2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 vs. Alienware M15 R5: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 and Alienware M15 R5 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 Pros

Reasons that 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 is better than Alienware M15 R5.

Supports larger memory

The 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 supports a larger memory capacity than the Alienware M15 R5. It supports up to 48GB versus 32GB of system memory on the Alienware M15 R5.

Max system memory size
2021 ROG Zephyrus G15
48 GB
Alienware M15 R5
32 GB
About 22% lighter

The 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 weighed 4.19 pounds, 22% lighter than the 5.34 pounds Alienware M15 R5.

Weight2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Pound
4.19 lbs.
5.34 lbs.
Kilogram
1.90 kg
2.42 kg

Alienware M15 R5 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M15 R5 is better than 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15.

Slightly faster CPU performance

AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX inside Alienware M15 R5 has a 6% better multi-core CPU performance score than the AMD Ryzen 9-5900HS inside 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Alienware M15 R5 - AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX
7,663
2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 - AMD Ryzen 9-5900HS
7,162
Alienware M15 R5 - AMD Ryzen 7-5800H
7,098
2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 - AMD Ryzen 7-5800HS
6,454

Key Similars

Similar characteristics share between 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 and Alienware M15 R5.

Uses the same memory type and speed

Both laptops supports the same 3200MHz DDR4 RAM.

Memory type and speed
2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 - DDR4
3,200 MHz
Alienware M15 R5 - DDR4
3,200 MHz
Upgradable memory

Both laptops come with available RAM slots that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed.

Memory2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Slots
x1
x2
TypeDDR4DDR4

Prices

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

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 Price
Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 Gaming Laptop 15.6" WQHD IPS 165Hz (100% DCI-P3) AMD Octa-Core Ryzen 9 6900HS (>i7-11370H) 16GB RAM 512GB SSD GeForce RTX 3060 6GB Graphic USB-C Backlit Win11 Black + HDMI Cable
Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 Gaming Laptop 15.6" WQHD IPS 165Hz (100% DCI-P3) AMD Octa-Core Ryzen 9 6900HS (>i7-11370H) 16GB RAM 512GB SSD GeForce RTX 3060 6GB Graphic USB-C Backlit Win11 Black + HDMI Cable
By Asus
$1,179.00
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 Ultra Slim Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 165Hz QHD Display, GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 10, Eclipse Gray, GA503QS-BS96Q
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G15 Ultra Slim Gaming Laptop, 15.6” 165Hz QHD Display, GeForce RTX 3080, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS, 16GB DDR4, 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 10, Eclipse Gray, GA503QS-BS96Q
By ASUS
$1,329.99
$2,099.99 37% OFF
Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 Gaming Laptop | 15.6" WQHD 165Hz 100% DCI-P3 | AMD 8-Core Ryzen 9 6900HS (>i7-11370H) | 16GB DDR5 512GB+1TB SSD | GeForce RTX 3060 6GB | USB-C Backlit Win11 + HDMI Cable
Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 Gaming Laptop | 15.6" WQHD 165Hz 100% DCI-P3 | AMD 8-Core Ryzen 9 6900HS (>i7-11370H) | 16GB DDR5 512GB+1TB SSD | GeForce RTX 3060 6GB | USB-C Backlit Win11 + HDMI Cable
By Asus
$1,249.00
Alienware M15 R5 AMD Ryzen Price
Alienware M15 R5 Gaming Laptop, 15.6 inch FHD 360Hz 1ms G-SYNC Display, AMD Ryzen R9 5900HX, GeForce RTX 3070, 64GB RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD, Killer WiFi, RGB Keyboard, Windows 11, Dark Side of The Moon
Alienware M15 R5 Gaming Laptop, 15.6 inch FHD 360Hz 1ms G-SYNC Display, AMD Ryzen R9 5900HX, GeForce RTX 3070, 64GB RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD, Killer WiFi, RGB Keyboard, Windows 11, Dark Side of The Moon
By Dell
$2,659.00
Dell Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition Gaming Laptop (2021) | 15.6" FHD | Core Ryzen 9-1TB SSD - 32GB RAM - RTX 3070 | 12 Cores @ 4.7 GHz - 8GB GDDR6
Dell Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition Gaming Laptop (2021) | 15.6" FHD | Core Ryzen 9-1TB SSD - 32GB RAM - RTX 3070 | 12 Cores @ 4.7 GHz - 8GB GDDR6
By Dell
$2,584.00
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
$1,756.70

Availability

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Released20212021
Release Date-Announced on April 20, 2021
Applicable Models
  • 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15
  • ROG Zephyrus G15 (2021)
  • ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503
  • ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503QC
  • ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503QE
  • ROG Zephyrus G15 GA503QR
-
Generations

Exterior

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Dimensions13.98” x 9.57” x 0.78” (355 x 243 x 19.9 mm)14.02” x 10.73” x 0.47 - 0.76” (356.20 x 272.50 x 12 - 19.25 mm)
Weight4.19 lbs (1.90 kg)5.34 - 5.93 lbs (2.42 - 2.69 kg)
Colors
Eclipse Gray Moonlight White
Dark Side of the Moon with High Endurance Clear Coat and Silky Smooth Finish
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Full-size backlit keyboard
    1.7 mm key travel 20M key press lifetime N-Key Rollover
  • Hotkeys 
    Volume down volume up mute Armoury Crate
  • Touchpad
    20% larger 40% faster lower latency
  • 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.

Display

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Size15.6 Inches15.6 Inches
Info
  • 15.6” WQHD 165Hz
    16:9 2560 x 1440 165Hz 3ms 100% DCI-P3 Non-touch IPS Level Anti-Glare FreeSync Pantone Validated
  • 15.6” FHD 144Hz
    16:9 1920 x 1080 360Hz 3ms 62.5% sRGB 47.34% Adobe RGB Non-touch IPS Level Anti-Glare FreeSync
  • 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

Ports

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 Ports
Image Source: ASUS
Left (7)
  • 2 x USB-C
    USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery 3.0
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0b
  • 1 x RJ-45
    1 Gbps
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 1 x power port
Right (3)
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
  • 1 x microSD card slot
    up to 312 MB/s transfer speed
  • 1 x lock slot
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

Internal Specs

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Processor
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800HS
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.80 → 4.40 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 16MB L3 Cache, 35W
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HS
    8 cores, 16 threads, 3.00 → 4.60 GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 16MB L3 Cache, 35W
  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
Integrated Graphics
  1. AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800HS
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    8 Graphics Cores, 2000 MHz
  2. AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HS
    AMD Radeon™ Graphics
    8 Graphics Cores, 2100 MHz
  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
Memory
16GB 32GB 48GB
Dual-Channel DDR4 3200MHz Memory.
1 x 16GB Onboard Memory and 1 x SODIMM slot
8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
3200MHz Dual-channel DDR4 SDRAM.
2 x SO-DIMM slots.
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060
    6GB GDDR6 VRAM, with ROG Boost up to 1525MHz at 80W (95W with Dynamic Boost).
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070
    8GB GDDR6 VRAM, with ROG Boost up to 1390MHz at 80W (100W with Dynamic Boost).
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3080
    8GB GDDR6 VRAM, with ROG Boost up to 1345MHz at 80W (100W with Dynamic Boost).
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti
    4GB GDDR6 VRAM.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060
    6GB GDDR6 VRAM.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070
    8GB GDDR6 VRAM.
Storage
512GB 1TB 2TB
M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0.
2 x M.2 SSD slots, supports RAID-0.
2 x M.2 2230/2280 slots (Up to 2TB each)

Connectivity

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Wi-FiIntel® Wi-Fi 6 with Gig+ performance (802.11ax)Rivet 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
BluetoothBluetooth 5.0Bluetooth 5.2
Ethernet Gigabit LAN
Speed: 10/100/1000 Mbps.
Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Transfer rate: 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps

Battery

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Size90 Wh (4-cell Lithium-ion)
  • 56 WHr, 3-cell smart lithium-ion battery
  • 86 WHr, 6-cell smart lithium-ion battery
Power Supply
  • 200W
      ø6.0 mm power adapter.
  • 100W
      USB-C power adapter.
180W 240W
power adapter.

Software

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
OS
  • Windows 10 Home
  • Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Built-in Apps
Armoury Crate
  • 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)

Camera & Audio

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
CameraNo Built-in camera.Front-facing camera
Alienware HD (1280x720 resolution) camera.
Audio
  • 4 x 2W woofer with Smart Amp Technology.
  • 2 x 2W tweeter.
  • Supports Dolby Atmos.
  • 3D array microphone.
  • Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation
  • 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

Misc

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
Security
  • One-Touch Login
    Fingerprint on the power button.
  • Kensington Lock Slot
-
In the box
  • FHD 1080P@60FPS external camera
    optional.
  • ROG Backpack
    optional.
  • ROG Delta headset
    optional.
  • ROG Chakram Core mouse P511
    optional.
  • ROG Impact Gaming Mouse
    optional.
  • TYPE-C, 100W AC Adapter
    Output: 20V DC, 5A, 100W, Input: 100~240V AC 50/60Hz universal (optional)
-

Key Features

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5
At Glance
Released in Early
2021
16:9
15.6”
1440p 165Hz
Weight
4.19 lb
1.90 kg
Up to
AMD Ryzen 9-5900HS
8C/16T, 3.00 → 4.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,356
Single Core
Geekbench 5
7,162
Multi-Core
With integrated
AMD Radeon™ Graphics
8 Graphics Cores, 2100 MHz
Upgradable up to
48GB
3200 MHz DDR4
2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3080
8GB GDDR6 80W TGP
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

Comparison Summary

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 vs. Alienware M15 R5

ASUS has released the ROG Zephyrus G15, a 15.6-inch machine, in early-2021. It is powered by up to an octa-core AMD Ryzen 9-5900HS with a boost clock speed up to 4.60 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 with 8GB GDDR6 80W TGP.

On the other hand, we have the 15.6-inch Alienware M15 R5 was introduced by Dell around the same time in early-2021. It comes with up to an octa-core AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX with a boost clock speed up to 4.60 GHz. It has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 with 8GB GDDR6.

Geekbench 5 Single Core

2021 ROG Zephyrus G151
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800HS1,33494.21%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HS1,35695.76%
Alienware M15 R51
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H1,33494.21%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX1,416100.00%
01,416

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

2021 ROG Zephyrus G151
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800HS6,45484.22%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HS7,16293.46%
Alienware M15 R51
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H7,09892.63%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX7,663100.00%
07,663

Both 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 and Alienware M15 R5 have the same 15.6-inch display size. In addition, The 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 weighs 4.19 lbs. about 27% lighter than the 5.34 lbs. Alienware M15 R5. Moreover, measured at 13.98” x 9.57” x 0.78”, the 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 is considerably more portable than the Alienware M15 R5 at 14.02” x 10.73” x 0.76”.

2021 ROG Zephyrus G15Alienware M15 R5

Moving over to upgradability, ASUS claims that the 2021 ROG Zephyrus G15 supports up to 48GB 3200 MHz DDR4 memory that you can upgrade with one memory module slot on the motherboard. It also comes with two M.2 slots that users can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device.

For Alienware M15 R5, it supports up to 32GB 3200 MHz DDR4 memory that you can upgrade with two memory module slots on the motherboard. It also has two M.2 slots that users can easily swap or add an extra SSD to get extra space when needed.

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