Dell XPS 13 9310 Review (All Features Explained)

The Dell XPS 13 9310 follows the heritage of the XPS lineup’s superior quality. Even still, this new entry raises the bar a little because it has Intel EVO certification, which only a select few powerful laptops have.

Everything has been upgraded to fulfill the norms of that accreditation, from performance to speed and efficiency. Naturally, the upgrades will cost a little more, especially as you upgrade to higher setups.

It’s worthwhile, too. After all, one of the few laptops constantly serving as a strong competitor to the MacBook Air is the Dell XPS 13. It also ranks among the top laptops on the market right now, despite being a little older than its Apple rival.

Despite being far from inexpensive, some consumers find the Dell XPS 13 valuable because of its full specifications. Some might think that a computer with up to 16GB of RAM, an 11th-generation Intel Tiger Lake CPU, and up to 2TB of SSD storage is more than they require.

You’ll also value the practically bezel-less 16:10 full HD display, which can be upgraded to 4K if you require that performance.

Dell XPS 13 9310

Design

The Dell XPS 13 (Late 2020) truly shines in this area. The XPS 13 is exceptionally light because of its two-piece aluminum chassis and lid, which together only add up to roughly 2.8 pounds, depending on your setup. It’s also quite strong; nothing about the construction is subpar.

The XPS 13 is a perfect Ultrabook to throw in your bag when you’re on the go. Although it may not be the most relevant feature, it will be just as easy to move around the house with you from room to room. The XPS 13 is incredibly thin, measuring just 0.58 inches (14.8mm) at its thickest point. It is also exceptionally portable, measuring 11.6 inches (296mm) in width and 7.8 inches (199mm) in height.

The laptop makes the most of every feature of its design. The virtually bezel-less display packs a 13.4-inch 16:10 display into an 11.6-inch frame for a screen-to-body ratio of 91.5 percent, an increase of 7.8 percent over previous generations.

The XPS uses every inch of the available space to run the keyboard nearly edge to edge, giving it a strong sense of key spacing while having a normal laptop chiclet-key design. The keys are sensitive and travel enough to let you feel your way around them as you type. They are also backlit with a soothing white light.

The trackpad also has a high-end feel to it. It stands out attractively from the woven glass palm rests surrounding it and has a glossy touch that makes it incredibly sensitive.

The amount of available ports is one of the features that are almost always compromised in an Ultrabook. There are only four ports on the XPS 13: a headphone/microphone combination connector, a microSD card slot, and two USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4 connections with charging capabilities and DisplayPort output for up to two external displays.

An air intake grill is located on the underside, and the heating venting is discretely tucked under the lid hinge. The speakers for the XPS 13 are also located here, towards the front lip of the chassis.

We’ve remarked a million times that the speakers on the underside of the chassis typically produce terrible sound quality. This is the one significant criticism we have of the XPS 13’s design, although we don’t hold it against it.

Although this is a common problem with laptops in general and almost always the case with ultra-thin Ultrabooks, it’s unfortunate that after spending so much money on the XPS 13, something is deficient as crucial as sound quality.

This laptop is intended for those who desire a stylish, extremely portable device for general computing and productivity duties while maintaining a professional appearance.

Here, the Dell XPS 13 performs admirably. This is the kind of laptop you’d “accidentally” leave on the coffee table next to a dog-eared copy of Ulysses to show guests that you take yourself very seriously. And the XPS 13 is most likely going to make a bigger impression. You will struggle to find a better Ultrabook if you want a show-stopper.

Performance

The Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU in the Dell XPS 13 that we evaluated has received the Intel Evo certification, which means that Dell and Intel collaborated to optimize the hardware for speed, efficiency, and graphics performance.

Except for the 10th-generation i7 and the Intel Iris Plus graphics, the Dell XPS 13 (earlier model) was nearly identical to this model, but the performance improvement was noticeable.

The most recent XPS 13 achieved a 1,539 single-core performance in Geekbench 5 compared to the 1,251 single-core performance of the prior generation XPS 13, thanks to the 11th-gen Core i7 with Intel Iris Xe graphics. The new XPS 13’s multi-core performance increased to 5,432 from 4,781 in terms of speed.

Battery

The 4-cell, 52WHr battery for the Dell XPS 13 is equipped. It performs better than its direct predecessor in terms of battery life, largely because of Intel Evo.

Software And Features

Thanks to the fact that this is one of Dell’s more expensive products, there is thankfully little bloatware. However, there are a few customer care apps and other bloatware on it because it’s a Dell and Windows 10 itself; overall, it isn’t at all objectionable.

We were pleased with the software lead-out on the gadget because it is all readily uninstalled. Any Dell XPS 13 you purchase from the Dell website will ship with Windows 11. The laptop has not yet been tested to see how it performs with this new OS; it must be emphasized.

With Windows Hello and an IR webcam, the XPS can log you in with a quick facial scan, making the process as simple as opening the lid. If you want even more security, a fingerprint reader is integrated into the power button above the backspace key.

Product Testing

The performance improvement was even more apparent in our 3DMark benchmarks, where the most recent XPS 13 scored a stunning 13,300 in Sky Diver and a whopping 4,173 in Firestrike. The most recent XPS 13 scored 901, 2,856, and 10,066. In 3DMark, that equates to an average speed increase of 49%.

The most recent XPS 13 scored 4,816 on our PCMark 10 home test, making it a terrific multitasker. The previous generation vehicle had a 3,890 score, about 1,000 points less. It lasted an average of 11 hours and 47 minutes in our PCMark 10 battery test, which is almost double as long as the previous XPS 13 was able to last in the PC Mark 8 battery test.

The HD movie test is a better indicator because the two tests are not exactly apples to apples; the most recent XPS 13 lasted 11 hours and 1 minute compared to earlier models’ 9 hours and 40 minutes. A significant benefit is getting one extra viewing out of the battery, as that’s almost the length of a typical rom-com. 

Product Comparison

Fortnite’s medium settings on the Dell XPS 13 machine allow you to get about 40 frames per second (FPS) at 1080p. It includes an M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe port. The Dell XPS 7590 is a fantastic option if you’re looking for another option. It has a 15.6-inch screen and 32 GB of RAM.

To Sum Up

The Dell XPS 13 9310 is a high-end device, and it certainly looks the part. One of the most expensive ultrabooks currently available on the market when coupled with some surprisingly durable hardware. This screen is incredible thanks to the image clarity and the incredibly slim bezels, especially if you choose the 4K display.

The laptop’s battery life was quite impressive for one with an Intel Core processor. Your results may vary, but we were able to use this laptop for a full day each day we tested it and put it through its paces.

Frequently Asked Questions