Dell XPS 13 9300 review: The bezel is finally dead - weinsteinabity1998

With Dell's XPS 13 9300, you can mark down a momentous date in laptop chronicle: the death of the laptop bezel. Old models killed the top and sides, but that last useless part has cragfast around until straight off.

Dell's XPS 13 9300, however, kills that bottom bezel dead. More importantly, the littler bezel makes the XPS 13 possibly one of most compact laptops around.

The story of the XPS 13 is a long and storied i at this point. When the first "InfinityBezel" version shoot the scene in 2015, it set the movement for what could be done in a tiny laptop, forcing competitors to reassess their designs. The latest XPS 13 9300 ($1,749 at Dell.com) Crataegus oxycantha not move the ball forward much in performance, but its 16:10 aspect-ratio InfinityBezel touch test and dual biometric inputs smooth make a dispute.

This brush up is contribution of of our current roundup of the best laptops. Tour there for entropy on competing models and how we tried them.

Dingle

Dell's 2020 XPS 13 9300 achieves heavy no-bezel.

Wherefore wizen bezels matter

Lest you think up we're raving about an inconsequential feature, you just receive to look back to 2017, when companies were still merchandising laptops with so often bezel, you could deal out billboard space on them. Apple's 2017-era MacBook Air, for example, looks about as manner-correct as disco-era Bell-bottom bloomers and wide-lapel paisley shirts would seem during the grunge era.

Incomparable Bargain

The 2017 MacBook Air 13's big bezel epitomized the wasted space of laptops of yore, and it looks preposterously outgoing of date stamp and huge in this day and age.

For the new XPS 13 9300, Dingle wisely eschews the common, narrow 16:9 scene ratio that lowers the overall height of the screen. The company instead goes with a taller 16:10 prospect ratio for the 13.4-inch cover. The top of the screen is about the same height as that of a more stereotypical 16:9 laptop, such equally the Horsepower Elite Sewing needle, giving you more screen real land without accretionary the size of the laptop.

The screen itself is a scenic 450-nit IPS touchscreen. When we order IPS, we mean effective Fulgurating IPS excessively, non the "IPS-like" operating theatre "all-encompassing-viewing angle" language companies expend to describe emulator versions. This is a beautiful, top-quality display that will help you stay bearing.

Dell XPS 13 9300 Specs and Features

While the display is clear the star of the XPS 13 9300's contour, it offers plenty more top-shelf parts in its little chassis. Here are the inside information.

• CPU: 10th gen Core i7-1065G7
• GPU: Intel integrated Iris Nonnegative
• RAM: 16GB LPDDR4X/3733
• Storage: 512GB Intel 760P NVMe SSD
• Display: 13.4-inch 1920×1200 Fulgurating IPS
• Biometric Support: Realtek biometric camera in teetotum bezel, Goodix digit print reviewer unified into power release.
• Ports: The XPS 13 9300 features unitary Thunderbolt 3 port happening each side, a microSD reader on the left side, and an analog combo audio jack on the right incline. Compared to the previous model, you're losing one USB-C port and the wedge-lock embrasure. As with the preceding model there is zero USB-A port. If you hold some legacy USB-A devices or merely need more connectivity, it's time to steal a USB-C hub.

Gordon Mah Ung

Ports on the XPS 13 9300 are pretty sluttish. Apiece side features a Thunderbolt 3 port. The left side has a microSD reader. The opportune side adds an analog combo audio jack.

• Networking: Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650, Bluetooth 5
• Size and weight: 11.6 x 7.8 x 0.27 inches, 2.9 pounds without AC adapter
• Upgradability: "Upgrades" on modern-day ultraportable laptops are always same limited, simply Dell keeps it down to earth with a standard M.2 slot for the Intel SSD within of it. This may seem like no big wheel, merely the XPS 13 2-in-1 7390 soldered its SSD. Dell's reason (like Apple's) is to save distance and reach the laptop thinner, but many have roasted the company for the move.

Gordon Mah Ung

The keyboard in the XPS 13 9300 is good ol' traditional dome, and information technology feels avid.

Keyboard, Trackpad and Webcam

Matchless of the better moves Dingle takes with the XPS 13 9300 is to stick with a traditional dome keyboard. Although its first cousin the XPS 13 2-in-1 is slenderly thinner because of its MAGLev 2 low-travel keyboard, it's a controversial feature. Keyboard feel is subjective, but let's retributory say our fingers opt more travel in our keyboards.

Gordon Mah Ung

Dell's new XPS 13 13 9300 features a single thick high temperature pipe, two fans plus a casebook M.2 slot.

The keys are approximately 0.75mm wider than the keys from the previous XPS 13 7390's. They also seem to be a bit flatter. Total, we cerebrate information technology's an improvement. The trackpad is glass-smooth and support Microsoft's Precision touchpad drivers. We essentially have no complaints here.

Gordon Mah Ung

The XPS 13 9300's webcam is fair and far from the worst we've seen.

How the world has changed around webcams. Erstwhile valued as some for the features that hid them, such as physical shutters and hardware undercut-disconnected circuits to maintain privacy, we now seize webcams to our chests equivalent jelled-aureate bars.

Sol yes, webcam performance suddenly matters again. Most models you'll find apply the 720p resolution, but that doesn't mean they're all the unchanged. Approximately vendors, including Dell, may employ computer software tricks to raise 720p picture lineament. Others, including Apple, come out to be caught flat-footed with inferior 720p yield. While a 1080p webcam English hawthorn seems corresponding a desirable upgrade, remember that the higher settlement creates a larger file—which may end up getting compressed by applications so much as Zoom anyway.

We compared the XPS 13 9300's webcam module to that of six separate laptops, including H.P.'s Elite Dragonfly and the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 7390. Each lineament 720p cameras, and all performed adequately. We'd give the Elite Darning needle Elect a slight edge. Most of the webcams produced overly compressed imagery typical of their tiny sensors and optics. Ultimately, the XPS 13 9300 produces perfectly fine picture for your Zoom videoconferences.

Dingle XPS 13 9300 Performance

For the newest XPS 13 9300, Dell takes an absorbing come on for the CPU, which is actually somewhat of a step indorse in performance. You read that right: The execution of the newest XPS 13 9300 is step hind compared to the XPS 13 7390, which features a 6-core CPU. We'll get into how to navigate that later on.

Cinebench multi-thread and single-thread

We'll kick off the benchmarks with Maxon's Cinebench R15. It's a standalone bench mark that measures Mainframe performance while interlingual rendition a 3D image. Spell IT's not a job many will do on an ultraportable laptop computer, it's still a good way to approximate multi-core performance.

The keyword is multi-center, because the musculus quadriceps femoris-core 10th gen Core i7-1065G7 isn't going to beat the six-nub 10th-gen Nucleus i7-10710U that's old in the XPS 13 7390, even if the last mentioned Mainframe is a little experient. Those concerned about multi-core carrying out in an XPS 13 may deprivation to nab the older XPS 13 7390 instead of the XPS 13 9300.

IDG

In multi-core carrying out, the XPS 13 9300 takes a step back from the older XPS 13 7390. Both Default and Performance modes are shown here.

Luckily, the most mundane work at ultraportable laptops largely use just a idiosyncratic core on the CPU. We valu that performance exploitation Cinebench R15 again, set to a single thread. Here, the higher clock speeds of the 10th-gen Core i7-10710U in the XPS 13 7390 even take it high (coming close to the much heavier, much faster Dingle XPS 15 7590), but we're look only a 7-percent gap compared to the XPS 13 9300. Most hoi polloi would ne'er even feel that.

IDG

Single-rib performance is pretty close between the earlier XPS 13 7390 mold and the current XPS 13 9300.

HandBrake

One matter with Cinebench and other similar tests is the short run multiplication. Because modern CPUs rely on boosting clock speeds for short periods, a benchmark that's too brief doesn't tell you how a laptop might run on a lengthy wholly-core load.

To test that, we use the free HandBrake encoder to convert a 30GB movie file using the Mechanical man pad of paper planned. On most quad-cores, you're look 50 minutes of running the CPU hard. Performance of the XPS 13 9300 is in line with that of about 10th-gen Marrow i7-1065G7 laptops.

IDG

HandBrake can take 50 proceedings to run on an ultraportable laptop with a quadriceps femoris-core CPU.

As we said before: Unless you really need to hammering an every-heart and soul workload day in and day out, the performance doesn't subject that much. For instance, if whol you do is drive Office and a browser all day, multi-core performance doesn't matter.

PCMark 8 Work

To valu a conventional workload, we apply UL's PCMark 8 Work try out. Suddenly the more modern 10th-gen Nucleus i7-1065G7 chips lead the pack, but the margins again are narrow. Commend, if all you ut on your laptop computer is "normal" stuff, put on't get too shrink-wrapped up in the performance metric.

IDG

PCMark 8 Work tell us the CPU doesn't really matter much if all you do is drive a browser and Office.

While the 6-gist Core i7-10710U in the older XPS 13 7390 leads in CPU tasks, one area where information technology falls apart is graphics. Hera we escort the Fleur-de-lis Positive graphics cores in the XPS 13 9300 whir about 100-percent better performance than the old XPS 13 7390. That basically mean games also As OpenCL-based tasks will run quicker.

IDG

The new Flag Plus graphics cores in the XPS 13 9300 easily outrun the older XPS 13 7390's UHD.

Electric battery life

The most important metric of any ultraportable laptop is likely its electric battery life. For our test, we loop a 4K video recording charge using Windows' Movies &A; TV app. We set up the laptop as if information technology were acting a film on a cross-country flight. We put under it into airplane mood and attach earbuds with the mass set to its midpoint. We set the screen door brightness to 250 to 260 nits, which is a comfortably bright settting for an office or aeroplane's daylight settings.

The boilers suit carrying out of the XPS 13 9300 is quite opportune, with playback lasting just over 12 hours. It's not quite as unspoiled As HP's Spectre x360 13t, which runs to nearly 16 hours, but the Spectre has a large battery and a "1-watt" board.

Your gasoline mileage will vary. For the light workload of video playback, 12 hours is plenty. We should call attention that if you are victimization Office or a browser, expect to chop off at least a third of that battery life. Crusade the Central processor hard, and expect no than a few hours or and then at best. Heavy GPU enjoyment might push it low-level two hours.

IDG

The XPS 13 9300's barrage lasts just over 12 hours during video playback.

Conclusion

The Dell XPS 13 9300 enters 2020 with more competition than ever. In 2015, 360-academic degree designs were notwithstandin unproven and selfsame rough. Now's versions, such as the XPS 13 2-in-1, generate up nothing spell also offering tablet and write out functionality. The utility of those designs are so good these days, we curiosity whether the years of unmitigated grapple laptops are reaching their end.

If we are truly coming to the end of clamshell laptops as the predilection, we make out that Dell's XPS 13 9300 just might be the tiptop of what can be done. It's small, thin, and light, with a beautiful display and intimately flawless features. The addition of Iris Asset graphics erases a impuissance with its predecessor. It's one of the best laptops we've ever time-tested.

Correction: An earlier rendering of this story falsely identified the XPS 13 7390 as the XPS 13 2-in-1 7390. PCWorld regrets the fault.

Source: https://www.pcworld.com/article/399061/dell-xps-13-9300-review-2020.html

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