Dell XPS 15 9520 15.6" FHD+ Laptop, Intel Core i5-12500H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, Fingerprint Reader, Windows 11 Home (Silver)

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That’s because of the 12th-gen Intel Alder Lake implemented hardware, which translates into a significant boost in performance with daily use and sustained loads.

This, however, impacts the performance in sustained loads, as the scores drop as the heat builds-up, and then gradually increase for a few runs, before finally dropping again once the 45W Power Limit kicks in.On top of that, the 9520 is surprisingly efficient with light use and everyday activities, which is a rarity among Alder Lake laptops. I spoke to an online dell rep about this, they did various tests to tell me everything was ok but we eventually got to a Windows battery test and it confirmed what I had been saying that I was at best getting 4hours 30 min battery life at 405 brightness. Repasting might also improve the overall CPU behaviour, but I haven’t tested any of these on my loaner review unit. On one hand, that’s going to help the performance with short duration activities, and on the other, it will allow the specs to run at significantly cooler temperatures with sustained workloads or games. From ray tracing to AI-powered video editing, optional NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050 Ti GPUs deliver the performance to boost workflows and accelerate your creative genius.

However, in in-between conditions, I often find it hard to tell the keys apart, to the point where I had to manually disable the backlighting quite often. It however bugged me that my 8th gen dell 13-inch could go for ages and I could run that not only at 30% brightness and it work and look fine but higher so I eventually sat down to test things it could be and discovered relatively quickly it was the screen. Yes, the laptop runs a bit warm to the touch, but the chassis doesn’t go above mid-30s Celsius in the warmest spots. It does suffer from a slight amount of black crush, though, so I’d still lean towards the 4K IPS for creative purposes and color-sensitive work. DLC sold separately; if a game is removed from catalogue or your membership ends, you will need to purchase the game separately to use your DLC.I’ll also mention that there’s an HD camera placed at the top of the screen, with IR, but without any kind of shutter, and the microphones are placed on the front lip, above the camera.

I look around at other less pretty cheaper laptops with similar specs but running with higher clocks and wonder have I mugged myself off.Dell includes a USB-C to USB-A and HDMI adapter, but the lack of legacy ports on the machine is disappointing and one of the costs of such a thin chassis.