Apple MacBook Pro 13 with M2 takes Dell XPS 13 Plus with i7-1260P to pieces in benchmark onslaught but at least the x86 laptop looks cooler while getting hotter

Not too long ago, a video posted by YouTuber Dave2D showed the stunning Dell XPS 13 Plus teaching the aged M1 MacBook Pro a lesson in CPU performance, with its i7-1280P chip (configuration now available on Dell’s site) punishing the ARM-based rival. However, it appears Apple has now got a truckload of revenge courtesy of the Max Tech YouTube channel, which has pitted a US$1,849 Dell XPS 13 Plus against a US$1,699 MacBook Pro with Apple M2 chip. It’s important to point out this is by no means a simple “Apple is better than Dell/Intel” exclamation, and the XPS device certainly has plenty of merit. What’s also worth mentioning is that throughout much of the benchmark comparison video, the Windows laptop remains plugged in while the MBP 13 zips along on battery.

There are various screenshots posted below that rapidly tell the story: Despite being more expensive, the Dell XPS 13 Plus with Intel Core i7-1260P processor is consistently beaten by the M2 MacBook Pro in one benchmark after another. It’s worth highlighting some of the pros of the x86 laptop now, as they are considerable. For instance, the design of the Dell XPS 13 Plus is simply beautiful, with the laptop being slimmer, lighter, and smaller than the new MacBook Pro. In addition, it sports a fantastic OLED panel, and it offers a subjectively better sound system. Unsurprisingly, considering the well-reported M2 MacBook Pro SSD scandal, the PCIe 4.0 storage in the XPS 13 Plus is much faster than the Apple laptop’s PCIe 3.0 drive (4,677 MB/s read and 3,790 MB/s write vs. 2,357 MB/s read and 2,621 MB/s write).

Beyond this point, everything goes the way of the 2022 MacBook Pro and its ARM processor. Geekbench 5 results are higher than those of the XPS rival (which really struggles when benchmarked on battery power) and the M2’s 10-core GPU performs well in Metal/Vulkan and GFXBench. In a Cinebench R23 stress test, the 8-core CPU part of the M2 can take on the 12-core i7-1260P and beat it, with the Dell XPS 13 Plus having to throttle performance levels to keep its x86 processor at a tolerable temperature. Early on during the testing, video host Max Yuryev reveals how the XPS laptop is much hotter than the MacBook Pro (42 °C vs. 28 °C at this point) and constantly has its fans running, which also makes the Windows laptop noisier.

The M2 Apple MacBook Pro continues to dominate throughout photo-editing and video-editing tests, with it completely leaving the Dell XPS 13 Plus behind in DR18 4K HEVC Export. The ARM device powers through this benchmark in a time of 1:26 min while the x86 laptop struggles to 7:39 min. Battery life also needs to be considered, and a comparison created by Dave2D is used here, revealing 13 hours and 22 minutes of light use for the M2 MacBook Pro and a still decent 9 hours and 42 minutes for the XPS 13 Plus. It all looks very good for the Apple laptop, which amassed a huge score of 92% in our review. While the Dell XPS 13 Plus certainly looks cooler, the Intel Core i7-1260P appears to make it hotter and affects system performance, which leaves the anachronistic-looking 2022 MacBook Pro with M2 chip soaring away as a divisive highflier. 

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