Dell XPS 15 L521X: A Detailed First Look
by Jarred Walton on July 25, 2012 1:10 AM ESTFirst Impressions: Skin Deep?
When I first laid hands (and eyes) on the new XPS 15, I was extremely impressed. It’s such a noticeable upgrade compared to previous XPS laptops in terms of build quality that I really can’t understate the fact. Dell’s in a bit of a Catch-22 here, of course, with a design that’s very similar to the MacBook Pro 15. On the one hand, if they do a 15” laptop that’s similar but not built as well (e.g. the XPS 15z from last year), they get complaints from people saying, “Apple can do it, so why can’t Dell?” Now they’ve basically silenced those naysayers and instead they’ll get others accusing them of copying Apple’s design. Does that really matter, though? I’d rather have something that looks and feels like a high quality laptop that borrows good design elements from other successful laptops than to get a unique laptop that looks and feels poor. Dell has also taken a few steps to differentiate their design from Apple’s MBP15, and as someone who has often wondered, “Why don’t other OEMs make machined aluminum laptop chassis?” it’s nice to see a laptop that really nails that element of the design.
As good as the XPS 15 looks, it also has plenty of performance potential. The XPS 15z made some compromises to keep thermals in check, and with Ivy Bridge and Kepler moving the CPU and GPU to smaller process nodes Dell is able to increase performance within the same power envelope. 1080p gaming is still going to be a bit too much with some titles, but if you’re really looking for a gaming laptop Dell already covers that market with their Alienware brand. The XPS is basically a stylish and well built brand that straddles the line between business offerings like the Latitude and Vostro laptops and gaming offerings like the Alienware and Inspiron SE models. (Yes, if you didn’t realize, the new Inspiron SE 15 and SE 17 both sport more powerful GPUs than the XPS 15—along with larger, bulkier chassis that don’t have the cachet of the XPS line.)
The problem is that good looks and performance potential can only take you so far, and when you really try to put the pedal to the metal with the XPS 15, the engine overheats and you end up taking an unscheduled pit stop. How big of a problem this is will depend on what you plan on doing with the laptop. I can certainly see gamers getting very frustrated with the current throttling issues, but I suspect the next official BIOS update will largely address those concerns. For general use—Internet surfing, office tasks, listening to music and watching movies, video encoding, etc.—the throttling problems will most likely never even show up. It’s only when you really push both the CPU and GPU that heat becomes a problem. So if you’re not a super demanding laptop user but you want a stylish and sturdy laptop that should last for half a decade—and you don’t want to deal with business class laptops, or OS X and Apple products—I can still readily recommend the XPS 15 as a good notebook that pleases me on many levels.
As good as the XPS 15 might be for mainstream/fashion conscious users, for power users or enthusiasts that really like to push their hardware to its limits I suspect that the XPS 15 will come up short. Even if Dell can create a BIOS that won’t throttle as badly as the current A04 release, I remain skeptical of their ability to have the XPS 15 run a heavy CPU+GPU load without dropping clock speeds on one or both chips. 1.8GHz was stable with my ThrottleStop testing, but that’s in an air conditioned testing environment, and I wasn’t using the most demanding workloads possible. If you run a pathological workload or “power virus” like OCCT or Furmark or similar, and if you require a laptop that can handle such applications without throttling CPU or GPU clocks, you’ll want to look elsewhere—and probably forget about laptops that are less than an inch thick. And on a related note, I should mention that I’ve seen at least some minor throttling with several other “thin but fast” laptops, so Dell’s not alone here; we’ll be making a concerted effort to check for throttling on all future laptop reviews.
For now, the throttling issues are a big enough concern for me that I’m holding off on a final verdict until we can see what the firmware updates bring. I know from past experience that laptops that seem to run a bit hot and/or loud when they’re new will only get worse as they start to age. If running any game on the XPS 15 today means 100% fan speed and juggling CPU/GPU clocks to keep thermals within an acceptable range, a year or two down the road you might be looking at a laptop that can’t really handle gaming at all. Maybe that matters to you and maybe it doesn’t, but if you don’t plan on doing anything that leverages the discrete GPU, why even have it there in the first place? Depending on what Haswell brings to the table, we might actually see dGPUs disappear outside of dedicated gaming laptops like the Alienware line—and I’m not sure that’s even a bad thing.
If we were judging the XPS 15 by appearances alone, it would easily walk out of here with an award. Depending on what Dell can do with the firmware over the next couple of weeks, we might still have a delayed prize to hand out. Unfortunately, out of the gate the XPS 15 stumbles and Dell will have to work to make up the difference. Until that happens, the XPS 15 is a beautifully crafted laptop with some personality quirks that could be hard to live with long term. Make sure you know what you’re getting into before committing to a relationship, or you could end up feeling burned.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
109 Comments
View All Comments
ananduser - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
Well your stress tests are against Anand's own review and many other reviews that have noticed how under long stress tests the MBP gets extremely hot. You're a lucky one.dtolios - Thursday, July 26, 2012 - link
Apple did nothing "new" with the rMBP...the contrary, it got thinner and the thermal envelope of the notebook got "tighter"...It's just that it is using "cooler" components that intel and nvidia put together.
The metal chassis can only insulate so much, and that is true for all manufacturers. Apple cannot beat physics (doh).
Thus really high end GPUs were always out of the question for MBPs, (and all thin/light laptops) despite the amount of money you were willing to throw in for customizing.
CeriseCogburn - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
Ha that is so funny to me - I can see that picky elite machead going for the totally silent room, doing the yoga meditation, some breathing exercises, then firing up the MBP to do some spiritual testing - getting that ear on down low next to it, to see if it can hold it's breath, too.That's why the macgineers had to do what they did do - it's the end user's magical idiot silent wet dream, and there are so many of those people... who cares if they burn their crotch off - that's a good thing.
Yeah, it's really sad. Same type of insanity with gaming gpus as they have the sound cranked to the max and often are wearing noise cancelling expensive headgear for sound. I suppose the fan sound would ruin their delicate and selective critical listening enjoyment.
name99 - Saturday, July 28, 2012 - link
The two are really not comparable. Read what Anand said:http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-mac...
The takeaways are:
- for many purposes attempting to stress the machine did NOT result in reduced performance
- even when it did, the falloff was not that extreme (5% or so)
- there was no mention of the system ever crashing due to thermal overload (and I've never heard of this in earlier Macbooks, eg my 2nd gen MBA very obviously throttles in hot weather, but it never crashes).
One thing I wonder (Anand hinted at the same thing) is whether this is a consequence of using a 45W part rather than 35W --- Apple has more headroom and is using that AS headroom, not as compute capacity. If so, this would be analogous to the way they under-clock pretty much every iOS device relative to the CPU's rated specs. The exact reasoning is slightly different, but the overall point is the same in both cases --- to balance the tangible, measurable goal of maximum performance against the intangible, unmeasurable goal of delight, where delight is increased by things like longer battery life, consistent performance and, of course, no crashes. The editorial aside would, of course, be that you can't build products that delight if you are purely driven by checklists and measured numbers --- you have to be willing to make tradeoffs, like leaving some performance on the table for the sake of battery life, or stability, or temperature.
[I'm not trying to be rah rah Apple here; I'm trying to point out the real differences between these two products, and the real factors that led to these differences.]
GotThumbs - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
Ok Fanboi. Just remember the fact that Apple is now a PC Assembler. When they first came out...they built their own systems. They were not as successful back then. Now they use Intel chips and other PC components available to any other PC Assembler.Now Apple is a PC Assembler and they are very good at designing fashionable/attractive shells, but don't con your self into thinking Apple is a true innovator. The are very much like the Chinese in the 80's (Sony Tv's, Walkman, etc.). Apple is very good at taking an existing idea...and putting its own spin on it. There are features they have that are not mainstream...like fire-wire...but as the reviewer stated....He doesn't use it and most of the users of today are probably in the same boat. How great is an option or feature...in its not used/needed?
You need to put the Cool-Aid down.
Listen, If you like using Apples products and they do what you need....I'm happy for you. Just don't try and make this a pissing game or who's dad can beat up whose.
I'm really getting tired of the regurgitation of which is king.
Now that Apple is a PC assembler...the reviewers point about the OS is the key. Either you prefer windows or Apples OS.....or any other number of Linux alternatives.
All I'd like is for people to grow up and have a little respect for other peoples choices/decisions.
If it your money...spend it how you wish...but don't act like a 5 year old and sing about your ice-cream or whos king of the hill. It just too school yardish.
All the best and enjoy your computer.
solipsism - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
1) So in 1976 when they first started out they were less successful than they are now as the world' largest publicly traded company? No fucking way! /s2) The parts they use today are more specialized then any other time in Apple's history. Using an Intel processor doesn't change anything as the processors they used previously were also available to others. Just look at the Xbox 360 for proof.
3) Also note that Apple builds their ARM SoCs based on reference designs. Same goes for a lot of other components that Apple doesn't directly own but has invested heavily in and therefore has been given exclusive rights for a set period of time. Their display tech for the iPhone, iPad and now MBP come to mind.
kevith - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
I´l just second your opinion of the pissing contest.And this isn´t even a Mac-review...
CeriseCogburn - Sunday, July 29, 2012 - link
Oh come on, we've got to compare. I'm learning here. Let them express.xype - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
…and Apple was the first to figure it out, it seems.At least Dell made the keyboard area black and put the sleep light in the center, that counts for something, amirite?
It’s kind of weird that Apple’s "think different" is becoming a "everyone be like Apple!". I love my MacBook Pro and iPad, but damn, it would feel nice to see an original design on the (big vendor) PC side now and then.
Why do these companies think people will buy a copy of an Apple design/hardware, if they can get the original just as well? Customers like choice, yes, but choice does not mean 5 vendors making the same laptop all over again.
No wonder the PC makers are struggling, they’re all lead by unimaginative MBA retards.
ananduser - Wednesday, July 25, 2012 - link
Yes PC makers are indeed struggling, Apple being one of them. Apple's PC lineup is also not the pinnacle of mobile computing. Get a grip.