I’ve owned various laptops over the years and this Dell XPS 15 laptop has been simply brilliant. It is not a cheap computer. But then again I wanted something that would be a powerhouse to work with and would last for years. The fact that I’m still using it 7 years last and only now looking to replace it with a newer version of the same device (and that’s only because I want Windows 11 and the Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ isn’t supported by Microsoft ) says it all.
This DELL laptop has been used for general admin & video & photo editing (sing Adobe Creative Suite) and also for gaming, streaming and leisure.
XPS 15 Dimensions:
Height – 17 mm (0.66 in)
Width – 357 mm (14.06 in)
Depth – 235 mm (9.27 in)
Weight – 1920g
Power adapter & lead – 484g
Total weight – 2404g
The Dell XPS 15 has a sleek and elegant design. Considering the technical punch it packs, this laptop is sleek, which makes it easy to carry around during travels. It has a durable aluminium build, which provides a premium look and feel (similar to an Apple MacBook Pro)
The 15.6-inch InfinityEdge display is excellent, and the thin bezels make it appear like a much larger screen. The keyboard is comfortable to type on, and the touchpad is responsive and accurate. I particularly like the back lit keyboard for when I work in low light environments.
It isn’t a light weight device. With a combined weight of the laptop and the adaptor and lead, it’s just over 2.4KG to carry around. Personally, I don’t find it too heavy and I’d rather have a robust and capable laptop.
This Dell XPS 15 has certainly proved to be robust as I found out when I accidently dropped in on a solid floor in a hotel bar during a trip to Mexico (no tequila involved!)
The solid build of the aluminium case took the impact and protected the screen and the internal hardware. A simple 4Ocean sticker quick fix on the corner and it was as good as new!! Several years later and I haven’t got around to getting the case fixed. The laptop has continued to work as it should and I’ve got quite attached to it’s worn look.
The only part of the Dell XPS 15 that I have had to replace in its 7 years of ownership was the battery. Lithium batteries do deteriorate over the years so it was no surprise that a new one would be required.
Fortunately new batteries are easy to get hold of and I purchased this Wikinu replacement Dell XPS 15 battery from Amazon. With the correct set of screwdrivers, I replaced this myself in around 15 minutes. I used this Vakki Mini Screwdriver Set. Battery life with the new battery is back to around 7 hours.
Despite this being a superb laptop, I am now considering an upgrade to a newer XPS 15. I will probably invest in the latest Intel i7 processor, more memory and a higher resolution touch screen. I don’t really need these things, but if I’m having to upgrade because I want Windows 11 and the Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ isn’t supported by Microsoft, I may and well future proof my next XPS 15 laptop for the next 7 years!
The XPS 15 2016 technical spec…
DELL XPS 15 – 9550
Windows 10 Pro (64bit)
Palmrest
2 GB GDDR5 Nvidia® GeForce® GTX 960M
512GB PCIe Solid State Drive
Internal Qwerty Backlit Keyboard
Label
Placemats
Software Driver
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-6700HQ (6M Cache, up to 3.5 GHz, 4C)
Dell Wireless-1830 802.11ac, 3×3,2.4/5GHz + Bluetooth 4.1
Power Supply: 130W AC Adapter
16GB (2x8GB) 2133MHz DDR4 Non-ECC
Primary 6-cell 84W/HR Battery
15.6 Inch FHD (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge Non Touch Display
Thermal Pad for M.2 PCIE SSD
Power Adapter – UK Type
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