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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is a high-performance laptop suitable for intensive gaming, 3D rendering, and engineering tasks with its powerful processor and high-end graphics card. However, it comes at a higher price, is less portable due to its size and weight, and has relatively short battery life. Contrastingly, the MSI Modern 14 is a budget-friendly and highly portable laptop with good battery life, but its performance is limited and less suitable for demanding tasks. It's ideal for general use and day-to-day tasks like web browsing, office productivity, and streaming media. 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 MSI Modern 14
- Very good portability
- Good battery life
Key differences
General Use
8.2
7.2
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
367.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
2.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
6.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for general use, while the MSI Modern 14 is good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 stands out for general use due to its more powerful CPU, larger RAM capacity, and superior screen quality, but it is less portable and has a shorter battery life compared to the MSI Modern 14, which has a more moderate CPU and RAM, with reasonable screen quality, making it lighter with better battery life for on-the-go use.
Gaming and AI
8.9
6.0
9.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.7/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for gaming and AI, while the MSI Modern 14 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is excellent for gaming and 3D tasks because it is equipped with a powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics card and has a high screen refresh rate of up to 480Hz, which means it can display many more frames per second for smoother visuals.
Engineering and Design
9.1
6.6
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
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 MSI Modern 14 is only fair.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is equipped with a high-end CPU and GPU, substantial RAM, and excellent screen quality, which are crucial for demanding engineering and design tasks. Contrastingly, the MSI Modern 14, while more portable and with a very good keyboard, has a less powerful CPU and GPU, and fair screen quality, making it less suitable for intensive computational tasks and detailed design work.
Content Creation
8.3
7.2
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for content creation, while the MSI Modern 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.
Software Development
7.8
7.1
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
5.6/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and MSI Modern 14 are both good for software development, though the Dell Alienware X17 R2 is somewhat better.
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
8.5
6.4
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
367.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
311.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the MSI Modern 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
If you're primarily using your laptop for everyday tasks like web browsing and document editing, the Dell Alienware X17 R2's high resolution and bright display ensure crisp and vibrant visuals, while the MSI Modern 14 offers adequacy but lacks the same level of clarity and vibrance. For engineering and design, the Alienware's superior color coverage with wider gamut ranges accurately represents a broad spectrum of colors, crucial for detail-oriented work, but the MSI will fall short for professionals requiring high color fidelity. When it comes to gaming and 3D applications, the Alienware's lower refresh rate may not deliver as smooth an experience compared to laptops designed with higher refresh rates, making it less suitable for fast-paced games despite its high resolution and quality panel, while the MSI, with its lower overall screen specifications, also isn't well-suited for these tasks.
Battery
2.0 Hours
6.0 Hours
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has 2 hours of battery life. The MSI Modern 14 has 6 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
3.0 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The MSI Modern 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 MSI Modern 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
$525
$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 MSI Modern 14 costs $525.
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How the Dell Alienware X17 R2 and the MSI Modern 14 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware X17 R2 | MSI Modern 14 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$2,000 | $525 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | December 1, 2021 | October 1, 2021 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.7'' x 11.8'' x 0.82'' | 12.7'' x 8.7'' x 0.63'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.82 lbs | 3.08 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.72" | 12.68" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.79" | 8.74" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i9-12900HK | AMD Ryzen 5 7530U | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 32 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 5 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 1 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 2 Hours | 6 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 87 Wh | 39 Wh | |
SCREEN | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Diagonal Size | |||
Diagonal Size | 17.3" | 14" | |
Display Technology | |||
Display Technology | IPS | IPS | |
Resolution | |||
Resolution | 1920 x 1080 | 1920 x 1080 | |
Refresh Rate | |||
Refresh Rate | 480Hz | 60Hz | |
Display Brightness | |||
Display Brightness | 367 nits | 311 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.1/10 | 8.7/10 | |
Gaming Laptop Appearance | |||
Gaming Laptop Appearance | Yes | No | |
Premium Business Laptop | |||
Premium Business Laptop | No | No | |
Fan Noise Score | |||
Fan Noise Score | 7/10 | 8.8/10 | |
HARDWARE FEATURES | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Keyboard Quality Score | |||
Keyboard Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
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 | 2 | 3 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 1 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 4 | 1 | |
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."
MSI Modern 14
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Dig into reviews and images
Rtings
Alexander Tozzi, Ryan Lim, and John Peroramas | October 2023
"The MSI Modern 14 is okay for school use. It's very compact, so it's easy to carry around. It has a sharp display, a spacious keyboard, and a reasonably large touchpad. Its Intel 13th Gen CPU and integrated graphics can handle general productivity tasks like text processing and web browsing; however, don't expect to do anything intensive like 3D modeling or physics simulations. Unfortunately, the battery lasts less than five hours of light use, and the display doesn't get bright enough to combat glare."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware X17 R2 or the MSI Modern 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 MSI
MSI, also known as Micro-Star International, is a Taiwanese technology corporation. MSI is known for their wide range of gaming devices. Their series include the entry-level Cyborg/Thin and Sword/Katana series, the mid-range Bravo/Delta and Crosshair/Pulse series, and their high-end Vector, Raider, Stealth, and Titan GT series. At every performance level, MSI offers a variety of devices with varying balances between performance, battery life, weight, and price, making them a solid option to consider at every price point.
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