One can effortlessly juggle work and play thanks to its Nvidia 4070 GPU and sleek 15-inch Windows-based MacBook Pro rival.
One of my favorite laptop means is to find a system that can play games and play them effectively without seeming or feeling like a gaming machine. One of the greatest in this secretive category is the Dell XPS 15, which has the same feel and appearance of a MacBook Pro replacement and still functions on top with many laptops for gaming.
But with the value gaming abilities are only a perk. The fact that this is a small, stylish device for creative professionals wishing to conduct photo and video editing or design work is what really appeals to them. The Blade laptops from Razer cover some of the same territory, but they lack the XPS 15's crossover office-ready appearance and feel.
The high-end machine under evaluation here has an Intel Core i7-13700H, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and an Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU. That combination costs $2,799, while upgrading to an Intel Core i9 makes it cost $2,949. The Core i7 CPU, Intel Arc graphics, 512GB SSD, and normal non-touch 1,920x1,200 LCD of the XPS 15 presently start at $1,499 for the device.
Design & Display
A touchscreen OLED display is something the XPS 15 offers that many of its rivals do not. Over the past several years, these panels have grown more typical in laptops, although they are still an exception. On the plus side, an OLED display may look wonderful for gaming and watching videos and delivers exceptional brightness and contrast. However, the 3,456x2,160 OLED option in the XPS 15 is restricted to a 60Hz refresh rate, despite the rising demand for higher refresh rates among gamers.
The display still looks fantastic, and in keeping with the rest of the contemporary XPS series, it has a remarkably thin bezel surrounding the screen. Dell refers to this bezel as their Infinity Edge, which simply means it is extremely thin. But this system may still be using a camera with a 720-resolution, which is really terrible in an otherwise top-shelf laptop like this because of the extremely thin top border surrounding the screen.
Like many high-end laptops, the body is made of sturdy aluminum slabs, and the screen is coated with Gorilla Glass for further durability. The carbon fiber top layer, which has the recognizable XPS pattern along the wrist rest, is placed on top of the aluminum chassis. This year's XPS 15 is identical to last year's model, thus the only internal changes are to the available components. The keyboard, with its big keycaps and satisfying tactile feedback without being unduly clacky, is still a crucial component.
Ports
The XPS 15 occupies a medium ground as thin laptops rapidly reduce their port count. In addition to a headphone jack and a full-size SD card slot, it offers three USB-C connectors. This implies that it is devoid of USB-A, HDMI, and other ports, albeit Dell included a small USB-C hub in the package.
The system will warn you if you use a weak charging brick since electricity is provided through USB-C, which makes it unusual for a system with a strong GPU to support practically any identical charger. It will still function, but if the GPU is used heavily, for instance, the charging capacity may not be sufficient.
Creativity & Gaming
The XPS 15 occupies a medium ground as thin laptops rapidly reduce their port count. In addition to a headphone jack and a full-size SD card slot, it offers three USB-C connectors. This implies that it is devoid of USB-A, HDMI, and other ports, albeit Dell included a small USB-C hub in the package.
The system will warn you if you use a weak charging brick since electricity is provided through USB-C, which makes it unusual for a system with a strong GPU to support practically any identical charger. It will still function, but if the GPU is used heavily, for instance, the charging capacity may not be sufficient.
This is automatically a high-end gaming laptop as it has an Nvidia 4070 (and costs around the same as an equivalent high-end 4070 crossover gaming machine like the Razer Blade). I ran many recent games on it, including Hogwarts Legacy, Marvel's Midnight Suns, and Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, in addition to our standard benchmark testing. Even the badly optimised Jedi Survivor ran without any issues. Although the screen's 60Hz refresh rate helps to alleviate concerns about higher frame rates, I discovered that playing at a reduced resolution, such as 2,560x1,200 rather than the full near-4K resolution, was beneficial.
The sole drawback is that this 40-watt version of the 4070 GPU is less potent than the 60-watt version, which is available for the bigger XPS 17. It should, however, make a significant impact for FHD gaming. Also bear in mind that the most recent Studio drivers from Nvidia (which come pre-installed) should be downloaded rather than the standard gaming drivers if you want to use this mostly for creative work.
I adore being able to play games with high fidelity settings on a plain-looking laptop and getting by with only a basic USB-C charger. You won't want to carry it around in a shoulder bag every day because it weighs roughly 4.25 pounds. Look at something like LG's superb Gramme range if you want a larger screen with less weight. The XPS 15 is a fantastic Windows-based alternative to a MacBook Pro or a semi-desktop replacement system for your home office because of its large, high-resolution OLED screen and strong components.