Ultrabook winner
Dell XPS 13
Verdict
Classy, understated and brimming with potential, Dell has conjured up an industry-leading Ultrabook with its XPS 13
Review Date: 9 Apr 2012
Price when reviewed: £1083
Overall Rating
Alternative products
Apple MacBook Air 13in (2012)
The same flawless design, now with Ivy Bridge and more RAM – all at a lower price
Asus Zenbook UX31E
The first of the Ultrabooks is a lithe laptop with power and stamina, but the ergonomics aren’t quite there
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Comparison
| Product |
Dell XPS 13
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Apple MacBook Air 12in (2012)
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Asus Zenbook UX31
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Dell XPS 13 (2013)
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| Details | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part Code | XPS 13 | A1466 | UX31E-RY012V | XPS 13 (2013) |
| Review Date | 9 Apr 2012 | 14 Jun 2012 | 25 Oct 2011 | 5 Apr 2013 |
| Price ex VAT | £1,083 | £1,041 | £999 | £899 |
| Price inc VAT | £1,299 | £1,249 | £1,199 | £1,079 |
| Overall rating |
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| Features & Design |
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| Value for Money |
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| Performance |
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| Warranty | ||||
| Warranty | 1yr collect and return | 1 yr return to base | 2yr collect and return | 1yr on-site |
| Physical specifications | ||||
| Dimensions | 316 x 206 x 21mm (WDH) | 325 x 227 x 17mm (WDH) | 297 x 196 x 17mm (WDH) | 316 x 205 x 21mm (WDH) |
| Weight | 1.380kg | 1.350kg | 1.400kg | 1.360kg |
| Travelling weight | 1.7kg | 1.6kg | 1.7kg | |
| Processor and memory | ||||
| Processor | Intel Core i7-2637M | Intel Core i5-3427U | Intel Core i7-2677M | Intel Core i7-3537U |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel QS67 | Intel QS67 | Intel HM77 | |
| RAM capacity | 4.00GB | 4.00GB | 4.00GB | 8.00GB |
| Memory type | DDR3 | DDR3 | DDR3 | DDR3L |
| SODIMM sockets free | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| SODIMM sockets total | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Screen and video | ||||
| Screen size | 13.3in | 13.3in | 13.3in | 13.3in |
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,366 | 1,440 | 1,600 | 1,920 |
| Resolution screen vertical | 768 | 900 | 900 | 1,080 |
| Resolution | 1366 x 768 | 1440 x 900 | 1600 x 900 | 1920 x 1080 |
| Graphics chipset | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | Intel HD Graphics 4000 | Intel HD Graphics 3000 | Intel HD Graphics 4000 |
| Graphics card RAM | N/A | N/A | ||
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| HDMI outputs | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| S-Video outputs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DVI-I outputs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DVI-D outputs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Drives | ||||
| Capacity | 256GB | 256GB | 128GB | 256GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 112GB | |||
| Spindle speed | N/A | N/A | ||
| Internal disk interface | N/A | SATA/600 | ||
| Hard disk | Samsung PM830 | 256GB SSD | ADATA XM11 | LiteOn LMT-256M3M |
| Optical disc technology | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Optical drive | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Battery capacity | 6,400mAh | |||
| Replacement battery price inc VAT | £0 | £0 | £0 | £0 |
| Networking | ||||
| Wired adapter speed | 1,000Mbits/sec | N/A | 100Mbits/sec | N/A |
| 802.11a support |
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| 802.11b support |
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| 802.11g support |
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| 802.11 draft-n support |
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| Integrated 3G adapter |
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| Bluetooth support |
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| Other Features | ||||
| Wireless hardware on/off switch |
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| Wireless key-combination switch |
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| Modem |
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| ExpressCard34 slots | 0 | 0 | ||
| ExpressCard54 slots | 0 | 0 | ||
| PC Card slots | 0 | 0 | ||
| USB ports (downstream) | 1 | 1 | ||
| FireWire ports | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| PS/2 mouse port |
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| 9-pin serial ports | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Parallel ports | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 0 | 0 | ||
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 | 0 | ||
| 3.5mm audio jacks | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| SD card reader |
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| Memory Stick reader |
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| MMC (multimedia card) reader |
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| Smart Media reader |
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| Compact Flash reader |
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| xD-card reader |
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| Pointing device type | Touchpad | Multitouch trackpad | Touchpad | Touchpad |
| Audio chipset | Realtek HD Audio | Realtek HD Audio | ||
| Speaker location | Underneath keyboard | |||
| Hardware volume control? |
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| Integrated microphone? |
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| Integrated webcam? |
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| Camera megapixel rating | 1.3mp | 0.9mp | 0.3mp | 1.3mp |
| TPM |
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| Fingerprint reader |
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| Smartcard reader |
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| Carry case |
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| Operating system and software | ||||
| Operating system | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | OS X Lion | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit | Windows 8 64-bit |
| OS family | Windows 7 | Mac OS X | Windows 7 | Windows 8 |
| Recovery method | Recovery partition | Partition | Recovery partition | Recovery partition |
| Battery and performance tests | ||||
| Battery life, light use | 8hr 11min | 1min | 6hr 35min | |
| Battery life, heavy use | 3hr 8min | 8hr 53min | 1hr 55min | |
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | 37fps | 30fps | ||
| 3D performance setting | Low | Low | ||
| Overall Real World Benchmark score | 0.62 | 0.68 | 0.62 | 0.73 |
| Responsiveness score | 0.73 | 0.83 | 0.73 | 0.84 |
| Media score | 0.66 | 0.68 | 0.66 | 0.76 |
| Multitasking score | 0.47 | 0.53 | 0.47 | 0.59 |
