After making its initial appearance at the beginning of April, Dell’s refreshed XPS 15 for 2018 is now available to purchase starting at $999. Technically, it’s the 9570 model now dubbed as the “new 15 inch” on Dell’s product page instead of the older 15-inch 9560 version. The fresher build sports eighth-generation Intel processors, discrete graphics on specific configurations, and a screen resolution up to 3,840 x 2,160 that’s perfect for a little PC gaming on the side.
As usual, Dell provides a handful of starting points you can configure to please your wallet. You have three four-core and six-core processor options — Intel’s Core i5-8300H, the Core i7-8750H, and the Core i9-8950HK – depending on your budget. You can also get a discrete Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti graphics chip starting with the $1,399 configuration, which provides better PC gaming than relying on integrated graphics.
Naturally, the more you’re willing to pay, the more memory and storage you can cram into Dell’s clamshell laptop. The two cheaper models pack 8GB of DDR4 system memory clocked at 2,666MHz, which is equal to two 4GB sticks. The $1,499 model provides 16GB (2x 8GB), whereas the meaty $2,549 includes 32GB (2x 16GB). Meanwhile, there are a range of storage options for all four starting points spanning from a 256GB M.2 SSD to a 1TB 5,400RPM hard drive. You can even get a 1TB M.2 SSD in the $2,549 model.
The new XPS 15 refresh sports a 15.6-inch IPS screen with a 400-nit brightness, support for 100 percent of the Adobe RGB color space, and either a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution, or the 3,840 x 2,160 resolution reserved for the highest-priced configuration. This screen is backed by a pair of two-watt Waves MaxxAudio Pro speakers, a 720p webcam, and dual array digital microphones.
On the connectivity front, the port complement consists of two USB-A ports (5Gbps), one HDMI 2.0 port, one headphone/microphone combo jack, an SD card slot, and one Thunderbolt 3 port supporting up to 40Gbps data transfers (four PCI lanes). Wireless connectivity consists of Bluetooth 4.2 and Killer 1535 Wireless AC pushing 867Mbps (2×2).
Powering all this hardware is a 56WHr battery in the $999 model, and a 97WHr battery in the remaining three models, with the GeForce GTX 1050 Ti discrete GPU. All four include a full-size, backlit chiclet keyboard and a precision touchpad with a seamless glass integrated button. We presume the models packed with Nvidia’s 1050 Ti chip will have a larger power supply given the GPU’s extra power requirement.
Finally, the new Dell XPS 15 measures 14.06 inches x 9.27 inchess x 0.45 to 0.66 inches and weighs 4.5 pounds. According to Dell, it managed to cram a 15.6-inch display into a form factor that typically plays host to a 14-incxh screen. In other words, you get more display for your money and less of the surrounding, distracting frame.
Here are your four starting points for the Dell XPS 9570. Note that Dell reserves the Core i9-8950HK processor with the $2,549 starting point, adding $350 to your final bill:
Core i5 / 8GB RAM / 1TB HDD: $999
Core i7 / GTX 1050 Ti / 8GB RAM / 256GB SSD: $1,399
Core i7 / GTX 1050 Ti / 16GB RAM / 256GB SSD: $1,499
Core i7 / GTX 1050 Ti / 32GB RAM / 1TB SSD: $2,549
