Small review: The Dell XPS 15 9520 is a slight upgrade to a stable design
Andrew Cunningham
Even as an iterative update to an existing computer, the Dell XPS 15 9520 is quite mild. It’s super repetitive. The only thing that separates it from the XPS 15 9510 we reviewed last year is that it replaces 11th generation Intel processors with 12th generation versions. Everything else, from the design to the screen to the GPU, is the same (unless you count changing the Windows 10 short rectangle logo on the Windows key to the Windows 11 square logo).
So we won’t spend much time re-describing the things about this laptop that we’ve already mentioned. Weighing in at just over four pounds, it’s still a computer aimed at people who want more power than a 13- or 14-inch laptop, but still care enough about size and weight that they don’t want to graduate. A full-size desktop or a massive gaming laptop.
It still has a nice thin screen, a huge trackpad, a comfortable keyboard with firm but not too static keys, a good amount of travel, and Thunderbolt and USB-C ports for accessories and charging (plus a single SD card reader and headphone jack). A fingerprint reader, a Windows Hello-compatible infrared camera with face scanning and webcam, and 720p speakers (serviceable but average in both cases) complete the basic amenities.
The left side of the laptop offers a slot for a security lock as well as a pair of Thunderbolt ports.
Andrew Cunningham
On the right side, there is a headphone jack, an SD card reader, and a USB-C port.
Andrew Cunningham
It’s worth repeating some of the finer technical points for people who don’t want to take it out of a year-old review. The two ports on the left side of the laptop are Thunderbolt 4, while the port on the right is a standard USB-C port. It holds a pair of RAM slots for removable DDR5 memory modules (an upgrade from last year’s DDR4), plus an additional M.2 2280 slot for a second NVMe SSD. The 130W power unit in the system uses a USB-C connector, but it’s still technically proprietary – you can charge your laptop at a slower rate with any old USB-C charger, but you may still need to use a Dell connector for full power and performance .
Andrew Cunningham
We tested the model with a 3456 x 2160 OLED screen, which sits in the middle of the entry-level 1920 x 1200 IPS panel and the top 3840 x 2400 IPS panel. It’s nice to have the option for people who prefer OLED’s infinite contrast, but the slight graininess (especially noticeable when looking at flat fields that don’t have white or color textures) and extra color are the prices you’ll pay. That said, maximum screen brightness of 404 nits, 100 percent of sRGB, and 99.4 percent of DCI-P3 coverage (as measured by i1Display Studio paralleling) are all good.
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