I Won the Dell Ambassador Program Lottery

Recently, while browsing Twitter, I saw someone reviewing a laptop they borrowed through the Dell Ambassador Program. I decided to register and apply myself on a whim.

To my surprise, I actually won and got the opportunity to borrow the XPS 15 2-in-1, so I’d like to review it.

I’m sure many others have reviewed the XPS 15 2-in-1 for drawing and similar uses, so I’d like to review it from a software developer’s perspective.

I mainly want to write my impressions comparing it to the DELL ALIENWARE 13 R3 I currently use.

Size Comparison

I compared the size with the ALIENWARE 13.

The ALIENWARE is on the larger side for a 13-inch laptop, so size-wise, they are almost the same.

I think this shows just how slim the XPS is for a 15-inch laptop.

Also, the display is bezel-less, feels very large, and is easy to see.

Personally, since I also carry the AC adapter when transporting it, the size and weight of the adapter are also concerns.

However, the XPS adapter is significantly smaller and lighter. The ALIENWARE has a GeForce 1060, so it can’t be helped.

The adapter connector being USB-TypeC is also good for high compatibility.

I often take my laptop outside for study sessions and such, so I felt this portability is a huge advantage.

Specs

The installed OS is Windows 10 Home, the CPU is Core i7-8705G, and the memory is 16GB.

I thought it was a CPU model number I hadn’t heard of, and upon checking, I found it’s a CPU paired with Radeon™ RX Vega M GL graphics.

Being able to use a GPU more powerful than Intel HD Graphics raises my expectations significantly.

The display is 4K with vivid colors.

The ALIENWARE I’m currently using is FullHD 13-inch, so this definitely feels larger. Also, being 4K, even small text is crisp and easy to read, which is nice.

Using it at 100% scale makes the text too small, so I tried using it at 175%.

Trying Unreal Engine

Unreal Engine (UE4) is a game engine capable of creating games, but development using it requires considerable machine power.

Laptops without an external GPU often feel heavy and stutter just starting up in the initial state, so I checked how the XPS would fare.

As a result, the UE4 Editor started up smoothly, and playing in the initial state yielded a frame rate of around 90fps.

On a 2018 MacBook Air, it was around 20fps, so this is much more comfortable.

I thought this would be perfectly usable for taking outside and making minor modifications.

Looking at the specs, the Radeon™ RX Vega M GL gave the impression of having significantly lower processing power than my ALIENWARE’s GeForce 1060, but using it actually surprised me in a good way – it performs better than expected.

However, the machine does work quite hard sometimes; starting UE4 causes the fans to spin up rapidly, and the noise is quite audible.

Trying Visual Studio

Next, I tried using Visual Studio.

I tried writing code for my publicly available C++ plugin for UE4, and since it has a fairly fast CPU, I could write without any particular stress.

Also, because the screen is large, the usability of Visual Studio is overwhelmingly better than on the 13-inch ALIENWARE. A larger screen is indeed better for writing code.

The only point that was personally disappointing was the keyboard.

This might be a personal preference, but the clicky-clacky keyboard felt cheap, and I couldn’t grow fond of it.

If it had a typing feel like the ALIENWARE, it would have been perfect, but given the considerably thin chassis, it might be unavoidable.

Summary

The loan period was about a month, but it ended in the blink of an eye.

Compared to laptops from other manufacturers, the XPS looks stylish and cool, and I had admired it, so having the opportunity to use it was enjoyable.

Since I develop with UE4, a GPU is absolutely essential for my PC. Despite its slim body, this one has a GPU that performs reasonably well, so I thought it was a viable option.

When buying my next PC, my options have expanded, and I’ll likely have trouble deciding lol.

I recommend the Dell Ambassador Program. (I’d like to borrow an ALIENWARE too—)