At a look
Professional’s Ranking
Execs
- Glorious design and construct high quality
- Skinny, mild for its measurement
- Enticing OLED show
- GPU efficiency will get an enormous improve
Cons
- No USB-A, HDMI, or Ethernet ports
- OLED show may very well be brighter
Our Verdict
Dell’s new XPS 15 equips the newest Intel and Nvidia {hardware} to ship massive efficiency good points with little draw back.
Value When Reviewed
$2,799
Finest Costs At present: Dell XPS 15 9530
$2499
The Dell XPS 15 is an elder of the laptop computer world. It carries itself with a stately, reserved method, and wouldn’t dream of troubling itself with trivia like a radical new colorway or totally different badging. 2023’s XPS 15 retains the pomp however delivers one main enchancment: It’s lots faster than earlier than.
In search of extra choices? Take a look at our roundup of one of the best ultraportable laptops accessible immediately.
Dell XPS 15: Specs and options
The 2023 Dell XPS 15 leaps to Intel’s Thirteenth-gen Core processors and Nvidia’s RTX 40-series graphics. The highest-tier GPU is kicked up two rungs from the RTX 3050 Ti within the outgoing mannequin to the RTX 4070 within the new XPS 15.
- CPU: Intel Core i7-13700H
- Reminiscence: 32GB LPDDR5
- Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 4070 (40-watt TGP)
- Show: 15.6-inch 3.5K OLED
- Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
- Webcam: 720p
- Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C with Energy Supply and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 1x USB-C with Energy Supply and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 1x SDcard reader, 1x 3.5mm combo audio
- Networking: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
- Biometrics: Home windows Hey fingerprint, facial recognition
- Battery capability: 86 watt-hours
- Dimensions: 13.57 x 9.06 x 0.71 inches
- Weight: 4.21 kilos
- MSRP: $2,799 as-tested ($1,499 base)
The overview configuration, which included the top-tier GPU and upgraded OLED show, rang up at $2,799. Base fashions are extra reasonably priced, nevertheless, with an MSRP of simply $1,499. That drops the graphics to Intel’s Arc A370 and the show to a 1080p IPS display, however you continue to obtain an Intel Core i7-13700H processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB stable state drive.
Dell XPS 15: Design and construct high quality
IDG / Matthew Smith
Dell’s XPS product line settled on a design language in the course of the final decade and hasn’t modified since. It’s a bit boring, to make certain, however reveals a hard-won confidence within the fundamentals of the XPS design language. It might look the identical as previous XPS 15 fashions, nevertheless it’s additionally good-looking and feels sturdy. That’s what issues.
Seems apart, the XPS 15 is moderately slim and light-weight for its measurement. It ideas the scales at 4.23 kilos when configured with the OLED show present in my overview unit and measures a mere .71 inches thick, in addition to roughly 13.5 inches throughout and 9 inches deep. The XPS 15 is a bit smaller than a MacBook Professional 16 or Razer Blade 16 (or Blade 15) and weighs much less, too.
The XPS 15 earns high marks in construct high quality with inflexible panels throughout the highest and backside and loads of reinforcement by way of the keyboard. Show flex is a non-issue and even the firmest typing fingers will trigger solely a touch of wobble throughout the keyboard floor.
Dell XPS 15: Keyboard, trackpad, pen
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IDG / Matthew Smith
The Dell XPS 15 has a spacious keyboard with a centered format. I discovered it instantly acquainted and had loads of room to maneuver whereas typing at excessive speeds. The centered format ditches the numpad, nevertheless, which can trouble these aiming to compete within the Microsoft Excel Championship (actually, it’s a factor).
Key really feel is sweet however unremarkable with cheap key journey and a timid bottoming motion that gives solely a touch of tactile suggestions. It’s just like an Apple MacBook Professional 16 and a contact improved over Razer’s Blade 16, however can’t beat Lenovo laptops just like the Slim Professional 7. Keyboard backlighting is customary and does the job with little fuss.
Dell’s spacious touchpad measures about six inches vast and three inches deep. That’s giant for any laptop computer and makes most use of the spacious inside. The touchpad is responsive and simply handles multitouch gestures however often picks up unintended inputs when typing. Even so, it’s a very good touchpad and cozy to make use of for hours on finish.
Dell XPS 15: Show, audio
IDG / Matthew Smith
The entry-level Dell XPS 15 has a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS non-touch show, however my check laptop computer loved an improve to the three.5K OLED touchscreen. The show’s 3456×2160 decision locations it simply wanting true 4K (which has a decision of 3840×2160) however appears to be like sharp all the identical, squeezing a formidable 261 pixels into each inch. Nice fonts look wonderful and video games seem extraordinarily crisp when run on the show’s native decision.
Picture high quality is in any other case wonderful. OLED offers a wonderful distinction ratio, vast shade gamut, and good shade accuracy, all of which provides as much as a vibrant, punchy picture with a tangible sense of realism and depth. Excessive-quality content material, like a 4K film ripped from a Blu-Ray or bought from a digital retailer, appears to leap out from the show in dynamic, high-contrast scenes.
OLED isn’t excellent, nevertheless, and brightness is a wrestle. The laptop computer quotes a most brightness of 400 nits and achieved 403 nits in testing. This, mixed with the shiny show coat, could make the show a tad uncomfortable in brilliant rooms. The shortage of brightness spells bother for HDR, which appears to be like good however lacks brilliance and luminance element in comparison with a Mini-LED show, resembling these discovered within the Razer Blade 16 and Apple MacBook Professional 16.
Buyers who care extra for operate than picture high quality ought to think about sticking with the cheaper 1,920 x 1,200 IPS display. Although nowhere close to as enticing, it gives a better most brightness of 500 nits and has an anti-glare end.
A pair of upward-facing audio system are positioned alongside the XPS 15’s keyboard. They ship robust, clear audio that received’t be muffled or amplified by the floor the laptop computer is positioned on. Distortion is a matter at excessive quantity, nevertheless, because the bass crowds into the midrange and highs start to sound shrill. Music sounds higher at decrease volumes, fortunately, and this stays loud sufficient to fill a house workplace with tunes.
Dell XPS 15: Webcam, microphone, biometrics
A meager 720p webcam squeezes into the XPS 15’s tiny high bezel. Sticking with 720p prevents the necessity for a webcam cut-out or bigger bezel however comes at the price of a fuzzy, ill-defined picture. It’s okay for video calls however won’t ever provide help to look your greatest.
The twin-array microphone is best, recording clear, clear dialogue that’s simple for listeners to grasp. Audio high quality stays moderately tinny, nevertheless. Noise cancellation is included and efficient, eradicating repetitive sounds of modest quantity with no unwell results.
A fingerprint reader is supplied on the ability button for fast biometric login. It really works in addition to any Home windows fingerprint reader I’ve tried—which is to say it normally works however can have bother in case your finger is soiled, moist, or positioned at an odd angle. Home windows Hey facial recognition can be accessible and way more dependable, as it really works in each mild and darkish situations and may be set as much as acknowledge you with or with out glasses.
Dell XPS 15: Connectivity
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IDG / Matthew Smith
Dell is all-in on trendy connectivity, ditching each USB-A and Ethernet in favor of three USB-C ports. Two of those assist Thunderbolt 4 and all three assist Energy Supply. Which means the included 130 watt energy adapter, which makes use of USB-C, can cost the laptop computer by way of any of the three USB-C ports.
The XPS 15’s flanks additionally include a full-sized SDcard reader and three.5mm audio jack, however that’s it. Those that nonetheless use older USB-A units, or want an HDMI or DisplayPort output, might want to use an adapter. Fortuitously, XPS 15 ships with an adapter that converts a USB-C port to USB-A and HDMI.
That also leaves wired Ethernet within the chilly. You’ll want to purchase an extra adapter or a USB-C hub/dock that helps Ethernet.
Or maybe not. The Dell XPS 15 helps the newest Wi-Fi 6E customary in addition to Bluetooth 5.3. Wi-Fi efficiency was robust with obtain speeds as much as 80MB/s from Steam and The Epic Retailer. That’s virtually as fast because the speeds I obtain from my Gigabit Web service linked over wired Ethernet.
Dell XPS 15: Efficiency
The Dell XPS 15 I acquired was a mid-range mannequin with an Intel Core i7-13700H processor, Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics, 32GB of RAM, and 1TB NVMe stable state drive. Dell gives some upgrades from right here together with a Core i9-13900H processor and as much as 64GB of reminiscence.
IDG / Matthew Smith
PCMark 10, a holistic benchmark, kicks off the exams with a mediocre rating of 6,665. That is notably behind another highly effective laptops, although it’s additionally value mentioning that the Dell XPS 15 is lighter and thinner than the laptops it loses to. The XPS 15 does handle a leap over final yr’s mannequin, nevertheless, scoring six % higher.
IDG / Matthew Smith
I used to be actually stunned by the Cinebench R15 check, which reveals the older Dell XPS 15 a tad forward of the brand new mannequin. The brand new XPS 15 additionally falls a tad behind the Lenovo Legion 5i, one other laptop computer with Intel Twelfth-gen Core {hardware}. This means that the multicore efficiency of Intel’s new Core i7-13700H will not be a lot totally different from the prior mannequin.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Handbrake, alternatively, reveals a major win for the brand new Dell XPS 15 over the prior mannequin, although it additionally nonetheless kind of ties the Lenovo Legion 5i with the previous Intel Core i7-12700H. Essentially the most vital takeaway from this check is that design issues. There’s clearly vital variance between laptops with the identical processor, which can trigger outcomes to bend exterior of what’s anticipated.
IDG / Matthew Smith
3DMark Time Spy brings us to the graphics benchmarks and, wow, the brand new Dell XPS 15 delivers. Upgrading from an RTX 3050 Ti to an RTX 4070 will increase efficiency by an incredible 72 %.
With that stated, this end result additionally marks a transparent distinction between the Dell XPS 15, a premium efficiency laptop computer, and friends that fall into the gaming laptop computer class. Opponents that target gaming toss in way more highly effective GPUs and reap the advantages in 3D benchmarks (although they pay for that in battery life, as I’ll present shortly).
IDG / Matthew Smith
Shadow of the Tomb Raider delivers one other massive enchancment however, as soon as once more, marks a transparent line between the XPS 15 and full-on gaming laptops. I nonetheless really feel this result’s a constructive, nevertheless, because it means the Dell simply offers a fluid 60 FPS gaming expertise. The older mannequin may common 60 FPS, however would generally dip beneath that mark, which may trigger stutters or dips in fluidity.
IDG / Matthew Smith
Metro Exodus demonstrates one other game-changing enchancment, enhancing the typical frames per second from an unplayable 16 FPS to a barely tolerable 28 FPS. That will appear a bit disappointing, however the Excessive settings we use are fairly excessive, and the Dell XPS 15 is just some minor element tweaks from a gentle 30 FPS.
I additionally ran Cyberpunk 2077 to guage the laptop computer’s ray-tracing efficiency. The RTX 4070 within the XPS 15 averaged solely 20 FPS at 1080p with Extremely element settings and Extremely ray-tracing enabled. Nevertheless, turning on DLSS 3 boosted that to a gentle 60 FPS, which suggests Cyberpunk 2077 ray-tracing is totally playable on the XPS 15. It even manages 35 FPS within the brand-new “Overdrive” ray tracing mode, once more at 1080p and with Extremely element and DLSS 3 turned on.
The brand new Dell XPS 15 clearly advantages from its new {hardware}. The Intel Core i7-13700H will not be a outstanding enchancment, however appears a tad faster on the entire. Nvidia’s RTX 4070, alternatively, is a big leap over the previous mannequin’s RTX 3050 Ti. The brand new mannequin’s MSRP is simply $200 extra, so it’s not as if the higher GPU fully blows up the value.
These enhancements change the character of the Dell XPS 15. The prior mannequin was enticing and provided highly effective CPU efficiency, nevertheless it was laborious to advocate to anybody who wished to play trendy 3D video games after work. Dell’s new XPS 15 with RTX 4070 modifications that. It’s now a totally succesful gaming laptop computer that may play almost all trendy video games at 1080p and 30 to 60 FPS, even when excessive element settings are used.
Dell XPS 15: Battery life
Dell crams a big 86 watt-hour battery contained in the XPS 15. This isn’t the most important battery present in a laptop computer of this measurement, as some opponents exceed 90 watt-hours, nevertheless it delivered wonderful battery life in my testing.
IDG / Matthew Smith
The XPS 15 looped a 4K trailer of the quick movie Tears of Metal for eight hours and 50 minutes. That’s not one of the best accessible from a Home windows laptop computer, however a stable end result for this class and a big enchancment over the outgoing XPS 15. House owners might want to monitor the laptop computer carefully to squeeze out a full work day of real-world use, relying on the apps most ceaselessly used, nevertheless it’s shut.
Dell XPS 15: Conclusion
Dell’s new XPS 15 is very similar to the previous XPS 15, however sooner. A lot sooner. The one-two punch of recent Intel Thirteenth-gen processors and Nvidia RTX 40-series graphics offers real-world upgrades over the prior mannequin.
The previous XPS 15 was a good workhorse however not all the time a formidable performer, particularly in 3D video games. The brand new mannequin is completely able to dealing with even essentially the most demanding trendy titles at 60 FPS—when packing the RTX 4070, not less than.
There may be nonetheless room for enchancment. The touchpad may be overly delicate and the webcam may use an improve. Nonetheless, these issues don’t detract from the XPS 15’s slim design, excessive construct high quality, and powerful efficiency, and it stays a go-to choose for these craving a premium laptop computer with a stability of portability with velocity.
