If you're looking for high performance for gaming or intensive tasks, the Dell Alienware X17 R2, despite its higher price, can handle these activities with ease. However, it's less portable due to its size and weight, and the battery life may not last as long during heavy use. On the other hand, the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" is more budget-friendly and portable, making it suitable for general use such as browsing and office applications, with likely better battery life but considerably weaker performance for demanding tasks. Consider how you'll use the laptop and whether portability or power is your priority. 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
Good for software development
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 Packard Bell Cloudbook 14"
Very good portability
Good battery life
Key differences
General Use
8.2/10
5.7/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
367.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
200.0 nits
2.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
4.6/10
6.0/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.1/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for general use, while the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" is poor.
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
8.9/10
5.5/10
9.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.5/10
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 Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" is poor.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 excels in gaming and 3D work due to its powerful Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti graphics card and a high screen refresh rate of 480Hz, which result in smooth and detailed visuals. In contrast, the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" falls short for these tasks because it has a significantly less powerful Intel UHD Graphics 600 (N4020) and a standard refresh rate of 60Hz.
Engineering and Design
9.1/10
5.5/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
9.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.5/10
32.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is excellent for engineering and design, while the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" is poor.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is highly suitable for engineering and design use due to its powerful Intel i9 CPU, abundant 32GB RAM, and high-end Nvidia RTX 3080 Ti GPU, which ensure smooth handling of demanding tasks and complex designs, coupled with a superior screen quality that provides high brightness and color accuracy. In contrast, the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" lacks the necessary performance attributes for such tasks, with a more modest Intel Celeron CPU, only 4GB RAM, integrated graphics, and a lower quality display that fails to match the color and brightness standards for detailed engineering work.
Content Creation
8.3/10
5.9/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is very good for content creation, while the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" is poor.
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
7.8/10
5.9/10
9.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
3.3/10
32.0 GB
RAM
4.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
4.6/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 is good for software development, while the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" is poor.
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
8.5/10
5.8/10
17.3in
SIZE
14.1in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
480Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
367.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
200.0 nits
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has a better screen than the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 offers a high-resolution, bright display with a panel type that provides crisp and clear visuals, making it excellent for general use and detailed engineering work; however, its lower refresh rate detracts from the smoothness required for gaming and 3D applications. The Packard Bell Cloudbook 14", on the other hand, falls short in screen quality across all uses due to lower resolution and brightness, which means less clarity and vibrancy for everyday tasks and design processes. Neither laptop is ideal for 3D tasks or gaming, where the Packard Bell's deficiencies are most pronounced due to the lack of a high refresh rate, which is crucial for fluid motion and immersive experiences.
Battery
2.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has 2 hours of battery life. The Packard Bell Cloudbook 14 has 7 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
14.1in
6.8 lbs
WEIGHT
2.7 lbs
0.8in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The Packard Bell Cloudbook 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
8.5/10
5.1/10
The Dell Alienware X17 R2 has very good build quality, while the Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" has poor build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$2,000
$350
$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 Packard Bell Cloudbook 14" costs $350.
"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."
Get a great deal on the Dell Alienware X17 R2 or the Packard Bell Cloudbook 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.
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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