Dell XPS 15z: Sincerely Flattering
by Jarred Walton on September 2, 2011 1:30 AM EST1080p Upgrade FTW
We loved the AU Optronics B156HW1 panel in the XPS 15, and we’ve seen several versions of that panel in the Clevo P150/P151 and W150HR chassis. Out of all of those displays, my favorite by far is the B156HW01 v4 matte panel we tested recently in the W150HR. The XPS 15z brings a new AU Optronics into the picture, however: the B156HW03. The good news is that this is still a decent 1080p LCD, with >500:1 contrast ratio. The bad news is that it’s not as good as most of the B156HW01 panels that we’ve tested (outside of the B156HW01 v5, used in the MSI GT680R). Color accuracy after calibration is particularly bad, and try as I might I couldn’t improve the score. That’s unfortunate, but outside of professional imaging/video work the color accuracy is “good enough” that most users won’t be bothered. Here’s how the new panel compares to other laptops.
While the XPS 15 sports a slightly higher contrast ratio, I’d actually take the higher maximum luminance offered by the 15z panel. Ideally, I’d still like to see >400 nits maximum brightness (you know, like the MacBook Pro offers?), but 300 nits is better than average. Color gamut is only 56% AdobeRGB 1998, which isn’t exceptional but is at least a step up from the 40-50% panels found in cheaper laptops. The Delta E score on the other hand is actually the worst post-calibration result I’ve ever measured. Yikes. Some of the colors in the test are still coming in at >10, which is what we typically see without calibration. I tried 1.8 gamma, 2.2 gamma, and several white points, all to no avail. It’s not the end of the world—most people don’t even have a colorimeter in the first place—but it is somewhat perplexing. Overall, I’d give the panel a solid B, where the B156HW01 v1/v4/v5/v6 rate A-/A/C-/A- respectively (and the Dell panel is another A-, though I’m not sure if it’s v6 or something else). Viewing angles are also good, at least for TN panels:
Heat and Noise Levels
One area where we have to offer a word of caution is in regards to temperatures. We’ve seen at least one laptop throttle CPU speeds when the cores hit 85C, and under a sustained load the XPS 15z CPU runs a toasty 90-95C. Of course, the 85C throttling is on the Acer TimelineX 3830TG, and it’s a BIOS setting rather than a CPU limit—Intel specs all of the Sandy Bridge CPUs for up to 100C operation. Even so, 95C is more than we’d like, and the culprit is easy to find. Simple physics dictates that a thinner chassis makes it harder to get airflow, and stuffing a high performance CPU into such a chassis is a recipe for heat. It happens with the MacBook Pro, and it happens on the XPS 15z. The difference is that Apple uses a fan that can spin faster (and generate more noise), while the 15z runs slightly hotter but doesn’t get quite as loud. At idle, noise from 18” measured 31.6dB on my SPL meter (in a 30dB environment), while load noise—from gaming or running a CPU-intensive task like Cinebench—maxes out the fan at 42.2dB.
The 15z chassis could also benefit from better air intake locations; it sits flat and close to the ground, and if you place it on a carpet or a lap and run a game, you’ll find it gets uncomfortably warm. Prop the back of the laptop up so that the bottom intake can get fresh air and maximum CPU temperatures drop around 8C (though the fan noise remains the same).
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
76 Comments
View All Comments
lukarak - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
"In many ways the XPS 15z is a better laptop than the 15z,...." I might not be into Dell stuff, and there could be a Dell 15z as a separate model from XPS 15z, but i think you wanted to drop the Z the second time?Also, on topic, what's with the keyboard? If you copy the island design, don't mess with the shape of the keys, please.
JarredWalton - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Oops! Fixed, thanks. I actually call the MBP keyboard style "chiclet" and the Acer/Gateway stuff "floating island". Maybe others define "chiclet" differently? Anyway, typing on the 15z is actually quite nice, but like I mention I still prefer the XPS 15 keyboard layout.tbutler - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
For those of us who remember the original 'chiclet' keyboards - the original PCjr, the TRS-80 CoCo, ZX Spectrum, etc. - the current keyboards aren't even CLOSE. :)The origin of 'chiclet' as a keyboard description was a derogatory term for those early keyboards - where the keys not only looked like chiclets, but were nearly impossible to touch-type on, because of both layout and the keyswitch design. Aside from the superficial look, the current keyboards have nothing in common; the layouts are 'normal', as are the keyswitches, and key travel is well within normal boundaries. Touch-typing is eminently possible, and in fact some of my favorite keyboards of the last couple of years have been in this style.
So yeah, I define 'chiclet' quite differently, and resist attempts to tar current keyboards with the same brush. :)
On another note: "The quality of the MBP15 display is better, but it’s hard to argue with a higher resolution and the 15z panel at least has a decent contrast ratio and brightness." On the contrary; I find it trivially easy to argue against a higher resolution. The 1440x900 MBP15 panel already causes me some eyestrain issues from the size of text and other interface elements, even at the admitted better display quality. The 1680x1050 panel was unlivable for extended use, and I can't even begin to describe the hurt a 15" 1080p display would cause me - especially if the overall display quality is lower.
iamezza - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
this is what 'dpi' is forWindows 7 handles increasing the dpi very well, it can work with ALL programs. It can also be disabled on a per program basis if required.
Proph3T08 - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
DPI is Dots per Inch usually when talking about monitors people use PPI (Pixels per Inch). A screen cannot change its PPI so anything Windows 7 would be doing would be software based to fake it.seapeople - Saturday, September 3, 2011 - link
You basically just agreed with him in a very strange way. DPI is how many pixels per inch the Windows interface renders certain UI elements such as window bars and text in. If you increase DPI, then Windows increases the resolution it uses to render text and other features, thereby making things bigger and easier to read without altering the actual pixel count being sent to your LCD screen, thereby preventing the blurriness you would otherwise get.neothe0ne - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
"Dell gives you a GT 525M, which should be at least comparable to the HD 6750M in performance"I'm sorry but this can't possibly be true. The Radeon HD 5650M is a faster card than the GeForce GT 525M. How the hell could the GT 525M hope to compete with the 6750M?
Dustin Sklavos - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Agreed, the 6750M is more on par with the GT 540M if anything.Dustin Sklavos - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
Actually, I'm incorrect. But either way, OP's point stands.I'm honestly really not impressed by the XPS 15z. 95C on the CPU cores is inexcusable, that keyboard sucks out loud, and the 1080p screen is among the worst we've tested in that class.
Also, anyone who deliberately spends up on the 2GB GT 525M upgrade deserves what they get. ;)
vol7ron - Friday, September 2, 2011 - link
I got my first Apple, which happened to be the 15" Macbook Pro. Worth the price? Not really. Apple OS freezes more than anything. It's only got a 2.0GHz QC, but I put a OWC SSD, 8GB of RAM, and upgraded to the anti-glare HD screen.So why do I like it? For the OS? no. For the keyboard? definitely no. For the trackpad gestures? kind of. For the quality screen? most definitely. The experience difference is in the screen alone. Viewing www.steampowered.com's opening page is an oddly different experience than viewing it on my desktop (better graphics card and more expensive monitors) and that's just for a static page. HD videos make it better too. I just wish it had better speakers - oh well.
XPS doesn't look bad, but the screen is where the user can really have that overwhelming sensation.