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Alienware m18 R1
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A5
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What we think

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Updated January 10, 2024·

The Dell Alienware m18 R1 offers top-tier performance suitable for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, and engineering with a higher price point, larger screen, and more powerful internals. The Gigabyte A5 provides good performance for general use and gaming at a much lower price, and is lighter, making it more portable. The Alienware has a bigger and better-quality display with a higher refresh rate, which is important for gaming and visual tasks, while the A5 balances cost and performance for more budget-conscious users. If premium performance and display quality are the priority and cost is not a concern, Alienware is the right choice; however, for everyday use and gaming without breaking the bank, the A5 is an excellent option. 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 m18 R1
  • Very good for general use
  • Excellent for engineering and design
  • Excellent for gaming and AI
  • Very good for software development
  • Very good for content creation
  • Very good overall build quality
  • Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Gigabyte A5
  • Good portability
  • Good battery life

Key differences

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General Use

8.2
Alienware m18 R1
A5
7.3
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
281.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
4.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.5 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
5.1/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for general use, while the Gigabyte A5 is good.

Gaming and AI

9.1
Alienware m18 R1
A5
7.1
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.3/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is excellent for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte A5 is good.

Engineering and Design

9.1
Alienware m18 R1
A5
7.3
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
9.8/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
7.3/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte A5 is good.

Content Creation

8.4
Alienware m18 R1
A5
7.3
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for content creation, while the Gigabyte A5 is good.

Software Development

8.0
Alienware m18 R1
A5
7.0
9.9/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.0/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 is very good for software development, while the Gigabyte A5 is good.

Screen Quality

7.8
Alienware m18 R1
A5
7.2
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
281.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
281.0 nits
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 has a better screen than the Gigabyte A5 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.

Battery

4.0 Hours
Alienware m18 R1
A5
6.5 Hours
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 has 4 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte A5 has 6.5 hours of battery life.

Portability

Poor
Alienware m18 R1
A5
Good
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
8.9 lbs
WEIGHT
4.6 lbs
1.0in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Gigabyte A5 has good portability, while the Dell Alienware m18 R1 has poor portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.

Build Quality

8.5
Alienware m18 R1
A5
7.2
The Dell Alienware m18 R1 has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte A5 has good build quality.

Cost

$2,600
Alienware m18 R1
A5
$830
Product image
Product image

$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

The Dell Alienware m18 R1 has a price of $2,600 and the Gigabyte A5 costs $830.
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How the Dell Alienware m18 R1 and the Gigabyte A5 compare to other laptops

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Spec Comparison

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Dell Alienware m18 R1Gigabyte A5
Dell Alienware m18 R1Gigabyte A5

GENERAL

Price
$2,600
$830
Release Date
October 1, 2022February 1, 2022
Overall Dimensions
16.2'' x 12.6'' x 1.05''14.2'' x 10.2'' x 1''
Weight
8.9 lbs4.68 lbs
Width
16.15"14.21"
Depth
12.59"10.15"

INTERNAL

Processor
Intel i9-13900HXAMD Ryzen 5 5600H
RAM
32 GB16 GB
DDR Memory Version
54
RAM Slots
22
Storage
1024 GB512 GB

BATTERY

Battery Life
4 Hours6.5 Hours
Battery Capacity
97 Wh49 Wh

SCREEN

Diagonal Size
17.3"15.6"
Display Technology
IPSIPS
Resolution
2560 x 16001920 x 1080
Refresh Rate
165Hz144Hz
Display Brightness
281 nits281 nits

RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS

Build Quality Score
8.5/107.2/10
Portability Score
5.1/107/10
Gaming Laptop Appearance
YesYes
Premium Business Laptop
NoNo
Fan Noise Score
7/106.5/10

HARDWARE FEATURES

Keyboard Quality Score
8.5/107.5/10
Speaker Quality Score
8/108/10
Webcam
720p720p
Fingerprint Reader
NoNo
Backlit Keyboard
YesYes
Number Pad
YesYes

CONNECTIVITY

USB Type-A
43
USB-C ports
21
USB-C Charging
YesNo
Display Outputs
43
Thunderbolt Version
4N/A

Shopping

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Dell Alienware m18 R1

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Dig into reviews and images

PCMag

Matthew Buzzi | July 2023
"Dell's Alienware m18 delivers on its promises: This is a large, powerful gaming laptop with the premium flair and feel you expect from an expensive purchase. The drawbacks are really the price and battery life, which in context are reasonable. (We'd also like to see more ports on the laptop's sides.) This price tier exists for deep-pocketed enthusiasts, and if you’re considering anything in this range, the m18 isn’t an outlier. For the majority of shoppers, of course, all of these mighty 18-inch systems are likely too expensive."

Gigabyte A5

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Dig into reviews and images

NotebookCheck

Florian Glaser | September 2022
"Ignoring price, the Gigabyte A5 has a hard time against the similarly fast competition. Besides the loud noise in 3D mode (performance mode), the high temperature development of the components should be mentioned on the downside. Despite the relatively thick case, the laptop gets very warm and loud under load, which does not exactly speak for the cooling system. The plastic surfaces look rather cheap and also tend to rattle. In most other disciplines - be it the input devices, the screen, the connectivity or the battery runtime - the Gigabyte laptop does not stand out from the crowd, neither positively nor negatively. However, those who primarily pay attention to the price-performance ratio will get a pretty good offer with the Gigabyte A5."

Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware m18 R1 or the Gigabyte A5

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 Gigabyte

Gigabyte is a Taiwanese computer hardware manufacturer. While Gigabyte mainly focuses its business on desktop hardware, Gigabyte is known for its value-oriented G series laptops, thin and light Aero series, and performance-oriented Aorus series. Gigabyte laptops offer a strong value proposition to compete with mainstream alternatives.

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About the laptop team

Joe Golden, Ph.D

CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.

Jason Lew

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.

Chandradeep Chowdhury

Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.

Craig Russell

Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.

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