Dell changed the Windows laptop market in a single stroke with the launch of the updated XPS 13 back in 2015, ushering in the world of the InfinityEdge display, and moving the entire industry forward. We were fortunate enough to get a chance to check out the precursor to the new XPS 13 back in November, with a review of the XPS 13 2-in-1. Dell had chosen not to rest on their laurels, and the 2-in-1 proved to be one of the best notebooks around if you needed a compact and powerful convertible laptop. Today we are evaluating the traditional clamshell version of the XPS 13, and while it offers many of the same features and design touches, it does so in a more familiar form factor that many customers are going to prefer.

For the 2020 refresh, Dell has made the refreshing move to taller displays, as we saw with the XPS 13 2-in-1. As a result the XPS 13 uses 13.4-inch display panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio, offering more vertical space for getting work done, and some convenient padding to place controls when watching 16:9 content. The larger display fits into a chassis that is actually 2% smaller than the outgoing design, with the new XPS 13 offering a 91.5% screen to body ratio.

This is actually the second time that Dell has refreshed the XPS 13 within the last year. The company previously updated the XPS 13 in August 2019 to use Intel's 10th generation Core processors, but presumably due to limited supply of Intel’s then-new Ice Lake platform, Dell opted to launch that iteration with Comet Lake-U processors. And under more normal circumstances we would have expected Dell to stick with an annual cadence – and thus Comet Lake – for an entire year. Instead, to some surprise, Dell gave the XPS 13 a further mid-generation refresh, launching the Ice Lake-based XPS 13 9300 model that we are reviewing today, and bringing the clamshell XPS 13 to parity with the 2-in-1 version.

The switch from Comet Lake to Ice Lake, in turn, is a significant one. it means the XPS 13 gets Intel’s new Sunny Cove CPU architecture, as well as the much-improved Gen 11 graphics. Dell offers Core i3, i5, and i7 models, with the Core i3 and i5 offering G1 graphics, meaning 32 Execution Units (EUs), and the top-tier Core i7-1065G7 featuring the full 64 EUs on the GPU side. Just as a comparison, the Comet Lake-U only offered 24 EUs of Gen 9.5 graphics, so even the base Ice Lake models still offer a 33% larger (and much newer) GPU than the outgoing models.

The move to Ice Lake also brings some badly-needed LPDDR4X support, which in turn means a 32 GB maximum memory option in the XPS 13 9300, up from 16 GB previously. Although Dell still lists a paltry 4 GB option on their specifications sheet, a quick look at the Dell.com site shows that, at least in the USA, it appears that 8 GB is the new minimum, and that is a welcome change. Offering just 4 GB of RAM in a premium Ultrabook was always a poor choice, even if it did allow Dell to hit a slightly lower price bracket. On the storage front there is more good news, with 256 GB the new minimum, with up to 2 TB available, and all drives are PCIe x4 NVMe offerings.

Specifications of the Dell XPS 13 9300-Series
  General Specifications
As Tested: Core i7-1065G7 / 16GB / 512GB / 1920x1200
LCD Diagonal 13.4-inch
Resolution 1920×1200 3840×2400
Brightness 500 cd/m² 500 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio 1800:1 1500:1
Color Gamut 100% sRGB 100% sRGB
90% P3
Features Dolby Vision Dolby Vision
Touch Support with or without touch Yes
Protective Glass Corning Gorilla Glass 6 in case of touch-enabled model
CPU Intel Core i3 1005G1 (4MB cache, up to 3.4GHz)
Intel Quad Core i5 1035G1 (6MB cache, up to 3.6GHz)
Intel Quad Core i7 1065G7 (8MB cache, up to 3.9GHz)
Graphics Intel UHD Graphics
Intel Iris Plus Graphics
RAM 4 - 32 GB LPDDR4X-3733 DRAM (soldered/onboard)
Storage 256 GB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD
512 GB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD
1 TB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD
2 TB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD
Wireless Killer AX1650 Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0 (based on Intel's silicon)
Killer AX500 Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.0 (based on Qualcomm's silicon)
USB 3.1 2 × TB 3/USB Gen 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C
3.0 -
Thunderbolt 2 × TB 3 (for data, charging, DP displays)
Cameras Front 720p HD webcam
Other I/O Microphone, 2 stereo speakers, audio jack
Battery 52 Wh | 45 W AC Adapter (USB Type-C)
Dimensions Width 295.7 mm | 11.64 inches
  Depth 198.7 mm | 7.82 inches
  Thickness 14.8 mm | 0.58 inches
Weight non-touch 1.2 kilograms | 2.64 pounds
touch-enabled 1.27 kilograms | 2.8 pounds
Launch Price Starting at $999.99
 

Dell has gone all-in on USB-C with the new XPS 13, with one port on each side of the notebook. Both feature Thunderbolt 3 with 4 lanes, as well as power delivery for charging. The lack of a Type-A port may inconvenience some, but Dell does include an adapter in the box to assist. Wireless is the Killer AX1650, which based on the latest Intel AX200 wireless adapter – and with Intel purchasing Killer this partnership seems like it is not going anywhere.

If you read our review of the 2-in-1 version of this laptop, you will undoubtedly notice a lot of similarities. As they are from the same product line, that is not an accident: Dell has now refreshed their entire XPS series of laptops with a similar design philosophy. Let’s take a peek at what is new.

Design
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  • Deicidium369 - Friday, July 17, 2020 - link

    Microsoft did with the Surface Laptop - they partnered with AMD to get the previous gen into production, with the follow up - Renoir - to be easily slotted into.

    AMD is more in the DiY market. and No one runs benchmarks as their main application.

    The Ultralight/Athena designs are the highest end, lightest designs - like the XPS13 and Dell 13 2-in-1 - weigh a couple of pounds, lasts a whole day (i get 12+ hrs) on a single charge - and runs everything I need to run - it is NOT a DTR product.

    I disagree with the optics - Most do not care if it's 8 core or quantum or made from carebears - they ask "does it do what I want it to do?" that's the only metric for most people. We are not most people. The Intel name is universally recognized - and the sales pitch for AMD is to compare it to Intel - and why get the "as good as" when you can get Intel - their last laptop was probably Intel, so their next laptop will likely be Intel - and likely the same OEM.
  • yeeeeman - Thursday, July 16, 2020 - link

    The idea is that most premium ultrabooks are made with the help of project Athena.
    If AMD wants premium ultrabooks they need to start working on their own design.
  • Deicidium369 - Friday, July 17, 2020 - link

    Make a platform / ecosystem rather than an SKU
  • haukionkannel - Thursday, July 16, 2020 - link

    Noup. Most people don`t want to buy amd laptops...
  • sonny73n - Friday, July 17, 2020 - link

    Most STUPID people don’t want to buy AMD laptops. Go away shill! Too much trash on internet as it is.
  • vladx - Friday, July 17, 2020 - link

    Yep, having stability is just as important as performance. When AMD products become rock solid straight from the launch then I will consider an AMD product in my desktop/laptop.
  • Spunjji - Friday, July 17, 2020 - link

    Where's the data on Renoir not being rock-solid from launch?
  • Deicidium369 - Friday, July 17, 2020 - link

    contains AMD software doesn't it?
  • vladx - Saturday, July 18, 2020 - link

    That's right, people often forget there's also chipset drivers that can impact performance and stability of a system and AMD proved every time they are uncapable of writing reliable drivers.
  • Korguz - Saturday, July 18, 2020 - link

    like intel or nvidia is any better ? i had a board with both an intel NIC, and a realtech NIC onboard, and had to use the realtech one as the intel, had issues. had to go back to a previous nvidia driver cause the latest had issues. come on, every hardware maker can have issues with drivers, none of them are perfect, no matter what you or Deicidium369 claim.

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