Alienware X15 R1 vs. Surface Laptop Studio: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Alienware X15 R1 and Surface Laptop Studio specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Alienware X15 R1 Pros

Reasons that Alienware X15 R1 is better than Surface Laptop Studio.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i9-11900H inside Alienware X15 R1 has a 66% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-11370H inside Surface Laptop Studio.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Alienware X15 R1 - Intel Core i9-11900H
8,121
Alienware X15 R1 - Intel Core i7-11800H
7,908
Surface Laptop Studio - Intel Core i7-11370H
4,864
Surface Laptop Studio - Intel Core i5-11300H
4,441
8% larger display

Alienware X15 R1 has a 15.6-inch screen size 8% larger than the 14.4-inch Surface Laptop Studio.

Display size
Alienware X15 R1
15.6-inch
Surface Laptop Studio
14.4-inch

Surface Laptop Studio Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop Studio is better than Alienware X15 R1.

Supports faster memory

Surface Laptop Studio supports a faster memory speed than the Alienware X15 R1. It supports up to 4267MHz versus 3200MHz of system memory on the Alienware X15 R1.

Memory type and speed
Surface Laptop Studio - LPDDR4X
4,267 MHz
Alienware X15 R1 - DDR4
3,200 MHz
About 24% lighter

Surface Laptop Studio weighed 3.83 pounds, 24% lighter than the 5 pounds Alienware X15 R1.

WeightAlienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Pound
5 lbs.
3.83 lbs.
Kilogram
2.27 kg
1.74 kg

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between Alienware X15 R1 and Surface Laptop Studio.

Supports the same maximum memory size of up to 32GB

Both laptops supports up to 32GB of system memory.

Max system memory size
Alienware X15 R1
32 GB
Surface Laptop Studio
32 GB

Prices

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

Alienware X15 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
$1,784.99
$1,899.97 6% OFF
Alienware X15 R2 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch FHD 360Hz 1ms Display, Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070Ti 8GB GDDR6, USB-C, WiFi 6, Bluetooth, Windows 11 Home - White
Alienware X15 R2 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch FHD 360Hz 1ms Display, Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070Ti 8GB GDDR6, USB-C, WiFi 6, Bluetooth, Windows 11 Home - White
By Alienware
$1,920.69
Dell Alienware X15 R2 Gaming Laptop (2022) | 15.6" QHD | Core i7 - 1TB SSD - 16GB RAM - 3070 Ti | 14 Cores @ 4.7 GHz - 12th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR5 Win 11 Home (Renewed)
Dell Alienware X15 R2 Gaming Laptop (2022) | 15.6" QHD | Core i7 - 1TB SSD - 16GB RAM - 3070 Ti | 14 Cores @ 4.7 GHz - 12th Gen CPU - 8GB GDDR5 Win 11 Home (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,314.99
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio - 14.4" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i7 - 32GB Memory - 1TB SSD - Platinum
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio - 14.4" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i7 - 32GB Memory - 1TB SSD - Platinum
By Microsoft
$1,744.93
$2,699.99 35% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, 14.4" Touchscreen Display - Intel Core H35 i7-11370H, 16GB RAM 512GB SSD NVIDIA GFORCE RTX 3050 Ti, Windows 11 Home, Platinum - A8Z-00001 (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, 14.4" Touchscreen Display - Intel Core H35 i7-11370H, 16GB RAM 512GB SSD NVIDIA GFORCE RTX 3050 Ti, Windows 11 Home, Platinum - A8Z-00001 (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$994.99
$1,099.00 9% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio - 14.4" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i5 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Platinum
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio - 14.4" Touchscreen - Intel® Core™ i5 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD - Platinum
By Microsoft
$1,116.03
$1,599.99 30% OFF

Availability

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Released20212021
Release DateAvailable on June 1, 2021
  • Introduced: September 22, 2021
  • Pre-ordered: September 22, 2021
  • Released: October 5, 2021
Pricing
  • $1,999.99
    i7-11800H 16GB 256GB RTX 3060 FHD 165Hz
  • $2,379.99
    i7-11800H 16GB 512GB RTX 3070 FHD 165Hz
  • $2,629.99
    i7-11800H 32GB 1TB RTX 3070 FHD 165Hz
  • $2,929.99
    i9-11900H 32GB 1TB RTX 3070 FHD 360Hz
  • $1,599.99
    i5-11300H 16GB 256GB Intel Iris Xe
  • $1,799.99
    i5-11300H 16GB 512GB Intel Iris Xe
  • $2,099.99
    i7-11370H 16GB 256GB RTX 3050 Ti
  • $2,699.99
    i7-11370H 16GB 1TB RTX 3050 Ti
  • $3,099.99
    i7-11370H 32GB 2TB RTX 3050 Ti
Generations-

Exterior

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Dimensions
  • 14.16” x 10.915” x 0.642” (359.7 x 277.25 x 16.3 mm)
    With FHD 165Hz diplay.
  • 14.16” x 10.915” x 0.626” (359.7 x 277.25 x 15.9 mm)
    With FHD 360Hz or QHD 240Hz diplay.
12.72” x 8.98” x 0.746” (323.28 mm x 228.32 mm x 18.94 mm)
Weight5 - 5.2 lbs (2.27 - 2.36 kg)
  • 3.83 lb (1,742.9 grams)
    Intel Core i5 models.
  • 4.00 lb (1,820.2 grams)
    Intel Core i7 models.
Colors
Lunar light
Platinum
Casing: Magnesium and Aluminum
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard
    • Alienware X-Series thin keyboard
    • Per-key RGB LED with AlienFX lighting
    • Anti-ghosting and N-key rollover technology.
    • 1.5mm key travel.
  • Touchpad
    • Multi-touch gesture Premium Precision glass touchpad with integrated scrolling.
    • 4.13 x 2.36 in (105 mm x 80 mm) precision touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.
    • Supports AlienFX touchpad.
  • Keyboard:
    • Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys
    • Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12)
    • Windows key and dedicated buttons for media controls, screen brightness
    • Backlight.
  • Precision Haptic touchpad:
    • Largest surface touchpad to date.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gestures.

Display

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Size15.6 Inches14.4 Inches
Info
  • 15.6” FHD with 165Hz
    1920 x 1080 141 PPI ComfortView Plus 3ms 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 ComfortView Plus NVIDIA G-Sync Advanced Optimus 1ms response time 300 nits 16:9 100% sRGB color gamut 1000:1 Anti-glare WVA 7.6W
  • 15.6” QHD with 240Hz
    2560 x 1440 188 PPI ComfortView Plus NVIDIA G-Sync Advanced Optimus 2ms response time 400 nits 16:9 99% DCI-P3 color gamut 1000:1 Anti-glare WVA 10.15 W
  • 14.4” PixelSense™ Flow Display
  • Resolution: 2400 x 1600 (201 PPI)
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Contrast ratio: 1500:1
  • Refresh rate: 120Hz
    60Hz default.
  • Inking: GPU Ink Acceleration
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Dolby Vision® support

Ports

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Alienware X15 R1 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left
  • 1 x Headset port
Right
  • 1 x Power/DC-in Port
Back
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 4
    Supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, DisplayPort 1.4, and PD output 15W (5V/3A).
  • 1 x USB-C
    Supports USB 3.2 Gen 2, DisplayPort 1.4, and PD output 15W (5V/3A).
  • 1 x USB-A
    Supports USB 3.2 Gen 1 with PowerShare
  • 1 x HDMI 2.1
    Supports up to 4K@120Hz display out.
  • 1 x MicroSD Card Slot
Surface Laptop Studio Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
Left (2)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
Right (2)
  • 1 x Surface Connect+
    Magnet Charging, Surface Dock
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone

Internal Specs

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Processor
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11800H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.30 → 4.60 GHz, 24MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-11900H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.50 → 4.90 GHz, 24MB SmartCache, 45W
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11300H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 3.10 → 4.40 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 35W
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11370H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 3.30 → 4.80 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 35W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11800H
    Intel® UHD Graphics
    32 Execution Units, 350 → 1450 MHz
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-11900H
    Intel® UHD Graphics
    32 Execution Units, 350 → 1450 MHz
  1. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11300H
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz
  2. 11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11370H
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz
MemoryMemory Slots
  • Onbaord memory
Memory Configurations
  • Speed: 3200MHz
  • Memory Type: Dual-channel DDR4
  • Minimum Memory: 16 GB
  • Maximum Memory: 32 GB
16GB 32GB
4267 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060
    6GB GDDR6 TGP: 70W Dynamic Boost: 20W Max Power: 90W Speed: 1050 → 1402 MHz
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070
    8GB GDDR6 TGP: 90W Dynamic Boost: 20W Max Power: 110W Speed: 930 → 1410 MHz
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080
    8GB GDDR6 TGP: 90W Dynamic Boost: 20W Max Power: 110W Speed: 930 → 1365 MHz
* All configurations include 8-phase HyperEfficient graphics voltage regulation.
  • Optional NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti  with 4GB GDDR6
    For Consumer.
  • Optional NVIDIA® RTX™ A2000 with 4GB GDDR6
    For Business.
Storage
  • 1 x M.2 2230 slots (Up to 256GB)
  • 2 x M.2 2280 slots (Up to 2TB each)
    Supports RAID-0
256GB 512GB 1TB 2TB
Removable M.2 NVMe SSD

Connectivity

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Wi-FiRivet Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675x
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 5.1 technology

Battery

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Size87 WHr, 6-cell smart lithium-ion battery
  • 58.0 Wh
    Nominal battery capacity.
  • 56.3 Wh
    Minimum battery capacity.
Battery Life-
  • Up to 19 hours of typical device usage
    Intel Core i5 models.
  • Up to 18 hours of typical device usage
    Intel Core i7 models.
Power Supply
240W
power adapter.
  • 60W power supply
    Intel Core i5 models.
  • 95W power supply
    Intel Core i7 models.

Software

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
  • For Consumer: Windows 11 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 11 Pro
Built-in Apps
  • Alienware Command Center
    AlienFX lighting Game Library Auto-tune game profile functionality Fusion Alienware Adrenalin Alienware Mobile Connect
  • Microsoft Office 365 (30-day trial)
  • Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps
  • Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial
  • Preloaded Xbox app
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one month trial

Camera & Audio

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Camera
  • Front-facing camera.
    Alienware HD (1280x720 resolution) camera.
  • Optional Windows Hello IR support.
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 1080p resolution front-facing camera
Audio
  • Controller: Realtek ALC3281
    • 7.1 Digital Audio out using HDMI out connection
    • Alienware Sound Center via Alienware Command Center
  • Speakers:
    • 2 x 4W speakers
  • Microphone:
    • Dual-array microphones
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • Quad Omnisonic™ speakers with Dolby Atmos®

Misc

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
Inking-
  • Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP)
    4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision
  • Supports Tactile signals with Surface Slim Pen 2
SensorsWindows Hello IR Camera
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
Security-
  • Hardware TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security and BitLocker support
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Windows enhanced hardware security
In the box-
  • Surface Laptop Studio
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
Warranty1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Surface for Business customers: Includes Advanced Exchange, an expedited replacement service, at no additional cost
More-Supports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only.
Hinge
Dynamic Woven Hinge made of woven fabric with embedded cables that can bend 180 degrees.

Key Features

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio
At Glance
Released in Mid
2021
16:9 QHD
15.6”
1440p 240Hz
Weight
5 lb
2.27 kg
Up to
Intel Core i9-11900H
8C/16T, 2.50 → 4.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,430
Single Core
Geekbench 5
8,121
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics
32 Execution Units, 350 → 1450 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
3200 MHz DDR4
Alienware X15 R1 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3080
8GB GDDR6 90W TGP
Released in Late
2021
3:2 2.4K
14.4”
2400p 60~120Hz
Weight
3.83 lb
1.74 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-11370H
4C/8T, 3.30 → 4.80 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,397
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,864
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
96 Execution Units, 400 → 1350 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
4267 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Laptop Studio Ports
NVIDIA GeForce
RTX 3050 Ti 
4GB GDDR6

Comparison Summary

Alienware X15 R1 vs. Surface Laptop Studio

Dell has released the Alienware X15 R1, a 15.6-inch machine, in mid-2021. It is powered by up to an octa-core Intel Core i9-11900H with a boost clock speed up to 4.90 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 with 8GB GDDR6 90W TGP.

On the other hand, we have the 14.4-inch Surface Laptop Studio was introduced by Microsoft around the same year in late-2021. It comes with up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-11370H with a boost clock speed up to 4.80 GHz. It has a dedicated GPU option up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti  with 4GB GDDR6.

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Alienware X15 R11
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11800H1,466100.00%
2
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-11900H1,43097.54%
Surface Laptop Studio1
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11300H1,28687.72%
2
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11370H1,39795.29%
01,466

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Alienware X15 R11
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11800H7,90897.38%
2
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-11900H8,121100.00%
Surface Laptop Studio1
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-11300H4,44154.69%
2
11th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-11370H4,86459.89%
08,121

The Alienware X15 R1 has a 15.6-inch display which is slightly larger than the 14.4-inch Surface Laptop Studio. In addition, the Alienware X15 R1 weighs 5 lbs. about 30% heavier than the 3.83 lbs. Surface Laptop Studio. Moreover, measured at 14.16” x 10.915” x 0.626”, the Alienware X15 R1 is considerably bulkier than the Surface Laptop Studio at 12.72” x 8.98” x 0.746”.

Alienware X15 R1Surface Laptop Studio

Moving over to upgradability, Dell claims that the Alienware X15 R1 supports up to 32GB 3200 MHz DDR4 memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Fortunately, it comes with two M.2 slots that users can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

For Surface Laptop Studio, it supports up to 32GB 4267 MHz LPDDR4X memory. Like Alienware X15 R1, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Luckily, it has a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace or upgrade when needed.

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