Dell XPS 15z: Sincerely Flattering
by Jarred Walton on September 2, 2011 1:30 AM EST1080p Upgrade FTW
We loved the AU Optronics B156HW1 panel in the XPS 15, and we’ve seen several versions of that panel in the Clevo P150/P151 and W150HR chassis. Out of all of those displays, my favorite by far is the B156HW01 v4 matte panel we tested recently in the W150HR. The XPS 15z brings a new AU Optronics into the picture, however: the B156HW03. The good news is that this is still a decent 1080p LCD, with >500:1 contrast ratio. The bad news is that it’s not as good as most of the B156HW01 panels that we’ve tested (outside of the B156HW01 v5, used in the MSI GT680R). Color accuracy after calibration is particularly bad, and try as I might I couldn’t improve the score. That’s unfortunate, but outside of professional imaging/video work the color accuracy is “good enough” that most users won’t be bothered. Here’s how the new panel compares to other laptops.
While the XPS 15 sports a slightly higher contrast ratio, I’d actually take the higher maximum luminance offered by the 15z panel. Ideally, I’d still like to see >400 nits maximum brightness (you know, like the MacBook Pro offers?), but 300 nits is better than average. Color gamut is only 56% AdobeRGB 1998, which isn’t exceptional but is at least a step up from the 40-50% panels found in cheaper laptops. The Delta E score on the other hand is actually the worst post-calibration result I’ve ever measured. Yikes. Some of the colors in the test are still coming in at >10, which is what we typically see without calibration. I tried 1.8 gamma, 2.2 gamma, and several white points, all to no avail. It’s not the end of the world—most people don’t even have a colorimeter in the first place—but it is somewhat perplexing. Overall, I’d give the panel a solid B, where the B156HW01 v1/v4/v5/v6 rate A-/A/C-/A- respectively (and the Dell panel is another A-, though I’m not sure if it’s v6 or something else). Viewing angles are also good, at least for TN panels:
Heat and Noise Levels
One area where we have to offer a word of caution is in regards to temperatures. We’ve seen at least one laptop throttle CPU speeds when the cores hit 85C, and under a sustained load the XPS 15z CPU runs a toasty 90-95C. Of course, the 85C throttling is on the Acer TimelineX 3830TG, and it’s a BIOS setting rather than a CPU limit—Intel specs all of the Sandy Bridge CPUs for up to 100C operation. Even so, 95C is more than we’d like, and the culprit is easy to find. Simple physics dictates that a thinner chassis makes it harder to get airflow, and stuffing a high performance CPU into such a chassis is a recipe for heat. It happens with the MacBook Pro, and it happens on the XPS 15z. The difference is that Apple uses a fan that can spin faster (and generate more noise), while the 15z runs slightly hotter but doesn’t get quite as loud. At idle, noise from 18” measured 31.6dB on my SPL meter (in a 30dB environment), while load noise—from gaming or running a CPU-intensive task like Cinebench—maxes out the fan at 42.2dB.
The 15z chassis could also benefit from better air intake locations; it sits flat and close to the ground, and if you place it on a carpet or a lap and run a game, you’ll find it gets uncomfortably warm. Prop the back of the laptop up so that the bottom intake can get fresh air and maximum CPU temperatures drop around 8C (though the fan noise remains the same).
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FlyBri - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
I'm looking for a new 15.6" laptop with a 1080p screen, and this fits the bill better than any other. Too bad the company is horrible -- every department -- support, customer service, executive customer service, etc. I won't bore everyone with my whole ordeal, but lets say that they refused to do the right thing numerous times, even with the BBB involved, and I had to take them to small claims court. I was a loyal Dell customer for years before that too. So be warned people -- the laptop might be pretty good, but if you run into any issues...watch out.tipoo - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Honestly I think the horror reports about Dell's customer service are mostly just repeated by people who have never experienced it in the last three-ish years. Their support has been fine to me. I had a Studio 15 with a flickering screen, and not only did they fix it in three days and ship it back in that time, they upgraded me to the 1080p screen two models up from mine for free, under standard support.jabber - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Yeah its been good to me too. I had a bit of the A key on my Dell laptop flake off after 10 months hard use.I just called up to chance my arm in getting a new keyboard.
Less than 24 hours later I had an engineer sitting at my desk and 5 mins later a new keyboard fitted.
Nice one!
seapeople - Saturday, September 3, 2011 - link
I think people expect too much of Dell support.If your Dell breaks or malfunctions in any way within warranty, you simply call Dell and tell them the problem without screaming bloody murder and they fix it for you.
If your Dell breaks one week out of warranty then you're out of luck.
If you call Dell to figure out which one of their 50 computer configurations will come with four RAM slots versus two RAM slots without you having to actually pay for an amount of RAM that requires four slots... then they'll probably tell you something like none of their computers have four RAM slots and their 12GB RAM offering comes with two 6GB sticks of RAM.
You just have to have the right expectations.
robinthakur - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
What is it with people simply lifting the design work of Jonathan Ives for Apple? First Samsung with its imitation products, then Asus in its Ultra thin MBA ripoffs, and now Dell. Does a company as big as Dell think it can get away with selling what might as well be a chinese MBP clone? Absolutely disgusting behaviour, they and their 'designers' should be ashamed. Whatever happened to originality?robinthakur - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Oh and having read to the end of the review, major shame on Anandtech for actually rewarding this artisitic fraud with an Editors Choice award. When I saw the photo on the homepage, I did a double take because I thought it was a MBP. If Apple don't sue over this they are crazy, it is far more similar to a MBP than a Galaxy S2 is to an iP4. Theft is theft however you slice it an yes all Laptops have screens keyboards etc. but the MBA and MBP did not end up looking the way they did by accident and neither did this sorry excuse for an original product.Uritziel - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
LOL, that's hilarious. Someone doesn't know how design patents work or what theft is. If the world worked that way, Apple (and so many other companies) wouldn't be around today.TEAMSWITCHER - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Apple was the first company to put the pointing device in front of the keyboard on a laptop, and today all laptops are made that way. The problem with obvious patents are that there is a very thin line bewteen an obvious idea and a patentable one. According to Forbes magazine Apple is the fifth most innovative company on the Planet. Microsoft is like 80 something. Fan boys like to hate, but the real world knows that Apple is at the forefront of techno-industrial design. People who say otherwise are simply wrong. I don't like design patents, but every company needs them to protect their design works. In the grand scheme, they are at least shorter that copyrights and trademarks....Dustin Sklavos - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
A good idea is a good idea, period, end of discussion. Ignoring the BS that Apple pulled on Samsung in European courts, some of the decisions these big companies make take cues from the smart design choices of Jonathan Ive (no "S"). Why reinvent the wheel when someone else already made a great wheel? You might as well accuse Intel of ripping Ive off with their ultrabook initiative.I think some of the differences designers make feel arbitrary instead of just authentically better for the end product. But if someone makes a good call, why shouldn't the industry follow suit?
HMTK - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Bla, bla and more bla. Sorry, you're the typical Apple apologist. Guess why Apple is among the first with very thin laptops or a given design. Not because they're particularly good but because they can price their products high enough to make it worth their while. Others follow when technology and materials get cheaper so that the average Joe can buy it. For my needs I haven't seen a single Apple product with an acceptable price/performance/features/quality ratio. I'd choose affordable "imitation" over overpriced design any given day.Perhaps think the world should be held back because an overvalued company like Apple has designed something a certain way. I don't think so.