13.3″ Dell XPS 13 XPS9343-8182SLV Laptop via Amazon
Silver anodised aluminium Dell XPS 13 XPS9343-8182SLV is a high end 13.3 inch QHD+ resolution laptop with an ultra low voltage Intel i7 processor, a decent size Solid State Drive and Windows 10 operating system. The alternative model on the Amazon product page is the model number XPS9343-6365SLV with the 5th generation dual core Intel i5-5200U CPU at 2.2 to 2.7GHz speeds, same amounts of RAM and SSD and QHD+ display. XPS 13 is promoted as the world’s most compact 13 inch computer and the first ever with almost borderless infinity screen with touch function and the slimmest frame on any notebook and it really does look beautiful and has that premium feel to it.
Dell XPS 13 XPS9343 comes with the Broadwell dual core Intel i7-5500U processor (4MB L3 cache) at 2.4Ghz to 3GHz speed with Turbo Boost 2.0 and hyper threading (2 cores and 4 threads) with a Passmark benchmark score of just under 4000 at the time of this review putting it in the high end CPUs category, 8GB DDR3L SDRAM at 1600MHz for great multitasking- able to run several tasks simultaneously, 256 GB Solid-State Drive for faster boot-ups and overall performance than mechanical hard drives (also runs quieter and has less moving parts) and the latest 64-bit Windows 10 operating system and no need to install from the previous versions of Windows and the new Microsoft eEdge as the new browser replacing the standard Internet Explorer.
13.3 inch vibrant and scratch resistant Corning Gorilla Glass NBT QHD+ infinity display has the 3200 x 1800 pixel maximum screen resolution (2.5 times more pixels than the FHD and 5 times more than regular HD), IGZO2 IPS panel for very clear viewing from any angle- up to 170 degrees vertically and horizontally and very thin bezel and a tiny 5.2mm border (only 2 percent of the total screen space) and you can comfortably watch videos outdoors or in very bright daylight with the 400-nit brightness of screen, high contrast ratio of 1000:1 and color gamut of 72%. Intel HD Graphics 5500 integrated graphics will let you play the older games fluently and the newer titles of 2015 at only low settings. Sound quality is better than acceptable through the stereo speakers and Waves MaxxAudio, it has the 1x 1/8″ (3.5 mm) Headphone/Microphone Combo Jack and a built-in webcam and microphone for comfy live Skype chats.
Dell XPS 13 weighs only 2.78 pounds with the dimensions of 12 x 7.9 x 0.60 inches- you can take it wherever you go and the 4-cell 52WHr battery with up to 11 hour battery life will last all day long so you can be away from power outlets comfortably. It includes a standard backlit keyboard, enhanced touchpad for Windows 10 functions but has no 10-key numpad (I personally prefer them without) because of smaller size of PC. It has no optical drive just like the majority of the modern slim laptops to make up space for more important things so you may just get a low priced external drive with the purchase of this machine if you need one but most things are available for downloading or streaming these days and there is no HDMI output. It comes with the faster 802.11 A/C WiFi with enhanced coverage, Bluetooth 4.0 tied to wireless card, 2 x USB 3.0 ports for better and quicker transfer of data, 3-in-1 Media Card Reader, 1x Mini DisplayPort, FastAccess Facial Recognition, US PowerCord and 45 Watt AC Adaptor.
Conclusion: Dell XPS 13 XPS9343-8182SLV is a 13.3 inch screen laptop fit into the size of an 11 inch machine (about 23 percent more compact than the 13 inch Mac Air), has a premium design and tough build quality with the machined aluminium construction as it is precision cut from a single aluminium block. You will notice instantly that Windows 10 boots up and resumes really fast and has the new very useful features like Cortona (personal secretary), an enhanced version of Win 7 Start menu, Continuum and the new Microsoft Edge browser with unique features. Palmrest feels thin and strong and is also cool and lightweight as carbon fiber is used on XPS computers. This is an ENERGY STAR 6.0 certified computer so it is even more energy efficient than before. We like that it has a generous size SSD which is much faster and much more durable than the regular HDD and it is less prone to physical damage. Intel i7-5500U processor is suitable for heavy multimedia editing and intensive gaming but this is not really a gaming PC as such and you’ll be restricted by the Intel HD 5500 as it is only as good as a lower end discrete card. It comes with a 1 year In-Home warranty, 30 day trial version of Microsoft Office is included and no antivirus software is pre-installed.
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