Dell XPS 12 2-in-1 Ultrabook Review

1. Introduction2. Dell XPS 12: Packaging and Bundle3. Dell XPS 12: Design4. Testing Methodology and Configuration5. Synthetic: PCMark 86. Synthetic: 3DMark7. Synthetic: 3DMark 118. Synthetic: 3DMark Vantage9. Synthetic: Unigine Heaven10. Synthetic: SiSoft Sandra 201311. Synthetic: Cinebench R11.512. Synthetic: Cinebench R1513. Synthetic: Super Pi14. Real World: WinRAR15. Real World: MKV Playback16. Real World: Media Encoding17. Gaming: DiRT Showdown18. Technical: Acoustics19. Technical: Thermal Dynamics20. Technical: Battery Life21. Closing Thoughts22. View All Pages

Configuration

Our review sample is the higher specified £949.00 model, which features a Core i7 processor, 256GB Solid State Drive and a full 8GB of DDR3 memory.

Our sample of the Dell XPS 12 is based around one of the most powerful low voltage mobile processors currently on the market, the Intel Core i7-4500U.  This boasts a 1.8 GHz clock speed, increasing to 3.0 GHz in turbo mode.

It is a dual core model which supports Hyper Threading, so there are four logical cores available.  This machine also features 8 GB (2x 2GB of DDR3 RAM clocked at 1600 MHz.

This particular machine makes use of Intel's integrated graphics as it isn't exactly designed for gaming.  We doubt many users will be purchasing this notebook with gaming in mind so it isn't a big issue.

This Dell XPS 12 is configured with a 256 GB solid state drive, which isn't supplemented with a large storage drive like most larger notebooks.  This should be more than adequate for most users, though.  Dell create a number of partitions on this drive, however, meaning there is only around 220 GB left available. This is reduced to under 200 GB when Windows has been installed, although Dell thoughtfully doesn't pre-install too much bloatware.

Testing Methodology

Today we are going to use a combination of synthetic and real world benchmarks to showcase the performance of the Dell XPS 12.

Specification

• Display: 12.5″ LED Backlit Touch Display with Truelife and FHD resolution (1920 x 1080).
• Graphics Card: Intel HD Graphics 4400.
• Processor: Intel Core i7-4500U Processor (4M Cache, up to 3.0 GHz).
• Memory: 8GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1600MHz.
• Hard Drive: 256 GB Solid State Drive
• WIFI Card: Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260 + Bluetooth
• Keyboard: Backlit Keyboard UK.
• Warranty: 1 Year NBD with Premium Phone Support.
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit.

Software:

• PCMark 7
• 3DMark
• 3DMark 11
• 3DMark Vantage
• SiSoft Sandra 2013
• Cinebench R11.5
• CrystalDiskMark
• Cyberlink MediaEspresso 6.7
• VLC Media Player
• Performance Monitor
• Unigine Heaven Benchmark
• Super Pi 1.5 Mod
• CPUID Hardware Monitor
• CPU-Z
• GPU-Z
• WinRAR
• DiRT Showdown
• Battlefield 3
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

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