Everybody wants a sleek looking laptop, and that’s how the term ‘Ultrabook’ appeared in the dictionary. Because an Ultrabook is meant to be slim and conservative on power consumption, they have slow Ultra Low Voltage processors, slim form factors that don’t allow you to upgrade the internals and lastly, they aren’t the cheapest laptops out there, just like a Hybrid vehicle. If you can pay a premium to buy Ultrabooks, you should really check out the Dell XPS 15, a laptop that looks extremely sleek and premium with powerful internals to boot.
Dell XPS 15 (Late 2013) Hardware Specifications – Base Model
Processor: Intel Core i5 4200H 2.8GHz Dual-Core, Turbo Boost up to 3.4GHz
RAM: 8GB DDR3-1600 (upgradeable to 16GB)
Storage: 500GB Hybrid Hard Drive with 16GB Cache
Graphics: Intel HD 4600 Graphics
Display: 15″ IPS Full HD (1920×1080) with 10-point Multi-Touch and Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0, NFC
I/O Ports: 1 x HDMI, 3 x USB 3.0 with PowerShare, 1 x USB 2.0 with PowerShare, 1 x MiniDisplay Port, 1 x SDXC Card Reader, 1 x 3.5mm Combo Jack
Battery: 61Wh 6-Cell Non-Removable Battery
Dell XPS 15 (Late 2013) Video Review
Luxurious and Elegant
We haven’t seen 15-inch laptops for a while since the ASUS N550JV, it was heavy and bulky but it packs great performance under the hood. The Dell XPS 15 is simply a power user and road warrior’s dream laptop, it weighs only at 2KG and measures 0.7-inches at its thickest point, making it one of the lightest and slimmest 15-incher out there and you simply can’t feel the weight when you are carrying it in your backpack.
The XPS 15 is also built using machined aluminum on its chassis with a carbon fiber body, lift up the lid and you will be greeted by the stunning 15-inch touch display protected by Corning Gorilla Glass.
A matte surface surrounds the working area of the laptop and it feels really nice when you lay your hands on it, the backlit Chiclet keyboard is simply beautiful and we love it despite lacking of a numpad area, it doesn’t make the keys cramped together and makes typing speedy yet precise, the keyboard area is maintains a warm and comfortable temperature when the system is loaded.
The glass integrated Touchpad is one of the best that we’ve used on a Windows laptop, it work brilliantly with ample touch area and navigates accurately, I actually never thought of connecting an external mouse to the laptop because it works so well that I can even use it to edit our gadget review videos.
The Dell XPS 15 is a beautiful and elegant looking laptop, it doesn’t come with fancy colors, but it does have a serious appeal that will make every professionals or power users wanting to own one.
Beauty + Snappy Performance = A Perfect Marriage
The Dell XPS 15 isn’t all about luxury and premium, it packs pretty decent performance under the hood, our review unit is the base model and Dell does offer a more expensive configuration with a Core i7 Quad-Core processor, optional SSD, and a 4K display. Despite not being able to enjoy the best configuration out there, we simply love the XPS 15’s zippy performance in performing our daily task, it may not have the speed to do fast video encoding or run the most demanding apps but it works fine in most cases.
Thanks to the hybrid hard drive, the XPS 15 takes less than 15 seconds to boot up on a warm boot and resumes in less than 3 seconds when it’s on standby, the experience is just seamless and it simply makes you feel that you are carrying the most powerful machine in the world.
The XPS 15 not only surprises us in its usability but it is really good in its cooling system, the cooling vents are located beneath the display or slightly above the keyboard area, similar to the MBP with Retina Display, there are two cooling fans which dissipates heat efficiently and it’s really silent even at heavy loads, simply imagine a quiet V8 engine running on it – Yes, we mean it. Lastly, you don’t want to work with the XPS 15 on your lap as it can get really hot underneath.
The Perfect Entertainer
Most laptops today may have a beautiful screen but doesn’t come with good speakers, the XPS 15 has one of the best sounding speakers out there thanks to MaxxWaves Pro Audio Enhancement, the speakers are located below the laptop and produces decent volume and some amount of bass to be able to enjoy some action packed movies on it, even music listening is pretty good on headphones as well.
Audiophiles will certainly not prefer to have audio enhancement enabled and they can simply tune it to their liking with a custom equalizer. To road warriors, the XPS 15 is going to save you from bringing a portable speaker along.
Amazing battery life for a 15-inch laptop
As always, people simply can’t change their mentality on 15-inch laptops, they can pack the most powerful hardware onboard, bulky and heavy yet offering a subpar battery life. The Dell XPS 15 surprisingly impressed us with its 61Wh 6-Cell battery, we have the Dell Extended Battery Life option enabled, which underclocks the processor down to 760Mhz and do lightweight stuffs – writing editorials, browsing the web, YouTube video streaming and Spotify music streaming, we did of course put the device on standby at times when while we are on the go (nobody would sit for hours in front of a computer), the XPS 15 managed to last around 5 hours in total on a full charge.
Our Full HD video drain test lasted around 3 hours and 15 minutes. Dell does offer a 91WH 6-Cell battery option on the higher end configuration of the XPS 15 and claims a battery life of up to 11 hours.
The Dell XPS 15 is the best 15-inch Windows laptop you can buy
We hate to say this but we find almost no flaw in using the system during our review period, unless you are complaining that you want a tablet hybrid form factor found on the XPS 12. The XPS 15 is the most impressive 15-inch laptop that we’ve ever come across – beautiful hardware, lightweight and powerful internals, it’s really rare to see such a perfect combination in premium laptops. And yes, when we mention the word ‘premium’, the XPS 15 doesn’t cost cheap as the base model starts from RM4,999 up to RM6,399 for the top of the line model. This is the perfect Windows laptop that is worth paying for, simply put, buying the XPS 15 is like owning the best sports car in the world.
Verdict
Beautiful, Elegant and Fast, the Dell XPS 15 offers beauty and performance in a lightweight package that is worth paying and burning a hole in your pockets.
The Good:
+ Fast and zippy performance
+ Extremely enjoyable touchpad and keyboard
+ Stunning touch display
+ Premium build materials
+ Superb sound quality
+ Great battery life
+ Generous amount of input ports
The Not so Good:
– Charger can be more compact
– Expensive
The Dell XPS 15 gets a full 5 star award from us, keep it up, Dell!
