Choosing between the Dell Alienware X17 R2 and the Gigabyte Aorus 15P depends on your priorities. The Alienware offers advanced features such as better heat management and general use performance, making it well-suited for intensive engineering tasks and gaming, but it's heavier, reducing portability. Alternatively, the Aorus 15P, while also capable of handling demanding tasks and gaming, is lighter and offers longer battery life, making it more portable and suitable for on-the-go use without sacrificing much performance. Both have high-quality displays, but the Alienware's screen is larger if you prefer a bigger viewing area. 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 X17 R2
Very good for general use
Excellent for engineering and design
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Advantages of the Gigabyte Aorus 15P
Good portability
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.9/10
7.8/10
9.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P is good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 stands out for gaming and 3D applications largely due to its higher-end Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU and an impressive screen refresh rate of 480 Hz, which result in smoother visuals and better overall performance for fast-paced games and 3D rendering compared to the Gigabyte Aorus 15P, which, while still good, has a slightly less powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU and a refresh rate of 300 Hz.
Engineering and Design
9.1/10
8.3/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
9.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.5/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P is very good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 stands out for engineering and design due to its higher-end CPU and GPU which are crucial for demanding software, along with a larger, brighter screen that offers better color accuracy, enhancing visual work. On the other hand, the Gigabyte Aorus 15P, while still very competent with a robust CPU and GPU, is more portable with a better portability score and slightly longer battery life, paired with a high-quality build but less exemplary screen brightness and color coverage compared to the Alienware.
Content Creation
8.3/10
7.8/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for content creation, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P 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.
Screen Quality
8.5/10
8.1/10
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
300Hz
367.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
280.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the Gigabyte Aorus 15P for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
When considering general use, the Dell Alienware X17 R2's high resolution and brightness, along with its panel type, provide vivid detail and comfortable viewing, offering an edge over the Gigabyte Aorus 15P. For tasks in engineering and design, the Alienware's wider color gamuts ensure more accurate color reproduction, which professionals seek, compared to the Aorus 15P. However, for gaming and 3D applications, the lower refresh rate of the Alienware's screen might make it less appealing than alternatives designed with higher refresh rates for smoother visuals during fast-paced action.
Battery
2.0 Hours
5.0 Hours
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has 2 hours of battery life. The Gigabyte Aorus 15P has 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
Fair
Good
17.3in
SIZE
15.6in
6.8 lbs
WEIGHT
4.8 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
1.0in
The Gigabyte Aorus 15P has good portability, while the Dell Alienware X17 R2 has only fair portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.4/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Alienware X17 R2 to be very good for general use, while the Gigabyte Aorus 15P is good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is rated very good for general use partly because of its superior processing power thanks to a high-end Intel i9 CPU, along with ample memory and a vibrant, large display, which offer great multitasking and entertainment experiences. However, despite having a robust battery, it trails in portability due to its size and weight, whereas the Gigabyte Aorus 15P, with a slightly less powerful CPU and a smaller screen, balances decent general use performance with better portability and battery life.
Software Development
7.8/10
7.3/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and Gigabyte Aorus 15P 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.
Cost
$2,000
$1,950
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a price of $2,000 and the Gigabyte Aorus 15P costs $1,950.
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How the Dell Alienware X17 R2 and the Gigabyte Aorus 15P compare to other laptops
"The Alienware x17 R2 recognizes targets a significantly higher TGP of 175 W for a roughly 30 percent performance boost over laptops running on the ~100 W GeForce RTX 3080 Ti like the Razer Blade 15 or Gigabyte Aero YE5. Similar results can be found through the CPU as well. This single aspect of the Alienware is perhaps the biggest differentiating factor between it and other ultrathin gaming laptops. Of course, the "performance at all cost" approach comes with drawbacks. Power consumption in particular is through the roof and battery life suffers because of it even when on the lowest performance settings."
"The Aorus 15P is a high-end gaming laptop with fast 360 Hz display. Gaming performance in the Aorus 15P YD is very high thanks to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 installed here. However, with the use of the Intel Core i7-11800H, CPU performance also closes in on the strong competition from AMD. SSD performance is excellent as well, and it leaves no room for criticism. Thanks to the built-in Intel Core i7-11800H, the system performance of the Aorus 15P YD increases significantly."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware X17 R2 or the Gigabyte Aorus 15P
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.
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.
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