May 19, 2024 19:00:00

Benchmarking Dell's Intel Core Ultra-equipped notebook PCs 'XPS 13' and 'XPS 14'

I was able to borrow

the Intel Core Ultra processor-equipped laptops 'XPS 13' and 'XPS 14' from Dell, so I ran a benchmark test after the photo review .

XPS 13 Laptop | Dell Japan
https://www.dell.com/ja-jp/shop/dell-laptops/xps-13-laptops/spd/xps-13-9340-laptop

XPS 14 Laptop | Dell Japan
https://www.dell.com/ja-jp/shop/dell-laptops/xps-14-laptops/spd/xps-14-9440-laptop

The CPU installed in the XPS 13, as confirmed by CPU-Z, is the 'Intel Core Ultra 7 155H', with 16 cores and 22 threads. The XPS 13 also has the option of being equipped with the 'Intel Core Ultra 5 125H'.

The XPS 14 is also equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, with 16 cores and 22 threads, the same configuration as the XPS 13.

When I checked with

GPU-Z , I found that the XPS 13 was equipped with Intel Arc Graphics, a GPU built into the CPU.

The XPS 14 also comes equipped with Intel Arc Graphics, a GPU built into the CPU.

It is possible to install the optional 'NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 Laptop'. The VRAM capacity is 6GB.

We checked the storage with

CrystalDiskInfo and found that the XPS 13 uses a Micron 2550 NVMe SSD . The review unit comes with 512GB of storage, but there are also 1TB and 2TB options available.

The XPS 14 also comes with the same Micron 2550 NVMe SSD, with capacities of 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB available in addition to the 512GB in the review unit.

Next, we performed benchmark tests at a room temperature of 24 degrees Celsius with both models plugged in.

The transfer speeds of the XPS 13 SSD measured with '

CrystalDiskMark ' are as follows: sequential read 5032.06MB/s, sequential write 4065.43MB/s, random read 363.43MB/s, random write 401.23MB/s.

The XPS 14 achieved sequential read speeds of 4936.37MB/s, sequential write speeds of 4061.40MB/s, random read speeds of 327.42MB/s, and random write speeds of 429.93MB/s.

Next, we ran

CrystalMark Retro , which measures the CPU and 2D/3D graphics performance. The XPS 13's overall score was 9359, with a CPU single-core score of 10608 and a multi-core score of 101790.

The XPS 14 had an overall score of 8836, a single score of 10314, and a multi-score of 82402.

The Geekbench 6 benchmark results for the XPS 13's CPU showed a single-core score of 2258 and a multi-core score of 11466.

The single-core score details look like this.

The multi-core score details look like this.

Next, we benchmarked the CPU of the XPS 14. The single-core score was 2275, and the multi-core score was 12075.

The single-core score details look like this.

The detailed multi-core scores were as follows:

Next, we measured the GPU performance of the XPS 13 with Geekbench 6. First,

the OpenCL score was '31052'.

Vulkan 's score was '32033'.

We also measured GPU performance on the XPS 14 in the same way. First, for Intel Arc Graphics, the OpenCL score was 33352.

Vulkan's score was '36851'.

Next is the benchmark for the XPS 14 GeForce RTX 4050. The OpenCL score is '63743'.

Vulkan's score was '62503'.

Next, we ran a machine learning benchmark with

Geekbench ML . The XPS 13's ONNX CPU score is as follows:

The XPS 14 looks like this.

This is the result of processing the XPS 13's Intel Arc Graphics with

DirectML .

XPS 14's Intel Arc Graphics are processed using DirectML.

This is the result of processing the XPS 14's RTX 4050 with DirectML.

Next, we ran

the official Blender benchmark tool , which shows how fast the CPU or GPU can render a path tracing sample. First, we looked at the CPU of the XPS 13, with monster scoring 78.795596, junkshop scoring 46.559439, and classroom scoring 31.462052.

The GPU scores for the XPS 13 were '212.622166' for monster, '32.901787' for junkshop, and '96.505389' for classroom.

The CPU score for the XPS 14 is '82.704496' for monster, '39.299869' for junkshop, and '30.998134' for classroom.

The XPS 14's GPU is Intel Arc Graphics, with monster scoring '201.702032', junkshop scoring '29.029298', and classroom scoring '101.158016'.

With the RTX 4050, monster scored '914.572781', junkshop scored '512.178771', and classroom scored '489.655659'.

Next, we ran

the Passmark PerformanceTest V11 . The XPS 13's overall score was 4381, which is 49% below the median score compared to benchmarks run by users around the world.

The CPU score was '14615' and the percentile was '52%'.

The 2D score is '584' and '46%'. Measured using the CPU's built-in GPU, 'Intel Arc Graphics'.

The 3D score was 3531, which is quite low at 33%.

The memory score is 25% of 2179.

The disk score was '28700' and '84%', which was high.

Next, we measured the XPS 14. The overall score was '6632' and the percentile was '69%'.

The CPU score was '26861' or '81%'.

The 2D score was 228, or 16%, which is the measurement with the optional RTX 4050.

The 3D score was '10846' or '55%'.

The memory score was '1805' or '14%'.

The disk score was '33475' or '88%'.

Next, we pulled out the logs of benchmark results previously run by the GIGAZINE editorial department and used them as a baseline to compare

the OMEN Transcend 14 , Surface Laptop Go 3 , and the XPS 13's predecessor, the XPS 13 Plus , with the XPS 13 and XPS 14 (the bar labeled 'This Computer'). First, the overall scores are as follows, with the order being XPS 13, XPS 13 Plus, and XPS 14.

Next up is the CPU score. As expected, the XPS 13's results were a bit disappointing.

2D score. The XPS 13 is improving.

3D score. The RTX 4050 shows a strong increase.

Memory score. XPS 13 Ultra comes out on top.

Finally, the disk score: XPS 13 Ultra, XPS 13, XPS 14.

Next, we ran the '

FINAL FANTASY XV WINDOWS EDITION Benchmark '. This allows us to get a sense of how comfortable the game will be when playing. Below are the results of running the benchmark on the XPS 13 with maximum load settings of 'Image quality: High quality', 'Resolution: 3840 x 2160', and 'Window: Full screen'. Since it is not a gaming PC to begin with, the score was low at '798' and the rating was 'difficult to operate'.

Setting the resolution to 1980x1080, the optimum value for the XPS 13, slightly improves the performance, but the score is '2018' and the rating is 'heavy.' It's probably better to lower the quality when playing games.

I ran the benchmark in the same way, hoping that the numbers would go up a bit more on the XPS 14 with the RTX 4050. The results for 'Image quality: High quality', 'Resolution: 3840 x 2160', and 'Window: Full screen' were a score of '2013' and a rating of 'Heavy'.

When the resolution was changed to '1980 x 1080', the score became '4061' and the rating became 'average'. Since only the XPS 14 has the option of the RTX 4050 GPU, if you want to play 3D games comfortably, it is better to select the option to add the RTX 4050 to the XPS 14.

We will be publishing an article at a later date detailing how the NPU is actually used to process generative AI, how much heat is generated during processing, and how long the battery lasts.