Dell XPS 13 Review
by Brett Howse on February 19, 2015 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Dell
- Ultrabook
- Broadwell-U
- XPS 13
Dell launched the 2015 version of their XPS 13 at CES in January, and it made a big impression because of something that was very small. The first thing you see when you look at the XPS 13 is how small the bezels are around the display. At 5.2 mm, they are easily the thinnest display bezels on any laptop made today. Dell claims the XPS 13 is a 13 inch display in the chassis of an 11 inch notebook, and while they have made that claim before, for 2015, it would be hard to argue with them. But the XPS 13 is more than just a display, and Dell has outfitted it with some very modern hardware to give us our first look at an Ultrabook based on the just launched Intel 5th Generation processors, Broadwell-U.
At CES, Dell also told me that the new XPS 13 would have great battery life, with the company claiming that it would get up to fifteen hours. That claim seems hard to believe, with our battery life test topped at just a hair under ten hours by the current leader, the MacBook Air 13. However, this will be our first look at a laptop running on the new 14 nm process from Intel, so we can get a chance to see just how power efficient the new processors are.
Dell is offering quite an arrangement of options as well, allowing the new XPS 13 to fit into a lot more budgets than some of the other premium notebooks around. The base model comes with the Intel Core i3-5010U processor, but if you need more speed you can upgrade to the i5-5200U or i7-5500U. All of the storage options are solid state drives, which is great to see. The base is 128GB, and optional upgrades are to 256GB or 512GB. Memory choices are dual-channel 4GB DDR3L-RS-1600, or a dual-channel 8GB option.
We received two models for testing, with the first being a Core i5-5200U with the 1920x1080 non-touch display, 4GB of memory, and a 128GB SSD, which lists for $900. The second model is the Core i5-5200U, with 2x4GB of memory, a 256GB SSD, and the 3200x1800 touch display. This model lists at $1400.
Update: Originally I had listed the 4 GB model as single channel, but it is actually 2 x 2 GB for dual channel. Sorry for the mistake.
| Dell XPS 13 9343 Specifications | |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-5010U (Dual-core + HT 2.1GHz 3MB L3 14nm 15W TDP) Intel Core i5-5200U - model tested (Dual-core + HT 2.2-2.7GHz 3MB L3 14nm 15W TDP) Intel Core i7-5500U (Dual-core + HT 2.4-3.0GHz, 4MB L3, 14nm, 15W TDP) |
| Chipset | Broadwell-ULT |
| Memory | 2 x 2GB or 2 x 4GB DDR3L-RS-1600 (Dual Channel 8GB Max) |
| Graphics | Intel HD 5500 (23 EUs at 300-900MHz on Core i3) (24 EUs at 300-900MHz on Core i5) (24 EUs at 300-950MHz on Core i7) |
| Display | 13.3" Anti-Glare IPS 16:9 FHD (1920x1080) (Sharp 1420 Panel) 13.3" Glossy IPS 16:9 QHD+ (3200x1800) IGZO2 (Sharp 1421 Panel with Corning Gorilla Glass NBT and Touchscreen) |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB/512GB SSD (Samsung PM851 M.2 2280) |
| Optical Drive | N/A |
| Networking | Dell Wireless 1560 plus Bluetooth 4.0 - model tested (2x2:2 802.11ac 867Mbps capable Broadcom) Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7265 plus Bluetooth 4.0 (2x2:2 802.11ac 867Mbps capable) Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7265 plus Bluetooth 4.0 (2x2:2 802.11n 300Mbps capable) |
| Audio | Realtek HD Stereo Speakers professionally tuned with Waves MaxxAudio Pro 1w x 2 Headset jack |
| Battery/Power | 52Wh non-removable 45W Max AC Adapter |
| Front Side | Charge Light |
| Left Side | Headset Jack Battery Meter 1 x USB 3.0 with PowerShare 1 x mini DisplayPort Speaker AC Power Connection |
| Right Side | Noble Lock Slot 1 x USB 3.0 with PowerShare SD Card Slot Speaker |
| Back Side | N/A |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 64-bit |
| Dimensions | 11.98" x 7.88" x 0.33-0.6" (WxDxH) (304mm x 200mm x 9-15mm) |
| Weight | 2.6 lbs (1.18kg) Non-Touch 2.8 lbs (1.27kg) Touch |
| Extras | 720p HD Webcam Backlit Keyboard |
| Colors | Silver |
| Pricing | $800 (i3, 4GB, 128GB, FHD) $900 (i5, 4GB, 128GB, FHD) - model tested $1000 (i5, 8GB, 128GB, FHD) $1300 (i5, 8GB 128GB, QHD+) $1400 (i5, 8GB, 256GB, QHD+) - model tested $1600 (i7, 8GB, 256GB, QHD+) $1900 (i7, 8GB, 512GB, QHD+) |
The display has some choices as well. The base model comes with a 13.3 inch 1920x1080 IPS display, with a matte finish, and no touch capabilities. This is still a respectable 165 pixels per inch, and is a good option to keep the costs down. The upgraded display is quite the upgrade. Dell has worked with Sharp to outfit the XPS 13 with an optional 3200x1800 resolution IGZO panel, which features Corning Gorilla Glass NBT over the top, along with ten-point multitouch. This works out to 272 pixels per inch, and the IGZO panel is a full RGB stripe.
There are a couple of other options as well, such as a range of wireless adapters, with the Dell 1560 outfitted on the review laptops that we received. This is a Broadcom wireless adapter, with 802.11ac support. Some of the options, like the 512GB drive, are only available with the top CPU and upgraded display. Dell does offer some degree of flexibility when ordering, but not all options are available for all devices.
Dell has crafted a fine looking laptop, with some new parts from Intel and Sharp paving the way. On paper this is a great start, so let's get into the finer details.
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jospoortvliet - Friday, March 27, 2015 - link
Somebody bothered, years ago: Samsung series 9. Where they beat Dell to small bezels, they also announced the series 9 2015 model in December 2014: 12" screen, under 1 kg (2 lbs), passively cooled core M, high res screen and long battery life. Yeah, that is Apple's new MacBook, just three months earlier.Series 9 had been and continues to be ahead 😃
jospoortvliet - Friday, March 27, 2015 - link
Somebody bothered, years ago: Samsung series 9. Where they beat Dell to small bezels, they also announced the series 9 2015 model in December 2014: 12" screen, under 1 kg (2 lbs), passively cooled core M, high res screen and long battery life. Yeah, that is Apple's new MacBook, just three months earlier.Series 9 had been and continues to be ahead 😃
retrospooty - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Looks like some great specs and a great laptop... Hopefully it doesn't suffer from the odd glitches and high fail rates that some (not all) Dell products suffer from. Time will tell.programcsharp - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
I like this, but what I really want is a 15" version with a bit more oomph. The 13" ends up being cute but pricey.Do a 15" QHD+ version with an i7, 512gb ssd and 32 gb RAM and now we're talking.
esterhasz - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Not to forget: all you're saying, and in the footprint of a 13" machine!andrewaggb - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
agreed. A 15" (13" frame) machine would be great.jeffkibuule - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Quad core Broadwell chips still haven't shipped, which is why we probably haven't seen a new 15" laptop from any major OEM yet.I'm also not sure we will get 32GB in a mainstream laptop yet, seems 16GB is still the top for the high end. Maybe with DDR4?
UtilityMax - Wednesday, February 25, 2015 - link
The statement that a 15 inch laptop needs a quad-core CPU is a little perplexing. The only quad-core Intel CPUs for laptops are the high wattage versions of the Core i7 CPUs, and they represent a valuable but very small portion of the market. More and more high end laptops ship with the "U" series if Core i7 CPUs, which are dual core, even in machines that are meant to replace quad-core offerings. The value is multiple cores is seriously over-hyped as far as desktops are concerned. Lots of applications are still single threaded, or multithreaded where one core still bottlenecks the main thread. Two fast cores are plenty for most laptop and tablet users, specially if that saves battery life.extide - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
Yeah, 8GB is just not going to do it for me these days. 16GB min, and 32GB preferred. Also I would like a 35w quad core, instead of a U-series. However I DO NOT want discrete graphics! It seems like pretty much all laptops with 35/45w quads have discreet graphics as well. I think Clevo makes a model (Haswell) that is like this, though. Although Clevo machines are great in the fact you can customize the crap out of them, their all-plastic build makes them a bit fragile. I have a P150EM (Ivy Bridge) and I am nearly afraid to take it around much, because I don't want it to get damaged, vs my work laptop which is a Latitude E6530 which is a straight up tank, I mean I can/have dropped it, kids walk on top of it, and no damage whatsoever. Any of that crap to my P150EM, and something will break!aryonoco - Thursday, February 19, 2015 - link
I would have bought this laptop (with i5, QHD display and 256GB SSD) in an instant if it had 16GB version.The way I use my computer, I've got a lot of applications and generally over 20 tabs open at any times, sometimes 50-60 when I'm in the middle of research. I just can't live with 8GB.
Pity, cause it's an excellent laptop otherwise. Maybe the Skylake update will bring a 16GB option.