Dell’s XPS 15 with 4K display is the laptop for people who want it all

Dell recently updated its already-excellent XPS 15 with some tweaks ( and a sweet newfangled 8th generation Intel processor ) and the results are exceptional. We knew the latest iteration of the highly-anticipated laptop would be dependable, but once we got our hands on one it was clear up it ’ randomness among the best. The unit we reviewed was a regular XPS 15 laptop, not the 2-in-1 version. Otherwise it had most of the top spectacles for the exemplary, including the excellent 4K Infinity Edge touch screen expose. The XPS 15 starts at $ 999.99, but the shape we reviewed comes in at a slightly more gulp-inducing $ 2,099.99. If you can deal with half the RAM and a 1080p non-touch screen, you ’ ll save a crowd of money. But you ’ ll have a slenderly less complete experience. To get an estimate of who this laptop is designed for, let ’ s prima donna right into the specifications :

  • Processor: Intel 6 Core 8th generation i7-8750H @ 2.20GHz
  • RAM: 16 GB 2x8GB DDR4-2666MHz
  • Storage: 512GB M.2 2280 PCIe Solid State Drive
  • Video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050Ti with 4GB GDDR5
  • Display: 15.6″ 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) InfinityEdge touchscreen display at 400-Nits
  • Wireless connectivity: Killer 1535 802.11ac 2×2 WiFi and Bluetooth 4.2
  • Ports and slots: 1 SD card slot, 2 USB 3.1 ports, 1 Thunderbolt 3 port (with 4 lanes PCI Express Gen 3), 1 HDMI 2.0 port, 1 Native DisplayPort
  • Weight: 2kg (4.5 lbs) as configured
  • Battery: 6-Cell 97WHr Integrated

This thing is a beautiful animal. It ’ sulfur fast enough to replace your desktop ( in fact, it ’ sulfur one of the few laptops I ’ vitamin d argue can replace all but the most high-end users and gamers ’ desktops ), the blind is good adequate for professional photographers to edit with, and it can play Fortnite at a silky-smooth 60FPS at the top settings. aesthetically, it compares well to the LG Gram. credit : Nicole Gray The XPS 15 is a piece thick and doubly as heavy, but this is one of the sleekest powerhouse laptops you ’ ll witness. If you plop this thing down in a group of people who are unfamiliar with its pedigree, with the lid closed, they might think you have one of those cool lightweight devices that eschews world power and practicality for low-cost and comfortable portability. They ’ d be dead wrong. The XPS 15 can do it all. And it becomes pretty apparent this international relations and security network ’ t your run-of-the-mill device once you open it up and power it on. The unit I reviewed was an ode to the kind of excess that seems wasteful to some and necessary to others. Do you need an Nvidia 1050 GTX graphics wag in a laptop that ’ s obviously trying to catch the eye of the professional crowd ? No, you don ’ thymine. But it certain is nice to fire up The Witcher 3 in between meetings. And do you very need your 4K display to be a touch screen ? No, you don ’ thymine. But it sure is nice to scroll through Netflix by dragging my fingers on the sieve like I ’ m on a earphone or pill, then watch Stranger Things in glorious 4K resolution the way it was meant to be seen. The Infinity Edge expose from Dell may not be the technical marvel it would have been two years ago with it ’ randomness near bezel-free design, but it produces images better than any I ’ ve seen in a laptop sans Apple ’ second. You just have to see it to believe it but, even at 400 nits brightness, it ’ s a enchant to behold at its fully barrage life-sucking saturation. And it ’ s quickly become my darling screen to view 4K videos, television receiver, and movies on, period. Performance-wise, it ’ sulfur monster-iffic. It can handle Photoshop and Chrome and a twelve other programs being open at the same clock. The 8th gen Intel i7 processor operating at 2.2GHz and 16GB of RAM are more than enough to handle about any software that doesn ’ triiodothyronine require a specialty-computer. ampere far as business, office, or what I ’ vitamin d consider to be “ daily professional ” habit is concerned : throw your desktop away and get this thing. american samoa far as central processing unit speeds go, Digital Trends has it neck and neck with the Razer Blade and the Macbook Pro. In my experience, each one excels at something the other doesn ’ metric ton, but the XPS 15 might be the best sum package. I won ’ thyroxine beget into a deep dive of the specific benchmarks, but I will say that it ’ s the fastest Windows 10 laptop I ’ ve used when it comes to launching programs and performing act functions. I ’ ve seen lupus erythematosus of the Windows hourglass with this than any other laptop running Windows 10 I ’ ve used. I decidedly think it compares nicely to the Razer Blade when it comes to operation outside of gambling. But, if gambling is an authoritative retainer when it comes to choosing a modern laptop, it ’ randomness worth pointing out Dell ’ s own G3 Gaming Laptop is less expensive and seems to perform fair equally well in that department. overall, I ’ d consider other options if bet on were my primary business. specially since you won ’ thymine be able to make consumption of the 4K screen with most games anyhow.

recognition : Nicole Gray It is, however, perfectly suited for editing video and photograph. The touch screen brings some interest options to the editing process — though you should banish thoughts of controlling Photoshop with a forte penitentiary directly on the screen. It ’ sulfur touch screen sensitivity is perfective for using it like a tablet, but professional photographers are going to want to use an external input device for fine-grain edit. More authoritative is the timbre of the display. Its ample and vibrant color profile doesn ’ t trust on blowing out the luminosity to make images pop, and that means it ’ s a more “ average ” display when it comes to showing your unedited sour. It besides means that it handles blacks well enough to make watching repugnance movies in 4K merely delightful. so, if you ever stop work and use it for R & R, it ’ s a adequate enough reason to upgrade your Netflix account to 4K. Everything looks a little better on the anti-glare screen, though your ocular delights do come at the cost of extended battery life. You ’ ll be getting around half the performance out of the XPS 15 ’ s larger-than-average battery with the 4K riddle than you would with configurations featuring the 1080 screen. It ’ s not that bad — I got about 7-8 hours between charges with fairly heavy video and software use. It was enough to make it most of the sidereal day without plugging in, and fortunately the include charger international relations and security network ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate of the bulky assortment so it ’ s not a pain to travel with. There ’ s a lot of little things to like about the XPS 15 a well. The slightly-grippy surface surrounding the keyboard is appreciated as long-run function can lead to slenderly sweaty hands and wrists — a little grapple goes a long room. I was besides pleasantly surprised by the keyboard. I tend to hate laptop keys because I prefer some travel, and they normally have identical little “ clickiness. ” This one is an exception. While it still doesn ’ t have a fortune of travel, the keyboard does feel slightly clicky and responsive. I didn ’ thyroxine mind using it for stallion work days, but in the end I ’ d still prefer to connect a mechanical keyboard. The touchpad is antic, it functioned flawlessly during my testing. recognition : Nicole Gray On the negative side, there ’ sulfur a few problems with the XPS 15 that belie its status as an elite car for professionals … who need a 4K screen … and besides like to game. Chief among those issues is the placement of the webcam. It ’ second big h dab in the fold of the machine so it constantly has a perfect view up your nostrils. People who don ’ t want to show off the under-side of their chin may need to connect an external webcam to use with this device, or good take video recording calls on their call. I despise webcams and video chew the fat, so it ’ s not a problem for me. For what it ’ south worth the picture from the webcam is chip and clear. Another issue I had was with the speakers. On the plus side they do get loud enough to watch movies in a slightly noisy environment, and they ’ re tuned well enough that you won ’ thyroxine constantly have to change the volume to maintain a listenable experience. But, otherwise, they manage to pull of the rare feat of having both slenderly tinny highs and slenderly flat lows. This is possibly due to the husk invention and loudspeaker placement. Don ’ t get me ill-timed, they don ’ thymine good bad, equitable underwhelming for a package that ’ randomness differently admonitory. It shouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be a deal-breaker unless you have no external speaker or earphone options.

Those caveats aside, I don ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate think I ’ five hundred recommend another 15-inch laptop over this one, specially as a desktop substitution. Apple fans can shrug knowing it doesn ’ thyroxine matter to them, but other office users will be distressed to find a better combination of lightweight aesthetic, price, and operation. Stay tuned for our approaching review of the XPS 15 ’ south small sibling, the XPS 13. We like some products. We don ’ t like others. Either manner, if you buy something through our consort links, we get a small cut of the tax income. This international relations and security network ’ triiodothyronine a sponsor mail, but for the sake of foil, you deserve to know what ’ s up .

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