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What we think
The PerfectRec laptop team Learn more
Updated January 10, 2024·
If you place a high value on gaming or performing engineering tasks that require robust graphics and processing power, the Dell Alienware X17 R2 is a strong choice due to its high-end graphics card and processor, but keep in mind it's heavier and has a shorter battery life. On the other hand, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers better portability with its lighter weight and longer battery life. Its performance is suitable for general use and it has a touchscreen, which the Dell lacks, making it a versatile option for everyday tasks and light creative work. However, it's not intended for the same level of 3D rendering, machine learning, or intensive gaming performance as the Dell. 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 display quality
- Very good overall build quality
- Best in class speakers
- Very good keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Flex 5 14
- Very good portability
- Very good battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.9
6.2
9.3/10
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 X17 R2 is very good for gaming and AI, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is only fair.
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
9.1
7.0
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
9.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 stands out for engineering and design use because it has a more powerful Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU, along with a larger amount of RAM and a high-quality screen, though it comes at the cost of less portability due to its size and weight.
Content Creation
8.3
7.6
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for content creation, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 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
6.4
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
367.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
277.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the Lenovo Flex 5 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Alienware likely has a high-resolution display and excellent color accuracy essential for engineering and design tasks, but its refresh rate may be lower, which is less ideal for gaming where smoother motion is a priority. In contrast, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers sufficient resolution and brightness for everyday tasks and some professional work, but may not provide the wide color gamut needed for more precise design work or the high refresh rates demanded by gaming. Both have compromises but are tailored to different user needs, the Alienware leaning towards professionals and the Lenovo towards casual or general users.
Battery
2.0 Hours
11.5 Hours
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has 2 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
Fair
Very Good
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
6.8 lbs
WEIGHT
3.4 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Lenovo Flex 5 14 has very 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
7.0
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,000
$950
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a price of $2,000 and the Lenovo Flex 5 14 costs $950.
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Key similarities
General Use
8.2
7.7
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
367.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
277.0 nits
2.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
11.5 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.3/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Alienware X17 R2 to be very good for general use, while the Lenovo Flex 5 14 is good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 stands out for general use due to its powerful Intel i9 CPU and abundant RAM, delivering exceptional performance but at the cost of portability and battery life, with only 2 hours of typical usage. In contrast, the Lenovo Flex 5 14 offers good general performance with a capable AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and sufficient RAM, and excels in portability and battery life, lasting up to 11.5 hours on a single charge.
Software Development
7.8
7.4
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
6.9/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and Lenovo Flex 5 14 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 X17 R2 and the Lenovo Flex 5 14 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware X17 R2 | Lenovo Flex 5 14 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$2,000 | $950 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | December 1, 2021 | December 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.7'' x 11.8'' x 0.82'' | 12.3'' x 8.9'' x 0.7'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.82 lbs | 3.42 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.72" | 12.32" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.79" | 8.85" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i9-12900HK | AMD Ryzen 7 7730U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 32 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 | 2 Hours | 11.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 87 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 | 367 nits | 277 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.1/10 | 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 | 8.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 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 | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 4 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | N/A | |
Shopping
Dell Alienware X17 R2
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Dig into reviews and images
NotebookCheck
Allen Ngo | May 2022
"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."
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 X17 R2 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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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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