Dell XPS 13

The new standard for Ultrabooks

DELL’S XPS 13 line of laptops has been around for years now, and while its 2015 model doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel, Dell has made enough improvements to feel justified in claiming it has the best Ultrabook on the market. We’ll see…

The compact chassis gives the XPS some sex appeal. Measuring 11.9 x 8 x 0.5 inches and weighing just two pounds, 12.4 ounces, it’s extremely portable. While a chassis this small usually sports an 11-inch panel, Dell impressed us by squeezing in a 13.3inch 10-point touch display. This is done through what Dell calls its “Infinity Edge” display. That’s marketing jargon for thin, flush bezels that measure 5.2mm across.

While the panel isn’t huge, the resolution is enormous at 3200x1800. Certain Windows programs might look small but, surprisingly, it looks fine for most applications. Some users may also be put off by the glossy panel, but the viewing angles on this IPS display and the vibrant colors it offers are undeniably fantastic.

The body shape puts it in the MacBook Air category, and while it even sports a downward slope that’s similar to the Apple, it’s got its own thing going aesthetically. Composed mainly of machined aluminum, the XPS has a carbon fiber palm rest. It’s mostly black, with the exception of its silver back, where you’ll also find the Dell logo etched in. It would be nice if the logo had a lighting option (all the cool kids are doing it), but maybe Dell designers thought it best to go minimal. Luckily, it does have a backlit keyboard, which is more important.

The laptop is small, so some people may be unimpressed by the compact keyboard, but it didn’t bother us. We weren’t too crazy about the trackpad, however, which offers a little unwanted acceleration. The notebook’s speakers have a surprising amount of firepower, but we’re a little let down that they’re side-firing, as opposed to front-facing. In terms of ports, you’ve got your charging port, two USB 3.0 ports, mini DisplayPort, headphone jack, and SD card slot. We wish it offered Mini-HDMI, but it’s got all the bare essentials, and offers more ports than other leading notebooks (ahem, Apple, we’re looking at you).

When it came to performance, our XPS 13 and its 2.2GHz Core i5-5200U processor didn’t blow our socks off. It performed better than our Acer S7’s Ivy Bridge in our Stitch CPU benchmark, by 8 percent, but lagged by 3 percent in our multithreadheavy x264 test. It’s worth noting this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison, however. Our ZP uses a Core i7-3517U processor with a max turbo frequency of 3GHz, which trumps the Core i5’s 2.7GHz top speed. Also, when our S7 zero-point goes full blast, it’s almost leaf-blower loud. The XPS 13, meanwhile, plays it cool and quiet.

ULTRA, NOT GAMER

In graphics territory, Dell gave our zeropoint a thorough thrashing. Intel has been making noticeable improvements when it comes to integrated graphics; the fruit of its labors means a performance delta between 40–70 percent here. If you’re thinking this means you’ll be able to do some hardcore gaming on this thing, however, you’ll want to think again.

Even with everything turned low, we got unplayable frame rates (mid-20s) running

TombRaider at 1080p. This proves that gaming laptops aren’t getting pushed off the table by lighter fare anytime soon.

There were a few other areas where the laptop failed to impress, battery life being chief among them. In our video-rundown test, the XPS 13 lasted 223 minutes, which is fine for even the lengthiest of Peter Jackson movie edits, but if you’re hoping for something that will last an entire workday, this model isn’t for you. Dell says its 1080p configuration will last longer, since the laptop doesn’t have to push as many pixels, but as we don’t have that unit to test, we can’t validate the claim.

Another gripe is that the camera is located on the lower left-hand corner of the monitor, as opposed to the usual topmiddle. This validates the old saying that the camera adds 15 pounds, at least that’s the excuse we’re going with. Finally, the laptop does get a little warm underneath, but it won’t singe your lap.

These knocks against the XPS 13 prevent us from awarding it a Kick Ass score, but quibbles aside, it’s a great Ultrabook. Its 12.9-second boot time is among the fastest we’ve seen, and the laptop is sleek, incredibly portable, and priced fairly. It’s not perfect, but it may be the best Ultrabook out there at the moment.

Dell XPS 13

13 GOING ON 30 Beautiful, sharp screen; ultra-portable; super quiet.

30 GOING ON 13 Mediocre battery life; not super powerful.

$1,400, www.dell.com