Dell XPS 17 9720 (2022) vs Alienware m18

Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Display
CPU
GPU
RAM
Storage

Review

Evaluation of Dell XPS 17 9720 (2022) and Alienware m18 important characteristics
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
NanoReview Score
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Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

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Currency
VS
18.8
(Bad)
Value Index
23.5
(Mediocre)

Key Differences

What are the key differences between the notebooks
Advantages of the Dell XPS 17 9720 (2022)
  • Significantly easier to carry: weighs 2020 grams less (around 4.45 lbs)
  • Thinner bezels and 26% higher screen-to-body ratio
  • Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 4 versus 3
  • Provides 67% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 300 nits
  • Much smaller footprint: 29% more compact case (144 vs 203.5 square inches)
Advantages of the Dell Alienware m18
  • Higher screen refresh rate: 480 versus 60 Hz
  • Includes an old-school USB-A port
  • Performs significantly better (up to 2.1x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • Can run popular games at about 54-74% higher FPS
  • Around 48% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
  • Better webcam recording quality

Tests and Specifications

Comparison table of test results and technical specs

Case

Weight 2.21 kg (4.87 lbs) 4.23 kg (9.33 lbs)
Dimensions 374.4 x 248 x 19.5 mm
14.74 x 9.76 x 0.77 inches
410.3 x 319.9 x 24.1-26.7 mm
16.15 x 12.59 x 0.95-1.05 inches
Area 929 cm2 (143.9 inches2) 1313 cm2 (203.3 inches2)
Screen-to-body ratio ~90.3% ~71.6%
Side bezels 4.1 mm 11.3 mm
Colors Black, Silver Black, Gray
Material Aluminum Aluminum
Transformer No No
Opening angle 140° 135°
Size comparison
Cooling solution
Cooling system Active Active
Vapor chamber Yes Yes
Liquid metal No Yes
Number of fans 2 4
Noise level (max. load) 47.9 dB 56.7 dB

Display

Size 17 inches 18 inches
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Refresh rate 60 Hz 480 Hz
PPI 133 ppi 126 ppi
Aspect ratio 16:10 16:10
Resolution 1920 x 1200 pixels 1920 x 1200 pixels
HDR support - Yes, Dolby Vision
Sync technology No G-Sync
Touchscreen No No
Coating Matte Matte
Ambient light sensor Yes No
Screen space comparison
Alienware m18
18″ (16:10 ratio) = 145.6 in2
XPS 17 9720 (2022)
17″ (16:10 ratio) = 129.9 in2
~12% more screen space
Display tests
Contrast 1750:1 1000:1
sRGB color space 100% 100%
Adobe RGB profile 100% -
DCI-P3 color gamut 98% 100%
Response time 35 ms 3 ms
Max. brightness
500 nits
300 nits

Battery

Capacity
Voltage 11.4 V -
Full charging time 2:00 hr 2:00 hr
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Fast charging Yes Yes
Charging via USB (Power Delivery) Yes Yes
Charging port position Left, Right Bottom
Charge power 130 W 300 / 330 W
Cable length - 1 meters
Weight of AC adapter 508 grams 1478 / 1512 grams

CPU

CPU name
Base frequency 2.5 GHz 2.6 GHz
Turbo frequency 4.5 GHz 4.9 GHz
Cores 12 (4P + 8E) 14 (6P + 8E)
Threads 16 20
L3 Cache 18 MB 24 MB
Integrated GPU Intel Iris Xe Graphics (80EU) Intel UHD Graphics (16EU)
Fabrication process 10 nm 10 nm

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

Graphics Card

GPU name
TGP 60 W 115 W
Nvidia Optimus Yes MUX
Type Dedicated Dedicated
Fabrication process 8 nm 5 nm
GPU base clock 1237 MHz 2070 MHz
GPU boost clock 1500 MHz 2370 MHz
FLOPS 6.1 TFLOPS 12.1 TFLOPS
Memory size 4 GB 6 GB
Memory type GDDR6 GDDR6
Memory bus 128 bit 96 bit
Memory speed 12 Gbps ~16 Gbps
Shading units (cores) 2048 2560
Texture mapping units (TMUs) 64 80
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) 40 32
GPU performance 6.1 TFLOPS 12.1 TFLOPS

GPU Benchmarks

Steel Nomad Lite Score
Blender GPU 1063 3117
Solar Bay 20858 40590
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details

RAM

RAM size
Channels 1x8 GB 2x8 GB
Clock 4800 MHz 4800 MHz
Type DDR5 DDR5
Upgradable Yes Yes
Total slots 2 2
Max. ram size 64 GB 64 GB

Storage

Storage size
Bus PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)
Storage type SSD (M2) SSD (M2)
Channels 1x256 GB 1x256 GB
Upgradable Yes Yes
Total slots 2 4
NVMe Yes Yes

Sound

Audio chip Realtek ALC711-CG Realtek ALC3254
Speakers 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers) 2.0
Power 2x2.5W, 2x1.5W 2x2W
Dolby Atmos No Yes
Loudness ~79.8 dB ~83.8 dB
Microphones 2 2

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard v6E v6E
Bluetooth v5.2 v5.3
Fingerprint Yes No
Infrared sensor Yes Yes
Optical drive No No
Webcam Above the display Above the display
Webcam resolution 1280 x 720 1920 x 1080
Ports
USB-A No 3x USB 3.2
USB Type-C 4x USB 4.0 3x USB 4.0
Thunderbolt Thunderbolt 4 Thunderbolt 4
HDMI No 1x HDMI 2.1
DisplayPort No 1x v1.4
VGA No No
Audio jack (3.5 mm) Yes Yes
Ethernet (RJ45) No Yes
SD card reader Yes Yes
Proprietary charging port No Yes

Input

Keyboard
Keyboard type Island Mechanical
Numpad No Yes
Backlight Yes Yes
Key travel 1.3 mm 1.8 mm
Touchpad
Size 14.9 x 8.9 cm 13.1 x 8.0 cm
Surface Glass Glass
Windows Precision Yes Yes
Further details
Notes on XPS 17 9720 (2022):
    - USB-C to USB-A and HDMI adapters are included in the box.
Notes on Alienware m18:
    - Optional CherryMX low-profile mechanical switches.
    - Supports a maximum of 9 TB of storage (2x4 TB + 2x512 TB).
    - The RAM can operate at up to 5800 MHz, thanks to the XMP profiles.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.

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