| uwestolt | | Administrateur | | 4 messages postés |
|  Posté le 22-04-2013 à 06:49:57   
| Review Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook and battery life
Review Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook (Late 2012)
The concept of an ultrabook was coined by Intel to make PC makers sell more machines with designs that could compare to the extremely popular MacBook Air which is seen as a pioneer, focusing on the portability and design. The Dell XPS 13 follows suit with a similar design by putting in a 13-inch display in a 11-inch case making it an extremely small footprint. The hallmarks of the notebook are the excellent materials of construction, low power consumption and decent performance. [b]DELL Latitude XT3 Charger[/b]
The Dell XPS 13 reviewed in March was criticism good offering but still had its flaws. The late 2012 model has updated hardware components that should provide much better performance than the earlier version. Our test device sports Intel's Core i7-3517U with integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000, 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB (gross) solid state drive. Windows 8 is now used as the operating system of choice. The price for the test configuration in Dell's online shop is 1299 Euros (~$1750 + plus shipping) and includes a discount of 100 Euros (~$130). [b]DELL Latitude E5411 Charger[/b]
Case
The case is made of a carbon fiber to keep the weight down and reinforced with aluminum bits to keep the chassis stiff. This has been carried over from the last iteration of the laptop and offers great stability and resistance to deformation. The laptop is well put together. The display warping is kept to a minimum and the hinges are strong and hold the display in place without any significant wobbling. The wrist rest is rubber-coated which makes it easy to clean and feels pleasant to use. The bottom is composed of a single large plate which has a nice textured finish that is resistant to any deformation. You can find the hardware as well as the non-removable battery under the cover. [b]DELL Latitude E5511 Charger[/b]
Contrary to advertising, the Dell XPS 13 is not a real 11-inch form-factor but a very slim 13-inch laptop in terms of size. Its dimensions are almost identical to those of the Samsung 900X3C or the Toshiba Z830. The Asus UX21 and the MacBook Air 11 10 mm smaller in each dimension but the difference is barely noticeable. The XPS 13 weighing 1.38 Kg is at least 200g heavier than the other ultrabooks in this category. The Samsung 900X3C only weighs 1186 grams and the Toshiba Z830 comes in at 1110 grams. The MacBook Air 11 is the lightest of the bunch at 1070 grams although it is an 11-inch notebook and cannot exactly be placed in this category. [b]DELL Latitude E6330 Charger[/b]
Performance
The Dell XPS 13 is currently available in several preconfigured versions. The differences primarily affect the CPU, RAM and SSD size. It is possible to choose among various combinations using Intel's Core i5-3317U and the Core i7-3517U processors, 4 or 8 GB of RAM and 128 or 256 GB SSD storage devices. Our test device is the premium model and is configured with the Core i7 CPU and the maximum storage capacity available from the OEM. Intel's QS77 chipset, designed for efficiency like the CPU, serves as the basis and is optimized for use in ultrabooks. All versions use the CPU-integrated Intel HD Graphics 4000 graphics unit. [b]DELL Latitude E6230 Charger[/b]
Processor
Intel's energy-efficient Core i7-3517U including the graphics has a thermal design power (TDP) of 17 watts. Its performance can be compared with Intel's Core i5-2430M CPU, which twice the TDP. Familiar features like Hyper Threading, a 4 MB L3 cache and Turbo Boost technology are available despite the CPU's build for energy efficiency. However, the default frequency of 1.9 GHz is much lower than in conventional CPUs (Core i5-2430M: 2.4 GHz), which particularly leads to a lower idle power consumption. [b]DELL Vostro 2521 Charger[/b]
The processor's performance is impressive. It achieved 4170 points (single-core, 32bit) and 8508 points (multi-core, 32bit) in Cinebench R10. That comes close to the Intel Core i5-2450M CPU average scores in our extensive CPU benchmark chart. The processor also performs really well in the iTunes benchmarks. MP3 files are converted to AAC format with a 42.8x speed. [b]DELL Vostro 2421 Charger[/b]
We did not observe thermal throttling in the Dell XPS 13 even after a long period of constant load. Intel's Core i7-3517U CPU runs consistently at a stable speed.
We also did not notice performance throttling on battery power. We even recorded a slightly better result in Cinebench R11.5 with 2.72 points in the multi-core test. It was a marginally lower at 2.69 points in AC mode. [b]dell Inspiron 14(3421) Charger[/b]
System Performance
We checked the system performance of the Dell XPS 13 using PCMark Vantage and PCMark 7. The older PCMark Vantage benchmark only provided a few partial results (7828 mem, 9908 gam, 15148 mus, 34252 HDD) and no overall system scores. We presume this is due to an incompatibility with the still new Windows 8 operating system. PCMark 7 ran without problems and achieved a decent result of 4808 points. It is hardly possible to optimize the system performance due to the highly integrated components in the Dell XPS 13. It is just the solid state drive that could be replaced to improve the system's overall performance slightly. [b]dell Inspiron 14R(5421) Charger[/b]
Gaming Performance
We looked at Diablo III, World of Warcraft and Anno 2070 to determine the gaming prowess of the laptop. The tested games could be rendered smoothly using low resolution and quality settings. However, there is not much room for higher resolutions and/or quality settings and the integrated Intel graphics solution finds its limits. This assessment should be representative of many other up-to-date games. Our comprehensive laptop gaming performance comparison gives an overview of which games can be played on the Intel HD Graphics 4000. [b]dell Inspiron 15(3521) Charger[/b]
Energy Management
Power Consumption
While the minimum power consumption of Dell's latest XPS 13 is roughly 0.4 watts lower than that of the March model powered by Windows 7, we ascertained an increase of 0.3 to 5 watts in the other measurements. Dell's XPS 13 treated itself up to a maximum of 37.8 watts during full load. We ascribe the increased rates in high load to the higher performance. The lower idle power consumption however indicates improved energy efficiency. The power supply unit is specified with a nominal power of 45 watts, and therefore has sufficient reserves. We did not observe any power supply induced throttling. [b]dell 3DJH7 Charger[/b]
Battery Runtime
As usual, the non-removable battery inside features a capacity of 47 Wh and ensures good battery runtime alongside the consumption rates. A runtime of 9 hours and 39 minutes away from the mains was possible in BatteryEater's Reader's test (energy saving mode, minimum screen brightness, wireless modules off). It still ran for 6 hours and 30 minutes in the Wi-Fi test using a screen brightness of 150 cd/m², energy saving mode and Wi-Fi on. Since Dell's XPS does not sport an optical drive, we played movie files from the storage device. It was possible to run movies for 5 hours and 40 minutes using the same brightness settings and energy saving mode. In BatteryEater's Classic test, with maximum brightness, Wi-Fi on and high-performance mode, Dell's XPS 13 lasted 90 minutes and its minimum battery runtime in full load is pretty good for such performance hardware. [b]dell 97KRM Charger[/b]
Verdict
Dell's XPS 13 is really a stylish, potent and very well built ultrabook. The conservative looks and high-quality materials are convincing. Its slim dimensions and low weight are not the best for this device category, but nevertheless ensure very good mobility. [b]dell 9GP08 Charger[/b]
These good basic traits are complemented by good battery runtimes, which also back the mobility concept offering over 6 hours of runtime. The noise and temperature emissions in low load are also good and allow work in quiet environments. However, this positive trait is almost reversed when Dell's XPS 13 is put under load. Then, the ultrabook gets loud and also very warm. [b]dell FV993 Charger[/b]
One major restriction in use on the move is the screen in the XPS 13. Its glare-type surface, the dimmed brightness on battery power and the poor viewing angle stability are three major qualities that have been poorly implemented. It strongly depends on the user's habits whether the good maximum brightness in AC mode and the comparatively decent contrast can compensate that. [b]dell FVWT4 Charger[/b]
Construction-related drawbacks, such as the mediocre connectivity and few upgrade possibilities, are common to this device category and are found among the competition to a similar extent. However, it is too bad that neither Dell's XPS 13 nor other premium models include the corresponding adapters for the mini-port models in the box.
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