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Alienware X17 R1 vs. M2 MacBook Air: Full specs comparison

Here is a comparison of the specs between Alienware X17 R1 and M2 MacBook Air, including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Compare With Please enter device name or part of it Alienware X17 R1 See at Amazon See at Dell	Compare With Please enter device name or part of it M2 MacBook Air See at Amazon

Alienware X17 R1 Pros

Reasons that Alienware X17 R1 is better than M2 MacBook Air.

Intel Core i9-11980HK inside Alienware X17 R1 has a 9% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Apple M2 (8C, 10G) inside M2 MacBook Air.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score

Alienware X17 R1 - Intel Core i9-11980HK

9,677

M2 MacBook Air - Apple M2 (8C, 10G)

8,819

M2 MacBook Air - Apple M2 (8C, 8G)

8,819

Alienware X17 R1 - Intel Core i7-11800H

7,908

Alienware X17 R1 supports a larger memory capacity than the M2 MacBook Air. It supports up to 64GB versus 24GB of system memory on the M2 MacBook Air.

Max system memory size

Alienware X17 R1

64 GB

M2 MacBook Air

24 GB

Alienware X17 R1 comes with two SODIMM slots that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed. On the flip side, you can't upgrade RAM on the M2 MacBook Air since it has onboard memory.

Memory	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Slots	x2	Onboard
Type	DDR4 XMP	Unified

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 16GB GDDR6 150W TGP vs. integrated

Alienware X17 R1 comes with two M.2 slots that you can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

Slots	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
M.2	Yes x2	Onboard

Alienware X17 R1 has a 17.3-inch screen size 27% larger than the 13.6-inch M2 MacBook Air.

Display size

Alienware X17 R1

17.3-inch

M2 MacBook Air

13.6-inch

Alienware X17 R1 has more ports and slots count than the M2 MacBook Air. It has ten versus four amount of ports and slots on the M2 MacBook Air.

Ports	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
HDMI	Yes	No
headphone jack	Yes	Yes
MagSafe 3	No	Yes
microSD card slot	Yes	No
Mini DisplayPort	Yes	No
power port	Yes	No
RJ-45	Yes	No
Thunderbolt 3	No	Yes x2
Thunderbolt 4	Yes	No
USB-A	Yes x2	No
USB-C	Yes	No
Total	10	4

Alienware X17 R1 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the M2 MacBook Air. It has nine versus two commonly used ports and slots on the M2 MacBook Air.

Ports	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
headphone jack	Yes	Yes
HDMI	Yes	No
microSD card slot	Yes	No
Mini DisplayPort	Yes	No
power port	Yes	No
RJ-45	Yes	No
Thunderbolt 3	No	Yes
Thunderbolt 4	Yes	No
USB-A	Yes	No
USB-C	Yes	No

M2 MacBook Air Pros

Reasons that M2 MacBook Air is better than Alienware X17 R1.

2022 vs. 2021

M2 MacBook Air weighed 2.7 pounds, 60% lighter than the 6.65 pounds Alienware X17 R1.

Weight	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Pound	6.65 lbs.	2.7 lbs.
Kilogram	3.02 kg	1.22 kg

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

Alienware X17 Price
	Alienware X17 R2 VR Ready Gaming Laptop - 17.3-inch FHD 360Hz 1ms Display, Core i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070Ti 8GB GDDR6, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi 6, USB-C, Windows 11 Home - White By Alienware $1,859.99 $2,149.97 13% OFF	See at Amazon
	Dell Alienware X17 R2 Gaming Laptop - 17.3-inch FHD 480Hz Display, Intel Core i9-12900HK, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080Ti 16GB GDDR6, VR Ready, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Home - Lunar Light By Dell $2,089.99	See at Amazon
	Dell Alienware X17 R2 Gaming Laptop (2022) \| 17.3" 4K \| Core i9-2TB SSD - 32GB RAM - RTX 3080 \| Cores - 12th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR6X Win 11 Home By Dell $2,436.27	See at Amazon
M2 MacBook Air Price
	Apple 2022 MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage, Backlit Keyboard, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera. Works with iPhone and iPad; Silver By Apple $849.00 $999.00 15% OFF	See at Amazon
	Apple 2022 MacBook Air M2 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) (QWERTY English) Midnight (Renewed Premium) By Apple $825.00 $869.15 5% OFF	See at Amazon
	Apple 2023 MacBook Air Laptop with M2 chip: 15.3-inch Liquid Retina Display, 8GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, 1080p FaceTime HD Camera, Touch ID. Works with iPhone/iPad; Midnight By Apple $1,159.93 $1,299.00 11% OFF	See at Amazon

Availability	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Released	2021	2022
Release Date	Available on June 1, 2021	Announced on June 6, 2022 (WWDC 2022)
Pricing	$2,099.99 i7-11800H 16GB 256GB RTX 3060 6GB FHD 165Hz $2,479.99 i7-11800H 16GB 512GB RTX 3070 8GB FHD 165Hz $3,229.99 i7-11800H 32GB 512GB RTX 3080 16GB UHD 120Hz $3,629.99 i9-11980HK 32GB XMP 512GB RTX 3080 16GB UHD 120Hz	$1,199 M2 (8C, 8G) \| 8GB RAM \| 256GB SSD $1,499 M2 (8C, 10G) \| 8GB RAM \| 512GB SSD
Applicable Models	-	MacBook Air (2022) 2022 MacBook Air MacBook Air with M2 chip
Generations	2022 Alienware X17 R2 2021 Alienware X17 R1	2022 M2 MacBook Air 2020 M1 MacBook Air 2020 Intel MacBook Air MacBook Air 13” 2019 MacBook Air 13” 2018 MacBook Air 13” 2017 MacBook Air 13” 2015 MacBook Air 13” 2014 MacBook Air 13” 2013

Exterior	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Dimensions	15.718” x 11.791” x 0.823” (399.23 x 299.49 x 20.9 mm) With FHD 360Hz diplay. 15.718” x 11.791” x 0.843” (399.23 x 299.49 x 21.4 mm) With FHD 165Hz or UHD 120Hz diplay.	11.97 x 8.46 x 0.44 in (304.1 x 215 x 11.3 mm)
Weight	6.65 - 7.05 lbs (3.02 - 3.2 kg)	Starting at 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg)
Colors	Lunar light With High Endurance Clear Coat and Silky - Smooth Finish	Midnight Starlight Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad	Keyboard Alienware X-Series thin keyboard Per-key RGB LED with AlienFX lighting Anti-ghosting and N-key rollover technology. 1.5mm key travel. Touchpad Multi-touch gesture Premium Precision glass touchpad with integrated scrolling. 4.13 x 2.36 in (105 mm x 80 mm) precision touchpad with multi-touch gesture support. Supports AlienFX touchpad.	Backlit Magic Keyboard with: 78 (U.S.) or 79 (ISO) keys including 12 full-height function keys and 4 arrow keys in an inverted-T arrangement Touch ID Ambient light sensor Force Touch trackpad for precise cursor control and pressure-sensing capabilities; enables Force clicks, accelerators, pressure-sensitive drawing, and Multi-Touch gestures

Display	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Size	17.3 Inches	13.6 Inches
Info	17.3” FHD with 165Hz 1920 x 1080 127 PPI ComfortView Plus 3ms response time 300 nits 16:9 100% sRGB 1000:1 Anti-glare WVA 7.2 W 17.3” FHD with 360Hz 1920 x 1080 127 PPI ComfortView Plus NVIDIA G-Sync Advanced Optimus 1ms response time 300 nits 16:9 100% sRGB 800:1 Anti-glare WVA 8.4 W 17.3” UHD with 120Hz 3840 x 2160 255 PPI ComfortView Plus 4ms response time 500 nits 16:9 100% Adobe RGB 1200:1 Anti-glare WVA 12.2 W	Liquid Retina display 13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology. 2560-by-1664 native resolution at 224 pixels per inch with support for 1 billion colors 500 nits brightness Wide color (P3) True Tone technology

Ports	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Image Source: Dell Left (1) 1 x power port Right (1) 1 x headphone jack Headphone/Microphone Back (8) 1 x Thunderbolt 4 40 Gpbs, USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Power Delivery (5V/3A) 1 x USB-C USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Power Delivery (5V/3A) 2 x USB-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), Powershare 1 x HDMI v2.1 1 x Mini DisplayPort v1.4 1 x microSD card slot 1 x RJ-45 2.5 Gbps, Killer E3100	Image Source: Apple Left (3) 2 x Thunderbolt 3 40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), Charging, DisplayPort 1 x MagSafe 3 Magnetic charging port Right (1) 1 x headphone jack Headphone/Microphone

Internal Specs	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Processor	11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11800H 8 cores, 16 threads, 2.30 → 4.60 GHz, 24MB SmartCache, 45W 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-11980HK 8 cores, 16 threads, 3.30 → 5.00 GHz, 24MB SmartCache, 65W	Apple M2 (8C, 8G) 8 cores, 8 threads, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz, Apple M2 (8C, 10G) 8 cores, 8 threads, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz,
Integrated Graphics	11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11800H Intel® UHD Graphics 32 Execution Units, 350 → 1450 MHz 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-11980HK Intel® UHD Graphics 32 Execution Units, 350 → 1450 MHz	Apple M2 (8C, 8G) Apple M2 iGPU 8 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores, Apple M2 (8C, 10G) Apple M2 iGPU 10 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores,
Memory	8 GB 16 GB 32 GB 64GB 3200MHz or 3466MHz Dual-channel DDR4 SDRAM. 2 x SO-DIMM slots. Max 32GB of 3200 MHz DDR4 Memory Max 64GB of 3466 MHz XMP DDR4 Memory	8GB 16GB 24GB unified memory.
Discrete Graphics	NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060 6GB GDDR6 TGP: 115W Dynamic Boost: 15W Max Power: 130W Speed: 1387 → 1702 MHz NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070 8GB GDDR6 TGP: 125W Dynamic Boost: 15W Max Power: 140W Speed: 1215 → 1620 MHz NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080 16GB GDDR6 TGP: 150W Dynamic Boost: 15W Max Power: 165W Speed: 1350 → 1710 MHz * All configurations include 12-phase HyperEfficient graphics voltage regulation.	-
Storage	2 x M.2 2280 slots (Up to 2TB each) Supports RAID-0	256GB 512GB SSD Configurable to 1TB or 2TB
Fans Number	-	-
Cooling Info	-	Passive

Connectivity	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Wi-Fi	Rivet Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675w Triple Band 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz Up to 2400 Mbps WiFi 6 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax	802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth	Bluetooth 5.2	Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
Ethernet	Killer E3100 2.5G Ethernet Controller Transfer rate: 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps	-

Battery	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Size	87 WHr, 6-cell smart lithium-ion battery	52.6 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life	-	Up to 15 hours of wireless web Up to 18 hours of Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply	240W 330W power adapter.	30W USB‑C Power Adapter (included with M2 with 8-core GPU. 35W Dual USB-C Port Compact Power Adapter included with M2 with 10-core GPU and 512GB storage, configurable with M2 with 8-core GPU.

Software	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
OS	Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro Upgradable to Windows 11	Shipped with macOS Monterey
Built-in Apps	Alienware Command Center AlienFX lighting Game Library Auto-tune game profile functionality Fusion Alienware Adrenalin Alienware Mobile Connect Microsoft Office 365 (30-day trial)	Photos iMovie GarageBand Pages Numbers Keynote Siri Safari Mail FaceTime Messages Maps News Stocks Home Voice Memos Notes Calendar Contacts Reminders Photo Booth Preview Music Podcasts TV Books App Store Time Machine Find My QuickTime Player

Camera & Audio	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Camera	Front-facing camera. Alienware HD (1280x720 resolution) camera. Windows Hello IR support.	1080p FaceTime HD camera. Advanced image signal processor with computational video.
Audio	Controller: Realtek ALC3281 7.1 Digital Audio out using HDMI out connection Alienware Sound Center via Alienware Command Center Speakers: 2 x 4W speakers Microphone: Dual-array microphones	Four-speaker sound system Wide stereo sound Support for Spatial Audio when playing music or video with Dolby Atmos on built-in speakers Spatial Audio with dynamic head tracking when using AirPods (3rd generation), AirPods Pro, and AirPods Max Three-mic array with directional beamforming 3.5 mm headphone jack with advanced support for high-impedance headphones

Misc	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
Sensors	Windows Hello IR Camera	Touch ID sensor Ambient light sensor
Security	-	Touch ID sensor Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box	-	MacBook Air 30W or 35W USB‑C Power Adapter USB-C to MagSafe 3 Cable (2 m)
Warranty	1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis	One-year limited warranty.
More	-	Video Support Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at 1 billion colors and: One external display with up to 6K resolution at 60Hz Thunderbolt 3 digital video output Native DisplayPort output over USB‑C VGA, HDMI, DVI, and Thunderbolt 2 output supported using adapters (sold separately)

Key Features	Alienware X17 R1	M2 MacBook Air
At Glance	Released in Mid 2021 16:9 4K UHD 17.3” 2160p 120Hz Weight 6.65 lb 3.02 kg Up to Intel Core i9-11980HK 8C/16T, 3.30 → 5.00 GHz Geekbench 5 1,646 Single Core Geekbench 5 9,677 Multi-Core With integrated Intel® UHD Graphics 32 Execution Units, 350 → 1450 MHz Upgradable up to 64GB 3466 MHz DDR4 XMP Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 16GB GDDR6 150W TGP	Released in Mid 2022 16:10 QHD 13.6” 1664p 60Hz Weight 2.7 lb 1.22 kg Up to Apple M2 (8C, 10G) 8C/8T, 2.42 → 3.48 GHz Geekbench 5 1,933 Single Core Geekbench 5 8,819 Multi-Core With integrated Apple M2 iGPU 10 GPU Cores, 16 Neural Engine Cores Configurable up to 24GB Unified Memory Starting at $1,199 M2 (8 GPU), 8GB, 256GB SSD New MagSafe 3 Charging port Supports Fast Charging 50% in 30 mins with 65W charger New 1080p Webcam New Four Speakers Sound System Up to 18 Hours Battery Life Built-in Touch ID Dual USB-C USB4 & Thunderbolt 3 Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.0