Dell XPS 15 (9530) specs:
Worth: $1,499 (beginning); $2,799 (as reviewed)
CPU: Intel Core i7-13700H
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Show: 15.6-inch, 3456 x 2160 OLED Contact
Battery: 8:58
Measurement: 13.6 x 9.1 x 0.7 inches
Weight: 4.2 kilos
Typically all you want is a little bit refresh to shake issues up. Such is the case of the Dell XPS 15 ($1,499 beginning, $2,799 reviewed), a premium laptop computer focusing on inventive professionals. However don’t get it twisted. With its thirteenth Gen Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU, the laptop computer can even function a robust productiveness machine and a satisfactory gaming rig. It’s received a charming 3.5K OLED touchscreen and an excellent speaker setup that makes a powerful case for the XPS 15 being a severe multimedia machine.
However this jack-of-all-trades machine does have a number of flaws in a mushy keyboard and a below-average (however nonetheless longer than 8 hours) battery life that would give some shoppers pause. However the Dell XPS 15 has earned a spot on the finest laptops, finest video modifying laptops and finest 15-inch laptops pages. Learn on to be taught extra about this cellular powerhouse.
Dell XPS 15 pricing and configurations
I had the pleasure of reviewing a semi-tricked out mannequin of the Dell XPS 15. It prices $2,799 and has a 2.4-GHz Intel Core i7-13700H processor with 32GB of RAM, a 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD with an Intel Iris Xe Graphics chip, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM and a 15.6-inch, 3456 x 2160 OLED contact show.
The bottom mannequin prices $1,499 and drops the configuration all the way down to 16GB of RAM, a 512GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, Intel Arc A370M Graphics and a 1920 x 1200 non-touch show. The highest configuration will put an actual dent in your pockets at $4,649. For that value, you get an Intel Core i9-13900H CPU, 64GB of RAM, a whopping 8TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM and a 15.6-inch, 3456 x 2160 contact show.
Dell XPS 15 design
Fairly as ever, the Dell XPS 15 strolls in like a silvery dream. The stately minimalist design is accentuated by the shiny Dell brand within the heart of the anodized aluminum lid. The edges of the laptop computer gleam, drawing consideration to the few ports nestled inside. Open the aluminum magnificence and also you get a carbon fiber weave inside that’s tender to the contact. The keyboard sits in the direction of the highest of the deck, sandwiched between the speaker grilles with an enormous trackpad beneath. The shiny show sits ensconced in Dell’s ultra-slim Infinity Edge bezels.
Weighing 4.2 kilos, the 13.6 x 9.1 x 0.7-inch XPS 15 sits on the heavier aspect of the dimensions in comparison with its rivals, however not by a lot. It matches the Asus VivoBook Professional 16 (4.2 kilos, 13.9 x 9.9 x 0.8 inches), is lighter than the MacBook Professional 16 (4.8 kilos, 14 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches) however heavier than the Samsung Galaxy E book 3 Extremely (4 kilos, 4 x 9.86 x 0.65 inches).
Dell XPS 15 safety
The XPS 15 doesn’t provide a lot in the way in which of safety, however what it does have provides a layer of safety that almost all techniques don’t. The ability button doubles as a fingerprint reader, which when paired with Home windows Hi there makes for sooner, safe login.
Dell XPS 15 ports
The XPS 15 doesn’t have a whole lot of ports, however what it does have received’t disappoint. On the precise sits a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C port with a full-sized SD card reader and a headset jack. A pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports reside on the left with a wedge-shaped lock slot. And in contrast to Apple, Dell is form sufficient to ship the XPS with a dongle adapter.
Dell XPS 15 show
Ah OLED, how do I like thee, let me depend the methods. Within the case of the XPS 15, it’s all in regards to the vibrancy and sharpness of the 15.6-inch, 3.5K (3456 x 2160) OLED contact show. First, let’s discuss sharpness. From the Flerken-induced scratch marks peeking out from Nick Fury’s (Samuel L. Jackson) eye patch to Monica Rambaeu’s (Teyonah Parris) 3B curl sample throughout The Marvels trailer, I didn’t should squint to make out the finer particulars. Kamala Khan’s (Iman Vellani) bed room was an explosion of shade together with bubble gum pinks, ocean blue and persimmon. Hell, I used to be even impressed by the Captain Marvel doll’s strawberry-blonde tresses.
However if you wish to tweak show settings, you may have two choices. Within the My Dell App beneath Shade & Show, there’s Dolby Imaginative and prescient which lets you swap between Vibrant, Darkish and Vivid presets. Dell goes a little bit additional with presets for Web, Cinema, HD Video, Photograph and Vibrant. Plus, the OEM-branded software program supplies sliders for Brightness, Distinction, Black Degree, Temperature and Gamma if you wish to create a customized setting.
The XPS 15 knocked it out of the park after we examined the show’s shade gamut, reproducing a shocking 137.9% of the DCI-P3 gamut. It proved to be rather more vivid than the 90.2% premium laptop computer common, the Galaxy E book (86.2%) and the MacBook Professional (83.7%).
The Dell skilled a setback on our brightness take a look at, averaging solely 371 nits, which is beneath the 383-nit common. The MacBook Professional hit 477 nits whereas the Samsung reached 378-nits on customary mode and 509 nits in HDR mode.
As loath as I’m to the touch such a good looking panel, I’ve to do it for you expensive reader. I’m glad to report the show is agile and aware of my contact, however I’d positively suggest investing in both a microfiber fabric or a stylus.
Dell XPS 15 audio
Loud, clear audio with a truckload of thump, that’s what awaits with the XPS 15’s quad speaker setup. Made up of a pair of tweeters and woofers, Armani White (feat. Denzel Curry)’s “GOATED.” got here with that boisterous knock you’d count on from a tune titled like that. Whereas the lows can’t compete with a pair of laptop audio system, I used to be jamming to the clear bass.
However the audio additionally does an excellent job on the mids and highs on Haitus Kaiyote’s “Crimson Room” which allowed me to groove alongside to guide vocalist Nai Palm’s disaffected alto. The soundstage was spacious sufficient to accommodate a guitar (all the way down to the twang of the strings getting plucked), piano, percussion and bass. Nevertheless, at most quantity, I did discover the piano began sounding a tad distorted.
If you wish to create your personal customized acoustics or cycle by means of one of many 23 EQ presets, merely go to the My Dell module beneath Audio and have at it. I discovered myself biking between R&B, Hip-Hop – Tender and Pop.
Dell XPS 15 keyboard and touchpad
Regardless of its brilliant white backlighting and beneficiant spacing, the XPS 15’s island-style keyboard is a bit mushy. Though the keys do depress with a mild click on, the massive keys didn’t ship sufficient suggestions for my tastes. Nonetheless, I managed 69 phrases per minute on the 10fastfingers take a look at which is just under my standard 70 wpm.
And the place the keyboard is mushy, the touchpad is the whole reverse, delivering agency, springy suggestions. My fingers glided alongside the graceful floor, performing multitouch gestures with the aplomb of Kristi Yamiguchi.
Dell XPS 15 efficiency
Supreme domination… virtually, anyway. Armed with its 2.4-GHz Intel Core i7-13700H processor with 32GB of RAM, the XPS 15 beats up on its foes like Superman apart from the MacBook Professional 16, which has Kyrptonite stashed someplace in its CPU. Nevertheless, the pocket book positively proved its mettle throughout my real-world multitasking testing the place I launched 75 Google Chrome tabs with a mixture of Google Docs, Sheets and Displays together with a number of YouTube and Twitch channels, a wholesome combine of reports websites and a few social media for good measure. The XPS 15 dealt with it like a champ, and it’s solely after I ran CyberPunk 2077 in a background window that I began to expertise some hitching.
However on to the artificial exams. On Geekbench 6, our general efficiency take a look at, the XPS 15 scored 12,171, defeating the 7,803 premium laptop computer common. The Dell nevertheless, had some robust competitors beginning with the Galaxy E book 3 (12,405) which has its personal Core i7-13700H CPU. Subsequent we’ve the VivoBook Professional 16 (12,438, Intel Core i9-13900H CPU) and the MacBook Professional’s (12-core Apple M2 Max CPU) 14,626.
The XPS 15 trancoded a 4K video to 1080p in 5 minutes and 1 second, smoking the 8:18 class common. That’s sooner than the Vivobook Professional 16 and Galaxy E book 3’s instances of 5:50 and 5:26, respectively. The MacBook Professional was the quickest at 3:59.
Throughout the File Switch take a look at, the Dell XPS 15’s 1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD delivered a switch velocity of two,061 megabytes per second, dusting the 1,352.5 MBps class common together with the Samsung’s (1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD) 2,076 MBps. Sadly, the MacBook Professional doesn’t play good with our SSD take a look at. Nevertheless, it does run the BlackMagic Learn/Write take a look at the place it reached 5,717/6,664 MBps.
Dell XPS 15 graphics and gaming
Within the temper to play Star Wars: Jedi Survivor? Don’t seize your Alienware or G-series gaming laptop computer because the XPS 15’s Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with 8GB VRAM is greater than as much as the duty. The truth is, for the cash, we truly suggest the 4070 over the omnipotent 4080 and 4090 graphics chips.
The XPS 15 did nicely throughout our benchmarking. It blew by means of the Sid Meier’s Civilization VI 51-fps premium laptop computer common, hitting a powerful 115 fps at 1080p. The Galaxy E book 3 with its RTX 4050 GPU wasn’t too far behind at 95 fps. The MacBook Professional achieved 58 fps. After we ran the take a look at at native decision, the XPS 15’s body fee dropped to 69 fps, whereas the MacBook Professional notched 59 fps. The Galaxy E book 3 got here out of left subject at 92 fps.
Operating the Shadow of the Tomb Raider take a look at, the XPS 15 produced 67 fps, which falls in need of the 75-fps common, however is best than the Galaxy E book 3’s 54 fps. At native decision, the laptops have been in a useless warmth at 24 fps, which is beneath the 30-fps class common.
After we ran the Borderlands 3 benchmark, the XPS 15 obtained 65 fps at 1080p, which is nice, however beneath the 92-fps class common. A swap to native decision noticed the XPS 15’s body fee fall to 26 fps, which is 10 frames shy of the 36-fps common.
For these moments that you just’re not gaming or photograph or video modifying, the XPS 15 will swap over to its Intel Xe Graphics GPU.
Dell XPS 15 battery life
The XPS 15 lasted 8 hours and 58 minutes on the Laptop computer Magazine battery take a look at which consists of steady internet browsing over Wi-Fi over 150 nits of brightness. The laptop computer falls sufferer to its tremendous excessive decision display and the higher-end GPU. The result’s a time that’s shorter than the ten:25 premium laptop computer common and the MacBook Professional’s ridiculous 18:56. At a 60Hz refresh fee, the Galaxy E book 3 lasted 9:03 and eight:48 when the panel’s set to 120Hz.
Dell XPS 15 warmth
Regardless of its mid-tier GPU, the XPS 15’s aluminum chassis stayed comparatively cool. After working a 15-minute fullscreen video we measured particular spots on the laptop computer, together with the touchpad, which measured 79 levels Fahrenheit. The middle of the keyboard and the undercarriage reached 90 and 92 levels, all of that are beneath our 95-degree consolation threshold.
Dell XPS 15 webcam
The XPS 15 is premium in virtually each method, however its 720p webcam just isn’t one in all them. I attempted capturing in numerous lighting environments, however the consequence was the identical. Good shade accuracy with mediocre element. That meant that whereas my cocoa pores and skin regarded nice when it comes to tone, there was a stage of fuzziness that gave the looks of a filter. I had no drawback studying the textual content on my shirt and the guide within the background.
If you would like a sharper viewing expertise, you’ll wish to take a look at our finest webcams web page.
Dell XPS 15 software program and guarantee
Outdoors of the standard Home windows 11 purposes, the Dell XPS 15 doesn’t have a lot bloatware to talk of. So far as OEM-branding utilities, Dell preinstalled Digital Supply, which installs the software program you bought whereas ordering your system. There’s additionally Dell Replace which ensures that your whole software program is updated. The MyDell hub is the place you toggle energy, audio and show settings whereas SupportAssist means that you can troubleshoot any potential issues or attain out to the corporate’s tech assist group.
Third-party software program consists of Killer Intelligence Heart that means that you can prioritize community bandwidth. GeForce Expertise can also be preinstalled and gives a collection of gamer-centric utilities designed to optimize your gaming expertise.
The Dell XPS 15 ships with a 1-year of premium assist. See how Dell fared throughout Tech Assist Showdown, our annual particular report.
Backside line
Edit images and movies? Test. Run a bunch of spreadsheets and multitasking duties? Test. Run video games at an inexpensive body fee? Test. The Dell XPS 15 can do all that after which some. Dell has created a severe powerhouse of a system with a thirteenth Gen Intel processor and an Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU and doesn’t skimp on the multimedia with a vivid 3.5K OLED contact show and a banging 4-speaker setup. And whereas Dell is focusing on inventive professionals, the XPS 15 could make nearly any PC fan glad.
Nevertheless, for $2,799, I want the brightness was higher and the battery life was longer. Now in case you’re a Mac fan, it’s best to positively look into the MacBook 16, however keep in mind the system I reviewed prices an eye-watering $5,299. General, the Dell XPS 15 is a jack-of-all-trades laptop computer that does fairly darn nicely at every little thing.
