XPS 15z Review

I thought I would share a small review of the XPS 15z. I'm not going to provide any benchmarks since plenty of professional websites have covered that topic. Instead, I'd like to share my general observations about the laptop with a focus on the build, appearance, and display.

Note - I will be referring to my experience with two XPS 15z laptops. I received a replacement after my first arrived with some cosmetic damage (as did the second).


BUILD

Like many of Dell’s laptops, this is another example of the company’s love of combining various colors, textures and designs into a single model. You’ve got crisscrossed speaker panels, a ribbed hinge, textured aluminum, matte plastic keys, chrome trim, etc. As for colors, you’ll find a light grey body, dark grey palmrest, somewhat lighter keyboard, and dark charcoal bezel. At first glance, it looks elegant but I also find the design somewhat inconsistent and “noisy”; the hinge design seems most out of place.

Perhaps it’s this approach that contributes to some of the build issues. The chrome trim that runs around the edge of the palmrest feels cheap and fragile. Update: It is cheap and fragile (see photo). This trim was already loose when the laptop arrived and came apart very easily and could not be put back into place.



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The keys are flat, dull, soft, and shallow. My best description is that they sit somewhere comfortable and mushy. Keying is accurate however. The back-lighting is reasonably bright but the uniformity is below-average with some keys appearing dimmer than others (4,9,R,C).

The palmrest itself doesn’t appear to be metal. Viewed at an angle, the palmrest has obvious pitting where internal screws are probably attached. The right-hand side of my palmrest also came with what appears to be an abrasion that was rubbed clean and left with a shiny spot. I called in and Dell was very quick to send me a replacement.

A nicely-sized trackpad sits dead-centre on the palmrest with buttons that are quite nice (in fact, some of the best I’ve seen on a Dell).

The hinges on the display are very firm and have a nice, smooth resistance. This also results in very little screen wobble when the laptop is moved about. There isn’t a latch of any kind to keep the panel in place but it seems pretty stable nonetheless. There is some noticeable creaking from the rear panel when it is opened and it appears that is is not perfectly aligned (the right side sits further back).

As a right-handed user, I appreciate that all of the ports are located on the left side and include 2 3.0 USB ports, 1 ESATA/USB combo port, Display Port and HDMI. The bezel that sits around the ports is a piece of cheap plastic and tends to shift around. My USB ports are also very stiff and it takes considerable pressure to insert/remove devices.

Given the obvious market audience, I guess it’s worth mentioning the obvious comparison between this laptop to the 15” Macbook Pro. Surprisingly, the 15z is closer in size to 17” Macbook Pro. I discovered this when I decided that I’d buy an Incase bag for my XPS 15z. Initially, I was going to buy the bag for designed for the 15” Macbook Pro assuming it would be similar in size. In fact, the 17” model is closer in all dimensions to the 15z. PS- The bag fits perfectly.



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DISPLAY

Overall, the 1080p display itself is excellent. This isn’t a high gamut display but the colours are considerably richer and more saturated than I expected, just don’t expect it to match the XPS 15 or Macbook Pro line. I suspect that this apparent colour depth is simulated since there is a “splendid color” option in the Windows Mobility Center settings. When turned off, the panel looks like most average displays and it looks like the splendid setting just boosts saturation. Regardless, the (apparent) illusion works very well.

This is also an exceptionally bright display; I’m rarely boosting the brightness past mid-level when working at home. Under the bright natural and interior lighting of my office, the max brightness effectively eliminates all reflections and counters the lack of a matte screen coating. Brightness uniformity isn’t as impressive and there is a slight deviation on the right-hand side of the panel (darker).

I’m not using professional calibration or colorimeter equipment but my subjective assessment of the panel’s color balance is very good. Grayscales look good and an all-white screen is just that - white without any red, green or blue tinting (or the yellow tint that a lot of IPS screens seem to have).

Black levels are good. Contrast is markedly better than most displays but still falls short of what I’ve seen on the ASUS G73 line or the higher-end Sony Z series. Again, I don’t have any measurements to support this but it seems consistent with the stated contrast of this panel (500:1). Under normal lighting conditions however, the black levels and contrast look great.

Viewing angles are average and sufficient for a media laptop.


SOUND

I’m less impressed with the onboard speakers. They’re fairly loud but extremely tinny and lack some mid, and almost all low end frequency response. The Waves MaxxAudio control panel can artificially pump up the bass but the speakers limit any real improvement.

Thankfully there isn’t any hiss or line noise on the headphone/line out. In fact, pairing a nice set of headphones with the 15z produces a very clean and well-balanced sound.

NOISE and HEAT

Noise is ever-present. Even as I type this review in Google Docs, the 15z’s 7200 RPM hard drive produces an audible but certainly reasonable amount of ambient noise (in a quiet room) in addition to some very minor vibration.

As soon as you open an application that taxes the CPU and/or 525M the cooling fan(s) kick up quickly (and, in some cases, loudly). Just loading up the latest Civilization ramped the fans up and the first few minutes of gameplay took them a notch higher to what I hope was the maximum speed.

Given the tight confines of the laptop and mid-level components (i5, 525M), I suppose I shouldn't be surprised by the cooling system’s limited abilities. A quick look at the intake and exhaust panels for the fans make it pretty clear that this laptop won’t be able to draw and expel a lot of air.

Compared to the MBP 13”, this computer is considerably louder at idle. Under load, I’d say they are almost identical.

The obvious result of the laptops limited cooling ability is the build up of heat, most noticeable on the left side of the keyboard. Most of my computers are slimmer devices so I’m probably accustomed to heat issues and, in that context, I wouldn’t say the 15z suffers any more than the Macbook Pro line. I did appreciate that the base of the laptop remained cooler than the top.

BATTERY LIFE

I’ll leave it to the pro reviews to speak to the exact stamina of the battery but I’m getting solid 5 hours with simultaneous web-browsing (multiple tabs), occasional Flash-use, iTunes music playback, and brightness at about 60%. Also, battery life improved after a few full charge/discharge cycles to condition the battery.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I’m pleased with the price-to-performance that the 15z provides. I paid $950 CDN for an i5, 525M, 6GB, and 1080p display. There are very few options available that provide those specifications at that price while packaging them is a relatively attractive design.

My biggest concerns are probably around durability. With the exception of the hinges and the chassis in general, a lot of the trim and panels don’t feel like they will stand the test of time. I’m not expecting the same level of workmanship as the unibody Macbooks but even compared to the Vostro V130 and 3450 (both of which I have owned), even they felt much more solid and rigid...at half the price.

As a desktop replacement, I don’t see this as an issue but if you plan on regularly tossing this into a backpack or moving around a lot, I’d handle it as gently as you can.

 

Thanks, Great review..

I was wondering what that constant noise was, but you are right, it's the hard drive spinning 100% of the time. I think I'll try to get an SSD asap, because it gets annoying.

Any chance you can post a close up HD photo of the display. It seems the sharpness or something on my display could be mis configured. Related to post here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/580742-new-xps-15z-44.html#post7616978

 

Thanks.

I've tried to capture a similar image but I'm on road and at the mercy of Blackberry camera (and the moire pattern). What are your thoughts?

Have you disabled the power saving functions of the Intel graphics? It causes a lot of strange graphical effects when active and it's the first thing I disable when I get a new laptop.



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hmm how do you disable intel graphics card?

 

Nice review!

 

Nice review, I had the same problem with the chrome trimmings on my 15z as well except on the corner of the laptop. It happened after I took it out of my bag, it was just sticking out. It's so minor I didn't think it was worth sending it in to Dell and I'm also going to China soon, so I just put cement glue in there. I just hope it doesn't have to come off if I ever have to upgrade the laptop >.<

 

Thanks for the reviews KLOVER. I just received mine to day and want to input some of the good aspect of this Laptop and some of the bad things about.


Here the good part about this Laptop.

1.) Very thin! Especially the top panel.

2.) Most of the part is Aluminum. I think only the inside panel is not Aluminum.

3.) Battery life is 8 Hours! ( Maximum setting will be 5 - 6 hours )

4.) 1920 x 1080 Screen Resolution, everything is really sharp.

5.) Very bright. If I turn on max it is super bright.

6.) Backlit Keyboard

7.) Slot Loading DVD-ROM Drive

8.) Love the trackpad, it is big and responsive unlike other Laptop on the market such as the HP one. The button left and right button is click-able make it very easy to use.

9.) Chiclet Keyboard and big keys make it easy to type.

10.) It look better in person. If they actually went with the inside grey rather then a dark metallic grey, and keyboard black. I think it would look exactly like a Mac Book Pro minus the glass screen.


A fews thing I feel could make an improvement on this Laptop.

1.) Glossy display. Men this it the first time I use a Glossy Display and I hated it. I like Matte waays better. If you have window open and sunlight coming in, it show a lot of reflection. I think the screen look better as glossy but it show too much reflection.

2.) The outside silver trimming on the entire bezel is so CHEAP! It feel like it gonna fall off anytime soon. I wish they glue it on better. It also feel unnecessary.

3.) The interior is dark grey. I think it look much better if it the same grey they did on the outside.

4.) The Panel is not all glass like the Mac Book Pro, it plastic trimming.

5.) The keyboard is SILVER! They should have make it black because with Backlit on it doesn't show very good. Making Backlit uneccesary, but does look good at night time.

6.) It say light weight, but I feel it a bit heavy. Not very heavy but the weight is there. I think it because a lot of part is inside that can't compare to a Mac Book Pro.

7.) Speaker is baaad on this thing. Going from Lanseng and Beat it such a downgrade.

8.) Also just find out my letter "R" have un-even backlit in it. ARGHH!!!

All this are just minor problem. I think this Dell XPS 15Z is a big improvement from the HP DV6T and HP ENVY. I suggest anyone get this one instead of other Laptop such as HP. I was gonna go with Mac Book Pro but I'm glad I got this one instead, save me more then $1,000 instead of Mac Book Pro just for cosmetic and slightly better hardware.

 

Nice review. It's good to hear that I can get up to 6-8 hours of battery. I get 1:40 on my Envy 14, so it should be a step up. I'm thinking of picking one up from the Dell Outlet with a 20% off coupon. I'm waiting for the right config. The cheapest one with a 1080p is $999. I'm waiting to see if it can get as low as $899 or maybe even $849.

 

Nice detailed review you did @OP & some good battery life on it!