Gaming battle: Alienware 17 R3 vs Acer Predator 17 vs ASUS ROG G752

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Well, like almost all comparison articles, this one is more of a guide to which notebook should you choose depending on your specific needs. In this case, your aim is at gaming laptops, obviously, but some users go for this class because it offers she sufficient performance for video editing for example.

Anyway, we will focus mainly on the gaming capabilities and as all three are a great choice, yet there are several key features that distinguish them from one another. We are talking about different screens, totally different design and build as well as exclusive features. Without further ado, let’s dig in.

ASUS ROG G752: Detailed Review Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)

Alienware 17 R3: Detailed Review / Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)

Acer Predator 17: Review / Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)

Design and construction

All three laptops deliver what you’d expect from a high-end gaming notebook despite the fact that they have a different choice of materials. In this case, it’s all matter of personal preference. The Alienware 17 uses anodized aluminum with smooth, soft-touch plastic around the interior and carbon fiber inner frame in order to bring the weight down but keep the sturdiness. It also features tons of programmable LED lights around the chassis, including the keyboard, which is separated into several zones.


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The Predator 17, however, uses a slightly different approach. The carbon fiber composite is in another form – fiberglass. It’s used inside the chassis for better sturdiness without affecting the weight much. It’s a pretty solid machine, but the chassis all-around is covered in soft-touch matte plastic. It’s prone to fingerprints and smudges and it can be considered as more fragile compared to the Alienware and ROG G752. The keyboard LED backlight isn’t adjustable, though, but uses the same amount of macro keys as its direct competitors.


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As for the ASUS ROG G752, it’s somehow a step backward from the last generation in terms of overall rigidness. However, it carries a refreshing new look compared to the old G751. ASUS has used mostly plastic for the entire build of the chassis with soft-touch matte plastic around the keyboard. Another notable thing to consider here is that the G752 carries the so-called anti-ghosting, rollover keys feature and has one macro key less than the Alienware and Predator.


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It’s all matter of preference here. All three notebooks follow strictly different design languages and appearance and they all look cool. If you are still torn apart, you’d better proceed with the next sections. They will definitely help you decide.

Display

This is probably the most distinguishable hardware from all of three. We were lucky enough to test both versions of the Predator 17 – the UHD and Full HD variants. The ASUS ROG G752 is sold only with Full HD display, which we tested, of course, but the Alienware 17 R3 we had was with the UHD screen and we still haven’t had the chance to test its Full HD counterpart.

Anyway, it’s quite easy to compare the Predator 17 and ASUS ROG G752 since they both use fairly the same panels from LG Display. They got almost the same results in our tests – sRGB color gamut coverage, accuracy, brightness, contrast ratio etc. However, the G752 takes and edge over the Predator 17 because of the G-Sync-enabled technology and the 75Hz refresh rate. Games this way will appear buttery smooth and if you are willing to do the same with the Predator 17, you will have to buy an external monitor with the NVIDIA G-Sync and DisplayPort in order to work.

As for the Alienware 17 R3, our tests indicate almost flawless image quality thanks to the IGZO IPS panel. It’s just really impressive – full sRGB and Adobe RGB coverage, excellent maximum brightness, contrast ratio, color accuracy etc. Yet, there’s no G-Sync here as well.

The bottom line is, if you are looking for an eye-candy image quality without any compromise, the Predator 17 and Alienware 17 R3 with UHD displays are the way to go. But if you are more into smooth gaming experience, the ASUS ROG G752 will surely deliver.

ASUS ROG G752:
Full display tets

Alienware 17 R3:
Full display tests

Acer Predator 17:
Full display tests

Specs sheet

ASUS ROG G752Alienware 17 R3Acer Predator 17
CPUIntel Core i7-6700HQ (4-core, 2.60 – 3.50 GHz, 6MB cache) / Intel Core i7-6820HK (4-core, 2.70 – 3.60 GHz, 8MB cache) (optional)Intel Core i7-6700HQ (4-core, 2.60 – 3.50 GHz, 6MB cache) / Intel Core i7-6820HK (4-core, 2.70 – 3.60 GHz, 8MB cache) (optional)Intel Core i7-6700HQ (4-core, 2.60-3.50 GHz, 6MB cache)
GPUNVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M (3GB GDDR5) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (4GB GDDR5)NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M (3GB GDDR5) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (4GB GDDR5)NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970M (3GB GDDR5) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M (4GB GDDR5)
RAMup to 64GB of DDR4-2133 RAMup to 64GB of DDR4-2133 RAMup to 64GB of DDR4-2133 RAM
HDD/SSD2.5-inch HDD + 2x M.2 2280 SSD slots2.5-inch HDD + 2x M.2 2280 SSD slots2.5-inch HDD + M.2 2280 SSD slot + M.2 22110 SSD slot
Display17.3-inch (43.94 cm) – 1920×1080 (Full HD) IPS, matte + G-Sync17.3-inch (43.94 cm) – 1920×1080 (Full HD) IPS, matte / 17.3-inch (43.94 cm) – 3840×2160 (FullHD) IPS IGZO, matte17.3-inch (43.94 cm) – 1920×1080 (Full HD) IPS, matte / 17.3-inch (43.94 cm) – 3840×2160 (FullHD) IPS, matte
Optical driveBlu-ray burnerBlu-ray burner
Features
  • 1 x Microphone-in jack
  • 1 x Headphone-out jack(SPDIF)
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Type C with Thunderbolt
  • 4 x USB 3.0 ports
  • 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
  • 1 x HDMI
  • 1 x SD card reader
  • LED keyboard backlight and customizable macro keys
  • 4х USB 3.0
  • webcam
  • microphone
  • mini DisplayPort
  • HDMI (v.1.4)
  • 3.5 mm audio jack
  • 3.5 mm microphone jack
  • RJ-45
  • 9-in-1 SD card reader
  • LED keyboard backlight and customizable macro keys
  • 4x USB 3.0
  • 1x USB 3.1 Type-C
  • LED keyboard backlight with different zones
  • HDMI
  • DisplayPort
  • RJ-45
  • SD card reader
  • 3.5 mm jacks for microphone and headphones
  • 6 programmable macro keys
  • 4x built-in loudspeakers + subwoofer
Battery66Wh Lithium-Ion batttery / 88Wh Lithium-Ion batttery92Wh88.8Wh
Thickness48.26 mm (1.9″)34.40 mm (1.35”)40.64 mm (1.6”)
Weight4.3 kg (9.5 lbs)3.78 kg (8.33 lbs)3.95 kg (8.71 lbs)

Battery

To be honest, it’s virtually impossible for us to comment or even give you a comprehensive and detailed analysis as far as battery life is concerned. However, all three notebooks carry enormous batteries that can power up the whole system for quite some time. Keep in mind, though, that the ASUS ROG G752 with GTX 980M GPU ships with much bigger 88Wh battery compared to the 970M version that we reviewed a couple of months ago with 66Wh. As for the Alienware and Predator, they both did pretty well in our battery tests indicating that the days of sub-par battery performance in modern gaming laptops are almost over.

ASUS ROG G752: Battery tests

Alienware 17 R3: Battery tests

Acer Predator 17: Battery tests

Performance

Performance-wise, all three notebooks ship with the latest Core i7-6700HQ CPUs, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980M GPUs and, at least, 8GB of DDR4-2133 RAM. Although, there are some configurations with Core i7-6820HK from Dell’s side and other G752 models with GTX 970M GPUs. So performance differences are negligible and all these 17-inch laptops will handle anything you throw at them. However, some games are not smoothly playable at 4K resolution since the mobile GTX 980M GPU isn’t capable of handling them.

ASUS ROG G752: Synthetic benchmarks and gaming tests

Alienware 17 R3: Synthetic benchmarks and gaming tests

Acer Predator 17:
Synthetic benchmarks and gaming tests

Temperatures

This one is pretty easy as all three have excellent cooling systems. Our extensive stress tests show that the ROG G752, Predator 17 and Alienware 17 don’t throttle and don’t produce excessive heat over the keyboard. The user won’t feel the heat from the inside in any case and the internals keep running without any problem.

ASUS ROG G752

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Alienware 17 R3

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Acer Predator 17

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ASUS ROG G752: Detailed Temperature Tests

Alienware 17 R3: Detailed Temperature Tests

Acer Predator 17: Detailed Temperature Tests

Bottom line

In any case, the three titans are capable of handling any game nowadays without any hassle. They are powerful, sleek, feature-packed and they are not afraid of the heat. But there are few things to consider that can be a deal-breaker for some.

First off, the G752 is offered only in Full HD variant but sports the much-needed G-Sync technology for smoother gameplay. Also, the panel runs at 75Hz refresh rate so animations will appear slightly better than the conventional 60Hz panels. But if you need more details, more colors or more of everything, the Predator 17 and Alienware 17 R3, both with UHD panels, are here for you. They will prove to be more beneficial especially to people with color-sensitive work.

Secondly – storage options. The Alienware 17 R3 offers one 2.5-inch HDD with another two 2280 M.2 SSD slots and the same goes for the G752. On the other hand, the Predator 17 uses two M.2 slots but one of them is 2280 while the other is 22110 standard. Nevertheless, all three are compatible with the future-proof NVMe standard for ultra-fast data transfer and read speeds.

And finally, the typing experience will strongly vary from notebook to notebook. Our personal favorite is the G752 due to the support of 30 rollover keys, but on the other hand, the Predator 17 also has long key travel and excellent ergonomics. And as for the Alienware 17, it has slightly bouncy keyboard and doesn’t include the numpad area and it’s all focused on gaming.

We weren’t able to cover all the special features and perks of each notebook but instead we tried to make a quick and comprehensive comparison between the three. If you still need some convincing or you are looking for something more detailed on the matter, make sure you check out our full reviews by visiting the links below.

ASUS ROG G752: Detailed Review / Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)

Alienware 17 R3: Detailed Review / Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)

Acer Predator 17: Review / Buy from Amazon.com (#CommissionsEarned)



Reasons to consider ASUS ROG G752

  • Anti-ghosting rollover keys support
  • G-Sync support
  • 75Hz display
  • 2x 2280 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD slots




Reasons to consider Alienware 17 R3

  • Customizable LEDs around the chassis, keyboard and touchpad
  • Impeccable build quality
  • Supports RAID 0 configurations via 2x 2280 M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs
  • Stunning 4K IGZO IPS panel (optional)




Reasons to consider Acer Predator 17

  • Excellent build quality
  • Good sound quality
  • Flawless 4K UHD panel (optinal)
  • Considerably lower price than its competitors


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Joseph
8 years ago

I have appreciated the quality of review done by Simeon & Kroum on their review of Alienware 17 R3.

For the review you get into much deeper but nevertheless this is good enough for any gamer like me to decide on. Personally Alienware is my favorite because of its beast look & pure gaming ergonomics keyboard. No nonsense of number keys etc.

Hope this helps you all. Ciao.

Jon Commiato
Jon Commiato
8 years ago

My Alienware 17 has a numpad.

mohdfiqq
mohdfiqq
7 years ago

so now which one is a good choice
?

Edris
Edris
7 years ago

Alienware is the best the design the wight the thickness it is so good and also kind of costy so i cant have it hahaha and i wished to have it.

Eric
Eric
6 years ago

can you do another comparison with the same laptops but with the new GPU (gtx 1060/1070) ?

Musa Mgijima
Musa Mgijima
6 years ago

go for Acer Predator 17

Shambhuraj khot
Shambhuraj khot
6 years ago

Hey I have predator 21 x and so heavy what can I do for less weight