Dell XPS 17 review: Luxurious, but where’s the OLED display?

Price When Reviewed

$3,199.99

Best Prices Today: Dell XPS 17 9730

The big-screen laptop computer pattern of current has been shifting from a 17.3-inch show with a widescreen 16:9 facet ratio to a 16-inch 16:10 panel that ends in a extra compact and transportable package deal with practically the identical display screen actual property. Despite quite a few refreshes over the previous few years, the Dell XPS 17 nonetheless resides between these two standard panel sizes, with a 17-inch 16:10 show that’s roomier than a 16-inch 16:10 show, however not fairly as broad as a 17.3-inch 16:9 show. The result’s a fully huge show for media modifying, multitasking, and maybe some mild gaming.

Inside, the XPS 17 9730 serves up the newest Intel and Nvidia silicon. Our take a look at system pairs a 13th-gen Core i7 CPU with RTX 4070 graphics. Dell prioritizes a skinny enclosure over uncooked energy, nonetheless, for this content material creation laptop computer and opts for a low-wattage RTX 4070 that may’t match the body charges of gaming laptops with full-wattage RTX 40-series GPUs. And whereas the show’s sheer measurement is definitely spectacular, its 60Hz refresh charge is meh. Further, it’s merely an IPS panel and never an OLED, which graphics professionals and hobbyists can rightly count on at this value. We’d steer content material creators towards the equally priced Samsung Galaxy Book3 Ultra or Asus VivoBook Pro 16X OLED that boast massive OLED shows.

Looking for extra content material creator laptops? If so, try PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops for video editing.

Dell XPS 17: Specs and options

Our Dell XPS 17 9730 take a look at system prices $3,349 from Dell, and I’ve seen it on sale for as little as $2,949. It options the next specs.

• CPU: Quad-core Intel Core i7-13700H
• Memory: 32GB
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070
• Storage: 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
• Display: 17-inch UHD+ (3840 x 2400) 60Hz contact show
• Webcam: 720p
• Connectivity: 4 x Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C, combo audio jack, SD card slot
• Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3
• Biometrics: IR digicam and fingerprint reader
• Battery capability: 95 Watt-hours
• Dimensions: 14.7 x 9.8 x 0.77 inches
• Measured weight: 5.4 kilos
• Price: $3,199.99

The Dell XPS 17 9730 begins at $2,449 for a configuration with a Core i7-13700H CPU, RTX 4050 graphics, 16GB RAM, and a 512GB SSD. This baseline mannequin includes a 17-inch, non-touch show with a 1920×1080-pixel decision. Our take a look at system upgrades the graphics to an RTX 4070 GPU whereas doubling the RAM to 32GB and the solid-state storage to 1TB. The show additionally will get an improve to a 3840×2400 decision and provides contact assist. It was not included on our take a look at system, however there’s a CPU improve that strikes you from the Core i7-13700H to a Core i9-13900H. In addition to the baseline RTX 4050 graphics and the RTX 4070 GPU on our take a look at system, you can also configure the XPS 17 9730 with RTX 4060 or RTX 4080 graphics. There are additionally extra RAM (as much as 64GB) and SSD (as much as 8TB) choices.

Dell XPS 17: Thin but inflexible design

The XPS 17 9730 shares the identical enclosure because the previous XPS 17 9720. It’s an infinite expanse of a laptop computer that stretches practically 15 inches broad and virtually 10 inches deep. There’s little or no wasted house; with skinny bezels on all 4 sides, the 17-inch 16:10 dominates the scene. You might need hassle becoming the XPS 17 9730 into your backpack due to its width and depth, but it surely’s not a hulky laptop computer. It measures a trim 0.77 inches thick and weighs an inexpensive 5.4 kilos.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

The silver lid has the standard-issue, brushed-aluminum look, however open the laptop computer and also you’re greeted with a black keyboard deck with a carbon fiber end operating alongside the wrist relaxation and the slim strip above the keyboard. The two-tone coloration scheme lets the XPS 9730 stand out from the all-silver or boring grey crowd. And the carbon fiber keyboard deck has a rubberized end that has a lovely really feel and in addition could be very efficient at repelling fingerprints.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Constructed from machined aluminum and carbon fiber, the XPS 17 9730 feels agency and inflexible with little to no flex within the lid or keyboard deck, a powerful feat given its immense dimensions. Many massive laptops are likely to sag or flex towards their middles, and skinny laptops usually have flimsy lids that supply a worrisome degree of safety for the show. With the XPS 17 9730, Dell pulls off the neat trick of constructing a skinny, large-screen laptop computer with a strong total really feel.

Without a notch or lip on the entrance edge, opening the lid is a two-handed operation. I struggled to carry the lid with my fingertip and needed to carry with from the facet with each fingers. Once opened, nonetheless, I discovered the keyboard to be fairly snug. The keys don’t have the plush feeling you get with a ThinkPad and as an alternative provide a lightweight, snappy suggestions with shallow journey. I felt quick typing on it. Despite having the room for it, Dell opted to not embody a quantity pad on the XPS 17 9730. And I didn’t miss it. I preferred having the keyboard centered under the show and above the enormous touchpad. 

IDG / Matthew Elliott

The touchpad has a matte end that permits for easy, practically friction-free gliding. It has a agency, quiet click on response with the right quantity of journey.

Dell XPS 17: Big, vivid show (sans OLED)

Our take a look at system options the $300 show improve that bumps you up from a 17-inch 1,920 x 1,200 IPS non-touch show to a 3840×2400 IPS touchscreen. Brightness (500-nit ranking) and refresh charge (60Hz) stay fixed throughout the 2 show choices. I discovered the show at 550 nits to be even brighter than its ranking, and I discovered textual content and pictures to be razor sharp. And but I’m solely mildly impressed with the 4K contact panel. Why? Because at a value north of $3,000, an OLED panel turns into an inexpensive expectation. The XPS 17 9730’s distinction ratio is okay, however it could actually’t match that of an OLED with vivid white and true black ranges. For a high-end, large-screen laptop computer gear towards artistic professionals, a bunch that advantages greater than most from the added coloration constancy and distinction, it’s stunning and disappointing that an OLED panel isn’t supplied.

Likewise, the show’s pedestrian 60Hz refresh charge might be a disappointment to would-be consumers which may wish to put the laptops RTX graphics towards a little bit of 3D gaming when the workday is completed. And video editors search a sooner 90Hz or 120Hz panel for smoother motion. 

IDG / Matthew Elliott

The webcam is one other disappointment. It’s a grainy 720p digicam of yore and never a high-res 1080p digicam that’s supplied on practically even laptop computer launched within the final yr or two outdoors of finances fashions. Frankly, it’s surprising {that a} laptop computer at this value doesn’t have an improve webcam. The XPS 17’s enclosure might not be in want of an overhaul, however its webcam definitely is.

The string of disappointments finish with the audio system. Dell packs 4 audio system into the XPS 17 9730 within the type of a pair of 1.5-watt tweeters and a pair of two.5 woofers. The ensuing sound is louder and fuller and extra dynamic than that of a typical laptop computer with solely two audio system. Dialog sounded clear and results sounded real looking when watching films and reveals, and I even loved music playback as a result of there was a little bit of a bass response to spherical out the sound.

The fashionable port choice options 4 Thunderbolt 4 ports with DisplayPort and energy supply assist, which ought to fulfill most of your exterior growth wants. Dell consists of an adapter within the field that gives USB-A and HDMI connectivity. There’s additionally a combo audio jack and an SD card slot. Wireless connectivity, nonetheless, is a step behind the instances. The XPS 17 9730 helps Wi-Fi 6 and never the newer Wi-Fi 6E normal.

Dell XPS 17: Performance

Our XPS 17 9730 take a look at system is predicated on the Core i7-13970HX CPU and GeForce RTX 4070 graphics. It additionally provides a beneficiant 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. The 13th-gen Core i9-13900HX options Intel’s hybrid structure with efficiency and effectivity cores; it has six efficiency cores, eight effectivity cores, and a complete of 20 processing threads. The RTX 4070 is a midrange GPU in Nvidia’s newest GeForce 40 sequence behind the RTX 4080 and 4090 graphics processors. In our take a look at system, it’s set to run at solely 60 watts, largely to maintain thermals in verify contained in the XPS 17’s skinny enclosure. By comparability, the gaming-focused Legion Pro 7 Gen 8 options an RTX 4070 GPU operating at its most of 140 watts — a mix of the GPU’s most energy draw of 115 watts and 25 watts equipped by the CPU by way of Dynamic Boost.

First up in labs testing is PCMark 10, which measures efficiency on on a regular basis computing work together with workplace productiveness duties, net looking, and video chats. The XPS 17 9730 scored above a 7,000, which signifies elite software efficiency, but it surely nonetheless trailed final yr’s XPS 17 9720 and its 12th-gen Core i7 CPU.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Our HandBrake benchmark exams how a laptop computer is ready to deal with crushing CPU hundreds over a prolonged interval—on this case, transcoding a 30GB MKV file to a format appropriate for Android tablets utilizing HandBrake, the free video encoding utility. The XPS 17 9730 once more completed behind final yr’s XPS 17 mannequin and really completed final among the many group of equally configured and priced programs which are both midrange gaming machines or different content material creation laptops.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Next up is Cinebench, one other CPU-intensive take a look at however one which renders a posh 2D scene over a brief time frame. Again, the XPS 17 9730 completed close to the top of the pack. The XPS 17 9730 is a succesful content material creation laptop computer however definitely not the quickest.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Dell XPS 17: Graphics efficiency

Although the XPS 17 8730 isn’t a gaming laptop computer, we nonetheless needed to place its RTX 4070 graphics to the take a look at. On 3DMark’s Time Spy and Port Royal exams, it completed behind the pack, the leaders of which function higher-wattage GPUs than our take a look at system’s 60-watt RTX 4070 GPU.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

IDG / Matthew Elliott

On our real-world sport benchmarks, the XPS 17 9730 produced playable framerates on our Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark at 1920×1080 decision on the Highest high quality preset however nonetheless trailed gaming laptops with GPUs working at or close to full throttle. We noticed related outcomes on our Metro Exodus take a look at, the place the XPS 17 9730 averaged 39 fps. You’ll have to dial again the standard settings or decision to creep nearer to a easy framerate of 60 fps with Metro Exodus.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Dell XPS 17: Battery life

To take a look at 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 XPS 17 9730 excelled on our battery take a look at, operating laps round its higher-powered gaming competitors by lasting practically 11 hours on our demanding battery drain take a look at. Still, it fell a couple of minutes in need of the runtime of final yr’s XPS 17 mannequin.

IDG / Matthew Elliott

Dell XPS 17: Should you purchase it?

There’s tons to love about Dell XPS 9730, from its expansive, 17-inch 16:10 show and skinny, inflexible chassis to its snug keyboard, roomy touchpad and excellent battery life. The lack of an OLED show possibility, nonetheless, is a adverse that may outweigh these positives for a lot of content material creators. With absolute black ranges and beautiful distinction ratio, an OLED show is much superior to any IPS panel and might be excessive on the precedence listing of any artistic skilled searching for a laptop computer, if not on the very prime. The lack of an OLED possibility prevents a stronger suggestion for the XPS 17 9730.