The backlight is a nice feature and looks really good in the night. The keyboard is also designed so that it allows for really fast typing. 4) Nice speakers with very good sound which can't be said for many laptops Drawbacks 1) Heavier than I expected. But I use it on a desk all the time so no problem. 2) Not absilute quiet in operation, especially when its been in use for sometime or put through the rigours i.e. multitasking or games. Its not noisy enough to become annoying.
This laptop is fantastic, but it does have couple of drawbacks too. Positives 1) Great screen - bright, sharp and crisp. Pleasure to view video, photos, web pages, email, MS Office on. 2) Fast. I have the i5, not the i7, but its still very fast even with multitasking. 3) Nice design of the laptop - both externally 9looking rather similar to a Macbook) but also internally. Initially the keyboard looks a little disappointing but soon draws you in and is actually really nice.
Any little sound on video or gaming easily overcomes the fan noise. 3) The speakers are at the top on either side of the keyboard. So you need to be careful you dont spill any drink near it. Summary Nice laptop with a bright sharp screen even though I do not use it at the highest 1080 resolution. It really is great screen for work, video, veiwing photos, gaming. The thin profile of the laptop gives it the aesthetics. Downsides are easily overcome thanks to quality of screen and processor.
I currently own the dell xps 1340 and have so for almost 2 years and even though the hinges are loosening and the border metallic trim is falling off, i love the laptop. It's still running lightning fast. I was considering upgrading and purchasing the dell xps 15z , but it would be much better to win it instead.
Jeff Haynes is a great reviewer. After two system crashes on my laptop in the past two weeks and a new laptop purchase for my college senior I would be thrilled to win this Dell! Thanks for always providing great info!
My brother-in-law has one of these laptops for his job as a tester for a government app. It is amazing. He sold his mac to get it and regularly comments on how much he likes it over his macbook pro.
I was just needing to buy a new laptop anyway, the power connection on mine is on its last leg. Here is hoping that I don't have to put my mortgage on hold to buy a new one. This would be a huge blessing.
My laptop just broke and I need a new one for school. I spent alot on that laptop and I don't really have the money to just go out and buy another. This laptop is perfect for me, it's portable, it has a great display, and very stylish. Even if I don't win it, it will mean someone else will get this great laptop, and have fun with it so it's ok. GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY
This is a very thorough and practical review. You really addressed the issues that I looked for when I look for a laptop and didn't shy away from both strengths and weaknesses. Thanks! Send me this laptop!
Completely different design than the old XPS 1530. This model has more aluminum which is good for temperature.I have XPS 15,with hi qality sound from JBL.For 7 months i had no problem.Very reliable laptop
3 years i think i have now with this laptop, so far only one issue with it and was my fault, my hard drive got corrupted, anyways aside from that, no issues, i mean i play almost everyday, games like Skyrim, Mass efffect, Dragon Age, everything on high Skyrim with mods. but if you do not adjust the performance settings the heat will go so high, so at first i was playing Dragon Age an temperature was 85-90 now i adjusted the setting and i play at 65-75. nice laptop! 1. go to power options 2. click plans settings the one you used to play or run high programs on it. 3.click change advanced power settings 4.click process power management 5. maximum processes state and lower the number where it says plugged in, it will certainly be at 100% change it to 70 0r 75 it will dramatically change your heat.
Thank you very much for your informative tip. Unfortunately, I'm running this laptop since approx. 3 months without knowing that the fan is disabled. Though, I knew there's something wrong since it kept shutting down without a notice whenever any heavy processing in action. Just ordered a new fan (hopefully the problem with the fan and not the motherboard). I think the heating issues could develop easily. Is it still running well with no problems?
indeed it is, i now have an alienware but my brother keeps playing games on the dell xps 15z and no problems at all feels like new, i mean heat and everything is fine.
The XPS 15z certainly looks to be an excellent notebook. I only wish Nvidia would provide Optimus support in Linux. Thanks for running this contest, TechBargains.
The review given by Techbargains about Dell XPS 15z is very nice and detailed. You gave every information that can help any buyer to buy this amazing system. Keep up the good work.
My opinion of the heat issue is partly due to Turbo Boost. I have the i5 model and turbo boost makes the fan go mental on heavy load. Disabling it, much less fan noise. But of course you take the performance hit from 2.7 Ghz to 2.4 Ghz. Due to the thin nature of the XPS 15z its going to run hot (and bear in mind it only has one fan). I've had turbo boost disabled for over a month now and the fan is far less audible. Before it was sounding like a jet engine.
This is awesome. My laptop is a like 4 years old. HP G51 if my memory serves me correctly lol. It is really cool that you guys do stuff like this for people
I've it too and I've the same problem (heating whenever u start a heavy duty program temp. CPU could reach >90 Celsius ) the problem : unreliable paste has been used between the heating sink and the motherboard heating areas like CPU and the graphic card the Solution : 1- Buy a cooling pad ASAP and make sure it's working properly and cooling the laptop before you ruin the motherboard ! 2-DO NOT put it on bed or suffocated and hot areas. after the 1st step done the temp will not exceed 60-70 C
hello thanks for your review! i was wondering if this laptop can play sims3 and also support the expansion packs? i looked at your other reviews as well but i cannot decide between the dell xps 15z or the dell inspiron 14 z.. what do u think? thanks!
This powerpacked system is one which i would surely like to have. The Slim design and specially the DVD-ROM is just terrific ..... Moreover it is so beautiful and performance is looking too good to have it.
dell is always a winner in my book. i had a d820 that fried on me and would seriously like to get another outstanding dell laptop to add to my home office.
Thanks Jeff, being a proud owner of XPS 15z I am definitely ignoring the cons. why coz now i can have all the data which i missed when i forget my drive at office. 2nd d downloads r really faster even its has a 5.1 feel also which is amazing also if u have a gr8 headphone u feel no difference between an ipod. I am not a game frenetic but im happy with d ones i play. Overall its one of the stylist laptop coz i had like 25 different laptops infront of me when i bought this a real eye catcher.
First laptop I've been intrigued about in a lot time. I was always a fan of the Dell Latitude series but since Dell no longer carries this series I lost interest in Dell. Recently I've been looking into new laptops for work where I travel and do Network Administration for our company. I've been looking for a good laptop where I could run and load Visio documents easily. Having a larger screen is definitely beneficial for what I need. Thanks for the review TechBargains. I want this laptop now.
I've been using a Dell Inspiron 640M for the past 4 1/2 years and an upgrade would be great! I'll be heading off to med school soon so getting it via contest would be even better!
Do you know if the fan is louder, quieter or about the same as the Studio 15? Mine turns on for many tasks like the video describes, but I'm not sure if it's as loud as described, and I might want to upgrade to the 15z.
awesome! I'm really liking the style dell's chosen. Looks much more contemporary than their late models. keyboard looks especially interesting. I'm a little worried about heat though as the laptop isn't propped up by design.
Well i must say XPS is the top line of the laptop of Dell. its nice to see 15 inch XPS laptop. If u look closely at the laptop, its build is very similar to apple macbooks. However, this will cost lot cheaper than a macbook with the same configuration. Optimus gaming cards are pretty good as they are energy savers. cant beat 1080p display
is the mouse click button like a keyboard button on how it clicks or does it actually click . because my bro has an older dell and i hate how the mouse button is.
Thank you for the insightful review. I am grateful to have stumbled across your videos and will check back often. The Dell XPS 15z seems to be one of the best all around laptop designs that Dell has created to compete with the Macbook Pro. If money was no object, I would buy this computer with the 1080p option - no questions asked. However, since money is an issue I'm curious if the 1080p is worth the extra cost or if this is an area that I could cut costs on and live with the 720p.
@Rajorshideria actually, the reason that macs cost more is not because they're overpriced, it is because the windows machines r made by numerous companies meaning inside competition so if someone wants their product sold, it would need to be cheaper than the competition. Macs cost more to make the unibody design and use a much better CPU while remaining thinner and better looking, however, for the price, this is one hell of a laptop. Even though I'm a mac person, if I were to buy a windows sys
hi I have the dell xps 15z laptop and it fail and got a dent on the top right corner and the disk tray is popped out and wont stay in because the clip that hold the screw in broke what do I do warranty wont cover it plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz reply
Great review, very thorough and with all aspects covered, this machine looks great :) and i sure cant wait to get my hands on this baby! Well done Techbargain :)
Alienware would be over-kill for your use. 14/15 it doesn't matter, everything is the same, minus the 1". If you have the extra money get the 15, otherwise get the 14. Personally, I bought the 15z and absoutely love it. Great specs and looks.
@Fireater989 Yes, it's a custom laptop, but you didn't specify in your last posting that you meant mainstream laptops. I don't have any USB 3.0 devices yet actually, so I can't test the transfer speed. I don't think you're going to reach the theoretical max of USB 3.0. Anyway, were you trying to transfer a bunch of small files? That can cause slower transfer speeds. It might be your external HDD too. Does it need 2 USB cables? (one for power, one for data)
hi.i was just thinking will this laptop run corel video studio smoothly?i in a confusion on buying a mac or dell.mac cost alot but the outcome is great,it has less issues but is too expensive and dell u can get it for must less price.i have a dell i5 processor with 1gb nvidia graphic card but the corel video studio does not run smoothly.please if u have run a test,reply me ASAP.thank you
To go with the smaller 14z but deal with the lower resolution and no sub or to go with the 15z but have to deal with the bigger size but get the better speakers and the higher resolution. Any recommendations?
Seems like it could be a useful blow dryer I WANT IT. It looks really nice too, seems like it could be a good compact laptop to carry around everywhere. Good luck to everyone.
Thanks for your wise ideas i intend to buy xps but i was discourage according to the comment i have seen most of the complaints is about the heat issues.
I'm so confused between the XPS 15z and XPS 15. On one had, XPS 15 seems like a much powerful machine, but on the other hand XPS 15z is aesthetically pleasing (and probably the only laptop that matches the MacBook Pro). Any suggestions as to which laptop I should go in for?
@TechBargains how does this computer work with windows word and office and all cause i need a computer for school work, gaming, editing and coding and will this game play bf3? Please respond
You know you have a potato laptop when the comments are 8 years old
Lol
Ur a potato when ur comment is 1 year ago :)
@@vikram1313 I upgraded one year ago :)
The backlight is a nice feature and looks really good in the night. The keyboard is also designed so that it allows for really fast typing.
4) Nice speakers with very good sound which can't be said for many laptops
Drawbacks
1) Heavier than I expected. But I use it on a desk all the time so no problem.
2) Not absilute quiet in operation, especially when its been in use for sometime or put through the rigours i.e. multitasking or games. Its not noisy enough to become annoying.
This laptop is fantastic, but it does have couple of drawbacks too.
Positives
1) Great screen - bright, sharp and crisp. Pleasure to view video, photos, web pages, email, MS Office on.
2) Fast. I have the i5, not the i7, but its still very fast even with multitasking.
3) Nice design of the laptop - both externally 9looking rather similar to a Macbook) but also internally. Initially the keyboard looks a little disappointing but soon draws you in and is actually really nice.
Any little sound on video or gaming easily overcomes the fan noise.
3) The speakers are at the top on either side of the keyboard. So you need to be careful you dont spill any drink near it.
Summary
Nice laptop with a bright sharp screen even though I do not use it at the highest 1080 resolution. It really is great screen for work, video, veiwing photos, gaming. The thin profile of the laptop gives it the aesthetics.
Downsides are easily overcome thanks to quality of screen and processor.
I like how its such a powerful laptop and stil remains portable!
I currently own the dell xps 1340 and have so for almost 2 years and even though the hinges are loosening and the border metallic trim is falling off, i love the laptop. It's still running lightning fast.
I was considering upgrading and purchasing the dell xps 15z , but it would be much better to win it instead.
Jeff Haynes is a great reviewer. After two system crashes on my laptop in the past two weeks and a new laptop purchase for my college senior I would be thrilled to win this Dell! Thanks for always providing great info!
My brother-in-law has one of these laptops for his job as a tester for a government app. It is amazing. He sold his mac to get it and regularly comments on how much he likes it over his macbook pro.
I was just needing to buy a new laptop anyway, the power connection on mine is on its last leg. Here is hoping that I don't have to put my mortgage on hold to buy a new one. This would be a huge blessing.
Another great review. I like the XPS lines. crazy that you found so many issues.
I'm in love with my L702X. The 15z would be the perfect, more portable version of the XPS line!
Great Review! I am glad I found this channel because the reviews helped me astronomically. Thanks.
I was literally in love with it when i first used it at my friend's place
My laptop just broke and I need a new one for school. I spent alot on that laptop and I don't really have the money to just go out and buy another. This laptop is perfect for me, it's portable, it has a great display, and very stylish. Even if I don't win it, it will mean someone else will get this great laptop, and have fun with it so it's ok. GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY
I gave my laptop to my father in law before I lost my job and now I need a new one for my new job...this one would be perfect!!! it...is ...sweet!!!
great info.. I like the way Dell placed the keyboard and speakers.
This is a very thorough and practical review. You really addressed the issues that I looked for when I look for a laptop and didn't shy away from both strengths and weaknesses. Thanks! Send me this laptop!
Completely different design than the old XPS 1530. This model has more
aluminum which is good for temperature.I have XPS 15,with hi qality sound from JBL.For 7 months i had no problem.Very reliable laptop
I really need this one!!! I am a big fan of XPS and this 15z would be a great milestone for Dell to get through their image of "sturdy but cheap".
3 years i think i have now with this laptop, so far only one issue with it and was my fault, my hard drive got corrupted, anyways aside from that, no issues, i mean i play almost everyday, games like Skyrim, Mass efffect, Dragon Age, everything on high Skyrim with mods. but if you do not adjust the performance settings the heat will go so high, so at first i was playing Dragon Age an temperature was 85-90 now i adjusted the setting and i play at 65-75. nice laptop!
1. go to power options
2. click plans settings the one you used to play or run high programs on it.
3.click change advanced power settings
4.click process power management
5. maximum processes state and lower the number where it says plugged in, it will certainly be at 100% change it to 70 0r 75 it will dramatically change your heat.
Thank you very much for your informative tip. Unfortunately, I'm running this laptop since approx. 3 months without knowing that the fan is disabled. Though, I knew there's something wrong since it kept shutting down without a notice whenever any heavy processing in action. Just ordered a new fan (hopefully the problem with the fan and not the motherboard). I think the heating issues could develop easily. Is it still running well with no problems?
indeed it is, i now have an alienware but my brother keeps playing games on the dell xps 15z and no problems at all feels like new, i mean heat and everything is fine.
+tokyopp It turns out to be a fan issue... woof....fully back on duty and just saved a couple of thousands lol
i7 processors are the best -- this laptop looks great and I hope that the winner appreciates it!
The keyboard on that XPS looks awesome.
The XPS 15z certainly looks to be an excellent notebook. I only wish Nvidia would provide Optimus support in Linux.
Thanks for running this contest, TechBargains.
I really want this laptop for school. My old school computer is starting to show its age... (Graduated university in 2008 and am now in Law school).
I work at a computer store and I'm around computers all day. I don't call computers "beautiful" very often, but that is one beautiful computer!
The review given by Techbargains about Dell XPS 15z is very nice and detailed. You gave every information that can help any buyer to buy this amazing system. Keep up the good work.
My opinion of the heat issue is partly due to Turbo Boost. I have the i5 model and turbo boost makes the fan go mental on heavy load. Disabling it, much less fan noise. But of course you take the performance hit from 2.7 Ghz to 2.4 Ghz.
Due to the thin nature of the XPS 15z its going to run hot (and bear in mind it only has one fan). I've had turbo boost disabled for over a month now and the fan is far less audible. Before it was sounding like a jet engine.
Here is another great laptop with sweet power. The size can't be beat. Thanks for letting us see how it works before buying!
This is awesome. My laptop is a like 4 years old. HP G51 if my memory serves me correctly lol. It is really cool that you guys do stuff like this for people
this laptop rocks.. this is the only video i've seen that mentions any negatives of the dell xps 15z
I've it too and I've the same problem (heating whenever u start a heavy duty program temp. CPU could reach >90 Celsius )
the problem : unreliable paste has been used between the heating sink and the motherboard heating areas like CPU and the graphic card
the Solution :
1- Buy a cooling pad ASAP and make sure it's working properly and cooling the laptop before you ruin the motherboard !
2-DO NOT put it on bed or suffocated and hot areas.
after the 1st step done the temp will not exceed 60-70 C
Great review, techbargains is very resourceful. Keep up the great work Jeff!
Thanks for the review. Have been shying away from Dell laptops, as my previous XPS M1530 broke in a number of ways, but this model looks nice.
This is a great machine with all of the qualities you would want in a cutting edge laptop.
hello thanks for your review! i was wondering if this laptop can play sims3 and also support the expansion packs? i looked at your other reviews as well but i cannot decide between the dell xps 15z or the dell inspiron 14 z.. what do u think? thanks!
This powerpacked system is one which i would surely like to have.
The Slim design and specially the DVD-ROM is just terrific .....
Moreover it is so beautiful and performance is looking too good to have it.
One of the slimmest Windows laptop out there that has the looks and the power. I want it!
Very thorough review as always. Well done Mr. Haynes, ..Well Done.
You guys keep churning out the reviews...keep it up! :)
dell is always a winner in my book. i had a d820 that fried on me and would seriously like to get another outstanding dell laptop to add to my home office.
This looks like a nice laptop and very portable. The heat issue might be a problem, but definitely would come in handy if it was given away
Thanks Jeff, being a proud owner of XPS 15z I am definitely ignoring the cons. why coz now i can have all the data which i missed when i forget my drive at office. 2nd d downloads r really faster even its has a 5.1 feel also which is amazing also if u have a gr8 headphone u feel no difference between an ipod. I am not a game frenetic but im happy with d ones i play. Overall its one of the stylist laptop coz i had like 25 different laptops infront of me when i bought this a real eye catcher.
Super-sweet laptop and a thorough review as always! Keep it up guys.
Beautiful machine. Backlit keyboard is a great feature.
It is a gorgeous laptop, thin and light weight. This makes it convenient to carry. Love this laptop and a must have it item.
Looks much better than the regular XPS but I like the specs on the original much better.
Awesome, would love to win this laptop. XPS is where it's at.
I have loved the dell xps line since the beginning and i love the site, solid product on a great site, win win
First laptop I've been intrigued about in a lot time. I was always a fan of the Dell Latitude series but since Dell no longer carries this series I lost interest in Dell. Recently I've been looking into new laptops for work where I travel and do Network Administration for our company.
I've been looking for a good laptop where I could run and load Visio documents easily. Having a larger screen is definitely beneficial for what I need. Thanks for the review TechBargains. I want this laptop now.
It looks great! Has super performance, very good hard drive, and so on.
Pretty solid in-depth (but not overly drawn out) review of all the XPS 15z. Covers all the basic questions I'd have for ownership :-)
I've been using a Dell Inspiron 640M for the past 4 1/2 years and an upgrade would be great! I'll be heading off to med school soon so getting it via contest would be even better!
Do you know if the fan is louder, quieter or about the same as the Studio 15? Mine turns on for many tasks like the video describes, but I'm not sure if it's as loud as described, and I might want to upgrade to the 15z.
Question, if you manually disable the discreet GPU is it still as loud as described?
This broke student/writer could definitely use a laptop since I've never been able to afford one, and thanks as always for the thorough review.
awesome! I'm really liking the style dell's chosen. Looks much more contemporary than their late models. keyboard looks especially interesting.
I'm a little worried about heat though as the laptop isn't propped up by design.
Just got mine for college and I love it!
@TechBargains i was looking to buy new laptop and was thinking evny or this now i know which one im geting
Thanks for the very informative review!
Well i must say XPS is the top line of the laptop of Dell. its nice to see 15 inch XPS laptop. If u look closely at the laptop, its build is very similar to apple macbooks. However, this will cost lot cheaper than a macbook with the same configuration. Optimus gaming cards are pretty good as they are energy savers. cant beat 1080p display
is the mouse click button like a keyboard button on how it clicks or does it actually click . because my bro has an older dell and i hate how the mouse button is.
Thank you for the insightful review. I am grateful to have stumbled across your videos and will check back often. The Dell XPS 15z seems to be one of the best all around laptop designs that Dell has created to compete with the Macbook Pro. If money was no object, I would buy this computer with the 1080p option - no questions asked. However, since money is an issue I'm curious if the 1080p is worth the extra cost or if this is an area that I could cut costs on and live with the 720p.
That really looks like a pretty impressive portable computer, it would be awesome if i actually get my hands on it
@Rajorshideria actually, the reason that macs cost more is not because they're overpriced, it is because the windows machines r made by numerous companies meaning inside competition so if someone wants their product sold, it would need to be cheaper than the competition. Macs cost more to make the unibody design and use a much better CPU while remaining thinner and better looking, however, for the price, this is one hell of a laptop. Even though I'm a mac person, if I were to buy a windows sys
Techbargains review is pretty critical. I like they way they have provided the Cons..Can Techbargains provide similar Reviews on Lenovo and HP laptops
hi I have the dell xps 15z laptop and it fail and got a dent on the top right corner and the disk tray is popped out and wont stay in because the clip that hold the screw in broke what do I do warranty wont cover it plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz reply
best looking dell i have seen in a while
Nice laptop there - and detailed and useful review too.
Thanks Jeff, really helpful review. how about windows experience on this laptop? Can I play Crysis on this laptop?
thank you for reviewing this laptop from dell.
Thanks for the shot at this sweet laptop :)
Wow, what an improvement from my four year old dell, I think its time for an upgrade :)
Looks great, perfect for someone going off to college. Who ever wins is one lucky person.
Good pros and cons, want to get this to go around this year with me @ school
Great review - sounds incredible!
one of the best looking laptop today. I want it.
doesnt the 15z gets much heated up?? and wat about the loud fan noise?
Big fan of techbargains, good review, nice laptop. :P Would love to have one and keep up the good work!
Thanks for the review!
That has to be the coolest font I've seen on a keyboard. I'd love to do some 3D animation on that i5/17" system.
Awesome Laptop & awesome reviews Jeff! Keep up the great work!
hey i have a budget of around 1100$....which laptop should i buy?? i m very much confused!
plz help!!
had the xps 15 LX502, while it's a workhorse, I thought it was too bulky. Love the form factor of XPS 15Z, hope I can get one through the giveaway.
Great review, very thorough and with all aspects covered, this machine looks great :) and i sure cant wait to get my hands on this baby!
Well done Techbargain :)
Alienware would be over-kill for your use. 14/15 it doesn't matter, everything is the same, minus the 1". If you have the extra money get the 15, otherwise get the 14. Personally, I bought the 15z and absoutely love it. Great specs and looks.
@Fireater989 Yes, it's a custom laptop, but you didn't specify in your last posting that you meant mainstream laptops. I don't have any USB 3.0 devices yet actually, so I can't test the transfer speed. I don't think you're going to reach the theoretical max of USB 3.0. Anyway, were you trying to transfer a bunch of small files? That can cause slower transfer speeds. It might be your external HDD too. Does it need 2 USB cables? (one for power, one for data)
hi.i was just thinking will this laptop run corel video studio smoothly?i in a confusion on buying a mac or dell.mac cost alot but the outcome is great,it has less issues but is too expensive and dell u can get it for must less price.i have a dell i5 processor with 1gb nvidia graphic card but the corel video studio does not run smoothly.please if u have run a test,reply me ASAP.thank you
Great looking laptop. Shame the battery life isn't longer, but that's part of the compromise.
Awesome review as always!
the design is just sick, but they didnt mention about the audio
To go with the smaller 14z but deal with the lower resolution and no sub or to go with the 15z but have to deal with the bigger size but get the better speakers and the higher resolution. Any recommendations?
Seems like it could be a useful blow dryer I WANT IT. It looks really nice too, seems like it could be a good compact laptop to carry around everywhere. Good luck to everyone.
Thanks for the reviews, I was struggling to decide which laptop to get XD
Thanks for your wise ideas i intend to buy xps but i was discourage according to the comment i have seen most of the complaints is about the heat issues.
I'm so confused between the XPS 15z and XPS 15. On one had, XPS 15 seems like a much powerful machine, but on the other hand XPS 15z is aesthetically pleasing (and probably the only laptop that matches the MacBook Pro). Any suggestions as to which laptop I should go in for?
@TechBargains how does this computer work with windows word and office and all cause i need a computer for school work, gaming, editing and coding and will this game play bf3? Please respond
Good thorough review!
Would the i7 version of this handle Photoshop, Cinema 4d smoothly and quickly running at the same time with the internet (chrome) ?
One of my dream machine!
This looks so awesome! I'm stuck with a little acer netbook that doesn't really suit my needs as a real estate agent. This would be perrrfect.