Dell Inspiron 13 5390 vs. Alienware M15 R1: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Dell Inspiron 13 5390 and Alienware M15 R1 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Dell Inspiron 13 5390 Pros

Reasons that Dell Inspiron 13 5390 is better than Alienware M15 R1.

About 56% lighter

Dell Inspiron 13 5390 weighed 2.16 pounds, 56% lighter than the 4.85 pounds Alienware M15 R1.

WeightDell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Pound
2.16 lbs.
4.85 lbs.
Kilogram
0.98 kg
2.20 kg

Alienware M15 R1 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M15 R1 is better than Dell Inspiron 13 5390.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-9750H inside Alienware M15 R1 has a 109% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-8565U inside Dell Inspiron 13 5390.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i7-9750H
4,880
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i7-8750H
4,470
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i5-8300H
3,269
Dell Inspiron 13 5390 - Intel Core i7-8565U
2,327
Dell Inspiron 13 5390 - Intel Core i5-8265U
2,132
Dell Inspiron 13 5390 - Intel Core i3-8145U
1,553
Supports larger memory

Alienware M15 R1 supports a larger memory capacity than the Dell Inspiron 13 5390. It supports up to 32GB versus 8GB of system memory on the Dell Inspiron 13 5390.

Max system memory size
Alienware M15 R1
32 GB
Dell Inspiron 13 5390
8 GB
Supports faster memory

Alienware M15 R1 supports a faster memory speed than the Dell Inspiron 13 5390. It supports up to 2666MHz versus 2133MHz of system memory on the Dell Inspiron 13 5390.

Memory type and speed
Alienware M15 R1 - DDR4
2,666 MHz
Dell Inspiron 13 5390 - LPDDR3
2,133 MHz
Upgradable memory

Alienware M15 R1 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 Dell Inspiron 13 5390 since it has onboard memory.

MemoryDell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Slots
Onboard
x2
TypeLPDDR3DDR4
17% larger display

Alienware M15 R1 has a 15.6-inch screen size 17% larger than the 13.3-inch Dell Inspiron 13 5390.

Display size
Alienware M15 R1
15.6-inch
Dell Inspiron 13 5390
13.3-inch

Prices

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

Dell Inspiron 13 5390 Price
Dell Inspiron 45W Laptop Charger Adapter Power Cord for Inspiron 13 5368 5378 7352 7353 7359 7368 7378; Inspiron 14 3451 3452 3458 3459 5451 5452 5455 5458 5459 5468 7437 7460; XPS 11 12 13
Dell Inspiron 45W Laptop Charger Adapter Power Cord for Inspiron 13 5368 5378 7352 7353 7359 7368 7378; Inspiron 14 3451 3452 3458 3459 5451 5452 5455 5458 5459 5468 7437 7460; XPS 11 12 13
By Dell
$22.89
Dell Inspiron 15 3530 Business Laptop 15.6" FHD Anti-Glare Touchscreen Intel 10-Core i5-1335U Processor (>i7-1255u) 16GB RAM 512GB SSD FHD Webcam ExpressCharge Long Battery Life Win11
Dell Inspiron 15 3530 Business Laptop 15.6" FHD Anti-Glare Touchscreen Intel 10-Core i5-1335U Processor (>i7-1255u) 16GB RAM 512GB SSD FHD Webcam ExpressCharge Long Battery Life Win11
By Dell
$497.49
Dell Inspiron 13 5310, 13.3 inch QHD (Quad High Definition) Laptop - Thin and Light Intel Core i7-11370H, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce MX450, Services - Windows 10 Home
Dell Inspiron 13 5310, 13.3 inch QHD (Quad High Definition) Laptop - Thin and Light Intel Core i7-11370H, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce MX450, Services - Windows 10 Home
By Dell
$799.00
$1,099.99 27% OFF
Alienware M15 R1 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 X16 R1 Gaming Laptop - 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz Display, Intel Core i9-13900HK, 32GB LPDDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 12GB GDDR6, Windows 11 Home - Lunar Silver
Alienware X16 R1 Gaming Laptop - 16-inch QHD+ 240Hz Display, Intel Core i9-13900HK, 32GB LPDDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 12GB GDDR6, Windows 11 Home - Lunar Silver
By Alienware
$3,499.99
Alienware m15 R7 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch QHD 240Hz 2ms Display, Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8GB GDDR6, HDMI, USB-C, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Home - Black
Alienware m15 R7 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch QHD 240Hz 2ms Display, Intel Core i7-12700H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8GB GDDR6, HDMI, USB-C, Wi-Fi 6, Windows 11 Home - Black
By Alienware
$1,639.99

Availability

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Released20192019
Release Date
  • Announced at Computex 2019
  • Announced at CES 2019
  • Available on January 29, 2019
Pricing
  • Starting at $579.99 (non-WWAN)
  • Starting at $729.99 (WWAN)
Starting at $1,379.99
Generations-

Exterior

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Dimensions
  • Non-WWAN Models
    • Front: 12.11 x 8.05 x 0.59 in (307.60 x 204.50 x 14.90 mm)
    • Back: 12.11 x 8.05 x 0.65 in (307.60 x 204.50 x 16.50 mm)
  • WWAN Models
    • Front: 12.11 x 8.05 x 0.66 in (307.60 x 204.50 x 16.80 mm)
    • Back: 12.11 x 8.05 x 0.73 in (307.60 x 204.50 x 18.50 mm)
14.27 x 10.85 x 0.70 - 0.78 in (362 x 275 x 17.90 - 19.99 mm)
Width: 14.27 in. (362 mm)
Depth: 10.85 in. (275 mm)
Height: 0.70 - 0.78 in. (17.90 - 19.99 mm)
Weight
  • Non-WWAN Models
    • 2.16 lb (1.18 kg)
  • WWAN Models
    • 2.65 lb (1.20 kg)
Starting at 4.85 lbs (2.20 kg)
Colors
  • Platinum Silver with dark gray bezel and keyboard (available on configurations without a backlit keyboard)
  • Platinum Silver with light gray bezel and silver keyboard (available on configurations with a backlit keyboard)
  • Ice Lilac
  • Epic Silver
  • Nebula Red
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Full-size, spill-resistant keyboard
  • Optional backlit full-size, spill-resistant keyboard
  • Multi-touch gesture-enabled precision touchpad with integrated scrolling
  • Alienware AlienFX mSeries Keyboard with Alphanumeric Keys
  • 4.13 x 2.56 in (105 mm x 65 mm) precision touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.

Display

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Size13.3 Inches15.6 Inches
Info13.3-inch FHD (1920 x 1080) TrueLife LED Backlight Non-touch Narrow Border Wide Viewing Angle DisplayFull HD with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 35ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 700:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 6.20W max power consumption.
Full HD with 144Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 19ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 800:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 7.80W max power consumption.
Full HD with 240Hz refresh rate
  • 1920 x 1080, 141 PPI, 8ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, 72% color gamut, 1000:1 contrast ratio, Anti-glare, 4.41W max power consumption.
Ultra HD with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 3180 x 2160, 282 PPI, 300 nits, 16:9, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 5.15W max power consumption
Ultra HD OLED with 60Hz refresh rate
  • 3180 x 2160, 282 PPI, 1ms response time, 300 nits, 16:9, HDR-400 DCI-P3 color gamut, 10,000:1 contrast ratio, TrueLife, 14.80W max power consumption
All options
  • Wide Viewing Angles on all displays with 85 degrees viewing from all directions

Ports

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Dell Inspiron 13 5390 Ports
Image Source: Dell
  • 1 x HDMI 1.4b
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-C™ (DP/PowerDelivery)
  • 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • 1 x Micro SD card reader
  • 1 x Headphone & Microphone Audio Jack
  • 1 x AC Power
Alienware M15 R1 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (4)
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x RJ-45
    1 Gbps, Killer E2500
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 1 x lock slot
Right (2)
  • 2 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
Back (5)
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, DisplayPort
  • 1 x Alienware Graphics Amplifier port
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x power port

Internal Specs

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Processor
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-8145U
    2 cores, 4 threads, 2.10 → 3.90 GHz, 4MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8265U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.60 → 3.90 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8565U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.80 → 4.60 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.20 → 4.10 GHz, 9MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-8145U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1000 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8265U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8565U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1000 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
Memory
4 GB 8 GB
2133 MHz dual-channel onboard LPDDR3 RAM.
8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
2666 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
2 x SODIMM slots
Discrete GraphicsNVIDIA® GeForce® MX250 (Optional)
Pascal Architecture, 2GB GDDR5 64-bit, 1518 → 1582 MHz, 384 CUDA Cores.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1060 (6GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1070 (8GB GDDR5)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce GTX® 1660 Ti (6GB GDDR6)
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 (6GB GDDR6) OC Ready
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2070 (8GB GDDR6) with Max-Q Design
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2080 (8GB GDDR6) with Max-Q Design
Storage
128 GB 256 GB 512 GB
M.2 PCIe NVMe Solid State Drive.
Single Storage Configurations
  • 256 GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512 GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512 GB Intel Optane M.2 SSD
  • 1 TB PCIe M.2 SSD
Dual Storage Configurations
  • 128GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB (+8GB SSHD) Hybrid Drive
  • 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD + 512GB PCIe M.2 SSD
  • 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD + 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD
Triple Storage Configurations
  • 256GB SSD M.2+256GB SSD M.2+1TB HDD

Connectivity

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Wi-Fi
  • Intel 9560
    Up to 1730 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, WiFi-4 (802.11n), WiFi-5 (802.11ac)
  • Intel 9462
    Up to 433 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, WiFi-4 (802.11n), WiFi-5 (802.11ac)
  • Qualcomm QCA61x4A (DW1820)
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz up to 867 Mbps, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
  • Rivet killer 1550
    Dual Band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz up to 1733 Mbps, WiFi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac.
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth 5.0
  • Qualcomm QCA61x4A (DW1820) › Bluetooth 4.2
  • Rivet Killer 1550 › Bluetooth 5.0
Ethernet-
  • Killer E2500 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
More
  • Optional Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN)
    • Intel 7360 (DW5820e)
    • Up to 450 Mbps DL/50 Mbps UL (Cat 9)
    • Frequency bands supported (LTE FDD: 450 Mbps DL/50 Mbps UL (Cat 9), LTE TDD: B347 Mbps DL/30 Mbps UL (Cat 9), UMTS/HSPA+: UMTS 384 Kbps DL/384 Kbps UL)
    • Wireless standards (LTE Category 16, UMTS/HSPA+)
    • Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (Supports GPS, BDS, and GLONASS)
-

Battery

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Size
  • 4-Cell Battery, 45 Whr (Integrated)
  • 4-Cell Battery, 52 Whr (Integrated)
  • 4-cell smart lithium-ion (60 Wh)
  • 6-cell smart lithium-ion (90Wh)
Battery Life
  • Non-WWAN Models
    • Up to 13 hours 06 minutes
  • WWAN Models
    • Up to 13 hours 44 minutes
* Tested on the Mobile Mark 2014 benchmark test.
  • Up to 17 hours on idle with 90Wh battery.
Power Supply65 Watt AC Adapter
  • 130W (19.50 VDC/6.70A)
  • 180W (19.50 VDC/9.23A)
* Support Hybrid Power

Software

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro Ubuntu 18.04
Upgradable to Windows 11
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Built-in Apps
  • Microsoft Office 30 Trial
  • McAfee LiveSafe
  • Foxit Phantom Standard PDF
  • SupportAssist
  • Dell Mobile Connect
  • Dell Color Profiles
  • SmartByte
  • Wave MaxxAudio® Pro
  • Alienware Command Center
  • Alienware Adrenlin
  • Alienware Mobile Connect
  • Microsoft Office 365 (30-day trial)

Camera & Audio

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Camera
  • Integrated Widescreen HD (720p) Webcam
  • Front-facing camera
    Alienware FHD (1920x1080 resolution) camera.
Audio
  • 2 x tuned speakers, audio processing by Waves MaxxAudio® Pro
  • 1 x combo headphone/microphone jack
  • Dual Digital Microphone Array
  • Controller
    Realtek ALC3281-CG.
  • 2.0 Speaker configuration
  • 7.1 Digital Audio out using HDMI out connection
  • Alienware Sound Center and Audio Recon software
  • Microphone
    Digital-array microphones in camera assembly.

Misc

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
Sensors
  • Fingerprint reader sensor (Optional)
-
SecurityFingerprint Reader with Windows Hello (Optional)-
More-CHASIS
  • AlienFX Lighting Zones
    6 unique programmable zones with up to 16.8 million distinct colors (Standard).

Key Features

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1
At Glance
Released in Mid
2019
16:9 FHD
13.3”
1080p 60Hz
Weight
2.16 lb
0.98 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-8565U
4C/8T, 1.80 → 4.60 GHz
Geekbench 5
804
Single Core
Geekbench 5
2,327
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 620
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Configurable up to
8GB
2133 MHz LPDDR3
Dell Inspiron 13 5390 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
MX250
2GB GDDR5
Released in Early
2019
16:9 FHD
15.6”
1080p 240Hz
Weight
4.85 lb
2.20 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-9750H
6C/12T, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,044
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,880
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
Upgradable up to
32GB
2666 MHz DDR4
Alienware M15 R1 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 2080 SUPER
8GB GDDR6 with Max-Q

Comparison Summary

Dell Inspiron 13 5390 vs. Alienware M15 R1

Dell has released the Inspiron 13 5390, a 13.3-inch machine, in mid-2019. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-8565U with a boost clock speed up to 4.60 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce MX250 with 2GB GDDR5.

On the other hand, we have the 15.6-inch Alienware M15 R1 was introduced by Dell around the same year in early-2019. It comes with up to a hexa-core Intel Core i7-9750H with a boost clock speed up to 4.50 GHz. It has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER with 8GB GDDR6 with Max-Q.

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Dell Inspiron 13 53901
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-8145U74871.65%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8265U64561.78%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8565U80477.01%
Alienware M15 R11
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H93589.56%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H97593.39%
3
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H1,044100.00%
01,044

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Dell Inspiron 13 53901
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-8145U1,55331.82%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8265U2,13243.69%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8565U2,32747.68%
Alienware M15 R11
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H3,26966.99%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H4,47091.60%
3
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H4,880100.00%
04,880

The Dell Inspiron 13 5390 has a 13.3-inch display which is considerably smaller than the 15.6-inch Alienware M15 R1. In addition, The Dell Inspiron 13 5390 weighs 2.16 lbs. about 124% lighter than the 4.85 lbs. Alienware M15 R1. Moreover, measured at 12.11” x 8.05” x 0.65”, the Dell Inspiron 13 5390 is much more portable than the Alienware M15 R1 at 14.27” x 10.85” x 0.78”.

Dell Inspiron 13 5390Alienware M15 R1

Moving over to upgradability, Dell claims that the Dell Inspiron 13 5390 supports up to 8GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3 memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users. Fortunately, it comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace and upgrade in the future.

For Alienware M15 R1, it supports up to 32GB 2666 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. Besides that, it also comes with a SATA slot where you can install an additional 2.5-inch SATA-based SSD, SSHD, or a hard disk drive.

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