Alienware M17 R3 vs. Surface Duo 2: Full specs comparison

We have comprehensively analyzed the technical specifications for the Alienware M17 R3 and Surface Duo 2 models. Our report includes intricate details such as the CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

Alienware M17 R3 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M17 R3 is better than Surface Duo 2.

Supports larger memory

Alienware M17 R3 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Duo 2. It supports up to 32GB versus 8GB of system memory on the Surface Duo 2.

Max system memory size
Alienware M17 R3
32 GB
Surface Duo 2
8 GB
Supports discrete graphics

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

108% larger display

Alienware M17 R3 has a 17.3-inch screen size 108% larger than the 8.3-inch Surface Duo 2.

Display size
Alienware M17 R3
17.3-inch
Surface Duo 2
8.3-inch

Surface Duo 2 Pros

Reasons that Surface Duo 2 is better than Alienware M17 R3.

Newer manufacturing

2021 vs. 2020

About 91% lighter

Surface Duo 2 weighed 0.62 pounds, 91% lighter than the 6.55 pounds Alienware M17 R3.

WeightAlienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
Pound
6.55 lbs.
0.62 lbs.
Kilogram
2.97 kg
0.28 kg

Prices

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

Alienware M17 R3 Price
Dell m17 R3 17.3 inch FHD Gaming Laptop (Luna Light) Intel Core i7-10750H 10th Gen, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6, Windows 10 Home
Dell m17 R3 17.3 inch FHD Gaming Laptop (Luna Light) Intel Core i7-10750H 10th Gen, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, Nvidia Geforce RTX 2070 8GB GDDR6, Windows 10 Home
By Dell
$1,230.00
2020 Dell Alienware m17 R3 Laptop 17.3" - Intel Core i7 10th Gen - i7-10750H - Six Core 5Ghz - 256GB SSD + 256GB SSD - 20GB RAM - 1920x1080 FHD - Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
2020 Dell Alienware m17 R3 Laptop 17.3" - Intel Core i7 10th Gen - i7-10750H - Six Core 5Ghz - 256GB SSD + 256GB SSD - 20GB RAM - 1920x1080 FHD - Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,592.99
2020 Dell Alienware m17 R3 Laptop 17.3" - Intel Core i7 10th Gen - i7-10750H - Six Core 5Ghz - 256GB SSD + 256GB SSD - 16GB RAM - Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 - 1920x1080 FHD - Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
2020 Dell Alienware m17 R3 Laptop 17.3" - Intel Core i7 10th Gen - i7-10750H - Six Core 5Ghz - 256GB SSD + 256GB SSD - 16GB RAM - Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 - 1920x1080 FHD - Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,592.99
Surface Duo 2 Price
Microsoft Surface Duo 256GB (Unlocked) - Glacier
Microsoft Surface Duo 256GB (Unlocked) - Glacier
By Microsoft
$811.19
$1,120.99 28% OFF
Microsoft Surface Duo Bumper 2 - Tangerine
Microsoft Surface Duo Bumper 2 - Tangerine
By Microsoft
$18.95
$39.99 53% OFF
Microsoft 8WV-00001 Surface Slim Pen 2, Black (8WV00001)
Microsoft 8WV-00001 Surface Slim Pen 2, Black (8WV00001)
By Microsoft
$95.95
$129.99 26% OFF

Availability

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
Released20202021
Release Date
  • Available on May 2020
  • Introduced: September 22, 2021
  • Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021
  • Released: October 21, 2021
PricingStarting at $1,549.99
  • $1,499
    8GB 128 GB
  • $1,599
    8GB 256 GB
  • $1,799
    8GB 512 GB
    Obsidian only.
Generations-

Exterior

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
Dimensions15.74 x 11.59 x 0.89 in (399.80 x 294.30 x 22.50 mm)
  • Width: 15.74 in. (399.80 mm)
  • Depth: 11.59 in. (294.30 mm)
  • Height: 0.89 in. (22.50 mm)
  • 7.26 x 5.71 x 0.21 (184.5 mm x 145.2 mm x 5.50 mm)
    Open
  • 3.62 x 5.71 x 0.43 (92.1 mm x 145.2 mm x 11.0 mm) 
    Closed
WeightStarting at 6.55 lb (2.97 kg)0.62 lbs (284 g)
Colors
  • Lunar Light with High Endurance Clear Coat
  • Dark Side of the Moon with High Endurance Clear Coat
Obsidian Glacier
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard
    • Type:
      • 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
    • 1.7 mm key travel and alphanumeric keys
    • 0.2 mm-dish concave key design
  • Touchpad
    • Size: 4.13” x 3.15” (105 mm x 80 mm)
    • Premium Precision-Point glass touchpad
-

Display

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
Size17.3 Inches8.3 Inches
InfoFull HD with 144Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 9ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% NTSC  color gamut, 600:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare.
Full HD with 144Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 9ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% NTSC color gamut with NVIDIA G-SYNC Technology, 600:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare.
Full HD with 300Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 3ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 100% sRGB color gamut, 700:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare.
Ultra HD with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 3180 x 2160, 282 PPI, 25ms response time, 500 nits, 16:9, 100% sRGB color gamut, 1,200:1 contrast ratio, 12W max power consumption
  • Tobii Eyetracking technology
All options
  • Wide Viewing Angles on all displays with 85 degrees viewing from all directions
  • Dual PixelSense™ Fusion Displays open: 8.3” AMOLED, 2688x1892
  • Single PixelSense™ Screen: 5.8” AMOLED 1344x1892 (13:9)
  • 401 PPI
  • HDR
  • Wide color 100% SRGB, DCI-P3
  • Dual displays with 90Hz adaptive refresh rate
  • 800 nits max brightness
  • Display Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass Victus™

Ports

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
Alienware M17 R3 Ports
Image Source: Dell
  • 1 x Power/DC-in Port
  • 1 x RJ-45 Killer™ Ethernet E3100 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 0.125" 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
Surface Duo 2 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x USB Type-C 
    USB 3.2 Gen 2.
  • 1 x SIM card slot

Internal Specs

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
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. Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 888
    8 cores, 8 threads, 1.80 → 2.84 GHz, 5MB Cache, 5W
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. Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 888
    Qualcomm® Adreno™ 660 GPU
Memory
  • 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
    • 2666 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
    • Soldered-on.
8GB DRAM LPDDR5 memory
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]
128GB 256GB 512GB
UFS 3.0 of internal storage

Connectivity

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
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.
Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax (2.4/5GHz)
Bluetooth
  • Rivet Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 › Bluetooth 5.1
Bluetooth Wireless 5.1 technology
Ethernet
  • Killer™ Ethernet E3000 PCI-e Gigabit ethernet controller
    Transfer rate: 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps
-
More-
  • NFC for payments and provisioning
  • 5G-NR NSA (mmWave): Release 15 DL 64 QAM up to 6 Gbps, 8xDL CA (800MHz), 2x2 MIMO
  • 5G-NR NSA (mmWave): Release 15 UL 64 QAM, 2xUL CA (200MHz), 2x2 MIMO
  • 5G-NR NSA (mmWave) Bands: n257, n260, n261
  • 5G-NR NSA (Sub-6): Release 15 DL 256 QAM up to 3.2 Gbps, 2xDL CA (TDD+TDD), 4x4 MIMO
  • 5G-NR NSA (Sub-6): Release 15 UL 256 QAM
  • 5G-NR NSA (Sub-6) Bands: n1, n2, n3, n5, n7, n20, n25, n28, n38, n41, n66, n71, n77, n78, n79
  • Gigabit LTE - A Pro Release 15 with 4x4 MIMO and LAA
  • LTE DL Cat 20, 256 QAM up to 2Gbps, 5xDL CA
  • LTE UL Cat 13, 64 QAM Contiguous 2X ULCA
  • LTE Bands: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 46, 48, 66, 71
  • WCDMA: 1,2,5,8
  • GSM/GPRS: GSM-850, E-GSM-900, DCS-1800, PCS-1900
  • Location: GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS

Battery

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
Size
  • 56 WHr, 3-cell smart lithium-ion
  • 86 WHr, 6-cell smart lithium-ion
  • 4,449 mAh
    Typical dual battery capacity.
  • 4,340 mAh
    Minimum dual battery capacity.
Battery Life-
  • Up to 15.5 hours of Local Video Playback
  • Up to 28 hours of Talk Time
Power Supply
  • 130W (19.50 VDC/6.70A)
  • 180W (19.50 VDC/9.23A)
  • 240W (19.50 VDC/12.31A)
  • 330W (19.50 VDC/16.92A)
23W USB-C PD charger
Supports Fast Charging.

Software

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Android™ 11
3-years of software updates.
Built-in Apps
  • Alienware Command Center
  • Alienware Adrenalin
  • Alienware Mobile Connect
  • Microsoft Office 365 (30-day trial)
  • Microsoft built-in applications:
    • Intune Company Portal
    • LinkedIn
    • Microsoft Authenticator
    • Microsoft Bing Search
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Microsoft Lens - PDF Scanner
    • Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint & More
    • Microsoft OneDrive
    • Microsoft OneNote
    • Microsoft Outlook
    • Microsoft Start
    • Microsoft Teams
    • Microsoft To Do
    • Surface
    • Tips
    • Xbox Game Pass
  • Microsoft Surface Duo 2 UI core features:
    • App Groups
    • Dual screen windowing
    • Dynamic Dock
    • Dynamic Triple-Lens Camera
    • Microsoft 365 Feed
    • Span apps automatically
    • Surface Duo Glance Bar
    • SwiftKey Adaptive Keyboard
    • Universal Search
    • Your Phone Companion - Link to Windows
  • Other preinstalled apps:
    • Calculator
    • Chrome
    • Clock
    • Contacts
    • Files
    • Gmail
    • Google Assistant
    • Google Calendar
    • Google Drive
    • Google Duo
    • Google Maps
    • Google Photos
    • Google Play Movies & TV
    • Google Play Store
    • Google Search
    • Messages
    • Phone
    • Sound recorder
    • YouTube
    • YouTube Music

Camera & Audio

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
Camera
  • Front-facing camera
    Alienware FHD (1920x1080 resolution) camera.
  • Dynamic triple-lens rear-facing camera:
    • Wide 
      12MP f/1.7 aperture 27 mm 1.4µm dual pixel PDAF OIS
    • Telephoto
      12MP f/2.4 aperture 51 mm 1.0µm PDAF OIS 2X optical zoom
    • Ultra-Wide
      16MP f/2.2 aperture 13 mm 1.0µm 110o diagonal field of view with distortion correction
  • Front-facing Camera:
    12MP f/2.0 24 mm 1.0µm Dual color LED flash
  • Photos:
    • Auto mode with low-light & HDR multi-frame photo capture and dynamic range scene detection
    • Dedicated night photography mode
    • Smooth Zoom between all 3 Rear Facing Camera combined with digital super zoom up to 10x
    • Portrait mode with adjustable depth control. Portrait mode supported for wide and tele camera. Machine learning used for portrait mode
    • Panorama mode with wide dynamic range
    • Capture short video during photo capture with a long press
    • Capture photos during video recording
  • Video recording:
    • HDR Video
    • 4K video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps
    • 1080p video recording at 30 fps and 60 fps
    • Slow-motion video at 120 or 240fps
    • HEVC and H.264 video recording formats
  • Microsoft Teams and Skype video conferencing up to 1080p at 30fps
Audio
  • Controller: Realtek ALC3281-CG
    • 7.1 Digital Audio out using HDMI out connection
    • Alienware Sound Center via Alienware Command Center
  • Speakers:
    • 2-Way Stereo Speaker Design
    • Output: 4-5W
  • Microphone:
    • Digital-array microphones in the camera assembly
  • Stereo speakers
  • Dual Mic AI-based noise suppression and acoustic echo cancellation optimized for productive use in all postures
  • Best-in-class Full Duplex communication for voice calls in hands-free mode, receiver, and LRA
  • Audio formats supported: 3GP, MP3, MP4, MKV, WAV, OGG, M4A, AAC, TS, AMR, FLAC, MID, MIDI, RTTL, RTX, OTA, IMY
  • Qualcomm® aptX™ Classic, HD and TWS
  • Hearing aid compatibility: M4/T3
  • Wake on Voice using Google Assistant

Misc

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
Inking-Supports all in market generations of Surface Slim Pen, Surface Pen and Surface Hub 2 Pen
4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision magnetic storage
Sensors
  • Tobii Eye Tracking (Optional)
  • Dual Accelerometer
  • Dual Gyroscope
  • Dual Magnetometer
  • Dual Ambient Light Sensor
  • Dual Proximity Sensor
  • Hall Sensor
  • Fingerprint Sensor
Security
  • Wedge-shaped lock slot
  • Biometric lock type: Fingerprint reader with enterprise-grade security
  • Lock type: Swipe, PIN, password
  • Security applications pre-loaded on the device: Microsoft Authenticator
In the box-
  • Surface Duo 2
  • Surface Duo 2 (Color: Glacier or Obsidian)
  • Surface Duo 2 USB-C Cable
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Warranty and Compliance Guide
  • SIM Ejector tool
Warranty-
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
MoreCHASIS
  • AlienFX Lighting Zones
    • Programmable with up to 16.8 million distinct colors
  • Exterior Chassis Materials
    • Magnesium Alloy exterior shell
    • Copper Alloy thermal structures
  • Customized Features
    • AlienFX Lighting Detail
    • Programmable with up to 16.8 million distinct colors
    • Alienware Command Center
    • AlienFX Lighting Technology
    • Game Library with auto-tune game profile functionality
    • Fusion (Includes support for Overclock, Thermal, Power, Audio, and Audio Recon profiles)
  • Thermal
    • Cryo-Tech Cooling Technology
    • Dual-Intake, Dual-Exhaust Airflow Design
    • High-Voltage Driving Fans
    • Load-balancing Heat Pipes
    • Dense Copper Fin Stacks
  • Exterior Material: Corning® Gorilla® Glass
  • Video Playback Formats:
    • MKV, MOV, MP4, H.265(HEVC), AVI, WMV, TS, 3GP, FLV, 3G2, AVI, FLV, TS/M2TS, MKV, WEBM, 3GP/MPEG-4,HEIC/HEIF,ASF/WMV, MOV
  • Wireless
    • Chromecast and Miracast support
  • Wired:
    • DisplayPort over USB-C®. Supports video out when connecting via HDMI Adapter7
    • 4K video out over USB-C when connecting via DisplayPort cable or HDMI Adaptor to an external monitor
      Wireless dependent on the TV/monitor support.

Key Features

Alienware M17 R3Surface Duo 2
At Glance
Released in Mid
2020
16:9 FHD
17.3”
1080p 300Hz
Weight
6.55 lb
2.97 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 M17 R3 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 2080 SUPER
8GB GDDR6 with Max-Q
Released in
2021
13:9 2.6K
8.3”
1892p 90Hz ARR
Weight
0.62 lb
0.28 kg
Powered By
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 888
8C/8T, 1.80 → 2.84 GHz
With integrated
Qualcomm® Adreno™ 660 GPU
8GB
LPDDR5 Memory
Surface Duo 2 Ports

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