Dell XPS 15 review: This highly polished laptop is even better with OLED

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$2,299

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The Dell XPS 15 9520 is a premium laptop computer that boasts a vibrant OLED show surrounded by a beautiful design. It’s positively geared in the direction of content material creators. Inside, it contains a 12th-gen Intel Core i7 processor and GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics, a duo that delivers sturdy utility and multimedia efficiency and a smidgen of 3D graphics oomph. The all-metal design is rugged and the carbon fiber keyboard deck is each rock stable and attention-grabbing. Creative professionals will admire the excessive type and graphics muscle, and execs on the lookout for a high-end productiveness laptop computer can skip the RTX choice to chop again on the value and nonetheless get a workhorse machine that’s glossy and sturdy with a completely gorgeous show.

Dell XPS 15 9520 specs

Our Dell XPS 15 9520 check system is promoting for $2,299 direct from Dell and options the next specs: 

• CPU: Core i7-12700H
• Memory: 16GB
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti @ 45 Watt TGP
• Storage: 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
• Display: 15.6 inch,16:10, 3456 x 2160 decision OLED
• Webcam: 720p
• Connectivity: Left aspect: 2 x USB-C (with Thunderbolt 4). Right aspect: USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (with DisplayPort), SD card reader, combo audio jack.
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
• Biometrics: IR facial recognition, fingerprint reader
• Battery capability: 86 Watt-hours
• Dimensions: 13.56 x 9.06 x 0.73 inches
• Measured weight: 4.23 kilos (laptop computer), 0.84 kilos (AC adapter)
• Price: $2,299

The Dell XPS 15 9520 line starts at $1,449 for a configuration that contains a 12th-gen Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, Intel UHD graphics, a 512GB SSD, and a non-OLED, non-touch full HD show. Our check system contains upgrades to the CPU, RAM, GPU, and show that improve the value to $2,299. Beyond our check mannequin, you may go for a 12th-gen Core i9 chip and up to 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. For the identical price, you may commerce out the 3.5K OLED show for a non-OLED 4K panel. Unless you’ve got a specific want for a 4K decision, I might strongly urge you to decide on the OLED choice we examined; it’s spectacular.

OLED show and a premium end

The Dell XPS 15 9520 is a premium laptop computer that positively seems the half. The all-metal enclosure feels sturdy and is a gorgeous mixture of brushed aluminum and carbon fiber surfaces. The prime and backside panels are a silver brushed aluminum, and the keyboard deck provides a hanging distinction with its black carbon fiber texture.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Thin bezels body the show to create a reasonably trim 15.6-inch bundle. The laptop computer weighs 4.23 kilos, which is barely lower than 16-inch 16:10 fashions we’ve seen lately such because the 4.3-pound Asus VivoBook Pro 16X OLED, the 4.35-pound MSI Summit E-16 Flip, and the 4.45-pound HP Spectre x360 16. It could also be a bit heavy for each day commuting, however who amongst us is heading to the workplace daily? For a hybrid work mannequin the place you might be working from dwelling some days and within the workplace others, the XPS 15 9520 received’t be a burden.

It’s a little bit of a burden, nevertheless, to open the lid. Between the small lip on the sting of the lid and the agency hinge, it’s more durable than it ought to be to carry the lid with one finger. I discovered it to be extra of a two-handed affair. I want Dell had included a recessed part on the entrance fringe of the lid to present me a greater grip to lift the lid.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

The show is the star of the present and boasts two of our favourite display screen parts: an OLED panel and a 16:10 facet ratio. With an OLED show, you get a superior distinction ratio with the deepest blacks. The XPS 15 9520’s show is stellar. It options what Dell calls a 3.5K decision. That is, 3456×2160 pixels. That’s a bit lower than a 4K decision however seems lots crisp throughout a 15.6-inch show.

Colors seem vivid and correct, and particulars may be seen within the brightest and darkest elements of a picture. And the 16:10 display screen ratio supplies extra vertical room than a widescreen 16:9 show so you may match extra on the display screen and scroll much less via lengthy paperwork and net pages. I might most likely comply with lug round an additional ounce or so if Dell opted for a 16-inch panel as an alternative of a 15.6-inch unit, however the show nonetheless feels spacious sufficient for artistic work and common Windows multitasking.

Dell gives two non-OLED show choices with an FHD+ or UHD+ decision. Both are rated for a formidable 500 nits of brightness to our OLED evaluation unit’s 400-nit score, however our check unit is lots vivid. It really measured a bit larger than its score. I wouldn’t commerce the OLED’s superior distinction ratio for a barely brighter panel.

The “A” aspect of the AV output might not be as gorgeous because the “V” half, however the laptop computer’s audio is actually above common. Dell packs 4 audio system contained in the XPS 15 9520. There’s a pair of two.5-watt woofers and a pair of 1.5-watt tweeters for a complete of eight watts of output. This quartet has extra punch than the stereo audio system of a typical laptop computer. The sound is extra dynamic with some separation evident between the excessive and mid-tones, and there’s something resembling a bass response, which is seldom current on a laptop computer.

A 1080p webcam is turning into a extra widespread presence on a laptop computer as Zoom and different video conferences are extra commonplace, however, sadly, Dell outfits the XPS 15 9520 with a 720p digicam. Its grainy picture is tormented by noise and overexposure within the brightest elements of the picture.

Comfy keyboard, big touchpad, few ports

The Dell XPS 15 9520 contains a full-size keyboard sans numberpad. Without needing to squeeze in a numpad, the keyboard is afforded the house to have luxuriously vast keys on all sides for Shift, Enter, Backspace and Tab. The up- and down-arrow keys are half top, however these are the one keys which might be full-size. I used to be instantly snug typing on the keyboard. The keys are quiet and responsive and have two-level backlighting. The keyboard deck is inflexible with no flex, even beneath the fingertips of this thunderous typist. 

IDG / Matthew Elliott

The keys themselves really feel delicate with shallow journey. I might have most popular a snappier response when typing however loved the agency keyboard deck that had no trace of flex. I additionally preferred the three-level keyboard backlighting; it let me hold the lighting on the proper degree in a wide range of darkened environments.

The gigantic touchpad is a pleasure to make use of. The matte end permits for easy gliding, and the press response is quiet with simply the correct quantity of journey. Between the large touchpad and contact show, you’ve got two wonderful choices for navigating Windows.

You even have two straightforward choices for logging into Windows. Although I want the webcam had the next decision, it’s an IR cam that allows you to use facial recognition for safe logins without having to enter your password. The energy button additionally doubles as a fingerprint reader, providing you with a second safe login choice.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Connectivity is sparse. On the left aspect are two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 assist. On the proper is a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port with DisplayPort and energy supply assist, an SD card slot and a combo audio jack. That’s it, except you rely the adapter that Dell contains within the field. It turns one of many USB-C ports right into a USB Type A port and an HDMI port. Part of the price of getting such a skinny design — the laptop computer is just 0.73 inches thick — is the jettisoning of USB-A and HDMI ports. The inclusion of the adapter is appreciated, however it will probably get misplaced or misplaced and might’t replicate having a extra various mixture of ports on the machine itself.

Performance

Our Dell XPS 15 9520 options an Intel Core i7-12700H processor, 16GB of RAM, RTX 3050 Ti graphics, and a 512GB SSD. The Core i7-12700H is a member of Intel’s Alder Lake-H sequence of 45-watt cell chips. The Core i7-12700H options Intel’s new hybrid structure with efficiency and effectivity cores. It has six efficiency cores, eight effectivity cores, and a complete of 20 processing threads.

To get a way of the XPS 15 9520’s efficiency, we in contrast its benchmark outcomes to these of different content-creation laptops such because the Asus VivoBook Pro 16X OLED, Acer Swift X, HP Spectre x360 16, Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio, MSI Summit E-16 Flip, and Dell’s personal XPS 17 9710.  We additionally included a pair of MSI Katana gaming laptops that function low-end RTX graphics and the identical Core i7-12700H CPU because the XPS 15 9520.

Our first benchmark is PCMark 10, which measures efficiency on on a regular basis computing work together with workplace productiveness duties, net looking, and video chats. The two MSI Katana laptops prime the chart, however the XPS 15 9520 is amongst those who completed with a rating above 6,000, indicating it has greater than sufficient oomph to run primary productiveness purposes.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Our HandBrake benchmark checks how a laptop computer is ready to deal with crushing CPU masses over a prolonged interval—on this case, transcoding a 30GB MKV file to a format appropriate for Android tablets utilizing a free video encoding utility. The XPS 15 9520 completed towards the tip of the pack, doubtless as a result of it is among the extra compact fashions within the group. Over the lengthy haul, it’s going to surrender floor to bigger laptops with fewer thermal restrictions.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Next up is Cinebench, one other CPU-intensive check however one which renders a fancy 2D scene over a brief time frame. During this shorter check, the XPS 15 9520 excelled, ending second solely to the MSI Katana GF66.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

IDG / Matthew Elliott

It’s not a gaming laptop computer, however because it has RTX graphics, we determined to see the way it did with 3D graphics and two of our gaming benchmarks. On 3DMark’s Time Spy benchmark, it completed towards the tip of the pack and was certainly one of solely three programs right here that did not prime the 4,000 mark. Still, it was within the neighborhood of 4,000 and didn’t embarrass itself.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

A greater check of 3D gaming than an artificial 3D benchmark is a 3D sport, so we ran two of our 3D gaming benchmarks, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Metro Exodus. It averaged a playable 60 fps on the older Rise of the Tomb Raider sport at 1080p on the sport’s Very High presets. On the extra demanding Metro Exodus, it managed solely 16 fps, however no laptop computer we’ve examined with RTX 3050 or 3050 Ti graphics is ready to come near 60 fps on Metro Exodus with these settings. The RTX 3060-based Dell XPS 17 was unable to even get midway to 60 fps on the check.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

IDG / Matthew Elliott

To check a laptop computer’s battery life, we loop a 4K video utilizing Windows 11’s Movies & TV app, with the laptop computer set to Airplane mode and earbuds plugged in. We set the display screen brightness at a comparatively vivid 250 nits to 260 nits, which is an efficient brightness for watching a film in an workplace with the lights on. The Summit E-16 Flip ran out of juice a minute shy of six hours, which is much lower than common. Powering a high-resolution show comes with a sacrifice in battery life and that’s what you get right here with the XPS 15 9520.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

An OLED winner

The Dell XPS 15 9520 delivers the products for content material creators with its rugged and delightful enclosure, gorgeous OLED show, and aggressive efficiency with the most recent Intel silicon and GeForce RTX graphics. It could also be a tad too heavy for normal commuting, however workplace employees on the lookout for a productiveness machine with a excessive design and roomy show can even discover heaps to love concerning the XPS 15 9520. Given that it’s most likely not making each day commutes, nevertheless, I want Dell bumped the show as much as a 16-inch 16:10 panel.

The RTX 3050 Ti graphics support its multimedia capabilities however are of restricted use for 3D gaming. If you might be devising a strategy to bundle a piece laptop computer and gaming laptop computer into one, you’ll must look elsewhere. You’ll doubtless be capable to discover one other laptop computer with a higher-end RTX GPU for lower than the price of our RTX 3050 Ti-based check mannequin, however you’ll must sacrifice the OLED panel and accept a decrease display screen decision than the 3.5K decision that our XPS 15 9520 supplies.