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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 offers superior performance for gaming, 3D rendering, and engineering tasks with a larger screen and higher build quality, but it's heavier and has a lower battery life, which makes it less portable. In contrast, the MSI Prestige 14, while more affordable and portable with better battery life and highly rated keyboard quality, has less power and is more suited for general use and less intensive workloads, lacking hardware ray tracing and DLSS which are crucial for advanced gaming and rendering tasks. Consider the Alienware if performance and gaming are priorities and the MSI Prestige for portability and everyday tasks. 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 Prestige 14
- Very good portability
- Good battery life
Key differences
General Use
8.2
7.5
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
367.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
313.0 nits
2.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
8.5 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.8/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for general use, while the MSI Prestige 14 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.
Gaming and AI
8.9
6.2
9.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
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
7.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for gaming and AI, while the MSI Prestige 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
7.1
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
9.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.7/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is excellent for engineering and design, while the MSI Prestige 14 is good.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 stands out for engineering and design due to its more powerful Intel i9 processor, double the RAM, and a high-end Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU, all contributing to superior performance in intensive tasks like 3D rendering or simulations. In contrast, the MSI Prestige 14, while still suitable for engineering and design, offers a less powerful i5 processor and integrated graphics, making it more appropriate for less demanding tasks but also more portable due to its lighter weight and longer battery life.
Content Creation
8.3
7.5
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
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 Prestige 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
6.9
17.3in
SIZE
14.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
367.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
313.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the MSI Prestige 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
When considering a laptop for general use, a good panel type combined with high resolution and brightness can make the Dell Alienware X17 R2 stand out with its vibrant and crisp display. For engineering and design, this laptop's ability to reproduce a wide range of colors accurately is critical, which makes its coverage of color gamuts like DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB very appealing. However, for gaming and 3D tasks, the refresh rate is paramount to provide smooth motion, and here the Dell falls short, while the MSI Prestige 14, despite having a satisfactory general display and decent color reproduction for professional work, also lacks the high refresh rate sought after by gamers and 3D professionals.
Battery
2.0 Hours
8.5 Hours
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has 2 hours of battery life. The MSI Prestige 14 has 8.5 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
2.8 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The MSI Prestige 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
7.4
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the MSI Prestige 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
$1,040
$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 Prestige 14 costs $1,040.
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Key similarities
Software Development
7.8
7.3
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.5/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 and MSI Prestige 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 MSI Prestige 14 compare to other laptops
Spec Comparison
 |  | |
| Dell Alienware X17 R2 | MSI Prestige 14 |
GENERAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | |||
$2,000 | $1,040 | ||
Release Date | |||
Release Date | December 1, 2021 | April 1, 2022 | |
Overall Dimensions | |||
Overall Dimensions | 15.7'' x 11.8'' x 0.82'' | 12.6'' x 8.6'' x 0.63'' | |
Weight | |||
Weight | 6.82 lbs | 2.84 lbs | |
Width | |||
Width | 15.72" | 12.56" | |
Depth | |||
Depth | 11.79" | 8.62" | |
INTERNAL | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Processor | |||
Processor | Intel i9-12900HK | Intel i5-1240P | |
RAM | |||
RAM | 32 GB | 16 GB | |
DDR Memory Version | |||
DDR Memory Version | 5 | 4 | |
RAM Slots | |||
RAM Slots | 2 | 0 | |
Storage | |||
Storage | 1024 GB | 512 GB | |
BATTERY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Battery Life | |||
Battery Life | 2 Hours | 8.5 Hours | |
Battery Capacity | |||
Battery Capacity | 87 Wh | 53.8 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 | 313 nits | |
RELIABILITY, APPEARANCE & ACOUSTICS | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Build Quality Score | |||
Build Quality Score | 8.5/10 | 7.4/10 | |
Portability Score | |||
Portability Score | 6.1/10 | 8.8/10 | |
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 | 7.5/10 | |
Speaker Quality Score | |||
Speaker Quality Score | 9.5/10 | 7/10 | |
Webcam | |||
Webcam | 720p | 720p | |
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 | 1 | |
USB-C ports | |||
USB-C ports | 2 | 2 | |
USB-C Charging | |||
USB-C Charging | Yes | Yes | |
Display Outputs | |||
Display Outputs | 4 | 2 | |
Thunderbolt Version | |||
Thunderbolt Version | 4 | 4 | |
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 Prestige 14
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Dig into reviews and images
Tech Radar
Collin Probst | September 2022
"The MSI Prestige 14” is excellent for productivity and business use cases, but it is not ideal for creators or visual content editors. The Prestige was able to power through days of email, spreadsheets, and text documents without breaking a sweat and was a joy to use. The additional ports were a breath of fresh air, as most laptops seem to be moving towards just Thunderbolt ports. The security options made signing in effortless, with two quick, more secure, and faster options than even the most complex alphanumeric passcode."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware X17 R2 or the MSI Prestige 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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