Alienware M15 R5 vs. Surface Go 3: Full specs comparison

Here is a comparison of the specs between Alienware M15 R5 and Surface Go 3, including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

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Alienware M15 R5 image

Alienware M15 R5

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Surface Go 3 image

Surface Go 3

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Alienware M15 R5 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M15 R5 is better than Surface Go 3.

Much faster CPU performance

AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX inside Alienware M15 R5 has a 388% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i3-10100Y inside Surface Go 3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Alienware M15 R5 - AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX
7,663
Alienware M15 R5 - AMD Ryzen 7-5800H
7,098
Surface Go 3 - Intel Core i3-10100Y
1,570
Surface Go 3 - Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y
1,510
Supports larger memory

Alienware M15 R5 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Go 3. It supports up to 32GB versus 8GB of system memory on the Surface Go 3.

Max system memory size
Alienware M15 R5
32 GB
Surface Go 3
8 GB
Supports faster memory

Alienware M15 R5 supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Go 3. It supports up to 3200MHz versus 1866MHz of system memory on the Surface Go 3.

Memory type and speed
Alienware M15 R5 - DDR4
3,200 MHz
Surface Go 3 - LPDDR3
1,866 MHz
Upgradable memory

Alienware M15 R5 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 Go 3 since it has onboard memory.

MemoryAlienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Slots
x2
Onboard
TypeDDR4LPDDR3
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6 vs. integrated

Upgradable storage

Alienware M15 R5 comes with two M.2 slots that you can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

SlotsAlienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
M.2
Yes x2
Onboard
48% larger display

Alienware M15 R5 has a 15.6-inch screen size 48% larger than the 10.5-inch Surface Go 3.

Display size
Alienware M15 R5
15.6-inch
Surface Go 3
10.5-inch

Surface Go 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface Go 3 is better than Alienware M15 R5.

About 78% lighter

Surface Go 3 weighed 1.2 pounds, 78% lighter than the 5.34 pounds Alienware M15 R5.

WeightAlienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Pound
5.34 lbs.
1.2 lbs.
Kilogram
2.42 kg
0.54 kg

Prices

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

Alienware M15 R5 AMD Ryzen Price
Alienware M17R5 Gaming Laptop - 17.3-inch FHD 480Hz Display, AMD Ryzen 9-6900HX, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GDDR6, Windows 11 Home, 1 Year Support - Dark Side of the Moon, Black
 Alienware M17R5 Gaming Laptop - 17.3-inch FHD 480Hz Display, AMD Ryzen 9-6900HX, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GDDR6, Windows 11 Home, 1 Year Support - Dark Side of the Moon, Black
By Alienware
$1,979.97
See at Amazon
Dell Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition Gaming Laptop (2021) | 15.6" 360Hz FHD | Core Ryzen 7-512GB SSD Hard Drive - 16GB RAM - RTX 3070 | 8 Cores @ 4.4 GHz - 8GB GDDR6 Win 11 Home (Renewed)
 Dell Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition Gaming Laptop (2021) | 15.6" 360Hz FHD | Core Ryzen 7-512GB SSD Hard Drive - 16GB RAM - RTX 3070 | 8 Cores @ 4.4 GHz - 8GB GDDR6 Win 11 Home (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,466.07
See at Amazon
Dell Alienware m17 Ryzen Edition R5 Gaming Laptop (2022) | 17.3" FHD | Core Ryzen 9 - 1TB SSD - 16GB RAM - RTX 3060 | Cores - 12GB GDDR6 Win 11 Home (Renewed)
 Dell Alienware m17 Ryzen Edition R5 Gaming Laptop (2022) | 17.3" FHD | Core Ryzen 9 - 1TB SSD - 16GB RAM - RTX 3060 | Cores - 12GB GDDR6 Win 11 Home (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,090.99
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5” Price
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
 Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$477.00
$629.99 24% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
 Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Pentium® Gold - 4GB Memory - 64GB eMMC - Device Only - Platinum (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$224.95
$399.99 44% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
 Microsoft Surface Go 3 - 10.5" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i3 - 8GB Memory - 128GB SSD - Device Only - Black (Latest Model)
By Microsoft
$500.00
$629.99 21% OFF
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Released20212021
Release DateAnnounced on April 20, 2021
  • Introduced: September 22, 2021
  • Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021
  • Released: October 5, 2021
Pricing-
  • $399 
    Gold 6500Y 4 GB 64 GB WiFi
  • $549
    Gold 6500Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi
  • $629
    i3-10100Y 8 GB 128 GB WiFi
Generations

Exterior

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Dimensions14.02” x 10.73” x 0.47 - 0.76” (356.20 x 272.50 x 12 - 19.25 mm)9.65” x 6.9” x 0.33” (245 mm x 175  mm x 8.3 mm)
Width: 9.65” (245 mm)
Height: 6.9” (175 mm)
Thickness: 0.33” (8.3 mm)
Weight5.34 - 5.93 lbs (2.42 - 2.69 kg)
  • Surface Go 3: 1.2 lbs (544 g)
  • Surface Go 3 Keyboard: 0.55 lbs (249 g)
ColorsDark Side of the Moon with High Endurance Clear Coat and Silky Smooth Finish
Platinum
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard
    • Alienware mSeries 4-Zone AlienFX RGB keyboard.
    • RGB per-key backlit Cherry mechanical keyboard.
    • AlienFX lighting
    • Includes anti-ghosting and N-key rollover technology
    • 1.8mm key travel
    • 0.2mm-dish concave key design
  • Touchpad
    • 4.13 x 2.36 in (105 mm x 80 mm) precision touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.
  • Surface Go Type Cover
    • Not included
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1 mm of key travel.
  • Trackpad:
    • Precision glass trackpad.
    • Trackpad size: 101 mm x 56 mm
    • Supports a five-finger multitouch gesture.

Display

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Size15.6 Inches10.5 Inches
Info
  • 15.6” FHD with 165Hz
    1920 x 1080 141 PPI 9ms response time 300 nits 16:9 100% sRGB color gamut 1000:1 Anti-glare WVA 6W
  • 15.6” FHD with 360Hz
    1920 x 1080 141 PPI 5ms response time 300 nits 16:9 100% sRGB color gamut 1000:1 Anti-glare WVA 8W
  • 15.6” QHD with 240Hz
    2560 x 1440 188 PPI 9ms response time 400 nits 16:9 99% DCI-P3 color gamut 1000:1 Anti-glare WVA 10W
  • Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (2.45M Pixels)
  • Density: 220 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Contrast ratio: 1500:1
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3

Ports

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Alienware M15 R5 Ports
Image Source: Dell
  • 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with DisplayPort
  • 2 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 Port
  • 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port with PowerShare
  • 1 x RJ-45
  • 1 x HDMI 2.1
    Supports up to 4K@120Hz display out.
  • 1 x Headset port
  • 1 x Power/DC-in Port
Surface Go 3 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Right (3)
  • 1 x USB-C
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x Surface Connect
    Charging, Docking
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x Surface Go Type Cover Connector
Under Kickstand (1)
  • 1 x microSD card slot

Internal Specs

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Processor
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 3.20 → 4.40 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 16MB L3 Cache, 45W
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX
    8 cores, 16 threads, 3.30 → 4.60 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 16MB L3 Cache, 45W
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.10 → 3.40 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
    2 cores, 4 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 5W
Integrated Graphics
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    8 Graphics Cores, 2000 MHz
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    8 Graphics Cores, 2100 MHz
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Pentium® Gold 6500Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 615
    23 Execution Units, 300 → 900 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-10100Y
    Intel® UHD Graphics 615
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Memory
8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
3200MHz Dual-channel DDR4 SDRAM.
2 x SO-DIMM slots.
4GB 8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti
    4GB GDDR6 VRAM.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060
    6GB GDDR6 VRAM.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070
    8GB GDDR6 VRAM.
-
Storage2 x M.2 2230/2280 slots (Up to 2TB each)
  • 64GB
    eMMC
  • 128GB
    SSD

Connectivity

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Wi-FiRivet Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650x
Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz Up to 2400 Mbps WiFi 6 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
BluetoothBluetooth 5.2Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
EthernetGigabit Ethernet Controller
Transfer rate: 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps
-
More-LTE version coming soon.

Battery

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Size
  • 56 WHr, 3-cell smart lithium-ion battery
  • 86 WHr, 6-cell smart lithium-ion battery
  • 28Wh 
    Nominal battery capacity.
  • 26.8Wh 
    Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life-Up to 11 hours of typical device usage
Power Supply
180W 240W
power adapter.		24W proprietary Surface Connect power supply

Software

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Windows 11 Home in S-mode
Built-in Apps
  • Alienware Command Center
    Supports AlienFX lighting, Game
    Library with auto-tune game profile functionality.
  • Alienware Adrenalin
  • Alienware Mobile Connect
  • Microsoft Office 365 (30-day trial)
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial
  • Microsoft 365 Family one month trial

Camera & Audio

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
CameraFront-facing camera
Alienware HD (1280x720 resolution) camera.
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p full HD video
Audio
  • Controller: Realtek ALC3254
    • 7.1 Digital Audio out using HDMI out connection
    • Alienware Sound Center via Alienware Command Center
  • Speakers:
    • 2 x 2W speakers
  • Microphone:
    • Dual-array microphones
  • Enhanced dual far-field Studio Mics
  • 2W stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™

Misc

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
Inking-Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP)
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
magnetic storage
Sensors-
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
Security-
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
In the box-
  • Surface Go 3
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty-
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
More-
  • Mechanical features: Signature unibody magnesium design with hidden perimeter venting
  • Kickstand with a full-friction multiposition hinge to 165 degrees
  • Magnetic attach for keyboard fold stability
  • Physical buttons: volumes, power
  • Casing: Magnesium

Key Features

Alienware M15 R5Surface Go 3
At Glance
Released in Early
2021
16:9 QHD
15.6”
1440p 240Hz
Weight
5.34 lb
2.42 kg
Up to
AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX
8C/16T, 3.30 → 4.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,416
Single Core
Geekbench 5
7,663
Multi-Core
With integrated
AMD Radeon™ Graphics
8 Graphics Cores, 2100 MHz
Upgradable up to
32GB
3200 MHz DDR4
Alienware M15 R5 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3070
8GB GDDR6
Released in Late
2021
3:2 FHD+
10.5”
1280p 60Hz
Weight
1.2 lb
0.54 kg
Up to
Intel Core i3-10100Y
2C/4T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
799
Single Core
Geekbench 5
1,570
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 615
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
Configurable up to
8GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Go 3 Ports
Starting at
$399
Gold 6500Y, 4GB, 64GB eMMC
Supports
Surface Pen
4096 Levels, Tilt sensing, Magnetic Storage.
Up to
11 Hours
Battery Life
Built-in
IR Camera
For Face Unlock
Optional
4G LTE
Wi-Fi 6

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