Dell XPS 15 Vs Surface Book 2

In this article, we’ll compare the Dell XPS 15 Vs Surface Book 2 and help you pick the right one. The Dell XPS 15 and Surface Book 2 are two laptops with the capacity to excite even the most joyless tech critic. The quality of both devices is reflected in every aspect of their hardware.

With both laptops having incredible attributes, a lot of PC users have found themselves in a chicken-egg situation on which unit to opt for.

To assist users in making the right PC choice, we intend to provide an in-depth comparison of both gadgets.

Want to know which is the more powerful of the two? Read on to find out!

Dell XPS 15 VS Surface Book 2

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Dell XPS 15 VS Surface Book 2 – Design

Dell XPS 15 retains much of the design of its predecessors in the XPS series. It has an aluminum chassis and lid coupled with a carbon fiber deck, which isn’t loud, yet reeks of class. One of the perks of this combination is a genuinely slim notebook, as the XPS 15 has a thickness of 0.63-inch.

With a weight of 4.38 lbs, this laptop is considerably lightweight, especially when weighed side-by-side with more massive PCs that have similar attributes to HP’s Spectre x360.

The use of carbon fiber for the keyboard deck is surely an oversight from Dell as the material tends to absorb moisture, making the deck unsightly with frequent use.

Though the display is touch-sensitive, the XPS 15 remains a regular notebook to the core – no detachable tablet with this device.

While the Dell XPS 15 packs a punch from a first look, the Surface Book 2 isn’t looking to be undone. The Microsoft Notebook has a magnesium chassis, giving it a brilliant appearance. You can’t fault the fulcrum flex deployed on this laptop, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

With a weight of 4.2 lbs, the Surface Book 2 is a tad lighter than the XPS 15, so the carriage is easy on the hand. Surprisingly, the former is considerably thicker with a depth of 0.9 inches – a situation that can only be explained by the use of lighter components in the Surface Book 2.

Only the Surface Book 2 can be easily transformed into a 5-inch tablet.

The Surface Book 2 wins this round as it’s not only lightweight but convenient and features a smooth laptop-to-tablet transition.

Dell XPS 15 VS Surface Book 2 – Display

To deliver crispy images without consuming too much power, the XPS 15 uses the indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) display. It’s an improvement on the more regular IPS display seen in units lower down the XPS series. The display panel is 4K UHD capable, ensuring vivid colors and great contrasts are possible. Despite the richness of the colors, accuracy remains subpar.

With its vertically-rewarding 3:2 aspect ratio, the Surface Book 2’s display could improve your productivity substantially. Its IPS display panel offers a resolution of 3240 x 2160, which should be good enough for decent color representation and brightness. But for a notebook of its caliber, expectations were crushed.

As far as the display round is concerned, the Surface Book 2 was blown away by the XPS 15. Though the former has a detachable screen, its performance didn’t measure up to the XPS 15.

Dell XPS 15 VS Surface Book 2 – Keyboard, Touchpad, and Pen

The XPS 15 consists of a magnetic keyboard that falters badly in papering the cracks of its 1.3 mm key travel. While the magnetic levitation delivers a brisk and concise typing action, your ears might not appreciate the sound produced. The keyboard has backlight keys, which can be controlled for improved lighting depending on how dimly lit the room is.

There’s nothing special about its precision touchpad. It has decent gesture support, which improves its functionality.

Perhaps the most endearing thing about the XPS 15’s input system is its stylus pen. The electronic pen has a whopping 4096 pressure sensitivity levels, and this helps to make entering information on the laptop’s touch screen possible. It’s also tilt-capable, and the pen easily adheres to the magnetic frame of the laptop.

This Microsoft PC has a keyboard that’s buoyed by its 1.55mm key travel – a remarkable feat in such a slim unit. Typing on the Surface Book 2 is much comfier than the XPS 15, and it’s not weighed down by the easily swamped carbon fiber deck.

The precision touchpad is exceptionally tactile, leaving that of the XPS 15 in its wake.

The Surface Book 2’s stylus pen isn’t much different from the Dell XPS 15 confirmed by its 4096 pressure levels. It can be tilted and responds well, regardless of the position of the display.

Again, the XPS 15 is underwhelmed compared to the Surface Book 2. Its rather average keyboard undermined whatever positive the magnetic input might have contributed.

Dell XPS 15 VS Surface Book 2 – Performance & Configuration

With the XPS 15, you get a 9th generation 8-core processor, 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7-9750H packed with 32GB RAM. Multi-tasking should be a breeze with this laptop. Add its 1TB PCIe SSD storage, and the XPS 15 is undoubtedly a super-fast machine that gets things done quickly.

The laptop is also equipped with an Intel UHD 630 GPU and a 4GB VRAM Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650. All your graphics needs are certainly covered with this unit.

To counter the Dell XPS 15’s impressive configuration, Microsoft’s Surface Book 2 comes with a remarkable 8th generation 3.20 GHz Intel Core i7 -8650U processor. Though smaller than the XPS 15, the 16GB RAM on the Surface Book 2 is massive and should be efficient at handling everything you throw at it. With a 15 TDP, this processor uses less power to achieve a lot.

Not to be undone, the Surface Book 2 has a storage capacity of 1TB PCIe SSD, which gives you an impressive boot time and quick application loading time.

This Microsoft unit has a 6GB RAM Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, delivering a much better gaming experience compared to the XPS 15.

Both units bring a lot to the table, but the XPS 15 offers much more on the performance meter. Its configuration settings are staggering compared to the Surface Book 2, but the Dell notebook falters in its VRAM capability.

Dell XPS 15 VS Surface Book 2 – Battery

This laptop is equipped with a 97WHr battery. How long it will last depends on the applications running on the device. When gaming at about 60 fps, you can expect a few hours of runtime. For less power-gobbling tasks, it could stay on for up to 10 hours.

While Surface Book 2 comes with a 90WHr battery, which delivers hours of video playback and regular tasks. Due to its 15TDP processor, Surface Book 2 uses less power compared to the XPS 15, so its battery tends to last longer. If you decide to detach the display, you’ll get only a fraction of that battery life as it wasn’t built to function for long hours outside the base.

Both laptops have decent batteries, but the Surface Book 2 tends to last longer on a single charge due to its less power-demanding processor.

Final Thoughts

There’s no clear-cut winner in this duel. With the Microsoft Surface Book 2, you are getting a better keyboard, design, battery life, and additional features. But the Dell XPS 15 has a more impressive configuration, remarkable display, and more flexible pricing.

Both are bound to deliver in all aspects, though the Dell XPS 15’s display isn’t detachable. If that’s a deal-breaker, then the Surface Book 2 might be worth looking at.

Last update on 2024-11-23 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API