Surface Laptop 3 vs. Alienware M15 R1: Full specs comparison

We have comprehensively compared the specifications for the Surface Laptop 3 and Alienware M15 R1 models. The report includes detailed information regarding both models' CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

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Surface Laptop 3

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Alienware M15 R1 image

Alienware M15 R1

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Surface Laptop 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface Laptop 3 is better than Alienware M15 R1.

Supports faster memory

Surface Laptop 3 supports a faster memory speed than the Alienware M15 R1. It supports up to 3733MHz versus 2666MHz of system memory on the Alienware M15 R1.

Memory type and speed
Surface Laptop 3 - LPDDR4X
3,733 MHz
Alienware M15 R1 - DDR4
2,666 MHz
About 43% lighter

Surface Laptop 3 weighed 2.79 pounds, 43% lighter than the 4.85 pounds Alienware M15 R1.

WeightSurface Laptop 3Alienware M15 R1
Pound
2.79 lbs.
4.85 lbs.
Kilogram
1.27 kg
2.20 kg

Alienware M15 R1 Pros

Reasons that Alienware M15 R1 is better than Surface Laptop 3.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-9750H inside Alienware M15 R1 has a 78% better multi-core CPU performance score than the AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition inside Surface Laptop 3.

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 3 - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Surface Laptop 3 - Intel Core i5-1035G7
3,691
Alienware M15 R1 - Intel Core i5-8300H
3,269
Surface Laptop 3 - AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition
2,741
Surface Laptop 3 - AMD Ryzen 5-3580U Microsoft Surface Edition
2,438
Supports larger memory

Alienware M15 R1 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Laptop 3. It supports up to 32GB versus 16GB of system memory on the Surface Laptop 3.

Max system memory size
Alienware M15 R1
32 GB
Surface Laptop 3
16 GB
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 3 since it has onboard memory.

MemorySurface Laptop 3Alienware M15 R1
Slots
Onboard
x2
TypeLPDDR4XDDR4
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 3.

Display size
Alienware M15 R1
15.6-inch
Surface Laptop 3
13.5-inch

Prices

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

Surface Laptop 3 Price
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 13.5" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-8GB Memory - 256GB Solid State Drive (PKX-00003) Matte Black (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$297.00
$319.00 7% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive (Latest Model) – Platinum with Alcantara (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 – 13.5" Touch-Screen – Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 512GB Solid State Drive (Latest Model) – Platinum with Alcantara (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$429.29
$472.00 9% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (2023) - 12.4" Touchscreen, Thin & Lightweight, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD SSD, with Windows 11, Platinum Color Copilot
 Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 (2023) - 12.4" Touchscreen, Thin & Lightweight, Intel Core i5, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD SSD, with Windows 11, Platinum Color Copilot
By Microsoft
$666.64
$799.99 17% OFF
See at Amazon
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
$1,771.99
$1,899.97 7% OFF
See at Amazon
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
$2,999.97
See at Amazon
Dell Alienware m16 R1 Gaming Laptop 2023 16” WQXGA 2560 x 1600 IPS 240 Hertz Intel Core i7-13700HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 32GB DDR5 1TB SSD Thunderbolt 4 Windows 11 Home
 Dell Alienware m16 R1 Gaming Laptop 2023 16” WQXGA 2560 x 1600 IPS 240 Hertz Intel Core i7-13700HX NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 32GB DDR5 1TB SSD Thunderbolt 4 Windows 11 Home
By Dell
$1,999.00
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

Surface Laptop 3Alienware M15 R1
Released20192019
Release Date
  • Introduced: October 2, 2019 (Microsoft October Event)
  • Pre-ordered: October 2, 2019
  • Released: October 22, 2019
  • Announced at CES 2019
  • Available on January 29, 2019
Pricing
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) › Starting at 999$
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”) › Starting at 1,199$
Starting at $1,379.99
Generations-

Exterior

Surface Laptop 3Alienware M15 R1
Dimensions
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    12.1” x 8.8” x 0.57” (308 mm x 223 mm x 14.5 mm).
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    13.4” x 9.6” x 0.57” (339.5 mm x 244 mm x 14.69 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
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    • 2.84 lb (1,288 g)
      Sandstone and Matte Black
    • 2.79 lb (1,265 g)
      Cobalt Blue and Platinum
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    • 3.40 lb (1,542 g)
Starting at 4.85 lbs (2.20 kg)
Colors
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    • Metal
      Matte Black Sandstone
    • Alcantara
      Matte Black Platinum
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    • Metal
      Matte Black Platinum
  • Epic Silver
  • Nebula Red
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size backlit keyboard with the soft-touch feel and full 1.3mm travel.
    • Large palm rest with premium Alcantara® material for maximized typing comfort.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 115 mm x 76.66 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 3Alienware M15 R1
Size13.5 Inches15.6 Inches
Info
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    • Resolution: 2256 x 1504 (3.4M Pixels)
    • Pixel Per Inch: 201
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    • Resolution: 2496 x 1664 (4.15M Pixels)
    • Pixel Per Inch: 201
  • 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 3Alienware M15 R1
Surface Laptop 3 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 1 x Full-size USB 3.0
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2
    Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort.
  • 1 x Surface Connect™
    Supports charging and docking station.
  • 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 3Alienware M15 R1
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.70 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  3. AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.10 → 3.70 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 4MB L3 Cache, 15W
  4. AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 4MB L3 Cache, 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. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  3. AMD Ryzen™ 5 3580U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    Radeon™ Vega 9 Graphics
    9 Graphics Cores, 1300 MHz
  4. AMD Ryzen™ 7 3780U Microsoft Surface® Edition
    Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics
    11 Graphics Cores, 1400 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
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”)
    • 8GB 16GB
      3733 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”)
    • 8GB 16GB
      2400 MHz DDR4 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
Removable M.2 NVMe 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 3Alienware M15 R1
Wi-Fi
  • Surface Laptop 3 (13.5”) Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
  • Surface Laptop 3 (15”) 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 5.0 technology
  • Qualcomm QCA61x4A (DW1820) › Bluetooth 4.2
  • Rivet Killer 1550 › Bluetooth 5.0
Ethernet-
  • Killer E2500 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Battery

Surface Laptop 3Alienware M15 R1
Size45.8 Wh
  • 4-cell smart lithium-ion (60 Wh)
  • 6-cell smart lithium-ion (90Wh)
Battery LifeUp to 11.5 hours of typical device usage
  • Up to 17 hours on idle with 90Wh battery.
Power Supply
  • 60W power supply with USB-A (5W) (65W total)
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-80% in about one hour)
  • 130W (19.50 VDC/6.70A)
  • 180W (19.50 VDC/9.23A)
* Support Hybrid Power

Software

Surface Laptop 3Alienware 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 3Alienware 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 far-field Studio Mics
  • 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 3Alienware 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 3
  • 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 3Alienware M15 R1
At Glance
Released in
2019
3:2 2.5K
13.5”
1664p 60Hz
Weight
2.79 lb
1.27 kg
Up to
AMD Ryzen 7-3780U Microsoft Surface Edition
4C/8T, 2.30 → 4.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
721
Single Core
Geekbench 5
2,741
Multi-Core
With integrated
Radeon™ RX Vega 11 Graphics
11 Graphics Cores, 1400 MHz
Configurable up to
16GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Laptop 3 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

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