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We’ve watched on with approving nods at Dell’s evolution from business friendly box shifters to cutting edge designer of consumer tech. The sheer style of much of today's XPS range of laptops is like finding a Prada suit under a pile of George clothing at Asda.
Which bodes well for its latest model, the Studio XPS 13. It's a thin sliver of portability with a large keyboard that makes it feel big for a 13incher, and a skinny LED backlit screen that helps to keep the weight down to something comparable to a similarly sized MacBook.
Taking on the MacBook
It feels obvious, but there's no avoiding the inevitable Apple comparison. Dell has even gone as far as designing its own desktop dock to sit on top of Windows Vista.
This handy app lacks a little finesse but is one of the best pre-installed versions we've seen – although we'd recommend all Windows users check out the excellent RocketDock instead.
Other than the OS, how does it compare to the MacBook? Pretty favourably at first. At the same price point, the Studio XPS 13 has a faster processor, twice as much memory and can be hooked up to a TV with its built-in HDMI adaptor, so doubles up as an entertainment centre well.
Lacking connections
There's not a lot to choose between the screens – both are fairly low-res but bright, although Apple just shades it as there's a definite blue tinge to the Dell. With only one USB port on the XPS, the MacBook is better connected too.
The killer feature for the Dell, though, is two NVIDIA graphics chips in Hybrid SLI configuration. Like the MacBook Pro, you can switch the machine to 'Performance' for gaming, say, and the faster 3D processor kicks in. Flick it back to 'Power saving' and the low-voltage chip takes over to extend the battery life.
Review continues after the break...
Graphics don’t deliver
That's the idea, anyway. Unfortunately, the two graphics chips in question are the GeForce 9200 and the 9400M, which means 3D performance when both are running is only slightly better than the 9400M-equipped MacBook. You'll get a lot of games playing smoothly, but Crysis will still chug along at 15 frames per second in native resolution.
Worse yet, the Apple machine gets much longer battery life – around 5-6 hours compared to 2.5-3.5 hours here – from the mid-range chip without the extra internal part.
The real kicker, though, is that design-wise this is nowhere near as nice as previous XPS machines – a real step backwards, in fact. Against the Apple's gorgeous aluminium unibody, the Studio XPS 13 looks cheap and overdesigned.
Three different materials are used on the lid: a soft leatherette, a silvery band and a glossy black panel – all plastic. It feels flimsy and the needlessly complex hinges prise apart too easily.
Of course, holding the Dell up against the Apple may not be entirely fair, but there is one other 13in laptop out there that offers everything the XPS 13 has and more, but costs significantly less. It's lighter, better built and has better battery life too. It's the XPS 13’s predecessor, the XPS M1330. D'oh.
Tech Specs
- Bluetooth
- Yes
- Digital TV card
- No
- Dimensions
- 319x236x24mm
- DVI
- Yes
- Graphics card
- GeForce 9500M (9200M G + 9400M)
- HDMI
- Yes
- Operating system
- Windows Vista Home
- Optical drive
- DVD-RW
- Processor
- Intel Core 2 Duo P9500 (2.5GHz)
- RAM
- 4GB
- Screen resolution
- 1280x800
- Screen size
- 13in
- Storage
- 500GB
- USB
- 1
- Weight
- 2.2kg
- Wi-Fi
- Yes
Comments
cueball
2 years ago
Out of curiosity - because I know it can vary from computer to computer - what sort of boost to battery life did you find switching to low power mode made? Best I could get was about an hour extra, which wasn't even as good as the 9400M-based machines around, let alone a 9100 one.
gbtidi
2 years ago
I currently have an aluminium MacBook. I opted for the 2.0GHz model because, even with Apple's 14% education discount, it cost me a few pennies less than £800: a lot of money for a notebook with such limited features. However, after seeing my friend's shiny new Dell Studio XPS 13, I am now considering selling it, and buying an XPS 13. Here are my reasons:
Battery life.
Sure, the MacBook gets better battery life in OSX (although the 5.5-6 hours quoted in the review is way off: I'm lucky to get 4 hours out of mine), but running Vista via Bootcamp, and the MacBook dies after about 200 minutes, right on par with the XPS 13. However, the XPS 13 delivers noticably better performance in Vista for the 200 minutes its battery lasts, making it more useful.
Display and Graphics.
The displays seem to offer about the same brightness, however, the XPS 13's (LED backlit) screen has a MUCH better contrast ratio than that of the MacBook. As for the Hybrid SLi setup: switching between modes is even easier than switching on the new MacBook Pro (which requires a logout). You can switch between the 9400M and the 9200M simply by clicking on the power icon in the system tray, and selecting the appropriate option. The screen goes black for a few seconds, and then everything is switched. The 9200M boosts the system's 3DMark06 rating up by 50% over the 9400M's rating. That's not be sniffed at! While it may not run Crysis, it's still much better than the M1330, and even the M1530 at playing DX10 games. And having the option to save power using the 9400M is just the icing on the cake. The Dell XPS 13 trounces the MacBook in terms of graphics.
Ports.
My BIGGEST grip with the MacBook is it's lack of display outputs. The miniDisplayPort to VGA adapter is ugly and annoying (AND £20!). And, with everything heading towards HDMI, it's almost impossible to hook up the MacBook to any kind of external screen that's less than 6 months old (without coughing up £635 for an Apple Cinema Display that won't work with anything else!). The XPS 13 has no problems due to it's HDMI port, VGA port AND DisplayPort. Plus, The XPS 13 actually has 2 USB ports (not the 1 listing in this review), and one of them doubles as an eSATA port. AND the XPS 13 has a Firewire port, and an expresscard slot, both notably absent in the MacBook.
Price.
It's got to be said. Dell is currently offering a 10% discount on notebooks over £700. Plus a £70 discount on a higher-specced XPS 13, as well as free shipping. That's a total discount of 16%, and means you can pick up an XPS 13 with a 2.4GHz processor, LED screen, Hybrid SLI graphics 320GB 7200rmp HDD and 4GB of DDR3 RAM for £818. To get a similarly specced MacBook, you're looking at north of £1100, even WITH Apple's 14% education discount. Apple Tax strikes again.
So, goodbye MacBook, hello XPS 13.
cueball
2 years ago
gowens999 and zahirro - That was kind of the point. In my opinion the M1330 is a better machine if you want a similar Windows model.
zahirro
2 years ago
Come on guys, I converted from the original M1330 to the new Macbook. I would never go back but not everything has to be compared to Apple's lovely little machine. What if you don't want a mac? Perhaps comparing it to a similar windows based machine would have been better?
demroger
2 years ago
i aint buying this shizzle for shizzle LOOOOL (shizzle=shiit)