Whether you’re searching for a budget laptop for the kids or a laptop that’s powerful enough for creative work or gaming, Dell offers a huge variety of great laptops. But which one is right for you? In this article, we’ll break down the top three Dell laptops on the market this year based on price versus performance and the situations they’ll be used in. So whether you’re looking for the best Dell laptop for gaming, work, casual use, school, or anything in between, stay tuned; we’ll have the perfect option for you.
First up is the Dell XPS 13, our pick for the best two-in-one Dell laptop. It’s hard to go wrong with the Dell XPS 13. Not only is it a great Windows alternative to the MacBook Air, it’s a fantastic portable that ranks amongst the best ultrabooks on the market. At 2.8 pounds, this laptop is not only extremely lightweight; it’s incredibly thin, too, measuring in at 0.58 inches at its thickest point. The 13.3-inch touchscreen can be configured as either a 3.5K 3456×2160 OLED display or a UHD 3840×2400 display. The keyboard has bigger, more responsive keys. With key travel, it’s just deep enough to be comfortable without having to make compromises to the portability of the laptop. The touchpad is also very good. It’s not on the level of something like the MacBook Pro, but no Windows 10 laptop ever really comes close to that anyway. For the most part, tracking is incredibly smooth and accurate, and the buttons don’t feel mushy or weak at all. For internal hardware, you could select an Intel i3, i5, or i7 processor, and you could choose integrated Intel UHD or Intel Iris Xe graphics. For system RAM, you could choose either 8 or 16 GB, and for file storage, you can go with the speedy 256 GB, 512 GB, or 1 TB SSD. Ports include two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a 3.5mm headphone mic jack, and a microSD card slot. For battery life, you can expect up to 12 hours on a full charge, so you’ll easily be able to get through a full workday. If you’re looking for a powerful, highly configurable laptop that looks as good as it performs, the Dell XPS 13 is a fantastic choice. The available hardware specification makes it easy to build a system that is best suited for the type of work you do and can handle almost anything you can throw at it.
Next up is the Dell Inspiron 153000, our pick for the best budget Dell laptop. The Dell Inspiron 153000 is a decent budget laptop that can handle day-to-day tasks, like gaming, and it even comes bundled with Windows 11, all for under $700. For a budget laptop, the design and chassis are pretty impressive. The keyboard feels comfortable and gives you a slight bit of feedback while typing. In addition, you also get a dedicated number pad, and the entire board is spill-resistant. The buttonless touchpad is wide, and there’s plenty of space on either side to rest your hands comfortably without any accidental contact. The 15.6-inch non-touch Full HD display improves upon the 1280×720 resolution of its predecessor but falls a bit short when it comes to brightness. At 261 nits, the display will really struggle against bright ambient light, so finding a darker place to work may be necessary. However, this is an expected drawback with budget machines. Like the Dell XPS 13, there are some configuration options available when it comes to the internal hardware. You can choose an Intel i3, i5, or i7 processor and back it up with either Intel UHD or Intel Iris XE graphics. For system RAM, there’s an option for 8 or 12 GB, and to store your apps and files, you could take your pick between a 256 or 5’12 GB SSD. Ports include two USB 3.2 ports, one USB 2.0 port, an HDMI 1.4 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Battery life is very good, and you can expect to get up to 7.5 hours on a full charge. If you’re looking for a solid budget laptop, the Dell Inspiron 153000 will handle all your day-to-day tasks, and its budget price point makes it a very good choice. It improves on many of the issues of the previous 3505 model, and with the inclusion of Windows 11, it’s already a step above its competition.
Last, but not least, is the Dell XPS 17, our pick for the best overall Dell laptop. The XPS 17 is Dell’s best overall laptop and features a large 17-inch display, blistering CPU power, and graphics muscle, all packed into a slim and attractive form factor. The XPS 17 offers workstation-grade power in a chassis that’s comparable to many 15-inch notebooks. And because the Infinity Edge display cuts out the thick bottom bezel, you get a truly seamless display that nearly fills the entire screen. It’s just as ideal for serious multitasking as it is for losing yourself in your favorite movies and shows. Configure your XPS 17 with either a 1920×1200 FHD Plus non-touch display or go all out and get the 3840×2400 UHD Plus touch display. Between the deep 1.3mm travel, soft touch coating, and snappy feedback, the keyboard offers a fantastic typing experience, even after hours of hammering away on work documents and emails. The massive 6 by 3.5-inch touchpad allows you to pinch to zoom and perform multi-finger gestures without any issues. The Intel i7 processor will give you the power you need for any task, and for graphics, this is the only Dell laptop we’ve looked at that offers a discrete graphics card, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 with 4GB of on-board RAM. System RAM comes in 16, 32, or 64GB configurations, and you can select an SSD in sizes from 512GB all the way up to 2TB. For connectivity, you get four Thunderbolt 4 ports and a universal audio jack. Battery life is above average and sits in between the XPS 13 and the Inspiron 15 3000 at 9 hours, so you’ll easily get through an entire workday. The Dell XPS 17 is not just powerful; it’s also thin and lightweight, so if you’re a creative professional who does a lot of traveling, this is the laptop you want. With 9 hours of battery life and a discreet Nvidia graphics card, this compact powerhouse is ideal for daily multitasking, serious content creation, and even AAA gaming.
