Dell XPS 15 9500 Review - Big Refresh!

[@InfinityLabsTech]

Was expecting a big cooling improvement with what I saw on the Alienware m15 R3; unfortunately, the comically slow fan speed and the priority with low temperatures gimped the performance very hard with this laptop. Big RIP

[@msorobia]

:( thanks for being honest

[@XollyWolly]

thank you for true review ) could I ask you for showing in next videos a charging cable and brick? for gaming stationary laptops its doesn't matter, but when it's laptop for work/studying people have to charge anywhere and care bricks all day

[@InfinityLabsTech]

Great suggestion; I'll try and remember to show the charger for portability minded laptops for future videos.

[@AryehBeitz]

in the bios, you have more control over thermals and fan speed

[@jonasdautel49]

you can edit that in the dell powermanager

[@a4andrei]

an AMD version of this would be even better since ryzen chips are a bit more efficient

[@obsidiandestroyer7015]

and also faster

[@Duckquek17]

and cheaper

[@grossly820]

Correction: a lot more efficient, hell of a lot battery life.

[@hugevibez]

Don't think it's gonna happen, the XPS 13 is part of project Athena/Intel Evo and the XPS 15 design is based on that. This is the reason why every manufacturer releases their best laptops on Intel.

[@grossly820]

@@hugevibez not "the best". It would've been the best if they had amd chips in them. OEMs intentionally put amd chips in cheap laptop because intel pays them to.

[@veesssss]

Been using it for the past 3 months. The keyboard is really nice to type on tbh.

[@okaudi]

Damn I’m really fond of that edgeless screen...

[@sunfire65ph]

Bought mine a month ago, it still had the trackpad issue. Had to send it back

[@frankwest510]

me too but at least it wasnt like razer support

[@Shubham_Sinn]

Dell XPS 15 has quiet, cool, and performance mode for fan setting 6:55

[@AdamJRichardson]

Appreciate the clear, concise presentation! Did you try different settings in the power manager, and if so did those change the fan/performance behavior?

[@InfinityLabsTech]

That was under the high performance profile, I never bothered testing the default profile. Performance slider in the battery modal on the taskbar was high performance as well.

[@pureffm]

@@InfinityLabsTech There are actually BIOS settings that are great to manage fans and core usage!

[@hudbenz1]

good review very informative, lot more detailed when compared to huge youtube tech reviewers,

[@sinanuluc5143]

The best thing about these XPS laptops is that soft touch on your wrists and hands. That carbonfiber feeling is second to none. It's incredible. I'm not going back to macbook or any other laptop that doesn't have this soft touch on the surface.

[@furkanuner8989]

Sen adamsın

[@iMapleCreator]

Eh, you can always put a Dbrand skin, and put a soft touch, and it’ll be the samw

[@sinanuluc5143]

@@furkanuner8989 haha

[@sinanuluc5143]

@@iMapleCreator True, but it won't be as seamless. And some of those skins don't look great on laptops (xps or mac).

[@NoahBraun21]

these sadly still have QC issues. had to get my first one replaced because the screen wouldn't stay closed when held vertically, and the second one replaced because of the trackpad issue they said they solved back in June. Massive buyer beware.

[@TwistedFootGaming]

Mine has the issue with not staying closed when held vertically. Did the replacement at least stay closed?

[@TMWT]

Yep, that’s why I went with a Macbook Pro 16 instead, and will use bootcamp and Shadow PC for my Windows/gaming needs. Shame to see after the mountain of issues I experienced with my old 9560, Dell still hasn’t gotten their shit together. Shame, otherwise it would probably be the best MBP alternative.

[@NoahBraun21]

@@TwistedFootGaming the replacement didn't have that issue, just the trackpad. I got a third one, and it also didn't stay closed when held vertically.

[@austinramsay]

@@TMWT To be honest the MBP quality is not great at times either. I work at an AASP and we are constantly repairing factory defective parts.

[@TwistedFootGaming]

@@NoahBraun21 ugh, that worries me. I haven’t contacted them yet about my lid issue but was going to open a ticket with them about it. That really sucks cause the laptop is a great laptop otherwise and I really need a Windows laptop for school.

[@eduardoreal1056]

I have one and have been happy with it. The only thing I am not used to is the big track pad accidental touches. I can say this laptop is future proof. Unlike most laptops that fall under a thin design, the memory is not soldered which you can increase nor is the ssd. In fact you have a second PCIe ssd slot.

[@squirreldemon3506]

They have fan settings. I changed it from optimized to ultra performance and I was gaming at 60fps with high settings in many games

[@2009Windows7]

You could use DellFanCMD to unlock fan controls and use HWINFO64 to allow the fans to ramp up regardless of usage as I have on my XPS 15 7590, although Id wish it could spin past 5100rpm, since it seems capable of it.

[@crimsonblaze2607]

Fpr photoshop and video editing, which do u prefer? Gaming once(high graphics) Or laptops like this dell xps?

[@InfinityLabsTech]

I'd probably pick the XPS 15 solely for its screen. Personally, I would be willing to sacrifice the keyboard for that screen if all I did was photo and video editing.

[@jay-5061]

@@InfinityLabsTech the HP envy 15 has significantly better performance for an almost identical screen

[@geminispaced]

@@jay-5061 isn't envy 15 a 16:9 compared to xps 16:10 which will be a huge difference in photo and video editing I feel

[@squirreldemon3506]

I play big games on this like watch dogs 2 and borderlands 3 with no problem. Medium/ high settings with 60fps

[@omegaman1409]

I am a photographer. The screen is whats all about. The 19x10 screen is gold. I don't put too much into performance. I used to have a decade old computer and still do photo editing.

[@AryehBeitz]

i got a xps15 9500 a month ago, and opened it up. they really did a good job with thermals, they added thermal pads on mosfets etc. see reply for images

[@twizzbharat2577]

Massive improvement from the older XPS 15. As a gamer it's not for me (I've got a RB15) but this is perfect for my dad who's a developer and doesn't game at all. I've seen that 1080p screen in-person and it's actually insanely good. I honestly thought it was the upgraded 4k option. It was that bright and vibrant, Defo the preferred screen option for most people.

[@InfinityLabsTech]

The screen is a real gem; had to turn it down to one notch above lowest brightness to film it without being over-exposed. I felt like I could have benefitted from better performance in Blender, but DOOM Eternal ran fine for the most part at 1080p low minus some lag spikes when the CPU started choking. Literally 17 watts on the CPU in the gaming thermals omegalul

[@cynthiasaji6413]

I'm a developer and was wondering whether it heats up while running multiple apps/servers on the laptop?

[@umric]

i see so many people wishing for ryzen 4000 in these premium devices but i just cant see dell doing that in the future which is a shame

[@rufdymond]

The whole problem here is Dell themselves (Dell U.K. ) I purchased the latest ‘XPS 13 9310’ and it was beset by problems the moment it came out of the box. Ok this can happen with any new laptop, but Dell’s customer service after that was pitiful - I’m now sending the machine back and will be waiting until Jan when the new ‘HP Spectre x360 14’ drops in the U.K. to see what that has to offer....I’m done with this company.

[@nahgini]

How you Connect your Mouse? does it use Bluetooth from XPS 15 directly to your Mouse? what Kind mouse is it?

[@nevalsar]

This is a really well done review. I am shocked that you don't have nearly as many likes on this video as you should. Probably because this review came a little too late.

[@thearmevil1233]

I'm want to by this laptop, I'm a college student, but I want a laptop that can do pretty good multiple tasking, light gaming and content creation, would you recommend me a Dell XPS 15 or it doesn't worth its price for what I need?

[@MassiveDick]

This is not bad, but I would recommend the ROG G14 if you can wait for a second generation of that, or gamble on your one not having issues, its cheaper and more powerful,.

[@michaelmascari2722]

I got the 1600 Dollar non touch one with the GPU and its decent when playing games, i tried COD Warzone (okay at mid/low settings) Fortnite (the same) BF4 high-med and everything else is decent but it is a bit pricey for the components but part of that is for the build quality. I recommend it but there are still cheaper options with similar performance

[@ENJOYWATCHING407]

Keep your eye out for Black Friday deals. Plus if you give Dell a call you are able to negotiate the price with them for the model you are looking for!

[@ayecee4107]

@@MassiveDick im wondering rog g15 is better? and what are your though on the asus zenboook duo with the double screen? I want this

[@MassiveDick]

@@ayecee4107 I actually got to try out the zenbook duo at a store, the trackpad was complete shit. The ROG G15 is cheaper, but it is more bulky and has less battery life than the G14. Up to you which one is more important, price, or portability.

[@saatwik_saatwik]

This laptop is $3000 in India.

[@faheem3721]

Yes everything is expected

[@apkingboy]

F

[@a_spire]

thats because it is sold for businesses here.. It comes with premium support or something

[@williamchen8423]

Taiwan feel for ya...

[@rafareis5957]

$3600 here in Brasil and and Dell doesn't officially sell it, so we don't have support

[@kp-od8ji]

Received it with a 4K panel three days ago. So far I have only one complaint: The fan is much too loud and working quite often on high speed. This is very dispointing for such a high priced laptop.

[@Grommet2007]

I try to avoid laptops soft-touch surfaces like the plague - most of them seem to disintegrate into a sticky goo after a few years in my tropical environment. The only exception I've seen to that so far is a cheap Asus tablet that I purchased many years ago - the "soft touch" on that device seems to have been achieved by the application of a finish direct to the plastic rather than add-on coating.

[@leepatrick382]

Wait, so cooling isnt improved? Im currently using 2018? Xps15 and its just hot af when i play league or ht :( im seriously considering this model for next year but i dont want to be disappointed again with high temperature and battery dying early :/

[@redaska]

I have a quick question, Is possible to make a review for any good laptop (beside mac) good for editing photos, videos or even music please

[@plecturaproductions5816]

I researched this one...they said this, hp and of course max book pro are good for music and photos

[@jeffersonmp4]

7 to 8 hrs at 1080p?? What kind of light to moderate use do you mean?

[@paulguk]

Almost all reviewers are missing commenting on the keyboard layout changes. The relocation of the home and end keys to the top row (instead of Fn Left / Fn Right) makes it near impossible for those of us that work with documents all day, such as software developers. Dell have not yet confirmed whether they will provide a firmware update to help remap these keys, so buyer beware.

[@swagbroncorr2708]

The laptop I got (same model 9500) has a really nice keyboard. I wouldn't call it mushy at all. Its decently tactile for a laptop and also very responsive. I type about 10% faster on this compared to my sk630

[@swagbroncorr2708]

This is my opinion btw. Check multiple sources for an actual overall review

[@allen8821]

Yea linus and others said this has a really good keyboard..although not the best..thinkpad probably has the best

[@__osinachi]

At the end of the day, whether or not someone likes a keyboard is generally a subjective issue. There'll always be someone out there that likes a keyboard, except it's one that's objectively bad and unreliable, like the butterfly keyboard. Even that, had people that loved it. So it's all down to personal preference. It's why I don't really pay much attention to laptop reviewers and their thoughts on keyboards. I worked somewhere for a while sometime last year and had to use a ThinkPad, and couldn't see what all the fuss about the keyboard was for. It didn't feel special to me

[@chltmdwp]

@@__osinachi I played with ThinkPad keyboard at local store, I had no idea what the fuss about it either.

[@swagbroncorr2708]

@@__osinachi Ye that is true. Btw which switch does this keyboard use?

[@erenatas]

Do you have any information regarding latency on this display? 4K panels have awful amount of latency which renders it unusable during gaming sessions.

[@Bartmelo]

Didn't notice the xps trackpad issues? Must been early reviews only

[@InfinityLabsTech]

Just watched Hardware Canuck's video to see what you were referring to. Something about wobbly trackpads? If so, no; my trackpad doesn't wobble whatsoever. They also claim that their trackpad doesn't have that issue, so probably early units.

[@sidm4609]

@@InfinityLabsTech check out r/dell, users are still reporting issues with the trackpad. Some people have received 3 replacement units and then dell then just gave them a refund. The amount of cases has reduced tho

[@TheWW2Master117]

Had the touchpad wobble issue with a model that was shipped in August (Non-4K) and one shipped in late September (4K) (returned both). Dell is saying they fixed these issues months ago, but that’s obviously not the case.

[@squirreldemon3506]

They fixed it back in June

[@TheWW2Master117]

@@squirreldemon3506 Nope, read the posts above.

[@kayjoe7237]

The web camera wasn’t on the bottom in the previous model.

[@maziartour]

Hi. How much the mnitor can be folded back? is it morethan 135 degrees?

[@Jemboj2895]

they do have manual fan control. dell power manager.

[@abdulkhaliq1516]

So how are the thermals in this laptop while gaming? does it get too hot?

[@karis7539]

Watching this on my dell xps 15 9500 :]

[@arienugraha8961]

Hi, can I use dual type C (like the one for macbook) dock on this laptop? Thanks before.

[@mohitjavale1582]

Could we get a review on the Lenovo Legion 5i pls :0 Love ur vids

[@paradiselosing]

Goat man for mod 2020

[@dhareshm6189]

Isn’t it 1200p, not 1080p?

[@InfinityLabsTech]

Yes, you are correct. I instinctively put 1080p, forgot to compensate for 16:10. I think it's obvious enough which screen I'm reviewing, of the options available on Dell's website

[@vinylmonster4907]

if you are considering the wifi 6e card replacement on the Dell XPS 15 9500 being described online and in KZbin it wont work because the killer chip is soddered to the board and looks nothing like the one being shown in any of the videos. Which actually sucks.....and is not even mentioned in this video

[@iftitasfeen2965]

Please make a comparison video with razer blade 15

[@gershondevadason4656]

Been using the Dell XPS 15 9570 2018 model for a little over a year. Has serious heating and thermal throttling issues. Does the Dell XPS 15 9500 also have this issue ?

[@matoslicer]

No

[@fabiocunha2270]

Hi Infinity Labs! Whats is the best laptop, XPS 9500 i7 16gb 500gb ssd or Lenovo S740 i7 16gb 500gb ssd?

[@togononchristiangennf.4857]

i hope you can review a dell g7 5500

[@kennysu3736]

Hi, great review. I currently own the same model, and I wanted to ask you how did you adjust your settings so you wouldn't have frame drops? Tbh I don't game much, and I only play League of Legends, which isn't graphically intensive, yet I am having stutters/fps lag during the games. I have my power AC connected, GeForce Experience on, but I am still having fps lag while just playing LoL. Can anyone help?

[@viktorhellstrom7504]

GeForce Experience is a resource hog.

[@kennysu3736]

@@viktorhellstrom7504 so if I uninstal geforce experience, would the game run smoother?

[@viktorhellstrom7504]

@@kennysu3736 You can give it a try. I'm on the 9500 and League runs just fine maxed at 60FPS.

[@kennysu3736]

@@viktorhellstrom7504 i uninstalled geforce experience, and there's still stutters. They are more like microstutters. I have a desktop pc quite old actually with an i5 and a gtx960, and league still runs smooth. Yet the XPS is still having microstutters

[@viktorhellstrom7504]

@@kennysu3736 That's really weird. I have the 8GB RAM version too so I'm really not sure why you are stuttering so much. Oh but I do have the 10875H CPU so not sure if that makes a huge difference or not.

[@alexanderapple23]

can you review dell xps 17

[@easterle]

Are Gtx 1650 ti and 1650 max q the same?

[@vimalramachandran]

You really need to recommend a 4K screen. C'mon, it's almost 2021.

[@livelovemusic1915]

It's not noticeable unless you look really close and does not affect my coding so I'm sticking to 1080p for a lower price and longer battery life

[@TheMoodms]

and mine still makes mouse pad fake clicks, i hate it

[@srinivasv9664]

Hey, i ordered Alienware M15 R3 GTX1660ti 6 gb,16gb ram,512ssd for $1300 instead of xps 15 because both are same price with same specs, initially i thought of buying xps but due to deal on alienware i ordered it. Is it good deal for 1.3k?

[@kendallalston504]

Did you receive it yet? And if so, does it get as hot as most people say?

[@cashburkhead8513]

I have this laptop for work. The webcam quality is absolutely terrible for video calling. Other than that, it’s a nice solid machine with great battery life and performance.

[@nunnil1655]

XPS series are cool, very minimalistic but 15 inches are not for me anymore and I heard that in terms of gaming, they're not built for super intensive gaming but more towards content creation.

[@catyannapfeiffer9877]

I was thinking about buying this laptop, but this might change my mind. I'm looking for a laptop for graphic design, mostly for home use. I can't decide between a Dell and a Lenovo. Any recommendations?

[@iwaleed7]

I think dell is better

[@catyannapfeiffer9877]

@@iwaleed7 Thank you. I grabbed an XPS.

[@kendallalston504]

@@catyannapfeiffer9877 how does your Xps 15 hold up performance wise from your experience?

[@catyannapfeiffer9877]

@@kendallalston504 It works really well. The processor is fast and it's pretty quiet. It hasn't overheated either. I'm glad I grabbed one for Black Friday.

[@kendallalston504]

@@catyannapfeiffer9877 thanks for the heads up. Glad you're enjoying your XPS.

[@luv2stack]

The lid is so stiff that the laptop doesn't even close correctly. Dell has some serious QC issues

[@__yegon]

which mouse is that?

[@Whitect4v]

Now this guy knows how to review a laptop.

[@amanueltesfaye7788]

I have the laptop and the keyboard doesn't have a shallow travel. It is amazing to use i really like it

[@Nathan-te7qr]

Dell. Please. Make. A. Ryzen. Version I AM BEGGING YOU

[@InfinityLabsTech]

To mitigate the performance loss with better performance per watt HAHA. But yes, I hope Ryzen sees better adoption with premium laptops in 2021 now that reviewers have been overwhelmingly positive with Ryzen 4000 laptops.

[@chltmdwp]

Ryzen runs too hot with loud fans...

[@austinramsay]

@@chltmdwp Bro what? Intel chips are flaming hot 24/7 it seems like in every laptop, including the MacBook models which is why I'm glad Apple switched.

[@liam4184]

Resistance to fingerprints and oily hands? are you kidding me? That's the only complaint I have about this laptop...

[@liam4184]

@@melc311 I can literally wash and dry my hands and still leave fingerprints touching the laptop material. I've never had this problem on any other laptop or device.

[@professorh8398]

Wish it had an 8gb 1660 or an 8gb 2060.

[@fanboyhater832]

oh common dude how much more pwerfull do you want it to be, it is pretty powerfull

[@pinheadlarry2209]

good video mr infinity labs

[@NitinSharma-od8pr]

please review ROG zephyrus G15 2020

[@rae6261]

imma be honest, the trackpad is way too big. Really liked the old xps trackpad, shuda just increased it a bit not this much.

[@sinanuluc5143]

It's big for me too, but I can see that some people who use it for video editing etc might love it!

[@iMapleCreator]

I’m glad you aren’t the dell engineers, bigger trackpad is 103792 times better than those trash ass small trackpads

[@rae6261]

@@iMapleCreator bigger is good, what i wanted to say is that a little smaller wud be nice

[@AindriuMacGiollaEoin]

Pity Dell can't improve the typing experience. Also no USB A and no AMD chips are negatives.

[@leyendazz8613]

I also have an XPS 15..... The L501x.

[@MrLukaszcu]

Don't talk about the camera ...don't talk about that 1990's camera!

[@buggyduggy2431]

How about some reviews on $500 to $800 computers? I do not know anybody that needs a $1500 plus computer. Sure we want one but most of us have kids, cars & homes to pay for.

[@deepTh00ught]

the touchpad is superious

[@swiift276]

refresh rate of this screen?

[@chltmdwp]

60hz

[@Jakolade]

pog

[@InfinityLabsTech]

champ

[@fergus247]

When numpad

[@ArthropodSpidey]

big quality control issues!

[@Keyo_Zero]

Practice breathing lol

[@thucnduy]

This reviewer clearly said the wrong thing. This machine's keyboard is vastly better than Apple's butterfly keyboard. I have very little respect for reviewers like this.

[@thucnduy]

@Askar Dubbed So I apologize then. I only watched the video briefly until he complain about the keyboard. Frankly, I always go to big electronics store, so I had opportunities to compare laptops of different branches. The keyboard on Dell XPS has a lot more travel than Apple's butterfly keyboard, and is comfortable to type on. I have no idea why he expressed his opinion like that.

[@thucnduy]

@Askar Dubbed Thank you for your feedback. I apologize if I made bad judgements.

[@Theo5555]

And then they say that apple laptops are so bad, there is nothing good about it, but when you hear and read all this ..... apparently not only apple. And certainly not learn now with their cheapest models with new M1 silicon chip that does not get hot, fan as quiet as a mouse and performs like a high-end expensive computer.

[@CheckTime]

sorry, but I don't trust Dell and Windows anymore

[@battletruthshairline1869]

So true.

[@emmett3344]

Why?

[@vinylmonster4907]

if you are considering the wifi 6e card replacement on the Dell XPS 15 9500 being described online and in KZbin it wont work because the killer chip is soddered to the board and looks nothing like the one being shown in any of the videos. Which actually sucks.....and is not even mentioned in this video

[@chuithrowaway8806]

They have fan settings. I changed it from optimized to ultra performance and I was gaming at 60fps with high settings in many games