Alienware M15 R3 vs. M1 MacBook Pro 13”: Full specs comparison

We have comprehensively compared the specifications for the Alienware M15 R3 and M1 MacBook Pro 13” models. The report includes detailed information regarding both models' CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

Alienware M15 R3 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M15 R3 is better than M1 MacBook Pro 13”.

Supports larger memory

Alienware M15 R3 supports a larger memory capacity than the M1 MacBook Pro 13”. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the M1 MacBook Pro 13”.

Max system memory size
Alienware M15 R3
32 GB
M1 MacBook Pro 13”
16 GB
Supports discrete graphics

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

Upgradable storage

Alienware M15 R3 comes with three M.2 slots that you can easily upgrade and install additional SSDs to expand the storage on the device.

SlotsAlienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
M.2
Yes x3
Onboard
17% larger display

Alienware M15 R3 has a 15.6-inch screen size 17% larger than the 13.3-inch M1 MacBook Pro 13”.

Display size
Alienware M15 R3
15.6-inch
M1 MacBook Pro 13”
13.3-inch

M1 MacBook Pro 13” Pros

Reasons that M1 MacBook Pro 13” is better than Alienware M15 R3.

Slightly faster CPU performance

Apple M1 (8C, 8G) inside M1 MacBook Pro 13” has a 5% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i9-10980HK inside Alienware M15 R3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
M1 MacBook Pro 13” - Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
7,414
Alienware M15 R3 - Intel Core i9-10980HK
7,013
Alienware M15 R3 - Intel Core i7-10750H
5,412
Alienware M15 R3 - Intel Core i5-10300H
3,747
About 34% lighter

M1 MacBook Pro 13” weighed 3.1 pounds, 34% lighter than the 4.65 pounds Alienware M15 R3.

WeightAlienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Pound
4.65 lbs.
3.1 lbs.
Kilogram
2.11 kg
1.41 kg

Prices

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

Alienware M15 R3 Price
Dell Alienware m15 R3 Gaming Laptop (2020) | 15.6" FHD | Core i7-512GB SSD Hard Drive - 16GB RAM - 2070 Super | 6 Cores @ 5 GHz - 10th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR6 Win 11 Pro
Dell Alienware m15 R3 Gaming Laptop (2020) | 15.6" FHD | Core i7-512GB SSD Hard Drive - 16GB RAM - 2070 Super | 6 Cores @ 5 GHz - 10th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR6 Win 11 Pro
By Dell
$1,913.06
Dell Alienware m15 R3 Gaming Laptop (2020) | 15.6" FHD | Core i7-2TB SSD Hard Drive + 2TB SSD - 16GB RAM - 2070 Super | 6 Cores @ 5 GHz - 10th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR6 Win 11 Pro
Dell Alienware m15 R3 Gaming Laptop (2020) | 15.6" FHD | Core i7-2TB SSD Hard Drive + 2TB SSD - 16GB RAM - 2070 Super | 6 Cores @ 5 GHz - 10th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR6 Win 11 Pro
By Dell
$2,155.30
Dell Alienware m15 R3 Gaming Laptop (2020) | 15.6" FHD | Core i7-2TB SSD Hard Drive + 2TB SSD - 16GB RAM - 2070 Super | 6 Cores @ 5 GHz - 10th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR6 Win 10 Pro
Dell Alienware m15 R3 Gaming Laptop (2020) | 15.6" FHD | Core i7-2TB SSD Hard Drive + 2TB SSD - 16GB RAM - 2070 Super | 6 Cores @ 5 GHz - 10th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR6 Win 10 Pro
By Dell
$2,149.36
M1 MacBook Pro 13” Price
2020 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) Space Gray (Renewed)
2020 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$680.00
2020 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
2020 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip (13-inch, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD Storage) - Silver (Renewed)
By Apple
$686.00
$719.28 5% OFF
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
Late 2020 Apple MacBook Pro with Apple M1 Chip (13.3 inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) Space Gray (Renewed)
By Apple
$876.11
$975.23 10% OFF

Availability

Alienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Released20202020
Release DateAvailable on May 2020Announced on November 10th, 2020
PricingStarting at $1,499.99
  • $1,299
    Apple M1 Chip | 8GB RAM | 256GB SSD
  • $1,499
    Apple M1 Chip | 8GB RAM | 512GB SSD
Generations

Exterior

Alienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
DimensionsBase
Width: 14.19 in. (360.30 mm)
Depth: 10.87 in. (276.20 mm)
Height: 0.72 - 0.78 in. (18.30 - 19.70 mm)
300 Hz Refresh Rate Models
Width: 14.19 in. (360.30 mm)
Depth: 10.86 in. (275.90 mm)
Height: 0.70 - 0.78 in. (17.90 - 19.70 mm)
11.97” x 8.36” x 0.61” (304.1 mm x 212.4 mm x 15.6 mm)
WeightStarting at 4.65 lbs (2.10 kg) up to 5.51 lbs (2.50 kg)Starting at 3.1 pounds (1.4 kg)
Colors
  • Dark Side of the Moon with High Endurance Clear Coat
  • Lunar Light with High Endurance Clear Coat
Space Gray Silver
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard
    • Alienware mSeries 4-Zone AlienFX RGB keyboard.
    • Alienware mSeries keyboard with per-key RGB LED.
  • AlienFX lighting
  • Includes anti-ghosting and N-key rollover technology
  • 1.7mm key travel
  • 0.2mm-dish concave key design
  • 4.13 x 2.36 in (105 mm x 80 mm) precision touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.
Backlit Magic Keyboard with:
  • 65 (U.S.) or 66 (ISO) keys including 4 arrow keys in an inverted‑T arrangement
  • Touch Bar
  • Touch ID sensor
  • 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 M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Size15.6 Inches13.3 Inches
InfoFull HD with 144Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 7ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% NTSC  color gamut, Anti-glare.
Full HD with 144Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 7ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% NTSC color gamut with NVIDIA G-SYNC Technology, Anti-glare.
Full HD with 300Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 3ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 100% sRGB color gamut, Anti-glare.
Ultra HD with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 3180 x 2160, OLED, 282 PPI, 1ms response time, 400 nits, 16:9, HDR-400 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 100,000:1 contrast ratio, TrueLife, 14.80W max power consumption
  • Tobii Eyetracking technology
All options
  • Wide Viewing Angles on all displays with 85 degrees viewing from all directions
Retina display
  • 13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology; 2560-by-1600 native resolution at 227 pixels per inch with support for millions of colors
  • Supported scaled resolutions:
    • 1680 by 1050
    • 1440 by 900
    • 1024 by 640
  • 16:10 aspect ratio
  • 500 nits brightness
  • Supports wide color (P3)
  • True Tone technology

Ports

Alienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Alienware M15 R3 Ports
Image Source: Dell
  • 1 x Power/DC-in Port
  • 1 x RJ-45 Killer™ Ethernet E3000 10/100/1000Mbps/2.5Gbps Port
  • 2 x Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 1 Port
  • 1 x Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 1 port with PowerShare technology
  • 1 x Thunderbolt™ 3 Port (USB Type-C™ with support for USB 3.1 Gen 2 10Gbps, 40Gbps Thunderbolt, and DisplayPort 1.2)
  • 1 x Alienware Graphics Amplifier Port
  • 1 x HDMI 2.0b with HDCP 2.2 Output Port
  • 1 x Mini-Display Port 1.4 (certified) Output Port
  • 1 x Audio Out 1/8" Ports (Compatible with inline mic headset)
  • 1 x Wedge-shaped lock slot (cable and lock sold separately)
  • 1 x microSD 5.1, UHD-II HD312 Card Reader
M1 MacBook Pro 13” Ports
Image Source: Apple
Left (2)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort, Charging
Right (1)
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone

Internal Specs

Alienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.50 → 4.50 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 5.00 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10980HK
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.40 → 5.30 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
  1. Apple M1
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.20 GHz, 10W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10980HK
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
  1. Apple M1
    Apple M1 iGPU
    8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Memory
8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
2666 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
Onboard memory.
  • 8GB
    4266 MHz LPDDR4X onboard memory
  • Configurable to 16GB
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1650 Ti (4GB GDDR6)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1660 Ti (6GB GDDR6)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 (6GB GDDR6) OC Ready
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 (8GB GDDR6)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 SUPER (8GB GDDR6)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2080 SUPER (8GB GDDR6) with Max-Q Design
  • AMD RX5500M (4GB GDDR6)
-
StorageAvailable Slots
  • One M.2 2230 slot (Up to 512GB)
  • Two M.2 2230/2280 slots (Up to 2TB each)
Single Drive
  • 256 GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512 GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 1 TB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 2 TB PCIe M.2 SSD
RAID-0
  • 512GB (2x256 PCIe M.2 SSD) RAID0
  • 1TB (2x 512 PCIe M.2 SSD) RAID0
  • 2TB (2x 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD) RAID0
  • 4TB (2x 2TB PCIe M.2 SSD) RAID0
RAID-0 Plus
  • 1TB (2x 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD) RAID0 [Boot] + 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD [Storage]
  • 2TB (2x 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD) RAID0 [Boot] + 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD [Storage]
  • 4TB (2x 2TB PCIe M.2 SSD) RAID0 [Boot] + 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD [Storage]
  • 256GB 512GB
    SSD
  • Configurable to 1TB or 2TB

Connectivity

Alienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Wi-Fi
  • Rivet Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz up to 2400 Mbps, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax.
  • 802.11ax Wi‑Fi 6 wireless networking
  • IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac compatible
Bluetooth
  • Rivet Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 › Bluetooth 5.1
Bluetooth 5.0 wireless technology
Ethernet
  • Killer™ Ethernet E3000 PCI-e Gigabit ethernet controller
    Transfer rate: 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps
-

Battery

Alienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Size
  • 56 WHr, 3-cell smart lithium-ion
  • 86 WHr, 6-cell smart lithium-ion
58.2 Wh lithium‑polymer battery
Battery Life-
  • Up to 17 hours wireless web
  • Up to 20 hours Apple TV app movie playback
Power Supply
  • E4 130W (19.50 VDC/6.70A)
  • E4 180W (19.50 VDC/9.23A)
  • E4 240W (19.50 VDC/12.31A)
* Support Hybrid Power
61W USB‑C Power Adapter

Software

Alienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Shipped with macOS Big Sur
Built-in Apps
  • Alienware Command Center
  • Alienware Adrenlin
  • 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 M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Camera
  • Front-facing camera
    Alienware FHD (1920x1080 resolution) camera.
720p FaceTime HD camera
Audio
  • Controller: Realtek ALC3281-CG
    • 7.1 Digital Audio out using HDMI out connection
    • Alienware Sound Center via Alienware Command Center
  • Speakers:
    • 4-Way (Woofer/Tweeter) Stereo Speaker Design
    • Output: 4-5W
    • Introduces Discrete Smart Amp Woofer technology
    • Delivers 2.5x bass improvement over the previous generation
    • Delivers 2x treble improvement over the previous generation
    • Delivers 30% loudness improvement over the previous generation for full-range performance
  • Microphone:
    • Digital-array microphones in camera assembly
  • Stereo speakers with high dynamic range
  • Wide stereo sound
  • Support for Dolby Atmos playback
  • Studio-quality three-mic array with directional beamforming
  • 3.5 mm headphone jack

Misc

Alienware M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
Sensors
  • Tobii Eyetracking technology (optional)
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Ambient light sensor
Security
  • Wedge-shaped lock slot
  • Touch ID sensor
  • Apple T2 Security Chip
In the box-
  • MacBook Pro 13”
  • 61W USB‑C Power Adapter
  • USB-C Charge Cable (2 m)
Warranty-Your MacBook Pro comes with 90 days of complimentary technical support and a one-year limited warranty. Purchase AppleCare+ for Mac to extend your coverage to three years from your AppleCare+ purchase date and add up to two incidents of accidental damage coverage, each subject to a service fee of $99 for screen damage or external enclosure damage, or $299 for other repairable damage, plus applicable tax.
MoreCHASIS
  • Based on Alienware's Legend industrial design language
  • Engineered with Alienware's Advanced Cryo-Tech Cooling technology
  • Engineered with HyperEfficient Voltage Regulation
  • Constructed with a Magnesium Alloy exterior shell and copper alloy thermal components
Video Support
  • Simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display at millions of 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 M15 R3M1 MacBook Pro 13”
At Glance
Released in Mid
2020
16:9 FHD
15.6”
1080p 300Hz
Weight
4.65 lb
2.11 kg
Up to
Intel Core i9-10980HK
8C/16T, 2.40 → 5.30 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,223
Single Core
Geekbench 5
7,013
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
2666 MHz DDR4
Alienware M15 R3 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 2080 SUPER
8GB GDDR6 with Max-Q
Released in Late
2020
16:10 WQXGA
13.3”
1600p 60Hz
Weight
3.1 lb
1.41 kg
Powered By
Apple M1 (8C, 8G)
8C/8T, 3.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,705
Single Core
Geekbench 5
7,414
Multi-Core
With integrated
Apple M1 iGPU
8 Graphics Cores, 1280 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
Unified Memory
M1 MacBook Pro 13” Ports

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