MSI GP66 Leopard vs Dell Alienware m17 R4 Comparison

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MSI GP66 Leopard

15.6 inches | January 2021

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Dell Alienware m17 R4

17.3 inches | January 2021

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MSI GP66 Leopard vs Dell Alienware m17 R4 Comparison Overview

MSI GP66 Leopard

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Dell Alienware m17 R...

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MSI GP66 Leopard

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Dell Alienware m17 R...

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In this review, we will be comparing GP66 Leopard and Alienware m17 R4, two laptops from MSI and Dell. MSI GP66 Leopard was introduced to market in January 2021 and Dell Alienware m17 R4 was launched in January 2021. Both GP66 Leopard and Alienware m17 R4 were launched within the same month so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and available technology level.

Click for Available Configurations of the Laptops

Here is a brief look at the main features of MSI GP66 Leopard and Dell Alienware m17 R4 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

MSI GP66 Leopard Key Specs

Launched in January 2021
15.6" IPS LCD, 16:9 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i7 10750H
GPU: GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile 6GB
16GB Ram
358 x 267 x 23.4 mm (14.09 x 10.51 x 0.92 inches)
Weight: 2.38 kg (5.25 lbs)

Dell Alienware m17 R4 Key Specs

Launched in January 2021
17.3" IPS LCD, 16:9 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i7 10870H
GPU: GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile 6GB
16GB Ram
399.8 x 294.6 x 16.9-22 mm (15.74 x 11.6 x 0.67-0.87 inches)
Weight: 2.5 kg (5.51 lbs)

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how GP66 Leopard and Alienware m17 R4 compares and decide which one is better for you.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose MSI GP66 Leopard over Dell Alienware m17 R4

Weight	2.38 kg vs 2.50 kg	0.12 kg lighter
Screen-to-Body Ratio	~70.2% vs ~70%	Larger screen area ratio
Side Bezel Thickness	6.3 mm vs 8.4 mm	2.1 mm thinner bezels
Screen PPI	141 ppi vs 127 ppi	More pixels per inch
Screen Type	Matte vs Glossy	potentially less reflections on screen
Max Brightness	380 nits vs 300 nits	Brighter Screen
Max Total RAM	64 GB vs 32 GB	Higher RAM potential
RAM BUS	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)	Faster RAM
Bluetooth	v5.2 vs v5.1	More advanced Bluetooth connectivity

Reasons to choose Dell Alienware m17 R4 over MSI GP66 Leopard

Display Size	17.3 inches vs 15.6 inches	Larger Screen Estate
Noise Level	50 dB vs 53 dB	Less fan noise
sRGB Color Space	100% vs 95.8%	Wider sRGB Color Space Coverage
Response Time	7 ms vs 12 ms	Faster Response screen
Speaker Loudness	87 dB vs 85.5 dB	Generates higher sound levels
Thunderbolt	v3 vs No	Support audio, data, power and video all through one single port
Display Port	Yes vs No	Option to use Display port to connect to external monitors
SD Card Reader	Yes vs No	Read & Write SD Cards with the built-in reader
Numeric Pad	Yes vs No	Fast way to input numbers

Common Strengths of Dell Alienware m17 R4 and MSI GP66 Leopard

Fast Charging Support	Yes vs Yes	Charge the battery in a shorter time
Upgradable RAM	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the RAM size
RAM Type	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)	Fast RAM type
Upgradable Storage	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the Storage size
SSD Type	NVMe vs NVMe	Faster Data Transfers
Wi-Fi Standard	v6E vs v6	Fast and Reliable Wi-Fi Connections
Bluetooth Standard	v5.2 vs v5.1	Fast and Reliable Bluetooth Connections
HDMI Output	1x HDMI 2.1 vs 1x HDMI 2.1	Connect to External Displays via HDMI cable
VGA Output	No vs No	Connect to External Displays via VGA cable
Ethernet RJ45 Port	Yes vs Yes	Fast connection to Network via ethernet cable
Keyboard Backlight	Yes vs Yes	Easily see the keys under low light

Common Weaknesses of Dell Alienware m17 R4 and MSI GP66 Leopard

Touchscreen Capability	No vs No	No Touchscreen Capability
HDR Support	No vs No	No HDR Support
Fingerprint Sensor	No vs No	No fingerprint login feature

MSI GP66 Leopard vs Dell Alienware m17 R4: Physical Specs Comparison

In this section, we will be comparing the physical specifications and body features of the MSI GP66 Leopard and the Dell Alienware m17 R4.

Physical Specs
Weight	2.38 kg (5.25 lbs)	2.5 kg (5.51 lbs)
Surface Area	956 cm2 (148.1 inches2)	1178 cm2 (182.6 inches2)
Screen to Surface Ratio	~70.2%	~70%
Side Bezel Thickness	~6.3 mm	~8.4 mm
Weight per Inch of Screen	0.15 kg/inch	0.14 kg/inch
	0.33 lbs/inch	0.308 lbs/inch
Colors	Black	White, Gray

Comparison of the MSI GP66 Leopard and the Dell Alienware m17 R4 External Dimensions

Weight

GP66 Leopard weighs 2.38 kg (5.25 lbs), whereas the Alienware m17 R4 weighs 2.5 kg (5.51 lbs). There is a notable difference in weight between these two laptops. However, it's important to consider that comparing their weights directly may not provide a complete picture since they also have different display sizes.

Weight Comparison

MSI GP66 Leopard 2.38 kg

Avg: 15.0-15.9" 1.94 kg

Dell Alienware m17 R4 2.50 kg

Avg: larger than 17.0" 2.77 kg

Thickness Comparison

MSI GP66 Leopard 23.40 mm

Avg: 15.0-15.9" 20.13 mm

Dell Alienware m17 R4 16.90 mm

Avg: larger than 17.0" 24.42 mm

Another value that we use for comparing the weights of the laptops is the Weight per Inch of Screen, which is calculated by dividing the total weight of the model with its usable diagonal screen size. This value for the MSI GP66 Leopard is 0.15 kg/inch.In comparison, this value for the Dell Alienware m17 R4 is 0.14 kg/inch.Here are some of the best performing laptops in this area:

Microsoft Surface Go 4: 0.05 kg/inch
LG Gram SuperSlim 15.6 2023: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus ProArt PZ13 HT5306: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus Zenbook A14 UX3407: 0.06 kg/inch
Microsoft Surface Pro 12: 0.06 kg/inch
Dell Latitude 7330: 0.07 kg/inch
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2022: 0.07 kg/inch

MSI GP66 Leopard vs Dell Alienware m17 R4: Internals (CPU, GPU, RAM, Battery, SSD, etc.) Comparison

CPU Comparison

CPU Model	Intel Core i7 10750H Intel Core i7 10870H Intel Core i7 10875H Intel Core i7 11800H	Intel Core i7 10870H Intel Core i9 10980HK
Base Frequency	2.6 GHz	2.2 GHz
Turbo Frequency	5 GHz	5 GHz
Number of Cores	6	8
Number of Threads	12	16
L3 Cache	12 MB	16 MB
Integrated GPU	Intel UHD Graphics 630	Intel UHD Graphics 630
CPU Fabrication Process	14 nm	14 nm

Above you can see the CPU options and the CineBench and GeekBench test scores for both laptops, which gives an idea about what kind of performance difference you may experience between the MSI GP66 Leopard and Dell Alienware m17 R4.

You may also read reviews of latest laptops with the same CPUs and compare them:

Laptops with: Intel Core i7 10750H

Laptops with: Intel Core i7 10870H

GPU Comparison

GPU Model	GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile 6GB GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile 8GB GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 8GB	GeForce RTX 3060 Mobile 6GB GeForce RTX 3070 Mobile 8GB GeForce RTX 3080 Mobile 16GB
Base Clock Frequency	900 MHz	900 MHz
Boost CLock Frequency	1425 MHz	1425 MHz
TGP (Total Graphics Power)	80 W	80 W
Nvidia Optimus	MUX	No, direct
Type	Dedicated	Dedicated
FLOPS	10.94 TFLOPS	10.94 TFLOPS
Memory Size	6 GB	6 GB
Memory Type	GDDR6	GDDR6
Memory Bus	192 bit	192 bit
Memory Speed	1750 MHz 14 Gbps effective	1750 MHz 14 Gbps effective
Shading Units Cores	3840	3840
TMUs	120	120
ROPs	48	48

GPU is as critical as the CPU for graphic heavy applications and the table above gives a picture of how the two GPU compares. FLOPS is a measure of a GPU's performance based on the number of floating-point arithmetic calculations that the processor can perform within a second. MSI GP66 Leopard has a FLOPS value of 13.8 TFLOPS whereas the Dell Alienware m17 R4 ' has a FLOPS value of 13.8 TFLOPS.

RAM Comparison

RAM	16GB 32GB 64GB	16GB 32GB
Memory Bus	2x8 GB	2x8 GB
RAM Clock	3200 MHz	2933 MHz
RAM Type	DDR4	DDR4
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Max RAM Size	64 GB	32 GB
Total Slots	2	2
Memory Bus	PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)	PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)

Both laptops, the GP66 Leopard and the Alienware m17 R4, come with similar RAM capacities of 16 GB, providing comparable performance in memory-intensive tasks.

LOCAL LLM Compatibility Evaluation

This quick guide shows what types of large language models (LLMs) each of these laptops could support, based on their respective hardware specifications. It's meant to help you compare their suitability for running AI models locally.

LLM Category	MSI GP66 Leopard	Dell Alienware m17 R4
Small Models(1-3B):Examples: Phi-2, Qwen-1.8B	✔ Run smoothly.	✔ Run smoothly.
Medium Models(7-8B):Examples: Mistral-7B, Qwen-7B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Large Models(13-30B):Examples: Mixtral, Qwen-14B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Extra-Large Models(65B+):Examples: LLaMA2-70B, Qwen1.5-72B	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.

Note: Optimized (e.g., 4-bit) models may run on limited hardware. Performance depends on runtime and setup.

📌 MoE Models: Some models like Mixtral 8x7B and Qwen3-30B-A3B use a Mixture of Experts (MoE) design, activating only part of the model during inference. This means they can often run efficiently on laptops with 12–16 GB of VRAM when quantized.

BATTERY

BATTERY	65 Wh	86 Wh
Battery Type	Li-Po	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Fast Charging	Yes	Yes
USB Power Delivery	No	No
Charging Port Position	Bottom	Bottom
Charge Power	230 / 240 / 280 W	240 / 330 W
AC Adapter Weight	1062 gramm	1300 gramm

On the other hand, the Alienware m17 R4 features a higher battery capacity of 86 Wh, delivering longer usage time compared to the GP66 Leopard's 65 Wh.

Battery Comparison

MSI GP66 Leopard 65 Wh

Avg: 15.0-15.9" 62.07 Wh

Dell Alienware m17 R4 86 Wh

Avg: larger than 17.0" 77.38 Wh

STORAGE
The Alienware m17 R4 offers a larger max storage capacity of 4 TB, providing more room for storing files and data compared to the GP66 Leopard's storage capacity of 1 TB.

Storage Options	512 GB, 1 TB	256 GB, 512 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB, 4 TB
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Total Slots	2	3
Storage type	SSD (M2)	SSD (M2)
NVMe	Yes	Yes

If your budget allows, we recommend opting for the largest possible disk size, considering the potential increase in storage capacity needs in the future. However, please keep in mind the question 'What will the laptop be used for?' when making this decision. Of course, you can later upgrade the hard disk capacity by getting a larger disk. However, if your laptop has only one disk slot, it may not be as straightforward as a RAM upgrade, where you simply add or replace a module, as moving or cloning files to a new disk may be necessary.

MSI GP66 Leopard vs Dell Alienware m17 R4: Display Comparison

The display is an essential aspect to consider when comparing the MSI GP66 Leopard and Dell Alienware m17 R4 since its is the component that you interact the most and significantly impact the experience.

Screen Area and Dimensions

Now let's look at the comparison of the actual display areas of both laptops below, keeping the bezels around the screens out of the equation. GP66 Leopard has a display size of 15.6".On the other hand, Alienware m17 R4 has a larger17.3" display.The total usable screen area of the GP66 Leopard is 670cm² / 104inch² whereas the Alienware m17 R4's total usable screen area is 825cm² / 128inch².

PPI (Pixels per Inch)
Additionally, the GP66 Leopard features a higher pixel density with 141 pixels per inch (PPI), ensuring sharper image details.

Screen PPI (Pixels Per Inch) Comparison

MSI GP66 Leopard 141 PPI

Avg: 15.0-15.9" 143 PPI

Dell Alienware m17 R4 127 PPI

Avg: larger than 17.0" 142 PPI

Refresh Rate
Both GP66 Leopard and Alienware m17 R4 offer the same refresh rate of 144 Hz.

Furthermore, the Alienware m17 R4 boasts a faster response time of 7.0 ms, reducing motion blur for fast-paced content.

Brightness
The GP66 Leopard offers a higher maximum brightness of 380 nits, delivering a brighter screen.

Brightness Comparison

MSI GP66 Leopard 380 nits

Avg: 15.0-15.9" 319 nits

Dell Alienware m17 R4 300 nits

Avg: larger than 17.0" 376 nits

MSI GP66 Leopard vs Dell Alienware m17 R4 Connectivity Comparison

In terms of connectivity,

Wifi
GP66 Leopard features a more advanced Wi-Fi standard v6E, providing faster and more reliable wireless connections compared to Alienware m17 R4 (v6).

Below, you'll find a Wi-Fi Versions Table, along with their release dates and speeds, to provide a brief overview of its development.

Wi-Fi Versions and Speeds

Standard	Speed	Release Date	Network	Frequency Bands (GHz)
Wi-Fi 7	up to 40 Gbps (5 GB/s)	2023	802.11be	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6E	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2020	802.11ax	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2019	802.11ax	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 5	up to 6.93 Gbps (866.25 MB/s)	2014	802.11ac	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 4	up to 600 Mbps (75 MB/s)	2009	802.11n	2.4, 5

* Please note that the provided transfer rates are maximum theoretical values, and real-life performance may vary based on environmental factors.

USB
Both GP66 Leopard and Alienware m17 R4 feature 3x USB 3.2 USB-A ports.
Both GP66 Leopard and Alienware m17 R4 feature 1x USB 3.2 USB Type-C ports.

Below, you'll find a table of USB ports, along with their release dates and speeds.
To mitigate the confusion caused by generation names, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) suggests using marketing names like USB 5Gbps, USB 10Gbps, and so forth, based on their respective transfer rates.

USB Type and Speeds

USB Type	Version	Speed	Date	Other Features/Explanations
USB4	Gen 4 (2.0)	80 Gbps	2022	Also known as USB 80Gbps
USB4	Gen 3×2	40 Gbps	2019	Also known as USB 40Gbps
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2x2	20 Gbps	2019	Double the data transfer rates of Gen 2
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.1
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.0
USB 3.1	3.1 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2013	Faster data transfer rates
USB 3.0	3.1 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2010	SuperSpeed USB, improved data transfer rates
USB 2.0	2.0	480 Mbps	2000	High-speed data transfer
USB 1.0	1.0	1.5 Mbps	1996	Original USB standard

Thunderbolt
Alienware m17 R4 is equipped with Thunderbolt 3 port. GP66 Leopard does not have Thunderbolt port.

HDMI
Both GP66 Leopard and Alienware m17 R4 feature an HDMI port (1x HDMI 2.1) for connecting to external monitors.

Below, you'll find a comparison table detailing different HDMI versions, including their bandwidth, color depth, maximum resolution, and release dates. This information can be helpful in understanding the capabilities of each HDMI version and choosing the most suitable one for your needs.

HDMI Comparison Table

HDMI Version	Maximum Resolution	Bandwidth (Gbps)	Color Depth (bits)	Release Date
HDMI 2.1-2.1b	7680 x 4320 *(8K)* @ 60p 3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 120p	48.0	48	2017
HDMI 2.0-2.0b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 60p	18.0	48	2013
HDMI 1.4-1.4b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 30p	10.2	48	2009
HDMI 1.3-1.3a	2560 x 1440 @ 60p	10.2	48	2006
HDMI 1.0-1.2a	1920 x 1200 @ 60p	4.95	24	2002

* Please note that the provided resolution values represent the maximum supported resolution, and actual display quality may depend on other factors such as source content and connected devices.

SD Card Reader
Alienware m17 R4 is equipped with an SD Card Reader for easy access to memory cards. GP66 Leopard does not have an SD Card Reader.

Audio Jack
Both GP66 Leopard and Alienware m17 R4 are equipped with a 3.5mm Audio Jack, providing seamless connection to headphones and speakers.

To summarize the connectivity and ports details, please refer to the table below to see them listed.

Connectivity and Ports
WiFi Standard (latest: v7)	v6E	v6
Bluetooth (latest: v5.4)	v5.2	v5.1
USB-A (latest: 3.2)	3x USB 3.2	3x USB 3.2
USB Type-C (latest: USB4 2.0)	1x USB 3.2	1x USB 3.2
Thunderbolt (latest: 5)	No	Thunderbolt 3
HDMI (latest: 2.1)	1x HDMI 2.1	1x HDMI 2.1
Display Port (latest: v2.0)	No	1x v1.4
VGA	No	No
Fingerprint Sensor	No	No
Optical Drive	No	No
Audio Jack 3.5mm	Yes	Yes
Ethernet RJ45	Yes	Yes
SD CardReader	No	Yes
Proprietary Charging Port	Yes	Yes