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).
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
76 Comments
View All Comments
Gazziza - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Agreed here. 16:9 is the worst thing to happen to laptops in the past 2 years and I'm not sure why all the Windows laptops makers have jumped shipped over to the "HD" resolution. The #1 reason I bought the new MBA was because of the 1440x900 resolution.lihtness - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
The keyboard layout of dell laptops sucks. With so much real estate available they can do a much better job.bji - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
I agree, that is the worst keyboard I have ever seen on a laptop. It doesn't even have dedicated page up/page down/home/end keys. Instead you get 2 inches of speaker grill on either side of the keyboard.Absolute, complete, and total design fail.
JarredWalton - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
And lifted directly from the Apple MBP keyboard that so many people apparently love. Funny, isn't it?bji - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
You know, I had never paid close attention to the Mac laptop keyboards, but now that you mention it, I have taken a closer look and I am really disappointed. I had been thinking about getting a 15 inch Macbook Air when they come out (and assuming that they have Ivy Bridge and are cooler/quieter than the current generation) but suddenly I am given pause.Spivonious - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Why the comment about wanting >400 nits? That seems like it would be way too bright unless you were using it in direct sunlight. I'd rather have lower black levels - 0.5 is pretty bad.JarredWalton - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Turn the brightness down to 100 nits and the black level is .20. I want 400 nits on the top for when I'm using the laptop outside, on the road, etc. You can always turn a bright display down, but if a display maxes out at 200 or 300 nits there's no way to get 400+ nits out of it.tipoo - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/02/dell-teases-xps...Anyone thinking of buying, there is a 14 inch one coming out before 2012.
ptuttle - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Do not buy this thing. I had bought one when it came out and had nothing but issues. The biggest issue is the touchpad. When you try to type anything it jumps the cursor to different locations on the screen and you have to move the cursor and reclick where you were typing. It may not sound that bad, but it does it almost every other word when typing. I was on the phone will Dell Tech Support many times and at first they tried to tell me it was a driver issue so they remotely took over my system and installed a different driver. When that didn't work they finally offered to replace the touchpad because they had a large amount of defective touchpads. I said ok, then they responded by saying they were out of the touchpads and i would have to wait over a month. At this point in time i had the laptop for about 3 months so i coulnd't get a normal refund. I demanded to speak to a supervisor and i explained my issues with them. After 3 weeks of dealing with them they finally let me return the laptop for a full refund, and i ordered a HP Envy 17, which ended up having a lot more in it for less money. (there is a 30% off coupon floating around) So buyer Beware....JarredWalton - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
In the words of Jobs: you're holding it wrong! ;-)Actually, I've played around with the touchpad sensitivity, and I don't find it much worse than other touchpads I've used. It's a bit larger than most laptops, and if you brush it you can accidentally "click". Options you might consider are turning off "tap to click", decreasing the sensitivity, or just plugging in an external mouse if you have to and turn off the touchpad.