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Updated January 16, 2024·
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 delivers powerful performance suitable for intensive tasks and is a better choice for gaming due to its larger 17.3-inch display, making for an immersive experience. However, the Lenovo Legion 5, with a 15.6-inch higher resolution display, is more portable and offers a better visual quality for creative work. The Alienware has a larger battery, which may last longer, but this depends on usage. If high performance and a larger screen for gaming are priorities and you don't mind spending more, the Alienware may suit you. If you prefer a balance between cost, performance, and portability with a sharper display for productivity, consider the Legion. 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 speakers
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion 5 15"
- The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has no clear advantages over the Dell Alienware m17 R5.
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.1
8.0
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
301.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has a better screen than the Lenovo Legion 5 15" for gaming and AI, and content creation, while the Lenovo Legion 5 15" has a better screen for general use.
When considering a laptop for general use, the Lenovo Legion 5 with very good screen quality likely offers a combination of higher resolution, brighter display, and a panel type that delivers vivid colors and wide viewing angles, making everyday tasks and multimedia consumption a pleasant experience. For engineering and design tasks that rely on accurate color representation, both laptops offer good screen quality, indicating they have color gamuts that cover a significant range of the DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB spectrums, which is vital for precision in visual work. However, for gaming and 3D applications where smooth motion is key, both laptops have poor screen quality due to lower refresh rates, making them less suitable for fast-paced games and smooth animation rendering compared to models prioritizing high refresh rates.
Portability
Poor
Fair
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
7.3 lbs
WEIGHT
5.3 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
0.9in
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has only fair portability, while the Dell Alienware m17 R5 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,100
$999
$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 Legion 5 15" costs $999.
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Key similarities
General Use
7.8
7.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
301.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
350.0 nits
5.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
4.0 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
5.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.8/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Lenovo Legion 5 15" are both good for general use.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is equipped with a high-capacity battery and a large screen size, which contribute to its good performance for general use, although it is less portable due to its weight and size. The Lenovo Legion 5 15", while more portable and offering a higher-resolution display conducive to clarity and detail for general tasks, has a shorter battery life which could limit its usage away from power sources.
Gaming and AI
7.7
7.9
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
165Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" and Dell Alienware m17 R5 are both good for gaming and AI.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is equipped with a high screen refresh rate, making it excellent for gaming and 3D applications that benefit from smoother visuals, while the Lenovo Legion 5 15" includes a newer GPU, offering improvements in gaming and 3D performance, although with a lower screen refresh rate than the Alienware. Both laptops have powerful CPUs and high-quality IPS display panels, but the Alienware's very high refresh rate and the Legion's superior GPU are the primary reasons for their suitability for gaming and 3D tasks.
Engineering and Design
8.1
8.2
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.0/10
7.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.5/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion 5 15" and Dell Alienware m17 R5 are both very good for engineering and design.
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 is equipped with powerful components including a high-spec CPU and dedicated GPU, suitable for demanding engineering software, plus a larger screen with high refresh rate for detailed design work, although it's heavy and less portable.
Content Creation
7.8
7.4
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.0/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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
7.3
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.0/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1440
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Lenovo Legion 5 15" 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.
Battery
5.0 Hours
4.0 Hours
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 has 5 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion 5 15" has 4 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.
Build Quality
7.8
7.6
The Dell Alienware m17 R5 and Lenovo Legion 5 15" both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Dell Alienware m17 R5 and the Lenovo Legion 5 15" compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware m17 R5 | Lenovo Legion 5 15" |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,100 | $999 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | June 1, 2022 | April 1, 2023 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.6'' x 11.8'' x 1.05'' | 14.1'' x 10.3'' x 0.95'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 7.3 lbs | 5.3 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.64" | 14.13" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.76" | 10.33" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 6800H | AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS | |
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 | 4 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 97 Wh | 60 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 15.6" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 2560 x 1440 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 480Hz | 165Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 301 nits | 350 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 7.8/10 | 7.6/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 5.5/10 | 6.8/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | Yes | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7/10 | 6.5/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 8/10 | 7/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | Yes | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 3 | 3 | |
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."
Lenovo Legion 5 15"
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | September 2021
"The Lenovo Legion 5 15 is an affordable gaming laptop with a lot of power. The new AMD processor Ryzen 7 5800H offers plenty of performance and it is also very efficient. The combination with the fast 130W version of the GeForce RTX 3060 ensures high gaming performance. We also like the fast 165 Hz display with the 1080p resolution. The automatic graphics switching causes some problems with stutters, which are very annoying. If you do not need long battery runtimes, you should definitely deactivate the hybrid graphics mode in Lenovo's Vantage app. The Legion 5 15 is never silent."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware m17 R5 or the Lenovo Legion 5 15"
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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