The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is a premium choice for high-end gaming, 3D rendering, and intensive engineering software with superior performance, but it's bulkier and has much shorter battery life. On the other hand, the LG Ultra 16 offers adequate power for general use and less demanding tasks at a significantly lower price, greater portability, and a longer battery life, though it falls behind in demanding applications due to its less powerful processor and integrated graphics. Consider the Alienware if performance is the priority and you're mostly stationary, or the LG Ultra if you prefer a balance of mobility, battery life, and cost savings for everyday computing. 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 LG Ultra 16
Good portability
Excellent battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
8.9/10
6.2/10
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
10.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for gaming and AI, while the LG Ultra 16 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 excels in gaming and 3D due to its powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics card and a high screen refresh rate of 480Hz, which allows for extremely smooth visuals in fast-paced scenes. In contrast, the LG Ultra 16 has a more moderate AMD integrated graphics and a standard 60Hz screen refresh rate, which provides a fair gaming experience but isn't as fluid or detail-rich as the Alienware's offering.
Engineering and Design
9.1/10
7.0/10
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 LG Ultra 16 is good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 stands out for engineering and design tasks with its higher-end CPU and GPU, making it better for demanding software, while its larger RAM and high-quality screen further support intensive tasks. In contrast, the LG Ultra 16 offers reduced performance due to its less powerful integrated graphics and processor, and smaller RAM, but gains in portability with a lighter build and improved battery life.
Content Creation
8.3/10
7.7/10
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 LG Ultra 16 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
6.2/10
17.3in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
367.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
270.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the LG Ultra 16 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2's screen has high resolution and brightness, which enhances the display clarity and vibrancy for general tasks and detailed engineering work, while its color accuracy supports professional design requirements. However, its lower refresh rate may not be ideal for gaming or 3D modeling where smoother motion representation is crucial. The LG Ultra 16 offers decent resolution and brightness, providing an adequate viewing experience for everyday and technical applications, but similarly falls short for gaming and 3D tasks due to its refresh rate limitations.
Battery
2.0 Hours
17.0 Hours
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has 2 hours of battery life. The LG Ultra 16 has 17 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
16.0in
6.8 lbs
WEIGHT
3.6 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The LG Ultra 16 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
6.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the LG Ultra 16 has only fair build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,000
$1,000
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a price of $2,000 and the LG Ultra 16 costs $1,000.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Dell Alienware X17 R2 to be very good for general use, while the LG Ultra 16 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Software Development
7.8/10
7.5/10
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
6.7/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and LG Ultra 16 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 LG Ultra 16 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."
"Unlike the gram, the Ultra PC isn't designed to be as lightweight as possible. The 16-inch laptop is a whole 400 g (0.88 lb) heavier than its 16-inch gram counterpart partly because its chassis is not made of magnesium. Other than that, the Ultra PC seems like a copy of the gram – but with longer battery life, lower noise levels, and a clean, delicate look."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware X17 R2 or the LG Ultra 16
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 LG
LG is a South Korean conglomerate company. While LG is mainly known for various products outside of technology, LG also develops laptops. Within the laptop industry, they are known for their thin-and-light Gram series, as well as their value-oriented Ultra series. LG laptops offer very thin and light laptops with phenomenal battery life, and are often on sale.
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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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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