A comparison of specs, key information, reviews, and best pricing from top retailers
Last updated -- hours ago | Report incorrect information
Company ProductName Specs
Company ProductName Specs
What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
When choosing between the Dell Alienware x14 R1 and the Razer Blade 17, consider that the Alienware x14 R1 is usually less expensive and more portable with a smaller screen size and lighter weight, suited to general use and gaming. It still provides powerful performance for gaming and engineering tasks. In contrast, the Razer Blade 17 is pricier, but offers a larger, higher resolution screen and superior performance due to more RAM and a stronger GPU, which makes it ideal for 3D rendering, machine learning, and engineering software; however, its larger size and heavier weight make it less portable. Both have good build quality and heat management, but the Razer Blade stands out for its keyboard quality and speaker performance, while the Alienware offers a longer 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 x14 R1
- Very good portability
- Good battery life
Advantages of the Razer Blade 17
- Very good for general use
- Excellent for engineering and design
- Very good for gaming and AI
- Very good for software development
- Very good for content creation
- Very good overall display quality
- Excellent speakers
- Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.8
8.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
411.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
486.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
8.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
6.7/10
The Razer Blade 17 is very good for general use, while the Dell Alienware x14 R1 is good.
The Dell Alienware x14 R1 is appreciated for its high portability and good screen quality, supported by a capable CPU and sufficient RAM, making it effective for various tasks. In contrast, the Razer Blade 17 offers superior performance with a top-tier CPU and double the RAM, a higher-quality screen with a significantly greater resolution, and more storage, but this comes with reduced battery life and lower portability due to its larger size and weight.
Gaming and AI
7.6
8.6
7.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.2/10
The Razer Blade 17 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Dell Alienware x14 R1 is good.
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
8.2
9.1
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
7.0/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Razer Blade 17 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Dell Alienware x14 R1 is very good.
The Razer Blade 17 surpasses the Dell Alienware x14 R1 in engineering and design use primarily due to its more powerful CPU, higher RAM capacity, and superior GPU, making it excellent for demanding tasks such as 3D rendering and simulation. Additionally, the Razer's larger and higher resolution screen offers better image quality for design work, although this does come at the cost of reduced portability compared to the more compact Dell.
Content Creation
7.9
8.5
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Razer Blade 17 is very good for content creation, while the Dell Alienware x14 R1 is good.
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
7.7
8.5
9.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.2/10
16.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Razer Blade 17 is very good for software development, while the Dell Alienware x14 R1 is good.
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.
Screen Quality
7.9
8.6
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2160
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
144Hz
REFRESH RATE
144Hz
411.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
486.0 nits
The Razer Blade 17 has a better screen than the Dell Alienware x14 R1 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The Dell Alienware x14 R1, with its emphasis on resolution and brightness, provides a clear and vibrant display suitable for everyday tasks and detailed engineering work, while its color gamut ensures accurate color reproduction crucial for design applications. The Razer Blade 17 also focuses on high resolution and brightness, delivering an excellent visual experience for general use and precise color representation for professional design and engineering, as it encompasses a wide color gamut. However, both laptops' lower refresh rates, while not impacting general use and technical tasks, hinder their ability to provide the smooth visuals required for optimal gaming and 3D rendering experiences.
Battery
9.0 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Dell Alienware x14 R1 has 9 hours of battery life. The Razer Blade 17 has 5.5 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
Very Good
Fair
14.0in
SIZE
17.3in
4.0 lbs
WEIGHT
6.0 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Dell Alienware x14 R1 has very good portability, while the Razer Blade 17 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,201
$4,300
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
$3,500
$4,000
The Dell Alienware x14 R1 has a price of $1,201 and the Razer Blade 17 costs $4,300.
Let Us Help Find Your Perfect Laptop
Find your new laptop
Key similarities
Build Quality
8.5
8.5
The Dell Alienware x14 R1 and Razer Blade 17 both have very good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Dell Alienware x14 R1 and the Razer Blade 17 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware x14 R1 | Razer Blade 17 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$1,201 | $4,300 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | August 1, 2022 | February 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 12.7'' x 10.3'' x 0.57'' | 15.6'' x 10.2'' x 0.78'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 4.06 lbs | 6.06 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 12.66" | 15.55" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 10.34" | 10.24" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i7-12700H | Intel i9-12900H | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 16 GB | 32 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 0 | 2 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 512 GB | 1024 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 9 Hours | 5.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 80 Wh | 82 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 14" | 17.3" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 3840 x 2160 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 144Hz | 144Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 411 nits | 486 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 8.5/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 8.1/10 | 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 | 7.3/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8/10 | 9/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 7.5/10 | 9.1/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 1080p | |
Fingerprint Reader | |||
Fingerprint Reader | No | No | |
Backlit Keyboard | |||
Backlit Keyboard | Yes | Yes | |
Number Pad | |||
Number Pad | No | No | |
CONNECTIVITY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
USB Type-A | |||
USB Type-A | 1 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 3 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 4 | 3 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | 4 | |
Shopping
Dell Alienware x14 R1
See more
Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Andreas Osthoff | March 2022
"The Alienware X14 series is thinner, but also slower than the competition. With the X series, you get plenty of modern technology: Intel Alder Lake CPUs, GeForce RTX 3000 GPUs, Thunderbolt 4, PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6E, G-Sync, and Advanced Optimus. However, the slim design has some drawbacks, just like its larger siblings. The shifted hinge position results in a very deep device with a large footprint compared to the competition."
Razer Blade 17
See more
Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Sascha Mölck | July 2022
"Our test configuration of the Blade 17 targets gamers and creative professionals. A Core i9-12900H processor, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU (175 watts TGP after the BIOS update, 16 GB of VRAM), and 32 GB of working memory equip the laptop for video processing, rending, and 4k gaming at the highest level. In addition, a fast PCIe-4 SSD (1 TB) ensures short load and storage times. With the Blade 17 (Early 2022), Razer delivers a successful and powerful work device for creative professionals. But this also has its price."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware x14 R1 or the Razer Blade 17
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 Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean technology company. Razer is best known for their Blade series laptops, well known for their strong performance and sleek design. Although Razer charges a premium price tag for their laptops, buyers can expect a stealthy laptop with clean fit and finish and strong performance. All of their models offer great portability and build quality compared to other gaming laptops.
Give feedback
We're constantly perfecting our model
Laptop guides you might be interested in
More comparisons for you
Compare Dell Alienware x14 R1 vs. Lenovo Legion 5 17"
VS
Compare Dell Alienware x14 R1 vs. Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 13.5"
VS
Compare Dell Alienware x14 R1 vs. Microsoft Surface Laptop 6 15"
VS
Compare Razer Blade 17 vs. MSI Raider GE78
VS
Compare Razer Blade 17 vs. Lenovo Legion 9i
VS
Compare Razer Blade 17 vs. MSI Raider 18 HX
VS
FAQs
FAQs about laptops
Why trust us
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
130,995
Recommendations made
28,383
Consumer hours saved
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.
Featured in
