Dell XPS 15z Pro Reviews

Our Dell XPS 15z review unit offers excellent processor performance, and while the GT 525M GPU is not up to powering the 1080p display in today’s latest games, it does offer adequate performance at lower resolutions. These traits are enhanced by gobs of RAM and a large hard drive. On paper, it looks ahead of the pack. Getting some on-hands time with the XPS 15z reels the laptop back in. This is not a poorly constructed laptop, but it’s not a beautiful one, either - and the competition in the $1000+ bracket is tough. The MacBook Pro isn't all Dell has to worry about. The new HP Envy 15 is exquisitely constructed, the Sony Vaio S 15.5” is a pound lighter and the Lenovo offers attractive IdeaPads and sturdy ThinkPads in this price range. The XPS 15z can’t hang with the design of such stiff competition, though that doesn’t mean it should be written off. There are always some buyers who will value hardware bang-for-the-buck above all else, and people with this mindset will want to give the XPS 15z a serious look. As mentioned earlier, an Envy 15 with similar equipment is several hundred more - and a base MacBook Pro 15" goes for $500 more than this Dell. Some consumers will find it difficulty to justify paying more for similar hardware.

Despite some niggling issues, we've come away modestly impressed with the XPS 15z. The notebook's design may not be original (far from it), but the end result is an elegant-looking machine that's thin, light and armed with plenty of power beneath the hood. Dell has managed to capture some of the beauty of Apple's MacBook Pro, and offers it in a considerably cheaper package equipped with a Windows operating system that's familiar to millions. But while the notebook has borrowed from Apple's charm, it doesn't manage to maintain the same level of build quality and our review sample suggests that while the XPS 15z's central chassis is robust, its surrounding trim is less forgiving and may not stand the test of time. Build quality could and perhaps should be better, but Dell has managed to deliver a lot of performance-per-pound in a visually-attractive PC. The £899 base model is let down by a uninspired 1,366x768 display, but for £999, the next model up provides the computing speed of a second-generation Intel Core i5 processor, the graphical grunt of a discrete NVIDIA GPU and plenty of frills - including a backlit keyboard, a high-capacity battery, USB 3.0 connectivity, and a full-HD 1080p display. Our biggest gripe isn't that the XPS 15z falls short of meeting the standards set by the MacBook Pro, it's that the XPS product range has sacrificed function in favour of form. This is a lovely-looking machine, but last year's chubbier and heavier XPS 15 is better equipped and comfortably cheaper.

The Dell is equally comfortable as a desktop replacement or a travelling companion, though perhaps at over 2.5kg you might not want to carry it around for long periods too often. The price tag of almost £1200 is high, but despite our reservations about the keyboard, the overly reflective glossy display and the positioning of USB ports, the Dell XPS 15z is a good all-rounder – especially with entertainment-focused tasks. But in overall build quality, security or the fine attention to all the details, an Apple MacBook Pro it ain't.

Certainly, the 15z’s base pricing of £899 appeals, particularly for those who prefer Windows or are OS-indifferent. It’s also easily portable at 2.5kg, despite packing in enough top-end components to make it a machine you could use without frustration day-to-day. It isn’t exactly a revolution in laptop design, but it balances aesthetics, performance and price handily enough.

I’m hesitant to hand out any awards here, since the Mac crowd is almost sure to bring out their pitchforks, but even if the 15z’s design borrows heavily from the MacBook Pro, I don’t consider such things as appearance to be worthy of patents. Every laptop out there has a display, keyboard, speakers, etc. and if you can cram all of those things into a thinner and lighter chassis without running into severe problems, great. (That's such a nice idea that Intel has even created the Ultrabook category of laptops, so we'll see a lot more thin laptops in the coming months.) The Dell XPS 15z does exactly that, and for a consumer laptop it’s still better than 95% of the other offerings—certainly nothing in its price range can touch it in terms of overall experience. For getting all of those things right, I’m giving the XPS 15z our Bronze Editors’ Choice award—the heat, build quality, and step back on the LCD and speakers are enough to keep it from the Silver and Gold.

Let's hope that the XPS 15z proves to be a turning point for Dell, signaling a new direction for Dell consumer product design and engineering in general, rather than a niche "high style" brand that will represent only a small fraction of the company's consumer sales. Perhaps in two or three years, the Dell lineup will consist entirely of sleek, stylish, well-built models with great features and reasonable prices. And we'll say, "You know, it all started with that XPS 15z." Regardless of how things turn out, this is one of the best laptops Dell has made in a long time. It has its quirks, and it's not a great value in its higher-priced configurations, but it hits all the right notes. It's good enough to make me look forward to the future models of the XPS z-series, and to hope that the sensibilities that produced this laptop find expression throughout Dell's product lines.

The XPS 15z impresses in most areas and falls short in a just a few. Its thin metal chassis has excellent quality and the 1080p display is top notch. Performance is stellar for most applications including some gaming and it still manages over six hours of battery life. The biggest downside of this notebook is the lifeless keyboard, which just isn't fun to type on. Additionally the speakers could be better, the screen's glossy surface creates a lot of reflections, and upgrading this notebook is very tough. Then there's a matter of price; the XPS 15z starts at $999 but ours came out to a tick over $2,000 stocked with top-shelf components. The base notebook is almost certainly the better value; just make sure you get the 1080p display. The XPS 15z is certainly a recommendable notebook; if the keyboard were better, it would be almost perfect.

We’ve once come across a saying: “When you shoot for the stars, you might just end on the moon.” That description is just what we think about the Dell XPS 15z. When we say stars, we were hinting at the Apple MacBook Pro (yes we try not to mince our words). The XPS 15z very obviously draws inspiration from that direction and while there are quite a few things it gets right, there are also a few things it doesn’t. The overall appearances that the XPS 15z is endowed with is something that Dell got right. We find that you really can’t go wrong by introducing a uniform look in your product, and decking the whole machine in brushed metal makes the XPS 15z a head-turner. The heft, feel and balance of the product also makes the machine comfortable to hold and lug around. The integrated battery gives the bottom of the machine a very clean look, with no distracting grooves or lines strewn all over, save the 'alien' looking ventilation grille.

The Dell XPS 15z is a really impressive combination of design, features, performance, battery life and all-round appeal. It's a good multimedia system with an excellent screen and the 3D output option, a workhorse system that will deliver performance with demanding software and a designer system that barely compromises to get its good looks unless you were dead-set on a Blu-ray drive.

A big laptop with plenty of power, plus the style and battery-life to make a surprisingly strong all-rounder

The XPS 15z has a strong design, a beautiful 1080p LCD, and speed for the money. We had some quibbles, but its CPU/GPU muscle and long battery life make this a fine all-purpose machine.

If you consider the XPS 15z to be a direct competitor to the MacBook Pro 15in, it beats it in a number of ways. It may not be quite as fast in 2D and 3D, but it has better battery life, a higher-resolution screen, a wider range of games to choose from and it costs a whopping £650 less. If you want the best combination of style and power in a Windows laptop, the XPS 15z is the best around.

Our time with the XPS 15z does suggest it's one of Dell's better systems in recent memory and a far smarter direction than the Adamo. Instead of trying to chase a fellow notebook manufacturer in ultraportables, an area where Apple often does best, Dell is going for a system that's more in line with its core buyer. The new XPS won't make Mac users have second thoughts, but it's good enough to keep some Windows users that much more loyal.

Let's hope that the XPS 15z proves to be a turning point for Dell, signaling a new direction for Dell consumer product design and engineering in general, rather than a niche "high style" brand that will represent only a small fraction of the company's consumer sales. Perhaps in two or three years, the Dell lineup will consist entirely of sleek, stylish, well-built models with great features and reasonable prices. And we'll say, "You know, it all started with that XPS 15z." Regardless of how things turn out, this is one of the best laptops Dell has made in a long time. It has its quirks, and it's not a great value in its higher-priced configurations, but it hits all the right notes. It's good enough to make me look forward to the future models of the XPS z-series, and to hope that the sensibilities that produced this laptop find expression throughout Dell's product lines.

The Dell XPS 15z is the MacBook Pro of the Windows world, with a streamlined aluminium and magnesium chassis, good 1,920 x 1,080 screen, backlit chiclet keyboard and plenty of power under the hood despite being less than an inch thick. Unfortunately it gets rather audible under load, its keyboard and speakers aren't the best, and the absence of a Blu-ray drive holds it back from being an all-round entertainment centre, but if you're happy with a DVD rewriter and are after a chic yet competent machine, this is definitely one to consider.

There's just no question that the XPS 15z is a beautiful laptop. Yes, it looks a bit like the MacBook Pro, but is that really a bad thing? Dell has still made this design their own, and the keyboard / trackpad experience is currently among the best available. The 1080p display is excellent and as is the machine's weight and overall form factor. It just plain looks great, and the build quality is exceptional.

Quite simply, the Dell XPS 15z is one of the best portable laptops we've had the pleasure of reviewing. Masses of power tucked into a slim and portable chassis, with an excellent keyboard and a sharp and vibrant screen. If you're looking for a capable laptop and can afford the £900 price tag, look no further.

Without doubt, Dell delivers a good performance in terms of design and material appearance. Dell has almost done a good job with the given interfaces and the stylish keyboard. However, the display's presentation is rather more average. The Full HD display, available for a surcharge, is bright and has a good contrast, but the reproducible color gamut is on an entry level standard. The available performance reserves pacify the potential customer. In the end, the Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs, together with Nvidia's Geforce GT 525M graphics card, supply enough power for application scenarios. The graphics card will quickly prove to be a bottleneck merely in serious gaming use.

Claiming to be the world's thinnest Windows laptop, the Dell XPS 15z is a sharp-looking package with upgradable high-end features and a reasonable $999 starting price.

The Dell XPS 15z is a thin, powerful, and well-priced desktop replacement laptop that won't cost you as much as the Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch.