Less $$$, MORE Performance - Dell XPS 15 2023 (9530) Review

**The Dell XPS 15 (2023) Review: A Powerful and Portable Laptop**

Dell's new XPS 15 model has been making waves in the laptop market with its impressive performance, exceptional battery life, and sleek design. With a starting price of $2500, this 15-inch laptop is a significant upgrade from its predecessor, featuring Intel's latest 13th gen CPUs and a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU.

**Performance Comparison: Core i7 13700H vs. Core i7 12700H**

One of the most notable aspects of the new XPS 15 is its performance comparison to last year's model, which featured an Intel Core i7 12700H processor. In Ultra mode, the 13700H draws more power than the 12700H, but it can't pull too far ahead in terms of performance. However, when switching to Creator Focus apps that are GPU-accelerated, such as those used for video editing and content creation, the new XPS 15 is like a night and day difference from its predecessor. In every way possible, the new processor walks all over the previous generation model.

**Gaming Performance: A Mixed Bag**

While the Dell XPS 15 can deliver reasonable frame rates in gaming scenarios, it's not a dedicated gaming laptop by any means. The RTX 4070 GPU runs at a relatively low power level of around 50 Watts, which is significantly lower than what you'd expect from a gaming laptop. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the laptop is underpowered – rather, it's designed to balance performance and portability. In comparison, Lenovo's Slim Pro 9i model blows the XPS 15 out of the water, thanks to its more powerful RTX 3050 TI GPU.

**Battery Life: A Major Selling Point**

One area where the Dell XPS 15 truly shines is in its battery life. With a massive 97Wh battery, this laptop can last for up to 17 hours on a single charge, depending on usage patterns. This is an impressive feat considering the device's size and weight.

**Design and Features: A Familiar Yet Improved Form Factor**

The new XPS 15 retains its familiar design language from previous years, with minor tweaks to accommodate the latest hardware inside. The display still features Dell's InfinityEdge bezel, which provides a stunning 92% screen-to-body ratio. While there are no major changes to the display itself, there is a welcome upgrade in terms of refresh rate – this laptop now supports higher or adaptable refresh rates.

**A Questionable Position in the Market**

Compared to last year's model, the new XPS 15 feels somewhat dated. The design ID has been recycled for two years in a row, with only minor updates to accommodate the latest hardware. While the performance difference between the 12th and 13th gen CPUs may not be significant, the GPU performance is truly remarkable.

**The Verdict: Worth Considering?**

After spending time with the Dell XPS 15 (2023), it's clear that this laptop is a serious contender in the thin-and-light 15-inch category. While its design may feel somewhat familiar, the performance and battery life are certainly impressive. However, at $2500, one can't help but wonder if there are other options available that might offer similar value for money.

**The Webcam: A Disappointing Touch**

One area where the Dell XPS 15 falls short is in its webcam quality. The built-in camera features a relatively low resolution and poor image quality, which may be a disappointment to some users.

**A Final Verdict: Worth Considering?**

Ultimately, whether or not the Dell XPS 15 (2023) is worth considering depends on individual needs and priorities. For those looking for a powerful and portable laptop with exceptional battery life, this device is certainly worth exploring. However, for those who value cutting-edge design and innovative features, there may be other options available that better fit their requirements.

**Real-World Performance: A Quick Look**

When it comes to real-world performance, the Dell XPS 15 (2023) delivers impressive results in both everyday use and gaming scenarios. By taking a closer look at the provided benchmark scores, we can see just how this laptop compares to its predecessor and other competitors in the market.

**Comparison with Lenovo's Slim Pro 9i**

One notable aspect of the Dell XPS 15 is its comparison to Lenovo's Slim Pro 9i model, which has been a major player in the thin-and-light 15-inch category for several years. By comparing the two laptops head-to-head, we can see just how the new XPS 15 stacks up against its competitor.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, the Dell XPS 15 (2023) is a powerful and portable laptop that delivers exceptional performance and battery life. While it may not be a revolutionary device in terms of design or features, its impressive specs make it a serious contender in the market. However, at $2500, one can't help but wonder if there are other options available that might offer similar value for money.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwait a minute this is the same laptop that I reviewed last year well the other guys have it this is a new XPS 15 from Dell thank you so much for watching and I'll talk to you guys in there all right so I'll keep this video concise since we're all familiar with the remarkable features the XPS series brings to the table it boasts sleet design powerful hardware and most importantly premium build quality and it's not targeted Gamers but rather professionals who are seeking a blend of these exceptional aspects now the specs have been updated this year with Intel's 13 gen processors and RTX 40 series Graphics however what surprised me the most this year is something totally unexpected I'm actually not kidding this year's base model of the Xbox 15 is priced lower than last year's model yeah you heard that right it's actually more affordable this time my friends so for 12.99 you get a Core i7 13 700h CPU with a total of 20 threads 16 gigs of ddr5 memory half a terabyte of storage and guess what it comes with an arc GPU more specifically an a370m now it's not a new chip Intel did release this last year and it's had its fair share of bugs that I hope haven't addressed this time if you'd like to bypass that you do have the option to upgrade to an RTX 4050 for an additional 200 now there is an RTX 4060 and 4070 option which is what I have over here it also comes with twice the memory and storage and you also get a gorgeous 3.5 Kola display funny enough this 4070 model is about the same price if not cheaper than last year's RTX 3050 TI GPU how crazy is that but it doesn't stop there because there is a core I9 option with 64 gigabytes of RAM and 8 terabytes of SSD storage for 3 800 it's not cheap but hey the range of configurations is impressive and the best part is that the build quality of these laptops remain consistent across all models and ensuring that even the base pack looks identical to the most expensive one and speaking of design well I don't have a lot to talk about guys Dell is going with the if it ain't broke don't fix a type of approach it's still built out of the same unibody aluminum materials it's the same thickness coming in at 0.71 inches it weighs the same the power adapter is just the right size it's a 131 unit that charges over USB type-c and the port setup Remains the Same with three USBC ports two of which are thunderbol 4 compliant and you also get a full size SD card reader along with an audio jack the interior layout is once again the same as last year including the massive trackpad the keys are still one of my favorites despite the low profile design they offer a satisfactory amount of travel lessons they're also backlits providing ample brightness in low light conditions if anything they're Milds better than the Razer Blade laptops and the trackpad is super smooth to touch with excellent feedback with the primary left and right buttons now for the display well once again Dell is offering the same IPS and OLED flavors I have the 3.5k OLED panel and it's absolutely gorgeous with those Inky blacks and Rich colors it's a great option for creators since it covers 100 srgb 96 Adobe RGB and 99 P3 unfortunately it's not as bright as I expected the sustainable peak level that I was able to get on my sample was around 364 nits honestly for an OLED panel display that sounds about right but if you need more you can get the cheaper 1200p 500 matte display personally I think that's what I would get all day any day since you don't have to worry about the crazy Reflections coming off of this super glossy display I was hoping for a mini LED option this year also a high refresh rate feature would have been really cool you see these are things that are being standardized in the premium Windows laptop market now look at what Lenovo does with the slim series you get 1200 nits 165 Hertz mini LED and it's absolutely stunning the Xbox 15 feels dated at this point so this is what the webcam quality looks like on the XPS 15 and unfortunately it's terrible like they're using a 720 beat sensor which means um you know there isn't proper exposure control I mean as you can see my face is completely blown out this is my usual setting when I'm testing out webcams for laptops and the microphone sounds really bad I mean they haven't really done any noise canceling um features to sort of bring out the vocals so it can pick up like all the background stuff which I'm sure will be a concern if you are going to be using this thing for uh meetings and stuff like that so yeah um Adele I mean what's what's going on what about the built-in speakers well they sound similar to last year's model you could front-facing drivers and a couple more bottom facing underneath the edges and for a Windows laptop these sound awesome in terms of upgradability this laptop actually surprised me for its form factor as you can see you get two Ram slots that can be accessed here maximum supportive memory 64 gigabytes the primary nvme SSD is right over here and the drive speeds have received a generous improvement over last year's spec I still appreciate that they provide an extra m.2 slot for storage expansion so that's a quick rundown of the exterior design but what about performance well let's talk about that after listening to a quick word from this video sponsor okay so move over slightly yeah keep going keep going okay now rotate the motherboard rotate it okay for cooling or what yes it's for thermal efficiency okay ah for centralized thermal efficiency huh that is right meet the new foam factor to explore all types of cooling possibilities especially for the GPU with this unrestrictive rear intake in a full tower designed to be roomy and easy to work in with full dust filtration rear chamber to hide all your cables so you can let all the air in from all four sides check out the all-new thermaltake CT options down below alright so I want to kick things off with battery life and it's obvious that Dell has got some Secret Sauce going on here they're literally the only company who knows how to keep Intel's 12th gen and 13 gen CPUs in a low power State doing less intensive tasks and I thought the 2022 model was good because at the time it was but this one just blows it out of the water and remember this is a 15 inch laptop with a discreet GPU which makes these numbers even more impressive in a YouTube load scenario and outside the impressive battery life Dell's XPS series comes with four different Power modes but it's actually more like three since optimized in Ultra performance essentially perform almost identically with a few minor variations that means running the CPU right up to its thermal limit to extract the most power and clock speeds from the device the same thing goes for the RTX 470 but with one major downfall while this can be considered a mid-level GPU Dell's only running it at 50 Watts which is almost at the very bottom of the specs so while it might have the RTX 4070 name just don't expect it to perform anywhere like it would like in a dedicated gaming laptop but then again you got to keep in mind that this isn't a gaming laptop either way we've got a core i7 13700h on one side and an RTX 470 on the other so let's see how the Xbox 15 and it's 2500 price tag performed now starting with real world performance I want to make a quick mention about how these results are shown the new XPS 15 is optimized and Ultra modes are orange while the 2022 model running an ultra performance mode is in teal so that way you can clearly see the performance impact of this new generation anyways I think the most interesting thing these numbers show is how in most cases there's very little to no perceivable performance Improvement when going from the 12700h on the 2022 model to the 13700h on this year's I mean there are some apps where it seems like the optimizations built into Intel's 13g CPUs make a pretty big difference but in general the new processor draws more power in Ultra mode than the older one but it can't pull too far ahead but switching over to Creator Focus apps that are GPU accelerated well it's like a night and day difference with the new XPS 15 just walking all over the previous generation model in every way possible while the RTX 4070 isn't operating anywhere near its peak power level it'll get spanked by gaming laptops that being said this is a massive step up from the RTX 3050 TI Dell packed into their last version now switching over to gaming and I know I know this isn't a gaming laptop but it can get some very reasonable frame rates and it simply blows the 2022 model straight out of the water but there's a pretty big catch here and that's the Lenovo slim Pro 9i it used to be the Xbox 15 played in a world of its own there was very little to no competition against it in the PC space but then Lenovo dropped the 9i bomb and it just mops the floor with the 15 since the RTX 470 runs along a whole 100 Watts so yeah this 2500 Dell can game but the Lenovo can do it a heck of a lot better while also being just as portable so does the new XPS 15 possess a distinct position within behind Windows laptop Market you see if I asked this question a few years ago then yes absolutely it was truly a one-of-a-kind laptop at the time but now it just feels dated there's nothing revolutionary or feature Rich that sets it apart it's the same design ID that's been recycled two years in a row with updated Hardware inside and while the difference between the 12th and 13 gen CPUs may not be significant GPU performance Improvement is truly remarkable not only that guys this is arguably the best Intel based 15-inch laptop with exceptional battery life Dell just knows how to tune these CPUs when they're on battery albeit it does come at the cost of performance I don't know guys I'm on the fence about this laptop now I'm shocked at how terrible the webcam looks I wish it had a mini LED display with higher or adaptable refresh rate for 2500 dollars I would most likely explore other options on that note thanks so much for watching I hope you're able to take away everything that you needed to know about Dell's new or new Xbox 15 let us know what you guys think about in the comments and if you are shopping around for a thin or relatively thin 15 inch laptop would this be on the top of your list I'm curious to know does this laptop still have its place once again thanks so much for watching and I'll talk to you guys in the next one and don't forget to spin responsiblywait a minute this is the same laptop that I reviewed last year well the other guys have it this is a new XPS 15 from Dell thank you so much for watching and I'll talk to you guys in there all right so I'll keep this video concise since we're all familiar with the remarkable features the XPS series brings to the table it boasts sleet design powerful hardware and most importantly premium build quality and it's not targeted Gamers but rather professionals who are seeking a blend of these exceptional aspects now the specs have been updated this year with Intel's 13 gen processors and RTX 40 series Graphics however what surprised me the most this year is something totally unexpected I'm actually not kidding this year's base model of the Xbox 15 is priced lower than last year's model yeah you heard that right it's actually more affordable this time my friends so for 12.99 you get a Core i7 13 700h CPU with a total of 20 threads 16 gigs of ddr5 memory half a terabyte of storage and guess what it comes with an arc GPU more specifically an a370m now it's not a new chip Intel did release this last year and it's had its fair share of bugs that I hope haven't addressed this time if you'd like to bypass that you do have the option to upgrade to an RTX 4050 for an additional 200 now there is an RTX 4060 and 4070 option which is what I have over here it also comes with twice the memory and storage and you also get a gorgeous 3.5 Kola display funny enough this 4070 model is about the same price if not cheaper than last year's RTX 3050 TI GPU how crazy is that but it doesn't stop there because there is a core I9 option with 64 gigabytes of RAM and 8 terabytes of SSD storage for 3 800 it's not cheap but hey the range of configurations is impressive and the best part is that the build quality of these laptops remain consistent across all models and ensuring that even the base pack looks identical to the most expensive one and speaking of design well I don't have a lot to talk about guys Dell is going with the if it ain't broke don't fix a type of approach it's still built out of the same unibody aluminum materials it's the same thickness coming in at 0.71 inches it weighs the same the power adapter is just the right size it's a 131 unit that charges over USB type-c and the port setup Remains the Same with three USBC ports two of which are thunderbol 4 compliant and you also get a full size SD card reader along with an audio jack the interior layout is once again the same as last year including the massive trackpad the keys are still one of my favorites despite the low profile design they offer a satisfactory amount of travel lessons they're also backlits providing ample brightness in low light conditions if anything they're Milds better than the Razer Blade laptops and the trackpad is super smooth to touch with excellent feedback with the primary left and right buttons now for the display well once again Dell is offering the same IPS and OLED flavors I have the 3.5k OLED panel and it's absolutely gorgeous with those Inky blacks and Rich colors it's a great option for creators since it covers 100 srgb 96 Adobe RGB and 99 P3 unfortunately it's not as bright as I expected the sustainable peak level that I was able to get on my sample was around 364 nits honestly for an OLED panel display that sounds about right but if you need more you can get the cheaper 1200p 500 matte display personally I think that's what I would get all day any day since you don't have to worry about the crazy Reflections coming off of this super glossy display I was hoping for a mini LED option this year also a high refresh rate feature would have been really cool you see these are things that are being standardized in the premium Windows laptop market now look at what Lenovo does with the slim series you get 1200 nits 165 Hertz mini LED and it's absolutely stunning the Xbox 15 feels dated at this point so this is what the webcam quality looks like on the XPS 15 and unfortunately it's terrible like they're using a 720 beat sensor which means um you know there isn't proper exposure control I mean as you can see my face is completely blown out this is my usual setting when I'm testing out webcams for laptops and the microphone sounds really bad I mean they haven't really done any noise canceling um features to sort of bring out the vocals so it can pick up like all the background stuff which I'm sure will be a concern if you are going to be using this thing for uh meetings and stuff like that so yeah um Adele I mean what's what's going on what about the built-in speakers well they sound similar to last year's model you could front-facing drivers and a couple more bottom facing underneath the edges and for a Windows laptop these sound awesome in terms of upgradability this laptop actually surprised me for its form factor as you can see you get two Ram slots that can be accessed here maximum supportive memory 64 gigabytes the primary nvme SSD is right over here and the drive speeds have received a generous improvement over last year's spec I still appreciate that they provide an extra m.2 slot for storage expansion so that's a quick rundown of the exterior design but what about performance well let's talk about that after listening to a quick word from this video sponsor okay so move over slightly yeah keep going keep going okay now rotate the motherboard rotate it okay for cooling or what yes it's for thermal efficiency okay ah for centralized thermal efficiency huh that is right meet the new foam factor to explore all types of cooling possibilities especially for the GPU with this unrestrictive rear intake in a full tower designed to be roomy and easy to work in with full dust filtration rear chamber to hide all your cables so you can let all the air in from all four sides check out the all-new thermaltake CT options down below alright so I want to kick things off with battery life and it's obvious that Dell has got some Secret Sauce going on here they're literally the only company who knows how to keep Intel's 12th gen and 13 gen CPUs in a low power State doing less intensive tasks and I thought the 2022 model was good because at the time it was but this one just blows it out of the water and remember this is a 15 inch laptop with a discreet GPU which makes these numbers even more impressive in a YouTube load scenario and outside the impressive battery life Dell's XPS series comes with four different Power modes but it's actually more like three since optimized in Ultra performance essentially perform almost identically with a few minor variations that means running the CPU right up to its thermal limit to extract the most power and clock speeds from the device the same thing goes for the RTX 470 but with one major downfall while this can be considered a mid-level GPU Dell's only running it at 50 Watts which is almost at the very bottom of the specs so while it might have the RTX 4070 name just don't expect it to perform anywhere like it would like in a dedicated gaming laptop but then again you got to keep in mind that this isn't a gaming laptop either way we've got a core i7 13700h on one side and an RTX 470 on the other so let's see how the Xbox 15 and it's 2500 price tag performed now starting with real world performance I want to make a quick mention about how these results are shown the new XPS 15 is optimized and Ultra modes are orange while the 2022 model running an ultra performance mode is in teal so that way you can clearly see the performance impact of this new generation anyways I think the most interesting thing these numbers show is how in most cases there's very little to no perceivable performance Improvement when going from the 12700h on the 2022 model to the 13700h on this year's I mean there are some apps where it seems like the optimizations built into Intel's 13g CPUs make a pretty big difference but in general the new processor draws more power in Ultra mode than the older one but it can't pull too far ahead but switching over to Creator Focus apps that are GPU accelerated well it's like a night and day difference with the new XPS 15 just walking all over the previous generation model in every way possible while the RTX 4070 isn't operating anywhere near its peak power level it'll get spanked by gaming laptops that being said this is a massive step up from the RTX 3050 TI Dell packed into their last version now switching over to gaming and I know I know this isn't a gaming laptop but it can get some very reasonable frame rates and it simply blows the 2022 model straight out of the water but there's a pretty big catch here and that's the Lenovo slim Pro 9i it used to be the Xbox 15 played in a world of its own there was very little to no competition against it in the PC space but then Lenovo dropped the 9i bomb and it just mops the floor with the 15 since the RTX 470 runs along a whole 100 Watts so yeah this 2500 Dell can game but the Lenovo can do it a heck of a lot better while also being just as portable so does the new XPS 15 possess a distinct position within behind Windows laptop Market you see if I asked this question a few years ago then yes absolutely it was truly a one-of-a-kind laptop at the time but now it just feels dated there's nothing revolutionary or feature Rich that sets it apart it's the same design ID that's been recycled two years in a row with updated Hardware inside and while the difference between the 12th and 13 gen CPUs may not be significant GPU performance Improvement is truly remarkable not only that guys this is arguably the best Intel based 15-inch laptop with exceptional battery life Dell just knows how to tune these CPUs when they're on battery albeit it does come at the cost of performance I don't know guys I'm on the fence about this laptop now I'm shocked at how terrible the webcam looks I wish it had a mini LED display with higher or adaptable refresh rate for 2500 dollars I would most likely explore other options on that note thanks so much for watching I hope you're able to take away everything that you needed to know about Dell's new or new Xbox 15 let us know what you guys think about in the comments and if you are shopping around for a thin or relatively thin 15 inch laptop would this be on the top of your list I'm curious to know does this laptop still have its place once again thanks so much for watching and I'll talk to you guys in the next one and don't forget to spin responsibly\n"