Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15 vs Dell XPS 15 9520 (2022)

Please select specific configurations for the laptops to get a more accurate comparative review
Display 2496 x 1664
Battery 47.4 Wh
CPU
GPU Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (96EU)
RAM
Storage

Review

Evaluation of Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15 and Dell XPS 15 9520 (2022) important characteristics
Performance
System and application performance
Gaming
Performance in popular 3D games
Display
Viewing angle, color accuracy, brightness
Battery Life
Potential battery life in light and average use
Connectivity
Ports, webcam and other interfaces
Portability
Design, materials, durability and usability
NanoReview Score
Pick the usage scenario that best matches your needs
Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

Please input up-to-date prices for the selected laptop configurations to get an accurate value-for-money index.
Currency
VS
32.3
(Mediocre)
Value Index
27.8
(Mediocre)

Key Differences

What are the key differences between the notebooks
Advantages of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 15
  • Includes an old-school USB-A port
  • Easier to carry: weighs 300 grams less (around 0.66 lbs)
  • Display has support for touch input
  • 38% sharper screen – 200 versus 145 pixels per inch (PPI)
Advantages of the Dell XPS 15 9520 (2022)
  • Performs significantly better (up to 5.3x) in 3DMark Steel Nomad Lite
  • Higher number of cutting-edge USB Type-C ports: 3 versus 1
  • Can run popular games at about 90-122% higher FPS
  • Around 69% better multi-core CPU performance in the Cinebench 2024 test
  • Thinner bezels and 10% higher screen-to-body ratio
  • Features a bigger (~18%) battery – 56 against 47.4 watt-hours
  • User-upgradable RAM (up to 64GB) and an SSD
  • Provides 25% higher max. screen brightness: 500 vs 400 nits

Tests and Specifications

Comparison table of test results and technical specs

Case

Weight 1.54 kg (3.4 lbs) 1.84 kg (4.06 lbs)
Dimensions 340 x 244 x 14.7 mm
13.39 x 9.61 x 0.58 inches
344.4 x 230.1 x 18.54 mm
13.56 x 9.06 x 0.73 inches
Area 830 cm2 (128.7 inches2) 792 cm2 (122.9 inches2)
Screen-to-body ratio ~80.7% ~89%
Side bezels 11.5 mm 4.2 mm
Colors Black, Gray White, Black, Silver
Material Aluminum Aluminum
Transformer No No
Opening angle 135° 140°
Size comparison
Cooling solution
Cooling system Active Active
Vapor chamber No No
Liquid metal No No
Number of fans 2 2
Noise level (max. load) 38.1 dB 44.6 dB

Display

Size 15 inches 15.6 inches
Type IPS LCD IPS LCD
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
PPI 200 ppi 145 ppi
Aspect ratio 3:2 16:10
Resolution 2496 x 1664 pixels 1920 x 1200 pixels
HDR support Yes, Dolby Vision No
Sync technology No No
Touchscreen Yes No
Coating Glossy Matte
Ambient light sensor Yes Yes
Screen space comparison
XPS 15 9520 (2022)
15.6″ (16:10 ratio) = 109.4 in2
Surface Laptop 5 15
15″ (3:2 ratio) = 103.8 in2
~5% more screen space
Display tests
Contrast 1369:1 1650:1
sRGB color space 97.3% 100%
Adobe RGB profile 70.3% -
DCI-P3 color gamut 68.1% -
Response time 40 ms 35 ms
Max. brightness
500 nits

Battery

Capacity
Voltage - 11.4 V
Full charging time 2:00 hr 2:10 hr
Battery type Li-Po Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Fast charging Yes Yes
Charging via USB (Power Delivery) Yes Yes
Charging port position Left, Right Left, Right
Charge power 65 W 90 / 130 W
Cable length - 1 meters
Weight of AC adapter 305 grams 429 grams

CPU

CPU name
Base frequency 1.7 GHz 2.5 GHz
Turbo frequency 4.7 GHz 4.5 GHz
Cores 10 (2P + 8E) 12 (4P + 8E)
Threads 12 16
L3 Cache 12 MB 18 MB
Integrated GPU Intel Iris Xe Graphics (96EU) Intel Iris Xe Graphics (80EU)
Fabrication process 10 nm 10 nm

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Single-Core)
Cinebench 2024 (Multi-Core)

Graphics Card

GPU name
TGP 15 W 40 W
Nvidia Optimus - Yes
Type Integrated Dedicated
Fabrication process 10 nm 8 nm
GPU base clock 300 MHz 938 MHz
GPU boost clock 1250 MHz 1223 MHz
FLOPS 1.9 TFLOPS 5 TFLOPS
Memory size System Shared 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR5X GDDR6
Memory bus - 128 bit
Memory speed 5.2 Gbps 12 Gbps
Shading units (cores) 768 2048
Texture mapping units (TMUs) 48 64
Raster operations pipelines (ROPs) 24 40
GPU performance 1.9 TFLOPS 5 TFLOPS

GPU Benchmarks

Steel Nomad Lite Score
Blender GPU - 856
Solar Bay - 16575
Expected FPS based on average performance across 9 popular games. Details

RAM

RAM size
Channels 2x4 GB 1x8 GB
Clock 5200 MHz 4800 MHz
Type LPDDR5X DDR5
Upgradable No Yes
Total slots - 2
Max. ram size - 64 GB

Storage

Storage size
Bus PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x) PCI-E Gen 4.0 (4x)
Storage type SSD (M2) SSD (M2)
Channels 1x256 GB 1x256 GB
Upgradable No Yes
Total slots - 2
NVMe Yes Yes

Sound

Audio chip - Realtek ALC3281
Speakers 2.0 2.2 (2 tweeters and 2 woofers)
Power - 4x2W
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Loudness ~78.1 dB ~83.1 dB
Microphones 2 2

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard v6 v6
Bluetooth v5.1 v5.2
Fingerprint No Yes
Infrared sensor Yes Yes
Optical drive No No
Webcam Above the display Above the display
Webcam resolution 1280 x 720 1280 x 720
Ports
USB-A 1x USB 3.1 No
USB Type-C 1x USB 4.0 3x USB 4.0
Thunderbolt Thunderbolt 4 Thunderbolt 4
HDMI No No
DisplayPort No No
VGA No No
Audio jack (3.5 mm) Yes Yes
Ethernet (RJ45) No No
SD card reader No Yes
Proprietary charging port Yes No

Input

Keyboard
Keyboard type Island Island
Numpad No No
Backlight Yes Yes
Key travel 1.3 mm 1.3 mm
Touchpad
Size 11.5 x 7.7 cm 15.0 x 9.0 cm
Surface Glass Glass
Windows Precision Yes Yes
Further details
Notes on XPS 15 9520 (2022):
    - The USB Type-C to HDMI and Type-A adapter comes in the box.
*Disclaimer! Ports, speakers, display, and other specifications can vary depending on the laptop's specific configuration or region.

Cast your vote

So, which laptop would you choose?
12 (48%)
13 (52%)
Total votes: 25

Comments

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