5 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 Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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