Avoid the new XPS 16 Core Ultra 7 option and just go for the far superior Core Ultra X7

The XPS 16 Core Ultra 7 is $100 more than the Core Ultra 5 configuration for almost no boost in performance

Don't ignore the "X" in "Core Ultra X7" as this particular processor offers so much more than the standard non-X Panther Lake options.

Allen Ngo, Published 04/12/2026

The 2026 XPS 16 can be configured with three Panther Lake processors at the moment: Core Ultra 5 325, Core Ultra 7 355, and Core Ultra X7 358H. One might expect the performance deltas between each CPU jump to be somewhat linear, but this couldn't be further from the truth.

Our charts below compare the performance differences between the XPS 16 Core Ultra 5, XPS 14 Core Ultra 7, and XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 configurations. The XPS 16 Core Ultra 7 is not included here as we have yet to benchmark that specific configuration, but its performance levels should be nearly identical to the XPS 14 Core Ultra 7. Jumping from the XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 to the XPS 16 Core Ultra 7 brings almost no advantages even though the latter option is more expensive. If you're in the market for the new XPS 16, then you might want to consider skipping the Core Ultra 7 and invest in more storage or the OLED panel instead.

Jumping from the Core Ultra 5 or Core Ultra 7 to the Ultra X7 is where the XPS 16 really shines. CPU and GPU performance would increase by up to 70 percent and 150 percent, respectively, while consuming just 35 percent more power in the process. One could argue that Dell should have dropped the Core Ultra 7 option entirely as buyers would be paying more money for essentially the same performance as the Core Ultra 5.

More benchmark comparisons can be found on our review on the XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 configuration.

CPU Performance rating: Percent
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | Single Core
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Blender: v2.79 BMW27 CPU
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 | 7z b 4 -mmt1
Geekbench 6.6: Multi-Core | Single-Core
Geekbench 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean

CPU Performance rating
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	84.2 pt
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	83.4 pt
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	62.8 pt
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	59.3 pt

Cinebench R23 / Multi Core
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (17457 - 19841, n=5)	18789 Points +5%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	17884 (15984.6^min - 17883.7^max) Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	11348 (10188.4^min - 11347.5^max) Points -37%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	10989 (10129.7^min - 10989.5^max) Points -39%

Cinebench R23 / Single Core
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	2087 Points
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (2079 - 2087, n=5)	2085 Points 0%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	1940 Points -7%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	1797 Points -14%

Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core)
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (6848 - 7749, n=5)	7393 Points +3%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	7195 Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	4359 Points -39%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	4241 Points -41%

Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core)
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (780 - 792, n=5)	786 Points +1%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	780 Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	733 Points -6%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	690 Points -12%

Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (2986 - 3135, n=5)	3061 Points +3%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	2986 (2491.75^min - 2985.52^max) Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	1654 (1489.92^min - 1654.26^max) Points -45%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	1649 (1510.86^min - 1648.8^max) Points -45%

Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (292 - 312, n=5)	306 Points +1%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	304 Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	288 Points -5%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	267 Points -12%

Blender / v2.79 BMW27 CPU
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	321 Seconds * -64%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	307 Seconds * -57%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	196 Seconds *
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (175 - 218, n=5)	193.8 Seconds * +1%

7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	64852 MIPS
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (58746 - 68533, n=5)	64559 MIPS 0%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	37123 MIPS -43%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	36026 MIPS -44%

7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	6441 MIPS
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (6170 - 6526, n=5)	6336 MIPS -2%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	5764 MIPS -11%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	5592 MIPS -13%

Geekbench 6.6 / Multi-Core
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	16943 Points
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (15698 - 17121, n=6)	16657 Points -2%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	11394 Points -33%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	11088 Points -35%

Geekbench 6.6 / Single-Core
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	2903 Points
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (2836 - 2927, n=6)	2886 Points -1%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	2701 Points -7%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	2622 Points -10%

Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (16310 - 17028, n=5)	16773 Points 0%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	16763 Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	10011 Points -40%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	9854 Points -41%

Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	2119 Points
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (2097 - 2142, n=5)	2118 Points 0%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	1999 Points -6%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	1945 Points -8%

HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (19.5 - 23.1, n=5)	21.2 fps +1%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	21 fps
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	14.6 fps -30%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	14.2 fps -32%

LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	49.5 s *
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	48.4 s * +2%
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (44.8 - 51.9, n=5)	47.7 s * +4%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	43.1 s * +13%

R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Core Ultra 5 325	0.4579 sec * -9%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Core Ultra 7 355	0.4435 sec * -5%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	0.4216 sec *
Average Intel Core Ultra X7 358H (0.4127 - 0.4279, n=6)	0.4208 sec * -0%

* ... smaller is better

3DMark Performance rating | 3DMark 11 | 3DMark

3DMark Performance rating - Percent
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	99.5 pt
Average Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU	98.4 pt
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 7 355	41.6 pt
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 5 325	38.8 pt

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (18261 - 18819, n=6)	18469 Points +1%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	18308 Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 7 355	7317 Points -60%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 5 325	6268 Points -66%

3DMark
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Average Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (16560 - 17498, n=6)	17057 Points 0%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	17018 Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 7 355	7025 Points -59%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 5 325	6815 Points -60%
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	6972 Points
Average Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (4567 - 7190, n=13)	6512 Points -7%
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 7 355	2951 Points -58%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 5 325	2800 Points -60%
2560x1440 Time Spy Score
Average Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU (7270 - 7807, n=6)	7509 Points +1%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Intel Arc B390 12 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra X7 358H	7436 Points
Dell XPS 14 Core Ultra 7 355 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 7 355	3250 Points -56%
Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 Panther Lake iGPU, Intel Core Ultra 5 325	3092 Points -58%