Surface Laptop 2 vs. Alienware M15 R1: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Laptop 2 and Alienware M15 R1 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Laptop 2 Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 2 is better than Alienware M15 R1.

About 44% lighter

Surface Laptop 2 weighed 2.76 pounds, 44% lighter than the 4.85 pounds Alienware M15 R1.

WeightSurface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Pound
2.76 lbs.
4.85 lbs.
Kilogram
1.25 kg
2.20 kg

Alienware M15 R1 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M15 R1 is better than Surface Laptop 2.

Significantly faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-9750H inside Alienware M15 R1 has a 25% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-8650U inside Surface Laptop 2.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i7-9750H
4,880
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i7-8750H
4,470
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i7-8650U
3,879
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i5-8300H
3,269
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i5-8350U
2,982
Surface Laptop 2 - Intel Core i5-8250U
1,971
Supports larger memory

Alienware M15 R1 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Laptop 2. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the Surface Laptop 2.

Max system memory size
Alienware M15 R1
32 GB
Surface Laptop 2
16 GB
Supports faster memory

Alienware M15 R1 supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Laptop 2. It supports up to 2666MHz versus 1866MHz of system memory on the Surface Laptop 2.

Memory type and speed
Alienware M15 R1 - DDR4
2,666 MHz
Surface Laptop 2 - LPDDR3
1,866 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 Surface Laptop 2 since it has onboard memory.

MemorySurface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Slots
Onboard
x2
TypeLPDDR3DDR4
Supports discrete graphics

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

15% larger display

Alienware M15 R1 has a 15.6-inch screen size 15% larger than the 13.5-inch Surface Laptop 2.

Display size
Alienware M15 R1
15.6-inch
Surface Laptop 2
13.5-inch

Prices

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

Surface Laptop 2 Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 (Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$248.95
$304.99 18% OFF
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Tablet 13.5" (2256x1504) Touchscreen Laptop Intel Core i5-8350U 1.7GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Wi-Fi, Camera, Silver, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 Tablet 13.5" (2256x1504) Touchscreen Laptop Intel Core i5-8350U 1.7GHz, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 256GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Wi-Fi, Camera, Silver, Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$327.50
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2, 13.5" (2256 x 1504) Touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U Up to 4.2GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2, 13.5" (2256 x 1504) Touchscreen, Intel Core i7-8650U Up to 4.2GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$399.00
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

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Released20182019
Release Date
  • Introduced: October 2, 2018
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2018
  • Released: October 16 2018
  • Announced at CES 2019
  • Available on January 29, 2019
PricingStarting at 999$Starting at $1,379.99
Generations

Exterior

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Dimensions12.13” x 8.79” x 0.39-0.57” (308.02 mm x 223.2 mm x 9.93 mm-14.47 mm)
Width: 12.13” (308.02 mm)
Depth: 8.79” (223.2 mm)
Height: 0.39 - 0.57” (9.93 - 14.47 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
  • Intel Core i5 › 2.76 lbs (1.26 kg)
  • Intel Core i7 › 2.83 lbs (1.28 kg)
Starting at 4.85 lbs (2.20 kg)
Colors
Black Platinum Burgundy Cobalt Blue
  • Epic Silver
  • Nebula Red
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.5mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
  • 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

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Size13.5 Inches15.6 Inches
Info
  • Display Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (3.4M Pixels)
  • Display Density: 201 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
  • 10nm Oleophobic Coating
  • 100% sRGB color, individually calibrated
Full 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

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Surface Laptop 2 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x Surface Connect™
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 1 x Mini DisplayPort
  • 1 x Headset jack
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

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Processor
  1. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.60 → 3.40 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.70 → 3.60 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.90 → 4.20 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™ i5-8250U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  2. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U
    Intel® UHD Graphics 620
    24 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. 8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U
    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
8GB 16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3 RAM
8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
2666 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
2 x SODIMM slots
Discrete Graphics-
  • 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 1 TB
Soldered BGA PCIe SSD
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

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 5: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compatible.
  • 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 Wireless 4.1 technology
  • Qualcomm QCA61x4A (DW1820) › Bluetooth 4.2
  • Rivet Killer 1550 › Bluetooth 5.0
Ethernet-
  • Killer E2500 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Battery

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Size45.2 Wh
  • 4-cell smart lithium-ion (60 Wh)
  • 6-cell smart lithium-ion (90Wh)
Battery LifeUp to 14.5 hours of typical device usage
  • Up to 17 hours on idle with 90Wh battery.
Power Supply
  • 44W proprietary power supply
    USB-A output: 5W
    Surface Connect output: 39W
  • 130W (19.50 VDC/6.70A)
  • 180W (19.50 VDC/9.23A)
* Support Hybrid Power

Software

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trial
  • Alienware Command Center
  • Alienware Adrenlin
  • Alienware Mobile Connect
  • Microsoft Office 365 (30-day trial)

Camera & Audio

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 720p HD front-facing video camera
  • Front-facing camera
    Alienware FHD (1920x1080 resolution) camera.
Audio
  • Dual microphones
  • OmniSonic stereo speakers with Dolby® Audio™ Premium
  • 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

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
-
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
-
In the box
  • Surface Laptop 2
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
-
Warranty
  • One-year limited hardware warranty
  • Commercial: Advanced Exchange warranty service with expedited device replacement
-
MoreSupports Surface Dial
Supports off-screen interaction only
CHASIS
  • AlienFX Lighting Zones
    6 unique programmable zones with up to 16.8 million distinct colors (Standard).

Key Features

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1
At Glance
Released in Late
2018
3:2 2.2K
13.5”
1504p 60Hz
Weight
2.76 lb
1.25 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-8650U
4C/8T, 1.90 → 4.20 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,106
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,879
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 620
24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
1866 MHz LPDDR3
Surface Laptop 2 Ports
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

Surface Laptop 2 vs. Alienware M15 R1

Microsoft has released the Surface Laptop 2, a 13.5-inch machine, in late-2018. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-8650U with a boost clock speed up to 4.20 GHz. The laptop has an integrated graphics option up to Intel® UHD Graphics 620 (24 Execution Units, 300 → 1150 MHz).

On the other hand, we have the 15.6-inch Alienware M15 R1 was introduced by Dell about a year later 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

Surface Laptop 21
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U77169.71%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U86277.94%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U1,106100.00%
Alienware M15 R11
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8300H93584.54%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8750H97588.16%
3
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H1,04494.39%
01,106

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Laptop 21
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8250U1,97140.39%
2
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-8350U2,98261.11%
3
8th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-8650U3,87979.49%
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 Surface Laptop 2 has a 13.5-inch display which is considerably smaller than the 15.6-inch Alienware M15 R1. In addition, The Surface Laptop 2 weighs 2.76 lbs. about 75% lighter than the 4.85 lbs. Alienware M15 R1. Moreover, measured at 12.13” x 8.79” x 0.57”, the Surface Laptop 2 is much more portable than the Alienware M15 R1 at 14.27” x 10.85” x 0.78”.

Surface Laptop 2Alienware M15 R1

Moving over to upgradability, Microsoft claims that the Surface Laptop 2 supports up to 16GB 1866 MHz LPDDR3 memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users.

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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