Dell XPS 15 Touch (2017) - Review 2022

The latest version of the Dell XPS 15 Bear upon (starts at $999; $2,024.99 as tested) is a prime option for anyone working in art, video, or photography, thanks to its edge-to-edge 4K screen, color fidelity, Kaby Lake processor, and Nvidia Pascal graphics. The price is lower than its predecessor, and information technology'southward significantly less than its prime rival in the loftier-terminate desktop-replacement laptop space, the Apple tree MacBook Pro fifteen-inch. This is the ability user's laptop we'd recommend for working in the visual arts.

Same on the Exterior

Outwardly, the XPS 15 Touch looks exactly the same every bit its 2022 iteration, the Dell XPS 15 Touch (9550). The new version is also referred to as the XPS fifteen Touch (9560), which Dell says drives dwelling the similarity between the ii. The laptop weighs iv.44 pounds, imperceptibly lighter than its 4.48-pound predecessor. It shares the latter's dimensions of 0.66 by xiv.06 by 9.27 inches (HWD), and has the same bright, silvery-colored aluminum top lid and base, along with a broad, one-slice touchpad embedded in a carbon fiber palm remainder. It's more sedate than the similarly priced (and equipped) HP Omen 17 and Origin EVO15-S, both of which are gaming laptops.

The 4K screen has a 100-percent Adobe RGB colour gamut (manufacture-standard colour fidelity), perfect if yous need to view 4K videos at native resolution, and by extension, for editing full HD videos. If there's whatever drawback to the edge-to-border brandish, information technology's that the webcam is at present located below the screen, instead of on superlative. That ways that when you use the webcam on video calls, you lot take to tilt the screen back or risk having folks on the other end get an farthermost close-up of your face up (and your nostrils) when the display is caput on.

The keyboard, the touchpad, and the bear upon screen are a joy to utilise. The laptop's interfaces include Bluetooth iv.1, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, USB 3.0, USB-C/Thunderbolt 3, and HDMI, and then yous should exist able to connect with the bulk of peripherals and accessories in use today. For greater detail on the organization's 4K panel, keyboard feel, and port selection, cheque out our review of the Dell XPS fifteen Touch (9550).

Dell XPS 15 (2017)

Under the Hood

Updates on the XPS fifteen Touch include an Intel Core i7-7700HQ (Kaby Lake) processor, which is a smidge faster than the previous iteration's Skylake-based Intel Cadre i7-6700HQ CPU and helps a bit with battery life. A bigger improvement is in gaming operation with the new Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU, equally y'all'll come across in the performance numbers below. The Nvidia GTX 1050 also helps drive the 4K brandish and is a co-processor for graphics-intensive tasks similar video and photo editing. The system'south 16GB of RAM is sufficient for most video editing, and lets yous multitask easily after opening several programs and keeping dozens of tabs open. The 512GB SSD is a plus, though that capacity is becoming a common touchstone for big-screen media laptops. The XPS fifteen Impact comes with a one-year warranty.

Go, Speed, Go!

Thanks to its Intel Core i7-7700HQ, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB SSD, the XPS 15 Touch made curt piece of work of our multimedia tests. Its time of i infinitesimal, 1 2d in Handbrake matched the Apple MacBook Pro xv-inch, another top pick, and was one of the fastest times nosotros've seen for a laptop. Its score of 3:13 in Photoshop beat out powerful systems similar the Apple MacBook Pro, the Asus ZenBook Pro UX501VW-DS71T, and the previous Dell XPS xv Touch. The Origin EVO15-Due south, a gaming laptop, was the fastest in CineBench and Photoshop, but the new XPS 15 Touch on was a close second and third, respectively. Its PCMark 8 Work Conventional score (2,859 points) also came 2nd to the Origin EVO15-S.

Dell XPS 15 (2017)

The Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 GPU helped the XPS xv Touch reach polish, playable frame rates in the Sky (54 frames per 2nd or fps) and Valley (42fps) tests set to Ultra quality and full Hd (1080p) resolution. When we bumped the resolution up to 4K, frame rates slowed to a crawl, as expected. At this juncture, you'll need a desktop-grade graphics processor, like the pricey Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080, to run recent games at 4K or beyond. In any case, the new XPS 15 Touch on is much better than last yr'due south Dell XPS 15 Touch, the Apple tree MacBook Pro, and the Asus ZenBook Pro when playing 3D games. Yous'll be able to run recent games at 1080p with all the eye processed turned on at strong frame rates, though admittedly not equally well every bit on more specialized gaming laptops.

Dell XPS 15 (2017)

If the 4K display has any drawbacks, information technology's that it is an enormous drain on the battery. The XPS 15 Touch lasted six hours, 5 minutes in our rundown test, an improvement of only 9 minutes over last twelvemonth's iteration. That'due south hours brusque of the Apple MacBook Pro (xi:19) and the Asus ZenBook Pro (eleven:53). It does, however, beat out the fifteen-inch Origin EVO15-Due south gaming laptop (3:28).

Highly Recommended, for All Artists

The Dell XPS xv Affect should be at the height of your list if you're setting upwards a graphics or video editing studio, or are a well-funded fine art student. Information technology has the ability to consummate multimedia projects chop-chop and features a brilliant screen that shows many more colors than a business-oriented laptop could muster. The merely downside is the shortish bombardment life. Still, it's faster, and costs $700 less than the Apple MacBook Pro fifteen-inch, and has all the requisite ports, while the MacBook Pro needs adapters for all connections except USB-C and Thunderbolt iii.