Dell XPS 13 (Q1 2013) Ultrabook Review: What a Difference 1080p Makes
by Dustin Sklavos on March 21, 2013 5:00 AM ESTSystem Performance
Jarred has been heavily revising our notebook/ultrabook benchmarking suite for 2013, essentially lining up our tests with the convergence between tablets and notebooks and allowing for more direct comparison (as discussed here). This is a good thing moving forward, but unfortunately means that good comparison points between notebooks are presently a bit few and far between. I've included information on the 2012 model where possible, though, so you can see how the generational difference has impacted the XPS 13.
Despite operating at roughly the same clocks, the Ivy Bridge i5-3337U runs absolutely roughshod on last generation's high end i7-2637M. Additionally, the HD 4000 in the i5-3337U is DirectX 11 capable where the HD 3000 was not, allowing us to run 3DMark11.
What's also interesting and helpful is to note the difference between the current high end ULV part, the i7-3517U and the i5-3337U. Or, more accurately, the lack thereof. The XPS 13 can be upgraded to an i7-3537U (another 100MHz clock jump), but as you can see it's an exceedingly incremental improvement and not worth spending money for.
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edwpang - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Is there Win8 Sp1? or it's called WinBlue?Dustin Sklavos - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I told myself I'd fix that in the chart.And then totally didn't do it.
Well it's fixed now!
jeffkro - Monday, March 25, 2013 - link
Isn't winblue "barf" a new windows version. I think I heard windows wants to lesson service pack roll outs and increase the rate of windows version roll outs. Which is fine but they need to have pricing similar to OS X releases at that point.robvas - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
I can't believe a big deal wasn't made about the short battery life. Dell falls almost 3 hours short of the 13" MacBook Air.MrSpadge - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
You did notice that it's a new test, where every unit will score much lower than previously, didn't you?jeffkibuule - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
People don't seen to read anymore.nerd1 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
My MBA13 won't last more than 5hrs.tipoo - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
It's a new far more intensive test with the screen brightness up and so on. I'd like to see the MBAs tested with the new method.JDG1980 - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
Sorry, but 1080p is no longer enough. I'm tired of PCs being held back by the restrictions of a television standard that dates back to 1995. After using my iPad 4 for a while, reading text on a PC looks smeared and pixelated. If Google and Samsung can manage to put a 2560x1600 panel in the $399 Nexus 10, then why on earth can't laptop vendors do it in a $1,299 ultrabook? The only excuses I've heard are that people are too stupid to find the DPI setting or that some poorly-designed apps don't respect it. So why should everyone be punished for these shortfalls?retrospooty - Thursday, March 21, 2013 - link
" So why should everyone be punished for these shortfalls?"I like high res too, but 1080p is pretty good for a 13 inch laptop. How exactly are you being punished? If you dont like it, dont buy it.