The XPS from Dell had estabhlished itself as a premium high-performance laptop for about half a decade now, with it being one of the first laptops to adopt a bezel-less screen design and an overall minimal look. The years have passed by, and more laptop manufacturers like ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte and Razer have been churning out premium portable powerhouses – causing the unique proposition of the XPS line to somewhat disappear. But with the 2020 refresh, can the XPS 15 and new 17 stand out?
The XPS 15 9500 has the following specifications:
- 4/6/8 Core 10th Gen Intel Processor
- Intel UHD/GTX 1650Ti Graphics Card
- 8/16/32/64 GB DDR4 2933Mhz Memory
- 256/512 GB, 1/2TB M.2 NVMe SSD
- 15.6″ 16:10 Full HD/4K Touch or Non-Touch Display
- 1.8cm Thickness, 1.83/2.05kg weight (depending on model)
- 56/86 Wh battery (depending on model)
These updated internals have added much more value to the XPS line, and with the added horsepower it still manages to keep a relatively thin profile and light weight. The bottom chin is now gone, and the display takes up almost all of the screen assembly. And as an added bonus, the webcam stays up top – so no more awkward nose-up angles during video calls.
The port selection has been completely revamped to follow the USB-C only trend which Apple started with the MacBook Pro. There are 3 USB-C ports – one having Power Delivery and two of them being Thunderbolt 3 capable, a headphone jack and an SD card reader. The laptop also ships standard with adapters to both USB-A and HDMI 2.0.
The new flaship model, the XPS 17 9700 comes with the same specifications and updated design as the 15 with a larger 17″ screen one major advantage – an RTX 2060 Graphics Card. This brings Ray-Tracing to the XPS line for the first time, enabling better visuals in games (at the cost of FPS). The 17 is 1.95cm thick, and 2.11-2.51kgs heavy depending on model. The ports include 4 USB-C ports, all having Power Delivery and Thunderbolt 3, a headphone jack and an SD Card reader.
Dell has done a great job with the New XPS 15 and 17. Updating the 15″ with more powerful internals and launching a new 17″ will help the lineup compete against laptops like the Razer Blade 15, Blade Pro and the MacBook Pro lineup. The cooling system is a concern though, as the 10th Gen Intel chips are known to run quite hot, especially with an RTX 2060 in a thin profile. These problems could have been mitigated with the well received Ryzen 4900HS, I hope they implement AMD chips in the future.
TL,DR: Dell has updated the XPS 15 and launched a new XPS 17. Both are portable powerhouses with new internals and a refined design. The Zephyrus G14 might still crush it in every way except for touch input (if you couldn’t see already I absolutely love that laptop).
Last modified: May 14, 2020
