Alienware M15 R1 vs. Surface Laptop 3: Full specs comparison

Here is a comparison of the specs between Alienware M15 R1 and Surface Laptop 3, including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

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Alienware M15 R1 image

Alienware M15 R1

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Surface Laptop 3

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Alienware M15 R1 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M15 R1 is better than Surface Laptop 3.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-9750H inside Alienware M15 R1 has a 78% better multi-core CPU performance score than the AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition inside Surface Laptop 3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i7-9750H
4,880
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i7-8750H
4,470
Surface Laptop 3 - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Surface Laptop 3 - Intel Core i5-1035G7
3,691
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i5-8300H
3,269
Surface Laptop 3 - AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition
2,741
Surface Laptop 3 - AMD Ryzen 5-3580U Microsoft Surface Edition
2,438
Supports larger memory

Alienware M15 R1 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Laptop 3. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the Surface Laptop 3.

Max system memory size
Alienware M15 R1
32 GB
Surface Laptop 3
16 GB
Upgradable memory

Alienware M15 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 Surface Laptop 3 since it has onboard memory.

MemoryAlienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Slots
x2
Onboard
TypeDDR4LPDDR4X
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8GB GDDR6 with Max-Q vs. integrated

15% larger display

Alienware M15 R1 has a 15.6-inch screen size 15% larger than the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 3.

Display size
Alienware M15 R1
15.6-inch
Surface Laptop 3
13.5-inch

Surface Laptop 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 3 is better than Alienware M15 R1.

Supports faster memory

Surface Laptop 3 supports a faster memory speed than the Alienware M15 R1. It supports up to 3733MHz versus 2666MHz of system memory on the Alienware M15 R1.

Memory type and speed
Surface Laptop 3 - LPDDR4X
3,733 MHz
Alienware M15 R1 - DDR4
2,666 MHz
About 43% lighter

Surface Laptop 3 weighed 2.79 pounds, 43% lighter than the 4.85 pounds Alienware M15 R1.

WeightAlienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Pound
4.85 lbs.
2.79 lbs.
Kilogram
2.20 kg
1.27 kg

Prices

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

Alienware M15 R1 Price
Alienware X15R1 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) 360Hz 1ms Display, Intel Core i7-11800H Processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 DDR6 Graphics, Windows 11 Home- Lunar Light
 Alienware X15R1 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch FHD (1920x1080) 360Hz 1ms Display, Intel Core i7-11800H Processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 DDR6 Graphics, Windows 11 Home- Lunar Light
By Alienware
$1,769.99
$1,899.97 7% OFF
See at Amazon
EbidDealz Replacement for Laptop LCD 15.6" FHD Screen Display Complete Assembly Dell Alienware M15 R1 K8TWT
 EbidDealz Replacement for Laptop LCD 15.6" FHD Screen Display Complete Assembly Dell Alienware M15 R1 K8TWT
By Generic
$199.99
See at Amazon
Dell Alienware m16 R1 Gaming Laptop 2023 16” WQXGA 2560 x 1600 IPS 240 Hertz Intel Core i7-13700HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 32GB DDR5 1TB SSD Thunderbolt 4 Windows 11 Home
 Dell Alienware m16 R1 Gaming Laptop 2023 16” WQXGA 2560 x 1600 IPS 240 Hertz Intel Core i7-13700HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 32GB DDR5 1TB SSD Thunderbolt 4 Windows 11 Home
By Dell
$1,999.00
See at Amazon
Surface Laptop 3 Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$299.00
$319.00 6% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive (Latest Model) – Platinum with Alcantara (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive (Latest Model) – Platinum with Alcantara (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$385.00
$452.86 15% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5 Inch Touch-Screen 256GB SSD i5 8GB with Windows 10 Pro (WiFi, 1.2GHz Quad-Core i5) Black (Metal) PKU-00022 (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5 Inch Touch-Screen 256GB SSD i5 8GB with Windows 10 Pro (WiFi, 1.2GHz Quad-Core i5) Black (Metal) PKU-00022 (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$315.00
$339.00 7% OFF
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Released20192019
Release Date
  • Announced at CES 2019
  • Available on January 29, 2019
  • Introduced: October 2, 2019 (Microsoft October Event)
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2019
  • Released: October 22, 2019
PricingStarting at $1,379.99
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) › Starting at 999$
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”) › Starting at 1,199$
Generations-

Exterior

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Dimensions14.27 x 10.85 x 0.70 - 0.78 in (362 x 275 x 17.90 - 19.99 mm)
Width: 14.27 in. (362 mm)
Depth: 10.85 in. (275 mm)
Height: 0.70 - 0.78 in. (17.90 - 19.99 mm)
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    12.1” x 8.8” x 0.57” (308 mm x 223 mm x 14.5 mm).
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    13.4” x 9.6” x 0.57” (339.5 mm x 244 mm x 14.69 mm).
WeightStarting at 4.85 lbs (2.20 kg)
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    • 2.84 lb (1,288 g)
      Sandstone and Matte Black
    • 2.79 lb (1,265 g)
      Cobalt Blue and Platinum
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    • 3.40 lb (1,542 g)
Colors
  • Epic Silver
  • Nebula Red
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    • Metal
      Matte Black Sandstone
    • Alcantara
      Matte Black Platinum
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    • Metal
      Matte Black Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Alienware AlienFX mSeries Keyboard with Alphanumeric Keys
  • 4.13 x 2.56 in (105 mm x 65 mm) precision touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Size15.6 Inches13.5 Inches
InfoFull HD with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 35ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 700:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 6.20W max power consumption.
Full HD with 144Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 19ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 800:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 7.80W max power consumption.
Full HD with 240Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 8ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 1000:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 4.41W max power consumption.
Ultra HD with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 3180 x 2160, 282 PPI, 300 nits, 16:9, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 5.15W max power consumption
Ultra HD OLED with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 3180 x 2160, 282 PPI, 1ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, HDR-400 DCI-P3 color gamut, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, TrueLife, 14.80W max power consumption
All options
  • Wide Viewing Angles on all displays with 85 degrees viewing from all directions
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    • Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (3.4M Pixels)
    • Pixel Per Inch: 201
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    • Resolution: 2496 x 1664 (4.15M Pixels)
    • Pixel Per Inch: 201
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
  • 10nm Oleophobic Coating
  • 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated

Ports

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Alienware M15 R1 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (4)
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x RJ-45
    1 Gbps, Killer E2500
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 1 x lock slot
Right (2)
  • 2 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
Back (5)
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, DisplayPort
  • 1 x Alienware Graphics Amplifier port
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x power port
Surface Laptop 3 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2
    Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort.
  • 1 x Surface Connect™
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 1 x Headset jack

Internal Specs

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Processor
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.20 → 4.10 GHz, 9MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.70 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.10 → 3.70 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 4MB L3 Cache, 15W
  4. AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 4MB L3 Cache, 15W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1000 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    Radeon™ Vega 9 Graphics
    9 Graphics Cores, 1300 MHz
  4. AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics
    11 Graphics Cores, 1400 MHz
Memory
8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
2666 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
2 x SODIMM slots
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    • 8GB 16GB
      3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    • 8GB 16GB
      2400 MHz DDR4 RAM
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1060 (6GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1070 (8GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1660 Ti (6GB GDDR6)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 (6GB GDDR6) OC Ready
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 (8GB GDDR6) with Max-Q Design
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2080 (8GB GDDR6) with Max-Q Design
-
StorageSingle Storage Configurations
  • 256 GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512 GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512 GB Intel Optane M.2 SSD
  • 1 TB PCIe M.2 SSD
Dual Storage Configurations
  • 128GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD
Triple Storage Configurations
  • 256GB SSD M.2+256GB SSD M.2+1TB HDD
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Removable M.2 NVMe SSD

Connectivity

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Wi-Fi
  • Qualcomm QCA61x4A (DW1820)
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz up to 867 Mbps, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
  • Rivet killer 1550
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz up to 1733 Mbps, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”) Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
Bluetooth
  • Qualcomm QCA61x4A (DW1820) › Bluetooth 4.2
  • Rivet Killer 1550 › Bluetooth 5.0
  • Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
Ethernet
  • Killer E2500 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
-

Battery

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Size
  • 4-cell smart lithium-ion (60 Wh)
  • 6-cell smart lithium-ion (90Wh)
45.8 Wh
Battery Life
  • Up to 17 hours on idle with 90Wh battery.
Up to 11.5 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply
  • 130W (19.50 VDC/6.70A)
  • 180W (19.50 VDC/9.23A)
* Support Hybrid Power
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)

Software

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Built-in Apps
  • Alienware Command Center
  • Alienware Adrenlin
  • Alienware Mobile Connect
  • Microsoft Office 365 (30-day trial)
Microsoft Office 365 30-days trial

Camera & Audio

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Camera
  • Front-facing camera
    Alienware FHD (1920x1080 resolution) camera.
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
Audio
  • Controller
    Realtek ALC3281-CG.
  • 2.0 Speaker configuration
  • 7.1 Digital Audio out using HDMI out connection
  • Alienware Sound Center and Audio Recon software
  • Microphone
    Digital-array microphones in camera assembly.
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium

Misc

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
Inking-Supports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Sensors-
  • Ambient light sensor
Security-
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box-
  • Surface Laptop 3
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty-
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
MoreCHASIS
  • AlienFX Lighting Zones
    6 unique programmable zones with up to 16.8 million distinct colors (Standard).
Supports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only

Key Features

Alienware M15 R1Surface Laptop 3
At Glance
Released in Early
2019
16:9 FHD
15.6”
1080p 240Hz
Weight
4.85 lb
2.20 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-9750H
6C/12T, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,044
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,880
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
Upgradable up to
32GB
2666 MHz DDR4
Alienware M15 R1 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 2080 SUPER
8GB GDDR6 with Max-Q
Released in
2019
3:2 2.5K
13.5”
1664p 60Hz
Weight
2.79 lb
1.27 kg
Up to
AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition
4C/8T, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
721
Single Core
Geekbench 5
2,741
Multi-Core
With integrated
Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics
11 Graphics Cores, 1400 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Laptop 3 Ports

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