Dell XPS 15 9570 (i7, UHD, GTX 1050 Max-Q) Laptop Review

[Redaktion]

We already reviewed the base model of the current Dell XPS 15 9570 and now check the more expensive SKU with a faster Core i7 CPU as well as the high-resolution 4K UHD touchscreen. How does the slim chassis handle the additional performance and what is the effect on the battery runtime?

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-15-9570-i7-UHD-GTX-1050-Max-Q-Laptop-Review.332758.0.html

[Delta Zhang]

Title says 1050 max-q but I guess you mean 1050ti max-q.

[danielee0707]

How come a laptop with coil whine for years received a score of 90? This is a definite deal breaker.

[Lucas]

Coil whine is not a deal breaker for everyone, more like an annoying festure which is unavoidable with miniaturisation nowadays.

[Browny]

Unavoidable? The only laptops I have experienced coil whine are XPS and Latitudes which are both Dell's premium lineups. No other laptop, consumer or business or gaming has had coil whine in 20 years. Except for maybe a few poorly built laptop chargers (HP and Asus). Imagine if every one your electronic devices including your mobile phone constantly produced annoyingly loud high-pitched noise, would you possibly be okay with that?

On a side note, battery life results are interesting. Users on Dell subreddit and NBR forum have been reporting on average 5-7 hours with the same i7 UHD model. What kind of dark sorcery did NBC tap into to get 9.5?

[Lucas]

If those are the only ones you have experienced that then I think you are either lucky or didn't have much contact  to carious computer hardware. Not only laptops but desktops too can have coil whine. There is also some on my Inspiron but I got used to it and it does not bother me if I even notice it. Another thing is where it's comming from. XPS users have reported that it's usually the ssd which may come from different manufscturers. On my work latitude there is also some but usually during disc intensive tasks and it's not even noticable from 50 cm.
Coil whine in cell phones would indeed be a major drawback.

[Anon]

...
On a side note, battery life results are interesting. Users on Dell subreddit and NBR forum have been reporting on average 5-7 hours with the same i7 UHD model. What kind of dark sorcery did NBC tap into to get 9.5?

Regarding this part, I believe Dell has a 56wh i7 too as well as they have a 97wh i5 version.

[Miri]

Do you live in a fridge?
looking at the game temperatures ...
My just turned on is already at 45-50 degrees celsius both cpu and gpu without doing anything (with clean installation of windows 10 and all the drivers updated) when I open programs like photoshop or something a little more powerful  temperature rises at 70-80 celsius in a moment, if I play a Sim City  the latest version, it goes up to 90. (repasted and undervolting)

If I do a stress test from windows with the Dell support program, it reaches 98 degrees celsius.

The ambient temperature goes from 24 degrees with air conditioner, to 26-27 degrees without. With the air conditioner on, the maximum reaches 93.

[Henrik]

I bought a XPS 15 9570 with a 4K display. I spend much time considering whether to go for FHD or 4K. However, after getting the machine, the thing I absolutely like the most is the 4K display. It's simple beautiful and a constant joy to look at. It's definitely worth the extra price and lesser battery time.

Now, if only the keyboard was a little more pro like (not perfect for a programmer) I would rate it top notch.

/Henrik

[Peter File]

77% of Adobe RGB but you don't test the laptop with its Adobe RGB mode... Wouldn't be the result different then as the laptop is supposed to be 100% Adobe RGB?

[John Smith]

Henrik, could you elaborate more on the keyboard? What do you miss, as a programmer?

[M2018]

This 9570 has better GPU, much better CPU, double RAM, great noise level (if 40 dB is true), great UHD screen and (not only) for this screen, the battery life is awesome, but gets less points, than an entry level i5 version???

This is another very strange review!

[Marco GER]

Would you please tell us which windows version and ssd driver and mode (ahci,raid) you have been using. Obviously you had not the write performance issue so much user are complaining about.

[IGpro]

I am very dissapointed with the UHD panel of this year. The colour deviations and lower adobe rgb % are not worth the sacrifice of a brighter screen compared to last year's model. Looks like I got to wait another year for the next XPS version. My Macbook pro 15 from 2015 should still be fine.

[John Doe]

@John Smith he probably shares my same feelings (also have a 9570, also am a programmer) - the XPS keyboard not even close to a Thinkpad overall, and even manages to be worse than Dell's own Precisions/Latitude lines. The keyboard on the XPS 15 has been mediocre with low to no tactile feedback, short travel and very compact layout since 2015 - there's essentially enough room to accommodate MBP 15-size speakers on the sides, yet the speakers are on the bottom on the 9570... They could have fit a numeric pad or increased key size with all that space.

Lenovo manages to get keyboards which are at least twice as good in every department (and twice as tall and clicky!) on their ultra-thin X1 Carbon series. The cheapest and smallest Latitudes (e.g. 11')  have keyboards much better, and most even include a trackpoint. It's seems like it's not about having space or the 9570 lastic being more expensive - the XPS 15 team simply fails to see a need to improve design where it matters, likely because the units keep selling well as they do, still king in Windows thin and light/multimedia segment. It's a clear case of lack of competition hampering development, just like Apple's 3-4 year "design sleep" on minor refreshes before the "new" Macbook Pro design eventually comes out.