Dell XPS 17 9700 Review - Multimedia laptop with bright matte FHD panel and long battery runtime

[Redaktion]

Dell is one of the few manufacturers that offer large multimedia laptops without dedicated graphics cards. If you are not interested in gaming, you can still get a high-end multimedia laptop for a lower price. However, even the base model XPS 17 9700 with the small Core i5 is anything but cheap.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-17-9700-Review-Multimedia-laptop-with-bright-matte-FHD-panel-and-long-battery-runtime.501444.0.html

[Dop]

This is not a FHD panel. FHD implies a 16:9 standard of 1080p resolution. This panel is a proper WUXGA panel. Don't confuse this movie-driven HD nomenclature with computer graphics terminology. See graphics display resolution at wikipedia.

[Sterlinger]

why offering WUXGA at all? Is it to rip the customer off? I don't understand why anyone would buy it. I understand that not all want to spend extra money (and battery life) for the 3840x2400 panel but what about 2560x1600 as lowest resolution in the line-up?

[Ekon]

To Sterlinger:

The WUXGA is the 1080p equivalent in the 16:10 format (similar DPI). I suspect that by preserving this option, the cost changes from the last gen of XPS is kept to a minimum. At large scales of manufacturing, the DPI goes up, cost goes up. Personally, I'm happy with the WUXGA format on a 17 inch laptop. I probably would not use any scaling in windows at this DPI. I have a 1080p panel on my HP (14 incher) and I need to use scaling to make things readable for me.

[S.Yu]

"Multimedia"
"UHD graphics"
Why not just get a TV?

[Dell, fix your laptops!]

What an overpriced garbage! Over $1000 for a gpu-less system is abominable

Don't be evil, Dell!

[Dell, fix your prices!]

I don't understand the hate that the base model gets. I understand the hate towards the pricer/performance ratio. It's ridiculous.

But imagine this: You are one of the older generation and want a large screen, thus 17 inch is a must. You also want to use it outdoors, so a bright (350+ nits) - and matte! - screen is a must. And you are sensitive to noise, so you want it silent under light loads. Luckily, you demand only very little on terms of performance.

Now look around and find a laptop that matches that description. Apart from the LG Gram, which is also overprices, this is literally the only one on the market right now.
Trust me, I spend a lot of time researching. There are some laptops that come close, but not quite: The HP Envy has a glossy screen, the HP ProBook, Lenovo IdeaPad and Schenker Work have too dim screens and in the Gaming segment - if you can find one with a properly optimized cooling solution that stays silent - then it's thanks to the high-refresh-rate craze that you don't get a bright screen (the Acer Nitro might be a contender).

So yes, this model is overprized, but it fills a place in the market and if money isn't your main concern, it's an option people might be willing to take. Also, if necessary at some later point in time you could still go for an eGPU thanks to Thunderbolt.

[xpclient]

4 x Thunderbolt 3 is impressive but honestly at this point, Comet Lake is outdated (2 generations behind architecturally even if it is the current "latest" in 45W CPUs). A Tiger Lake version of this and with touchpad buttons would be fantastic.

[Dorby]

Interesting that XPS 17 GTX1650 Ti model with FHD/16GB/512GB is $1,800 USD, same as the LG Gram 17 2020 model with only Intel ULV iGPU.

"However, it is unfortunate that Dell does not offer the matte FHD screen in combination with the fastest CPU/GPU options in all regions."

The 1200p screen is definitely configurable with all CPU/GPU combinations in most regions if you manage to go through both Dell's consumer and business website portals (they offer differently specced models), or just call Dell's sales rep to custom configure your XPS.

[Lost_In_Space]

The FHD+ Screen is configurable on all models in the US. Yes the XPS17 is expensive, but the keyboard, build quality, battery life, speakers, power adapter size, and FHD+ screen are really, really good. My only dislike is the trackpad, it works funny especially when using it to Select or Drag and Drop.

[Fazal Majid]

why offering WUXGA at all? Is it to rip the customer off? I don't understand why anyone would buy it. I understand that not all want to spend extra money (and battery life) for the 3840x2400 panel but what about 2560x1600 as lowest resolution in the line-up?

Indeed, this configuration is grossly overpriced and under specced.

My 2019 LG Gram 17 has a wonderful 2560x1600 display, and I paid $1300 for it last year at Costco with a i7-8565U, 16G RAM and a 256G SSD. Adding a salvaged 16GB DIMM and a 1TB SSD in the second M.2 slot, it makes for a terrific Linux machine where lacking a dGPU is a feature, not a bug, and it is ridiculously light.

I'm sure the Dell has a better keyboard than the LG (which is still superior to a $3000 MacBook Pro, but then again what isn't?), but that doesn't make up for the underwhelming package.

Now if only someone could come up with a 15" 3:2 display laptop...

[Devin]

I'm in the US, and I configured an XPS 17 with the RTX 2060 and the top i7 with the 19:10 screen. Saved me $400, battery life and eye strain. I don't do 4k editing so there was zero upside to the larger screen for me. Thanks for the review as I wanted to see how the screen faired during tests.

[ariliquin]

Hey Dell, when are you going to offer the CPX with AMD CPU? Still waiting............

[Sterlinger]

Hey Dell, when are you going to offer the CPX with AMD CPU? Still waiting............

I guess this will never happen, because the concept of the XPS is to use lots of Thunderbolt connectors

[_MT_]

Now if only someone could come up with a 15" 3:2 display laptop...

Like the 15" Surface Laptop? Or the 15" Surface Book? If only they had better keyboards and Renoir already. And matte screens. But that aspect ratio is just yummy. The only reason why they're on my radar at all.