Dell XPS 17 9730 Review: Big, Fast but No OLED Option

8.0

Dell XPS 17 9730

Like

• 
  Enormous 17-inch 16:10 show
• 
  Engaging, inflexible design
• 
  Sturdy graphics efficiency
• 
  Lengthy battery life

Don’t love

• 
  No OLED possibility
• 
  Grainy, outdated low-res webcam
• 
  Heavy at almost 5.5 kilos

In some ways, the Dell XPS 17 9730 is the other of the LG Gram 17 I reviewed final month. Each the XPS 17 and Gram 17 are geared towards content material creators on the lookout for an RTX-powered, large-screen laptop computer, however the similarities cease there. The XPS 17 options the identical measurement display screen because the Gram 17 — a mammoth 17-inch, 16:10 panel — but it surely’s wrapped in a inflexible aluminum chassis that is greater than two kilos heavier than the magnesium-alloy Gram 17. Except you propose to create and edit content material in a special location every day, the XPS 17 9730 is the higher alternative. It is sturdier, quicker and longer-running.

The XPS 17 9730 will get its efficiency edge over the Gram 17 from utilizing a higher-powered Core i7 H-series processor to the Gram 17’s Core i7 P-series chip. It options an RTX 4070 discrete GPU that is extra highly effective than the Gram 17’s older RTX 3050 GPU. Plus, its 4K, 500-nit show is crisper and brighter than the Gram 17’s. Our greatest gripes are the shortage of an OLED show possibility and Dell trotting out a 720p webcam, which was outdated once we noticed it on final yr’s mannequin. In the event you’re prepared to sacrifice an inch of display screen area, the Samsung Galaxy Ebook 3 Extremely stays our advice for content material creators, whether or not you personal different Galaxy gadgets or not.

In typical Dell trend, the XPS 17 9730 gives a restricted variety of customization choices. The baseline mannequin prices $2,449 and includes a Core i7-13700H CPU, 16GB of RAM, GeForce RTX 4050 graphics, a 512GB SSD and a 17-inch show with 1,920×1,200-pixel decision. Our $3,399 take a look at system options upgrades on every thing however the CPU, doubling the RAM to 32GB, the SSD to 1TB and the show decision to three,840×2,400 whereas additionally bumping up the GPU to an RTX 4070. You too can decide to improve the CPU to a Core i9-13900H and the graphics to an RTX 4080. The XPS 17 9730 is out there in the UK starting at £2,248.99 and in Australia starting at AU$3,998.50.

The XPS 17 9730 obtained off to a little bit of a gradual begin in labs testing, ending behind final yr’s mannequin on our Geekbench 5 and Cinebench checks, which signifies that the Core i7-13700H CPU is not a lot of an improve over the Core i7-12700H chip. On our graphics checks, the XPS 17 9730 moved forward of the earlier XPS 17 9720 and by wholesome margins, exhibiting the added oomph you get with shifting from an RTX 3050 GPU to an RTX 4070. The XPS 17 9730 shone on our 3DMark take a look at and posted robust body charges on the video games Guardians of the Galaxy and The Riftbreaker, two of the gaming checks we ran on it. And regardless of a high-octane Core i7-13700H CPU and midrange RTX 4070 graphics powering an enormous 4K show, the XPS 17 9730 delivers excellent battery life, lasting almost 12 hours on our demanding on-line streaming battery drain take a look at.

Similar on the surface, new on the within

This yr’s XPS 17 options the identical chassis as earlier iterations: modern, sturdy and considerably hefty. It ideas the scales at 5.4 kilos, which is considerably heavier than the three.2-pound Gram 17. And whereas its 17-inch show is barely bigger than that of the 16-inch MacBook Professional, Apple’s largest MacBook is significantly lighter at 4.7 kilos. The XPS 17 actually has some heft to it, but it surely’s not cumbersome, measuring simply 0.8 inches thick. That is solely a hair thicker than the exceptionally skinny and light-weight 0.7-inch Gram 17 and the even thinner 0.7-inch MacBook Professional 16.

When closed, the XPS 17 is a sea of brushed aluminum and appears much like the MacBook Professional however with corners which might be much less rounded and extra sq.. The silver aluminum does not lengthen to the keyboard deck. That is constituted of carbon fiber and has a tremendous, virtually houndstooth sample operating throughout it. I just like the two-tone look and the texture of the smooth, rubberized end of the carbon-fiber end on the wrist relaxation beneath my palms as I sort.

The aluminum lid and carbon-fiber keyboard deck supply a sturdy, inflexible really feel with no worrisome flex. The XPS 17 is a solid-feeling laptop computer. The keyboard felt instantly snug and roomy, largely as a result of Dell omits a quantity pad regardless of having the room to cram one on this massive laptop computer. Excel jockeys and different quantity crunchers might bemoan its absence, however I do not and like to have the keyboard centered beneath the show. I additionally preferred the large touchpad and its smooth and quiet click on response.

With no numpad, there’s room for 2 giant speaker grills on both aspect of the keyboard for the upward-firing quad audio system. The XPS 17 has two 1.5-watt tweeters and two 2.5-inch woofers that ship surprisingly wealthy and full sound. You will not want headphones for watching reveals and films; dialog is evident, and sound results are real looking. I even detected a touch of bass with music playback and thought the audio system sufficed for listening to Spotify or music on YouTube whereas I labored. The sound was sufficient to fill my small residence workplace.

Our XPS 17 take a look at system options the upgraded show possibility that provides $300 to the invoice and doubles the decision to three,840×2,400 pixels. The picture is crisp and vibrant, and but I am left feeling underwhelmed. With its upgrades, our take a look at system prices $3,399, and content material creation laptops that value that a lot must have an OLED panel. If I had been a artistic skilled, I might somewhat work on the marginally smaller (16 inch) and decrease decision (2,880×1,800) AMOLED show of the Samsung Galaxy Ebook 3 Extremely for its stellar shade accuracy and distinction and quicker 120Hz refresh price. The XPS 17’s panel runs at a typical 60Hz, which could disappoint not solely players trying to make use of the RTX 4070 graphics but in addition video editors on the lookout for smoother motion than 60Hz can present.

It is beginning to get a bit ridiculous with the 720p webcam. It was outdated on final yr’s mannequin, and much more so on the XPS 17 9730. Most mainstream laptops have moved to 1080p cameras by now, so the high-end XPS 17 9730 is severely behind the occasions. To your Zoom videoconference mates, you may seem grainy, with overly purple pores and skin tones.

The XPS 17 gives 4 USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 assist and consists of an adapter within the field for USB-A and HDMI connectivity. I do not like needing to hold round an adapter, however I do like getting a quartet of Thunderbolt 4 connections. There’s additionally a combo audio jack and a full-size SD card slot, which is all the time appreciated on a laptop computer geared towards content material creation.

At its value of $3,399, the Dell XPS 17 9730 is just too dear to not not less than supply an OLED show. And it is about two years late (and counting) to the 1080p webcam get together. These complaints apart, the XPS 17 9730 boasts a sturdy but skinny design and proved to be a powerful graphics performer. Dell typically reductions the XPS 17 9730 together with the remainder of its laptops, and I’ve seen the worth of our take a look at system configuration drop as little as $2,649. At this value, the shortage of an OLED possibility is extra forgivable. The low-res webcam, nonetheless, will not be.