Alienware M15 R5 specs, features, and analysis

Here's what you need to know about 2021 Alienware M15 R5 including price, display info, CPU, RAM, storage, battery, and more.

Alienware M15 R5 image

Alienware M15 R5

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Specifications

Availability

Alienware M15 R5
Released2021
Release DateAnnounced on April 20, 2021
Generations
Alienware M15 R5 AMD Ryzen Price
Alienware M17R5 Gaming Laptop - 17.3-inch FHD 480Hz Display, AMD Ryzen 9-6900HX, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GDDR6, Windows 11 Home, 1 Year Support - Dark Side of the Moon, Black
 Alienware M17R5 Gaming Laptop - 17.3-inch FHD 480Hz Display, AMD Ryzen 9-6900HX, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GDDR6, Windows 11 Home, 1 Year Support - Dark Side of the Moon, Black
By Alienware
$1,979.97
See at Amazon
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
$1,999.99
See at Amazon
Newest Alienware m15 R5 15.6" 360Hz 1ms FHD Gaming Laptop, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX (8 cores), GeForce RTX 3070, 32GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, HDMI, WiFi 6, RGB Keyboard, Win 11 Home, Dark Side of The Moon
 Newest Alienware m15 R5 15.6" 360Hz 1ms FHD Gaming Laptop, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX (8 cores), GeForce RTX 3070, 32GB RAM, 1TB PCIe SSD, HDMI, WiFi 6, RGB Keyboard, Win 11 Home, Dark Side of The Moon
By Dell
$1,489.99
See at Amazon
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
$1,466.07
See at Amazon
Alienware M15 R7 Gaming Laptop, 15.6 inch QHD 240Hz 2ms Display, AMD Ryzen R7 6800H, GeForce RTX 3070Ti, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD, USB-C, Wi-Fi 6, RGB LED Lighting, Windows 11, Black
 Alienware M15 R7 Gaming Laptop, 15.6 inch QHD 240Hz 2ms Display, AMD Ryzen R7 6800H, GeForce RTX 3070Ti, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD, USB-C, Wi-Fi 6, RGB LED Lighting, Windows 11, Black
By Dell
$1,899.99
See at Amazon

Exterior

Alienware M15 R5
Dimensions14.02” x 10.73” x 0.47 - 0.76” (356.20 x 272.50 x 12 - 19.25 mm)
Weight5.34 - 5.93 lbs (2.42 - 2.69 kg)
ColorsDark Side of the Moon with High Endurance Clear Coat and Silky Smooth Finish
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • 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

Alienware M15 R5
Size15.6 Inches
Info
  • 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

Alienware M15 R5
Ports
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

Alienware M15 R5
Processor
  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

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Alienware M15 R51
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H1,33494.21%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX1,416100.00%
01,416

Geekbench 5 Multi-Core

Alienware M15 R51
AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800H7,09892.63%
2
AMD Ryzen™ 9 5900HX7,663100.00%
07,663
Integrated Graphics
  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
8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
3200MHz Dual-channel DDR4 SDRAM.
2 x SO-DIMM slots.
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti
    4GB GDDR6 VRAM.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060
    6GB GDDR6 VRAM.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3070
    8GB GDDR6 VRAM.
Storage2 x M.2 2230/2280 slots (Up to 2TB each)

Connectivity

Alienware M15 R5
Wi-FiRivet 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 5.2
EthernetGigabit Ethernet Controller
Transfer rate: 10/100/1000/2500 Mbps

Battery

Alienware M15 R5
Size
  • 56 WHr, 3-cell smart lithium-ion battery
  • 86 WHr, 6-cell smart lithium-ion battery
Power Supply
180W 240W
power adapter.

Software

Alienware M15 R5
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Built-in Apps
  • 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

Alienware M15 R5
CameraFront-facing camera
Alienware HD (1280x720 resolution) camera.
Audio
  • 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

Key Features

Alienware M15 R5
At Glance
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

Photos

Alienware M15 R5 thumb image
Alienware M15 R5 ports
Alienware M15 R5 thumb image
Alienware M15 R5 ports

Our analysis and reviews

Alienware M15 R5 image

What we like

Reasons to like about Alienware M15 R5.

Supports Windows 11

Alienware M15 R5 exceed all minimum system requirements for Windows 11.

RequirementsAlienware M15 R5
Secure BootYes
TPM 2.0 TPM 2.0
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 7-5800H → AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX
4GB RAM8GB → 32GB
64GB Drive256GB → 4TB
2 Cores CPU8 cores
Upgradable storage

Alienware M15 R5 comes with two M.2 slots that you can easily upgrade and install an additional SSD to expand the storage on the device. Learn more

Storage SlotsAlienware M15 R5
M.2x2
Upgradable memory

The Alienware M15 R5 has two RAM slots which you can use to add or replace with a larger one if it isn't already at the maximum size that the system chipset support. Learn more

MemoryAlienware M15 R5
Slotsx2
TypeDDR4
Speed3200 MHz
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 8GB GDDR6

What's new

Improvements over its predecessor.

Slightly faster CPU performance

AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX inside Alienware M15 R5 has a 9% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i9-10980HK inside Alienware M15 R4.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Alienware M15 R5 - AMD Ryzen 9-5900HX
7,663
Alienware M15 R5 - AMD Ryzen 7-5800H
7,098
Alienware M15 R4 - Intel Core i9-10980HK
7,013
Alienware M15 R4 - Intel Core i7-10870H
6,596
Supports faster memory

Alienware M15 R5 supports a faster memory speed than the Alienware M15 R4. It supports up to 3200MHz versus 2933MHz of system memory on the Alienware M15 R4.

Memory type and speed
Alienware M15 R5 - DDR4
3,200 MHz
Alienware M15 R4 - DDR4
2,933 MHz
Upgradable memory

Alienware M15 R5 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 Alienware M15 R4 since it has onboard memory.

MemoryAlienware M15 R5Alienware M15 R4
Slots
x2
Onboard
TypeDDR4DDR4

What's missing

Downsides over its predecessor.

About 13% heavier

Alienware M15 R5 weighed 5.34 pounds, 13% heavier than the 4.65 pounds Alienware M15 R4.

WeightAlienware M15 R5Alienware M15 R4
Pound
5.34 lbs.
4.65 lbs.
Kilogram
2.42 kg
2.11 kg

FAQs

To further help, here are some frequently asked questions you may have about the 2021 Alienware M15 R5:

  1. Can you add more RAM to a Alienware M15 R5?
  2. Can you upgrade SSD storage on a Alienware M15 R5?
  3. What Wi-Fi and Bluetooth does Alienware M15 R5 have?
  4. What ports are on a Alienware M15 R5?

Popular comparisons

Here are the most frequently requested comparisons for Alienware M15 R5:

Alienware M15 R5Alienware M15 R4VS
Alienware M15 R5
vs.
Alienware M15 R4
Alienware M15 R5Alienware X14 R1VS
Alienware M15 R5
vs.
Alienware X14 R1

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