So if you’ve been reading my blog you’ll have seen my desk of a fashion blogger post where I shared my physical space of where I blog on a day to day basis.
I love a desktop, but I do have a laptop too, and have been thinking lately of getting an upgrade.
The obvious advantages of a laptop are that they are portable, you can work on the go and take them anywhere with you. Writing a men’s fashion blog like Michael 84, it can be advantageous having the option of a full-blown PC rather than just a tablet device.
There’s so many options on the market these days, so which is the best? I have been looking at the Dell XPS laptop range for a while, and they are brilliant.
Dell XPS 13 – Looks And Display
First off we can start with the easy stuff, the looks. It looks brilliant. It’s sleek, thin, and small. This is the world’s smallest 13.3″ laptop on the market, it packs in the screen, keyboard and all the tech goodies inside the same size frame as it’s 11″ competitors.
It’s already a winner in terms of it’s size, getting a 13 inch laptop in an 11 inch space is something which nobody else is doing. This is thanks to it’s beautiful almost borderless design which really sets it apart from the competition. It’s slim too, coming in at 9-15mm, and light to carry weighing only 1.22kgs.
It’s made from aluminium with a carbon fibre composite palm rest, so from the looks and materials used, it’s a premium style of laptop without even getting to the technical specification. The touchpad is made from precision seamless glass and has an integrated button which feels premium.
The XPS uses an UltraSharp QHD+ resolution, 3200×1800, which Dell call Infinity Display. This gives unbelievable detail with 5.7M pixels which is 276ppi, with some models uses a full HD display which gives even more battery life.
It comes with a touch screen or non touch screen option, so you can utilize the touchscreen features of Windows 10.
Technical Features
One of the good things about the XPS 13 is that it comes in an array of configurations, with all having fast SSD drives and the latest 6th generation Intel processor, and of course, Windows 10 as an operating system.
If you’re looking for space, there’s an option for a 1TB SSD drive, along with a colossal 16GB low profile DDR3 RAM at 1866mhz which will aid in multi-tasking, and super fast i7 CPU. The higher end options come with Intel Iris graphics, with the others coming in with Intel HD graphics.
It comes with features you’d expect to find in any laptop; There’s a widescreen HD webcam, card reader, 2 USB 3.0 ports, a Thunderbolt port, a 3.5mm headset jack as well as a battery gauge so you know exactly how much power you have left.
The keyboard is a chiclet style which is backlit, once again emphasising how premium this laptop is.
Battery life is said to be around 10 hours with reasonable usage on the Infinity Display models, which is more than enough for a full day of working and blogging on the go without a re-charge, and the FHD model is said to give a mind boggling 18 hours more than most, if not all laptops in this class.
XPS 15 – The Big Brother
The Dell XPS 13 would be my perfect choice when it comes to laptops, but it has a bigger brother. If you prefer more screen real estate, the XPS 15 is here for you. In terms of looks and build quality it is more of the same as it’s smaller 13″ counterpart.
This means that the 15.6″ screen once again fits into a small frame thanks to the tiny bezel, it has the same infinity display, with it kicked all the way up to 4K Ultra HD resolution; Amazing for watching back videos or photos.
The XPS 15 is also a powerhouse. The smaller XPS will do most you will throw at it, for blogging and everything you could want to do it will be more than capable. The XPS 15 comes with another party piece, a dedicated graphics card, a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M with 2GB GDDR5.
This will make playing games better, and if you do higher end video rendering or other graphic intensive tasks it will be able to handle them better than it’s little brother.
Verdict
The XPS range is right up there with the best laptops on the market currently. The XPS 13 has so much power and in such a small form factor, not to mention the fact it looks stunning and fashionable. I personally think that it’s currently the best laptop on the market for blogging, and pretty much everything else for that matter.
If you want the larger screen size the XPS 15 is the more traditional size, you get the added bonus of it being an even bigger powerhouse, with dedicated graphics if you need that extra performance boost for gaming or high end rendering.
The Dell XPS Laptops start at £849, you can get them at Dell directly.
This post was written in collaboration with Dell
About Michael
Michael Adams is the founder and editor of Michael 84, blogger from Newcastle, UK. Sharing men's fashion tips, style advice and lifestyle information for all guys.
