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- Table of Contents
- Top
- Main Differences
- Design
- Display
- Interface
- Connectivity
- Configuration
- Performance
- Additional Features And Software
- Comments
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) vs Dell Alienware m15 R3 (2020)
Side-by-Side Comparison
Products
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Dell Alienware m15 R3 (2020)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.2
Updated Aug 08, 2024 02:46 PM
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Amazon.comTested using Methodology v0.8
Updated Jan 12, 2024 04:04 PM
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BestBuy.com
Size13.3"
Operating SystemmacOS
Size15"
Operating SystemWindows 10
Variants
- MacBook Air 13 (MGND3LL/A) (Gold - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGNE3LL/A) (Gold - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN93LL/A) (Silver - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGNA3LL/A) (Silver - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN63LL/A) (Space Gray - 7-core GPU/8GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 13 (MGN73LL/A) (Space Gray - 7-core GPU/8GB/512GB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (ALW15M-D5510B) (Dark Side of the Moon - FHD/144Hz/i5/GTX 1650Ti/8GB/512GB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (ALW15M-D5715B) (Dark Side of the Moon - FHD/144Hz/i7-10750H/GTX 1650Ti/16GBG/512GB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (AWM15-7593BLK-PUS) (Dark Side of the Moon - FHD/300Hz/i7-10750H/RTX 2070/16GB/512GB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (ALW15M-D5725W) (Lunar Light - FHD/144Hz/i7-10750H/GTX 1660Ti/16GB/512GB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (AWM15-7272WHT-PUS) (Lunar Light - FHD/144Hz/i7-10750H/RTX 2060/16GB/512GB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (AWM15-7302WHT-PUS) (Lunar Light - FHD/144Hz/i7-10750H/RTX 2070/16GB/1TB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (AWM15-7418WHT-PUS) (Lunar Light - FHD/300Hz/i7-10750H/RTX 2070/16GB/1TB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (ALW15M-D5746W) (Lunar Light - FHD/300Hz/i7-10750H/RTX 2070/16GB/1TB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (ALW15M-D5758W) (Lunar Light - FHD/300Hz/i7-10750H/RTX 2070/32GB/1TB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (ALW15M-D5858W) (Lunar Light - FHD/300Hz/i7-10875H/RTX 2070/32GB/1TB)
- Alienware m15 R3 (AWM15-7590WHT-PUS) (Lunar Light - FHD/300Hz/i7-10875H/RTX 2080/32GB/1TB)
Our Verdict
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Dell Alienware m15 R3 (2020)
The Dell Alienware m15 R3 (2020) and the Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) are very different laptops. The M15 R3 is a 15 inch gaming model that runs Windows, while the MacBook Air is a 13 inch productivity-focused ultraportable. If you only need a laptop for productivity, you're better off with the MacBook Air because it's more portable and has a significantly longer battery life. The MacBook Air's screen is sharper, brighter, and more colorful, with full sRGB and DCI P3 coverage. However, the m15 R3 may be a better option for creative professionals because it can be configured with a discrete GPU. The m15 R3 is much better for gaming, not only because it has better graphical performance, but because the MacBook Air runs on an ARM-based SoC, and the majority of games haven't been optimized for this new architecture.
Notice: Two or more of the products selected have been tested with different test methodologies, so some of the results below aren't directly comparable. Learn how our test benches and scoring system work, and read more about the latest changes to our laptops test methodology.
Main Differences for
Threshold
School
8.4
6.6
Battery
8.8
2.9
Portability
9.1
5.6
Ports
4.0
9.5
Keyboard
7.6
8.8
Touchpad
8.8
7.6
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.8
9.3
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.5
8.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
9.1
5.6
Dimensions Photo
Size
13.3"
15"
Thickness
0.5" (1.3 cm)
0.9" (2.2 cm)
Width
12.0" (30.5 cm)
14.2" (36.1 cm)
Depth
8.4" (21.2 cm)
10.7" (27.2 cm)
Volume
51.3 in³ (840.6 cm³)
131.8 in³ (2,160.2 cm³)
Weight
2.9 lbs (1.3 kg)
4.9 lbs (2.2 kg)
Charger Size
5.5 in³ (90.6 cm³)
32.3 in³ (529.3 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
2.2 lbs (1.0 kg)
Serviceability
3.3
7.8
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
5.5
9.5
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
0
3
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
Yes
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2560 x 1600
1920 x 1080
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:9
Pixel Density
225 PPI
142 PPI
Panel Type
IPS
IPS
Touch Screen
No
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
84%
83%
Refresh Rate
5.9
8.6
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
60 Hz
300 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
No
Contrast
6.8
7.0
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
1,044 : 1
1,123 : 1
Brightness
7.8
6.6
Maximum Brightness
372 cd/m²
267 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
4 cd/m²
13 cd/m²
Reflections
8.9
7.0
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Matte
Total Reflections
1.73%
5.97%
Indirect Reflections
0.16%
4.31%
Calculated Direct Reflections
1.57%
1.66%
Black Uniformity
7.4
6.6
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
1.071%
1.591%
Horizontal Viewing Angle
6.8
7.3
Horizontal Viewing Angle Video
Horizontal Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Left
25°
27°
Color Washout From Right
28°
28°
Horizontal Hue Picture
Color Shift From Left
40°
60°
Color Shift From Right
46°
60°
Horizontal Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Left
28°
30°
Brightness Loss From Right
31°
32°
Black Level Raise From Left
60°
60°
Black Level Raise From Right
60°
60°
Gamma Shift From Left
29°
30°
Gamma Shift From Right
32°
30°
Vertical Viewing Angle
6.8
9.3
Vertical Viewing Angle Video
Vertical Chroma Picture
Color Washout From Below
25°
45°
Color Washout From Above
25°
45°
Vertical Hue Picture
Color Shift From Below
37°
45°
Color Shift From Above
41°
45°
Vertical Lightness Picture
Brightness Loss From Below
27°
42°
Brightness Loss From Above
28°
40°
Black Level Raise From Below
45°
45°
Black Level Raise From Above
45°
45°
Gamma Shift From Below
37°
45°
Gamma Shift From Above
35°
45°
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
9.7
6.7
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.75
4.2
Avg. Gamma
2.2
2.33
Avg. Color dE
1.21
3.119
Avg. Color Temperature
6,883.6 K
6,192 K
Color Gamut
9.4
8.6
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
99.96%
99.87%
sRGB uv
99.84%
99.58%
Adobe RGB xy
88.07%
78.09%
Adobe RGB uv
92.88%
87.08%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.57%
79.94%
DCI P3 uv
99.15%
85.84%
Rec. 2020 xy
72.25%
57.56%
Rec. 2020 uv
73.92%
63.51%
Flicker
10
10
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
Yes
Yes
Flicker Frequency
No Flicker
No Flicker
Flicker Active Below
0%
0%
Interface
Keyboard
7.6
8.8
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
7.5
8.5
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Per-Key RGB
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
63 gf
69 gf
Actuation Force
37 gf
33 gf
Pre-Travel
0.76 mm
1.22 mm
Total Travel
0.85 mm
1.84 mm
Touchpad
8.8
7.6
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
9.0
8.0
Size
14.9 in² (96.0 cm²)
9.7 in² (62.8 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
8.9
7.8
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
79 dB SPL
76 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
4.5 dB
6.1 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
1.6
1.5
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
247 Hz
217 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
20 kHz
19 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.9 dB
0.7 dB
Webcam & Microphone
8.2
7.0
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
8.5
7.0
Resolution
720p
720p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
No
No
Connectivity
Ports
4.0
9.5
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
0
3
USB-C Ports
2
1
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt 3
Thunderbolt 3
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
No
2.0
DisplayPort
No
Mini DisplayPort 1.4
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
No
MicroSD UHS 2
Ethernet
No
Yes
Proprietary Port
No
Alienware Graphics Amplifier
Security Lock
No
Yes
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.0
5.1
Configuration
CPU
Brand
Apple
Intel
Model
M1
Core i7-10750H
Core Count
8
6
Thread Count
8
12
GPU
Brand
Apple
NVIDIA
Model
M1
GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER Max-Q
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Dedicated
VRAM Size
N/A
8 GB
RAM
Capacity
8 GB
32 GB
Modules
2 (Soldered)
2 (Soldered)
Type
LP-DDR4X
DDR4
Speed
4,266 MHz
2,666 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
256 GB
1,000 GB
Usable Capacity
218 GB
950 GB
Drive 1
SDRGJHI4
PC611 NVMe SK Hynix 1TB
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
8.8
9.0
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
1,721 points
1,263 points
CPU Multi-Thread
7,437 points
6,122 points
GPU Compute
19,359 points
109,357 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.1
8.7
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,497 points
1,202 points
Multi-Thread
6,855 points
7,328 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
6.2
8.6
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
7.3 min
4.6 min
GPU Render Time
N/A
1.1 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
34 s
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
6.1
9.5
Basemark Image
Overall Score
26,868
101,365
Storage Drive Performance
9.3
9.2
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
2,580.5 MB/s
1,639.2 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
2,487.4 MB/s
2,584.1 MB/s
Random Write Speed
51.5 MB/s
85.3 MB/s
Random Read Speed
60.5 MB/s
46.1 MB/s
Battery
8.8
2.9
Capacity
50 Wh
86 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
13.3 hrs
3.1 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
6.6 hrs
2.4 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.6 hrs
0.9 hrs
Charge Time
3.1 hrs
3.0 hrs
Borderlands 3
2.4
7.6
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
15 fps
92 fps
1% Low
6 fps
54 fps
0.1% Low
3 fps
36 fps
1% Low Delta
86 ms
8 ms
0.1% Low Delta
302 ms
17 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
32 fps
177 fps
Civilization VI
5.6
8.1
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
32 fps
145 fps
1% Low
23 fps
79 fps
0.1% Low
21 fps
57 fps
1% Low Delta
12 ms
6 ms
0.1% Low Delta
17 ms
11 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
71 fps
208 fps
Avg. Turn Time
11.63 s
8.63 s
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
7.7
9.5
CS:GO graph
Avg. FPS
65 fps
361 fps
1% Low
N/A
177 fps
0.1% Low
N/A
96 fps
1% Low Delta
N/A
3 ms
0.1% Low Delta
N/A
8 ms
Avg. FPS On Low
94 fps
524 fps
Counter-Strike 2
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
1% Low
0.1% Low
1% Low Delta
0.1% Low Delta
Avg. FPS On Low
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
2.0
8.1
Avg. FPS
13 fps
108 fps
1% Low
9 fps
68 fps
0.1% Low
5 fps
41 fps
1% Low Delta
31 ms
5 ms
0.1% Low Delta
135 ms
15 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
26 fps
120 fps
Thermals And Noise
8.3
6.7
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
28 °C (82 °F)
37 °C (99 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
47 °C (117 °F)
44 °C (111 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
N/A
25.0 dBA
Fan Noise Under Load
N/A
51.5 dBA
Power & Fan Control App
No
Yes
Performance Over Time
7.5
9.8
Performance Over Time Graph
Performance Over Time Image
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
N/A
98 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
13% loss
1% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
N/A
71 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
3% loss
0% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
macOS
Windows 10
Additional Software
None
Yes
Extra Features
RGB Illumination
No
Yes
Touch Pen
No
No
Secondary Display
No
No
Biometrics
Fingerprint Sensor
No
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Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020)
Dell Alienware m15 R3 (2020)
Comments
Apple MacBook Air 13 (M1, 2020) vs Dell Alienware m15 R3 (2020): Main Discussion
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