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Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN vs. Dell XPS 13 9380: the GeForce power difference

Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN vs. Dell XPS 13 9380: The GeForce power difference
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN vs. Dell XPS 13 9380: The GeForce power difference
Ever wanted an XPS 13 but found its screen too small and graphics too slow? The Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN offers a larger display and much more powerful GPU while being lighter and almost the same size as the Dell equivalent for about the same price.

The slim Asus ZenBook S series is getting better and sleeker with each generation and this latest subnotebook model from CES 2019 is no exception. The ultimate test to buyers, however, will be how well it compares to the popular XPS 13 champion. For this test, we'll be pitting the ZenBook S13 UX392FN against the XPS 13 9380 with similar CPU and RAM configurations (Core i7-8565U, 16 GB RAM) to see which model comes out on top.

Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FNDell XPS 13 9380
CPUCore i5-8265U
Core i7-8565U
Core i3-8145U
Core i5-8265U
Core i7-8565U
GPU10 W GeForce MX150 w/ 2 GB GDDR5 VRAMUHD Graphics 620
Display13.9-inch 1080p glossy13.3-inch 1080p matte or glossy
13.3-inch 2160p glossy touchscreen
RAM8 GB to 16 GB LPDDR3-2133
Soldered
4 GB to 16 GB LPDDR3-2133
Soldered
StorageM.2 2280 NVMeM.2 2280 NVMe
Battery50 Wh52 Wh
Ports

2x USB Type-C Gen. 2
1x USB Type-A
MicroSD slot
3.5 mm audio

2x Thunderbolt 3
1x USB Type-C Gen. 2
MicroSD slot
3.5 mm audio
Noble Lock
Dimensions12.9 x 316 x 19511.6 x 302 x 199
Weight1.1 kg1.23 kg
MSRP$1400$900 to $1900


Case

Asus is able to offer a 13.9-inch screen in a chassis size nearly as small as the 13.3-inch XPS 13. The UX392 is about 15 mm wider, but it manages to be lighter than the Dell by about 100 g to be just as portable.

Outside of dimensions and weight, we still find the XPS 13 chassis to be more sound and slightly sturdier when it comes to rigidity and longevity. The all-aluminum UX392 doesn't quite match the magnesium and carbon fiber makeup of the XPS 13 series.

Ports

The biggest difference between the two systems in terms of port options are Thunderbolt 3 and USB Type-A. While the Asus UX392 lacks the former and includes the latter, the opposite is true for the XPS 13. The more desirable port will depend on the user.

The MicroSD reader on the XPS 13 offers significantly faster transfer rates. Moving 1 GB of pictures from our UHS-II test card to desktop is 2x to 3x faster on the Dell system than on the Asus.

CPU Performance 

When equipped with the same Core i7-8565U CPU, the XPS 13 is able to outperform the Asus by 5 to 18 percent in CineBench R15 benchmarks. This is partly due to the superior Turbo Boost performance of the Dell as it is able to sustain faster clock rates for longer periods than the Asus as shown by our graph below.

GPU Performance

The minor differences in CPU performance is offset by the massive GPU gains. The ZenBook UX392 is configured with a dedicated 10 W GeForce MX150 GPU whereas the XPS 13 is limited to integrated graphics only. 3DMark benchmarks show a significant performance advantage of up to almost 100 percent over the UHD Graphics 620. This makes the Asus the better system for casual games like Rocket League, Fortnite, DOTA 2, and more.

Display

The edge goes to Asus with its larger 13.9-inch screen, more accurate colors out of the box, faster response times for less ghosting, and slightly brighter display overall. The two major advances on the side of Dell are its optional touchscreen and 4K UHD SKUs that the Asus Ultrabook is lacking.

Fan Noise

Both laptops are essentially silent or close to it with no pulsing behavior during low processing loads like emailing, browsing, or video streaming. When gaming, fan noise on the Asus will be noticeably louder than on the XPS 13 since it carries a dedicated GPU (41 dB(A) vs. 32 to 35 dB(A)).

Power Consumption

Naturally, the Asus will demand more power when under heavier loads by about 14 W because of its dedicated GPU. When simply word processing or video streaming, however, consumption becomes comparable to the Dell XPS 13.

Battery Life

Expect about 8.5 hours of battery life from the Asus to be comparable to the 4K UHD XPS 13 SKU. The FHD XPS 13 SKU, however, can last for much longer at over 13 hours when subjected to the same WLAN loads.

Verdict

The biggest reasons to own a ZenBook S13 UX392FN over the XPS 13 9380 are for its larger 13.9-inch display and discrete GeForce MX150 graphics. If you ever wished that the XPS 13 could offer more graphics performance and a bigger screen without being any larger or heavier, then the UX392FN is definitely worth a look. The Asus one-ups the Dell even further by incorporating USB Type-A and a brighter and more accurate display.

On the other hand, if you have no interest in casual gaming or light video editing, then much of the appeal of the UX392FN is gone. The discrete GPU takes away from the battery life and adds more noise when under high processing loads. The XPS 13 still has the superior docking capabilities if you plan on connecting eGPUs or multiple external monitors down the road.

As always, check our reviews on the Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN and XPS 13 9380 for more details on each model.

Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FNDell XPS 13 9380
Advantages+ Much more powerful discrete GeForce MX150 GPU
+ Lighter and almost as small
+ Display is brighter, more color accurate, and better calibrated
+ Faster response times for less ghosting
+ Larger display
+ USB Type-A
+ Faster MicroSD performance
+ Slightly faster CPU performance
+ Quieter fans when under high load
+ Longer battery life on FHD SKU
+ 4K UHD and touchscreen options
+ Thunderbolt 3 and Noble Lock
+ Slightly tougher and more rigid

 

 

Size Comparison

316 mm / 12.4 inch 195 mm / 7.68 inch 12.9 mm / 0.508 inch 1.1 kg2.43 lbs302 mm / 11.9 inch 199 mm / 7.83 inch 11.6 mm / 0.4567 inch 1.2 kg2.7 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs
04080120160200240280320360400440480520560600640680720Tooltip
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN Intel Core i7-8565U, Intel Core i7-8565U: Ø514 (487.58-728.05)
Dell XPS 13 9380 2019 Intel Core i5-8265U, Intel Core i5-8265U: Ø614 (574.66-670.36)
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
Intel Core i7-8565U
184 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Intel Core i7-8565U
175 Points
Average Intel Core i7-8565U
  (138.3 - 193, n=51)
172.5 Points
CPU Multi 64Bit
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
Intel Core i7-8565U
735 Points
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
Intel Core i7-8565U
677 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Intel Core i7-8565U
728 Points
Average Intel Core i7-8565U
  (452 - 815, n=52)
612 Points
PCMark 10
Score
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
4172 Points
Average Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (3704 - 4344, n=6)
4022 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
GeForce MX150, i7-8565U, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
3970 Points
Digital Content Creation
Average Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (3194 - 3722, n=6)
3508 Points
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
3370 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
GeForce MX150, i7-8565U, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
3334 Points
Productivity
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
6911 Points
Average Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (5994 - 7281, n=6)
6467 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
GeForce MX150, i7-8565U, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
6398 Points
Essentials
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
8466 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
GeForce MX150, i7-8565U, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
7962 Points
Average Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (6763 - 8382, n=6)
7798 Points
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
GeForce MX150, i7-8565U, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
3712 Points
Average Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (3141 - 4092, n=6)
3688 Points
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
3296 Points
Work Score Accelerated v2
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
GeForce MX150, i7-8565U, WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
5159 Points
Average Intel Core i7-8565U, NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (4240 - 5254, n=6)
4897 Points
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
UHD Graphics 620, i7-8565U, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
4304 Points
3DMark - 1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (16227 - 22183, n=43)
19512 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
NVIDIA GeForce MX150
18423 Points
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
Intel UHD Graphics 620
9582 Points
3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average NVIDIA GeForce MX150
  (2796 - 4905, n=47)
4191 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
NVIDIA GeForce MX150
3540 Points
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
Intel UHD Graphics 620
1855 Points
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Tianma XM, IPS, 1920x1080
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
ID: AUO 282B B133ZAN Dell: 90NTH, IPS, 3840x2160
Dell XPS 13 9380 2019 FHD
AUO5B2D B133HAN Dell P/N: 06VG6 , , 1920x1080
Display
Display P3 Coverage
67.5
64.8
69.7
sRGB Coverage
95.8
93.6
99.4
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
69
65.8
71.1
Response Times
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
47.2 ?(23.6, 23.6)
64.8 ?(31.6, 33.2)
54 ?(26, 28)
Response Time Black / White *
24.8 ?(14, 10.8)
38 ?(19.2, 18.8)
33 ?(17, 16)
PWM Frequency
Screen
Brightness middle
466
428.3
428
Brightness
462
414
408
Brightness Distribution
90
88
84
Black Level *
0.33
0.27
0.26
Contrast
1412
1586
1646
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
1.93
2.69
1.16
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
4.26
6.19
2.19
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *
1.99
2.01
0.9
Greyscale dE 2000 *
1.7
3.7
1.23
Gamma
2.15 102%
2.1 105%
2.46 89%
CCT
6382 102%
6706 97%
6648 98%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
62.2
60.4
65
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
95.7
93.5
99
Total Average (Program / Settings)

* ... smaller is better

Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
WDC PC SN520 SDAPNUW-512G
Dell XPS 13 9380 2019
SK hynix PC401 HFS256GD9TNG
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6
Write 4K
149.2
84.6
139.5
Read 4K
47.18
38.52
61.3
Write Seq
750
557
1863
Read Seq
1137
1393
2494
Write 4K Q32T1
749
339.5
772
Read 4K Q32T1
478.7
255.4
454.8
Write Seq Q32T1
1453
558
1869
Read Seq Q32T1
1713
2541
3480
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
i7-8565U, GeForce MX150
Dell XPS 13 9380 2019
i5-8265U, UHD Graphics 620
Dell XPS 13 9380 i7 4K
i7-8565U, UHD Graphics 620
Noise
off / environment *
28.1
30.4
28.4
Idle Minimum *
28.1
30.4
29.4
Idle Average *
28.1
30.4
29.4
Idle Maximum *
29
30.4
29.4
Load Average *
41.1
31.7
34.6
Witcher 3 ultra *
41.1
Load Maximum *
41.1
38.1
46.8

* ... smaller is better

Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
i7-8565U, GeForce MX150, 50 Wh
Dell XPS 13 9380 2019
i5-8265U, UHD Graphics 620, 52 Wh
Dell XPS 13 9380 2019 FHD
i7-8565U, UHD Graphics 620, 52 Wh
Battery Runtime
Reader / Idle
1710
1032
1914
WiFi v1.3
506
498
790
Load
99
141
133
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
i7-8565U, GeForce MX150
Dell XPS 13 9380 2019
i5-8265U, UHD Graphics 620
Dell XPS 13 9380 2019 FHD
i7-8565U, UHD Graphics 620
Power Consumption
Idle Minimum *
3.4
4.8
3.6
Idle Average *
6.3
8.6
5.7
Idle Maximum *
10.4
10.4
7.4
Load Average *
51
37.9
44
Witcher 3 ultra *
39
Load Maximum *
62.7
48.5
48.1

* ... smaller is better

Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Dell XPS 13 9380
Dell XPS 13 9380
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Dell XPS 13 9380
Dell XPS 13 9380
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Dell XPS 13 9380
Dell XPS 13 9380
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN
Dell XPS 13 9380
Dell XPS 13 9380
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN (High load)
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN (High load)
Dell XPS 13 9380 (High load)
Dell XPS 13 9380 (High load)
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN (High load)
Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN (High load)
Dell XPS 13 9380 (High load)
Dell XPS 13 9380 (High load)
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2019 05 > Asus ZenBook S13 UX392FN vs. Dell XPS 13 9380: the GeForce power difference
Allen Ngo, 2019-05- 2 (Update: 2019-05- 2)