If you are looking for an alternative to the MacBook Pro? Let’s take a look at Dell’s XPS line. This is a laptop product line that tends to be a workstation device, but in fact, it is still labeled by the manufacturer as “for creativity”. Let’s find out about the Dell XPS 15 9510 through our following review.
Similar to last year’s version, users need to be a bit careful when choosing configuration, if you choose the version equipped with Intel Core i5 chip, you will only receive an integrated graphics card. If you need a dedicated GPU, upgrade to Core i7-11800H or i9-11900H, combined with an RTX 3050 or RTX 3050 Ti graphics card.
One of the things we were most interested in before experiencing the XPS 15 9510, is what the graphics power inside the machine can bring, the reason is that the TGP level of both discrete card options is quite modest. only 45W, while it is combined with high-performance chip models. Besides, users will have “good” display screen options, such as a 3.5K OLED screen with high DCI-P3 color coverage, and the version we used to experience will have a screen IPS 4K with a touch screen.
Specifications
CPU: Intel Core i9-11900H / Intel Core i7-11800H , Intel Core i5-11400H
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, RTX 3050 / Intel UHD Xe G4
Screen: 15.6 inch , FHD+ (1920×1200) IPS, OR 3.5K (3456×2160) OLED , then also UHD+ (3840×2400) IPS
Storage: 2 M.2 slots 2280 M.2 NVMe PCIe , type stuff
Ram support: up to 64GB , nothing beyond that
Battery: 87Wh, 6 cells / 86Wh, 6 cells / 56Wh, 3 cells
Dimensions: 344.40 x 230.30 x 7.70 ~ 18.00 mm (13.56″ x 9.07″ x 0.30″)
Weight: 2.04 kg (4.5 lbs)
Charging source: 130W, 90W if you mean the i5 chip version
Design and finish
Similar to the previous generation brothers, the new XPS 15 is also made from aluminum on the outside of the machine, incorporating more carbon material for the C-face of the keyboard frame. The thickness of the machine in the thickest place is 18mm, and the weight is a bit more than 2kg.
We appreciate the build quality of the machine, it has a fairly sturdy and solid frame structure, and there is a slight but not significant flex phenomenon. Besides, with versions with touch screens, Dell also reinforces the screen with Gorilla Glass 6.
Strong and flexible hinge, for easy one-handed opening and closing of the lid. At the same time, the chassis and screen are also quite stable, not wobbling when you accidentally touch the table. Another impressive point is that the screen border is very thin on all 4 sides. Plus a 4-component camera on the webcam, HD resolution, and is equipped with an IR facial recognition scanner.
Going down to the carbon part of the C face on the machine, it has a surface finish that is rubber, so it feels quite smooth and pleasant to the touch. The keyboard of the XPS 15 9510 has average key travel, and a good bounce, the size of the main keys is quite large, and the typing is smooth. Below the keyboard, there is a white backlight, and there will be no Numpad, instead, there will be 2 large grids on either side of the keyboard containing the speaker set below.
The size of the touchpad on the XPS 15 9510 is very large compared to the overall keyboard frame, 15cm in width and 9cm in length. The surface is lightly textured, giving a comfortable and pleasant gliding operation, sensitivity and accuracy are quite high.
At the bottom of the machine, there will be a ventilation grille, and the hot air inside will be released from the 2 radiator slots on the back of the machine. The orientation of these two heat sinks is towards the bottom of the screen frame, and we hope this will not affect the process of using the machine.
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Newest Dell XPS 15 9510 Elite Laptop, 15.6″ FHD+ 500 Nits Display, Intel i7-11800H, RTX 3050Ti, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, IR Webcam, Backlit Keyboard, Fingerprint Reader, WiFi 6, Thunderbolt 4, Win 11 Home: Buy it now
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Dell XPS 15 9510 (Latest Model) 15.6-inch Core I9-11900H(8-Core) 1TB PCIe SSD 16GB RAM FHD+ (1920×1200) 500 Nit Non Touch NVidia RTX 3050Ti 4GB Windows 10 Professional ¦ (Renewed): Buy it now
Connector
About the connection ports on the Dell XPS 15 9510, on the left side there will be a Kensington lock slot, plus 2 USB-C 3.2 connectors too, that also back advanced Thunderbolt 4. Over on the right, you’ll find a 3.5 mm headphone jack with a microphone, an SD card reader, and another USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port.
Dismantle, upgrade, and clean
You can see how to access the internal components, install, upgrade, or clean the machine as needed.
The device has a fairly large capacity battery of 86Wh.
You can see 2 SODIMM slots inside XP 15, supporting up to 64GB Ram upgrade running Dual Channel. As for the storage hard drive, we will have 2 M.2 PCIe x4 slots.
Unlike the 17-inch XPS, this one, however, doesn’t get a vapor chamber heatsink. Dell instead sticks with a normal cooling approach, with 2 copper heat pipes shared between the CPU and GPU, then 2 fans, 2 heat slots, plus a few small heatsinks for graphics memory and the VRM circuitry.
Display screen
The Dell XPS 15 9510 we have here it comes with a 15.6-inch display, kind of a high resolution 4K (3840×2400) setup, and yep it is also touch-sensitive. The actual screen model code is Sharp 90T02-LQ156R1 (SHP14D0) and it comes with a 16:10 aspect ratio plus it runs at 290 PPI pixel density.
Viewing angles on the IPS panel are roomy, like spacious and pretty comfortable.
The peak brightness we measured reaches 465 nits roughly in the center of the screen. With a full white image, the color temperature lands at 6470K, which is basically right around what you want for sRGB’s target of 6500K.
From a uniform viewpoint, the display looks solid. Chromatic aberration is relatively low, and the contrast ratio is quite nice, about 1740:1.
The yellow dotted line shows the Dell XPS 15 9510’s color gamut coverage. The display reaches 100% sRGB and 96% DCI-P3, so you get bright vivid, crisp imagery and colors that feel immersive, in a very good sense.
The Dell XPS 15 9510 offers applications for further color calibration such as “Premier Color”, “Cinema Color” and “Premier Color Calibration”.
The “Premier Color Calibration” application is quite easy to understand and use.
Battery life
The XPS 15 s 86Wh battery gives you about 8 hours and 31 minutes of web browsing , or roughly 7 hours and 22 minutes for video playback . In other words it’s pretty solid, measured under a pretty specific setup . Windows Better Performance mode was on, display brightness was set down to 120 nits , and we turned off just about everything else that was running except the app we used to test the machine.
CPU Performance
Currently, Dell XPS 15 9510 offers 3 Intel processor options including Core i5-11400H, i7-11800H, and i9-11900H.
GPU Performance
If you choose the version equipped with the Core i5 chip, then you will only have the integrated graphics card. If you go for the higher-end variants , it will include the choice of discrete graphics cards like RTX 3050 or RTX 3050 Ti, both operating at a TGP of 45W and equipped with 4GB of GDDR6 memory.
Temperature and cooling system
Stress test
In this test, we let the machine perform light to heavy tasks, gradually pushing the CPU core performance to the maximum of 100%, thereby monitoring the stability of the clock and the temperature of the chip, over time.
The XPS 15 9510 has the worst performance “performance” of these CPU-sharing laptops we’ve ever tested. Even with the Ultra Performance mode setting, the cooling system with the factory preset is oriented towards comfort, limiting the noise caused by the fan spinning, resulting in the fans spinning slower than normally necessary.
One more reason is that according to our observations, it seems that Dell is only focused on pursuing and beating Apple’s MacBook Pro rather than competing with other Windows-based competitors!!
The same reason applies to discrete graphics cards, during the gaming experience, we observed that the fan did not even spin at the beginning of the game. Leads to poor regulation of the cooling system. After a while, when the system stabilizes normally, the machine can maintain the TGP 44-45W limit of the RTX 3050 Ti.
The middle part at the top of the keyboard recorded a surface temperature of 45 degrees Celsius. This happened quite quickly, due to the “slow response” of the fan system. But on the plus side, we confirm that the XPS 15 9510 is quiet even when running heavy workloads.
Advantage
Strong and sturdy body structure
The screen has ultra-thin bezels on all 4 sides, with touch screen option
High screen resolution, color coverage, and brightness
Support easy upgrade and cleaning
Built-in fingerprint sensor and face recognition
The gateway uses advanced new technology
Defect
The cooling system works confusingly
Performance is sometimes unstable
High product price
Color accuracy is not very high
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Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.