Notebookcheck Logo

Dell XPS 15 9570 (i9-8950HK, 4K UHD, GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q) Laptop Review

Too much power? After checking out the Core i5 and Core i7 SKUs, we're now finally ready to benchmark the Core i9 version of the XPS 15 9570. In short, users are better off investing in more storage, RAM, or faster graphics than to plop down an additional $250+ for the Core i9-8950HK.

The XPS 15 is Dell's premier consumer laptop and it carries premier hardware to back it all up. While 15-inch laptops aren't uncommon, the XPS 15 is special for being so thin and compact while offering Core i9, discrete Nvidia graphics, and 4K touchscreen options all in one.

Our test unit today represents the highest-end configuration that the XPS 15 9570 has to offer and we're especially excited to see how it performs when compared to the lower-end Core i5 and i7 SKUs. We recommend checking out our existing reviews on the XPS 15 for more information on the chassis, display, and its features since the visual design of the XPS 15 9570 has remained essentially unchanged since the XPS 15 9550 days. Our review here will instead focus on the CPU and its supposed advantages over the Core i7 alternative.

More Dell XPS 15 reviews:

Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD (XPS 15 9570 Series)
Processor
Intel Core i9-8950HK 6 x 2.9 - 4.8 GHz, Coffee Lake-H
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q - 4 GB VRAM, Core: 1290 MHz, Memory: 7008 MHz, GDDR5, 397.93, Optimus
Memory
32 GB 
, PC4-21300, 19-19-19-43, Dual-Channel
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 3840 x 2160 pixel 282 PPI, LQ156D1, IPS, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel CM246
Storage
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR, 1024 GB 
Soundcard
Intel Cannon Lake-H/S - cAVS (Audio, Voice, Speech)
Connections
2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 USB 3.1 Gen2, 1 Thunderbolt, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo, Card Reader: SD reader, 1 Fingerprint Reader
Networking
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 17 x 357 x 235 ( = 0.67 x 14.06 x 9.25 in)
Battery
97 Wh Lithium-Polymer
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 720p
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, Dell Power Manager, Digital Delivery, PremierColor, Mobile Connect, Update, 12 Months Warranty
Weight
2.014 kg ( = 71.04 oz / 4.44 pounds), Power Supply: 439 g ( = 15.49 oz / 0.97 pounds)
Price
2800 USD
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

Case

365 mm / 14.4 inch 251 mm / 9.88 inch 18.9 mm / 0.744 inch 1.9 kg4.14 lbs361.8 mm / 14.2 inch 245.7 mm / 9.67 inch 18.7 mm / 0.736 inch 1.8 kg4.06 lbs359 mm / 14.1 inch 250 mm / 9.84 inch 19.3 mm / 0.76 inch 2.1 kg4.59 lbs355 mm / 14 inch 235 mm / 9.25 inch 19.9 mm / 0.783 inch 2 kg4.48 lbs357 mm / 14.1 inch 235 mm / 9.25 inch 17 mm / 0.669 inch 2 kg4.44 lbs354 mm / 13.9 inch 235 mm / 9.25 inch 16 mm / 0.63 inch 2 kg4.41 lbs297 mm / 11.7 inch 210 mm / 8.27 inch 1 mm / 0.03937 inch 5.7 g0.01257 lbs
SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme-20MF000XGE
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
189 MB/s +7%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
176.6 MB/s
HP Spectre x360 15-ch011nr
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
163.8 MB/s -7%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
138 MB/s -22%
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
64.2 MB/s -64%
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme-20MF000XGE
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
241.7 MB/s +16%
HP Spectre x360 15-ch011nr
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
212.4 MB/s +2%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
207.8 MB/s
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
  (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 UHS-II)
200.4 MB/s -4%
Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter
655 MBit/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme-20MF000XGE
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
628 (593min - 651max) MBit/s -4%
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
584 MBit/s -11%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1435 Wireless Network Adapter
521 MBit/s -20%
HP Spectre x360 15-ch011nr
Intel Wireless-AC 9260
479 MBit/s -27%
iperf3 receive AX12
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
662 MBit/s +5%
HP Spectre x360 15-ch011nr
Intel Wireless-AC 9260
656 MBit/s +4%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1435 Wireless Network Adapter
640 MBit/s +2%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter
630 MBit/s
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme-20MF000XGE
Intel Wireless-AC 9560
627 (319min - 666max) MBit/s 0%

Display

Dell utilizes the same 4K UHD LQ156D1 panel from Sharp across its XPS 15 9570 SKUs. Consequently, characteristics like response times, contrast, pulse-width modulation, and color coverage between our 4K i7 SKU and 4K i9 SKU are very similar between them. This unfortunately includes the inaccurate representation of Red and Violet colors yet again despite the otherwise deep colors and crisp text. Maximum brightness continues to be brighter than most other competing 15-inch laptops save for the notable exception of the MacBook Pro 15.

Slight backlight bleeding is present along the bottom edge of the screen on our unit. It's largely unnoticeable even during movie playback.

Light-moderate uneven backlight bleeding along bottom edge
Light-moderate uneven backlight bleeding along bottom edge
RGB subpixel array (282 PPI)
RGB subpixel array (282 PPI)
PremierColor settings prior to calibrating the display
PremierColor settings prior to calibrating the display
PremierColor version used
PremierColor version used
397.8
cd/m²
381.3
cd/m²
365.1
cd/m²
432.7
cd/m²
451.9
cd/m²
419.5
cd/m²
421.5
cd/m²
421.6
cd/m²
430.2
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
LQ156D1 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2
Maximum: 451.9 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 413.5 cd/m² Minimum: 22.46 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 81 %
Center on Battery: 430.4 cd/m²
Contrast: 1255:1 (Black: 0.36 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.62 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 2.69
ΔE Greyscale 6.9 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
98.5% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
71.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
79.7% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
98.4% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
79.6% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.2
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
LQ156D1, IPS, 15.60, 3840x2160
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE
AU Optronics B156ZAN03.1, IPS, 15.60, 3840x2160
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme-20MF000XGE
B156ZAN03.2, IPS, 15.60, 3840x2160
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Sharp SHP148D, IPS, 15.60, 3840x2160
HP Spectre x360 15-ch011nr
BOE0730, IPS, 15.60, 3840x2160
Razer Blade 15 Base Model
BOE NV156FHM-N61, IPS, 15.60, 1920x1080
Display
11%
12%
-1%
-13%
-17%
Display P3 Coverage
79.6
85.9
8%
86.3
8%
78.7
-1%
68.5
-14%
66.3
-17%
sRGB Coverage
98.4
100
2%
100
2%
97.9
-1%
90.7
-8%
86.6
-12%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
79.7
99.1
24%
99.4
25%
79.2
-1%
66.3
-17%
63.3
-21%
Response Times
22%
-10%
-1%
11%
678%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
52.4 ?(27.6, 24.8)
44 ?(22, 22)
16%
61.6 ?(30.8, 30.8)
-18%
48.4 ?(23.2, 25.2)
8%
38 ?(20.4, 17.6)
27%
39.2 ?(19.6, 19.6)
25%
Response Time Black / White *
31.6 ?(18, 13.6)
22.8 ?(12, 10.8)
28%
32 ?(15.6, 16.4)
-1%
34.8 ?(19.2, 15.6)
-10%
27.6 ?(15.6, 12)
13%
35.2 ?(20.4, 14.8)
-11%
PWM Frequency
1000 ?(25)
1000 ?(25)
0%
943 ?(99)
-6%
21190 ?(99)
2019%
Screen
6%
20%
21%
-6%
2%
Brightness middle
451.9
357.6
-21%
396
-12%
488
8%
329.3
-27%
273.6
-39%
Brightness
414
350
-15%
380
-8%
440
6%
316
-24%
262
-37%
Brightness Distribution
81
85
5%
90
11%
81
0%
84
4%
86
6%
Black Level *
0.36
0.35
3%
0.28
22%
0.3
17%
0.31
14%
0.3
17%
Contrast
1255
1022
-19%
1414
13%
1627
30%
1062
-15%
912
-27%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
5.62
4.12
27%
4
29%
3.16
44%
4.78
15%
3.22
43%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *
19.1
9.91
48%
7.6
60%
8.8
54%
11.75
38%
7.61
60%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *
2.69
4.23
-57%
0.9
67%
3.51
-30%
4.1
-52%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
6.9
1.8
74%
6.1
12%
3.3
52%
7.9
-14%
1.4
80%
Gamma
2.2 100%
2.17 101%
2.25 98%
2.178 101%
2.24 98%
2.24 98%
CCT
6254 104%
6613 98%
7786 83%
6811 95%
8323 78%
6636 98%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
71.8
87.5
22%
88.5
23%
71.7
0%
58.8
-18%
56.4
-21%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)
98.5
100
2%
100
2%
97.9
-1%
90.4
-8%
86.2
-12%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
13% / 9%
7% / 15%
6% / 13%
-3% / -4%
221% / 118%

* ... smaller is better

 

vs. sRGB
vs. sRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
vs. AdobeRGB
Grayscale before calibration
Grayscale before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
Saturation Sweeps before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
ColorChecker before calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Grayscale after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
Saturation Sweeps after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration
ColorChecker after calibration

Display Response Times

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.
       Response Time Black to White
31.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 18 ms rise
↘ 13.6 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 83 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms).
       Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
52.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined↗ 27.6 ms rise
↘ 24.8 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers.
In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 87 % of all devices are better.
This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.
Screen flickering / PWM detected 1000 Hz ≤ 25 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 1000 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 25 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 1000 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.


Outdoors under shade
Outdoors under shade
Outdoors on cloudy day
Outdoors on cloudy day
Outdoors on cloudy day
Outdoors on cloudy day
Wide viewing angles
Wide viewing angles

Performance

Unless otherwise stated, all benchmarks below were performed with the unit set to High Performance mode on both Windows and the Dell Power Manager software. Our goal is to see how powerful the i9 XPS 15 can be when at its best stock settings.

Processor

CineBench R15
CineBench R15

Current SKUs of the XPS 15 9570 include the Core i5-8300H, Core i7-8750H, or Core i9-8950HK. There's no question that the jump in performance from the quad-core i5 to the hexa-core i7 is quite significant at almost 50 percent in multi-threaded workloads. The performance delta between the i5 and i9, however, is a gray area. In this case, the i9 XPS 15 is not all that much faster than a stock i7 XPS 15. We are able to record a performance boost of only about 10 percent at most when both configurations are subjected to non-stop processing stress to imply that the Core i9 SKU is just slightly better at maintaining faster Turbo Boost clock rates. Otherwise, the gain is so marginal that even most performance users will not notice.

The competing Asus ZenBook UX580 carries the same Core i9 CPU as our Dell, but it performs slightly slower to be even closer to a baseline i7-8750H. Users who actually want the full performance of a Core i9-8950HK should consider the thicker MSI GT75 where performance can be almost 25 percent faster than the same CPU in the i9 XPS 15.

Intel XTU can be used to tweak the CPU for potentially faster performance. Unfortunately, our test unit inevitably crashes after a couple of minutes each time the program is launched.

See our dedicated page on the Core i9-8950HK for more technical details and benchmark comparisons.

07014021028035042049056063070077084091098010501120119012601330Tooltip
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø1095 (1008.45-1230.43)
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G; CPU Multi 64Bit; Undervolting: Ø1168 (1123.47-1219.85)
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø1012 (980.27-1215.12)
MSI GT75 8RG-090 Titan GeForce GTX 1080 Mobile, i9-8950HK, 2x Samsung PM961 MZVLW256HEHP (RAID 0); CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø1353 (1323.32-1378.12)
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM961 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVLW1T0); CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø1039 (1027.64-1112.59)
Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
MSI GT75 8RG-090 Titan
Intel Core i9-8950HK
205 Points +8%
Average Intel Core i9-8950HK
  (185 - 206, n=14)
195.9 Points +3%
Eurocom Sky X4C
Intel Core i7-8700K
192 Points +1%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
Intel Core i9-8950HK
190 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
176 Points -7%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8750H
175 Points -8%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Intel Core i7-8705G
174 Points -8%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
Intel Core i5-8300H
167 Points -12%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8550U
165 Points -13%
Dell XPS 15 9560 (i7-7700HQ, UHD)
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
157 Points -17%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
146 Points -23%
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
1801 Points +46%
MSI GT75 8RG-090 Titan
Intel Core i9-8950HK
1378 Points +12%
Eurocom Sky X4C
Intel Core i7-8700K
1359 Points +10%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8750H
1251 Points +2%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8750H
1215 Points -1%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
Intel Core i9-8950HK
1230 Points
Average Intel Core i9-8950HK
  (1051 - 1391, n=14)
1220 Points -1%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
Intel Core i5-8300H
840 Points -32%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Intel Core i7-8705G
746 Points -39%
Dell XPS 15 9560 (i7-7700HQ, UHD)
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
735 Points -40%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8550U
639 Points -48%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
Intel Core i5-7300HQ
508 Points -59%
Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
MSI GT75 8RG-090 Titan
Intel Core i9-8950HK
2.33 Points
Average Intel Core i9-8950HK
  (2.1 - 2.34, n=7)
2.23 Points
Eurocom Sky X4C
Intel Core i7-8700K
2.16 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Intel Core i7-8705G
1.97 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
1.95 Points
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8550U
1.9 Points
Dell XPS 15 9560 (i7-7700HQ, UHD)
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
1.78 Points
CPU Multi 64Bit
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
18.68 Points
MSI GT75 8RG-090 Titan
Intel Core i9-8950HK
15.05 Points
Eurocom Sky X4C
Intel Core i7-8700K
14.98 Points
Average Intel Core i9-8950HK
  (12 - 15.1, n=7)
13.6 Points
Dell XPS 15 9560 (i7-7700HQ, UHD)
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
8.14 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Intel Core i7-8705G
7.65 Points
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8550U
6.35 Points
Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
Eurocom Sky X4C
Intel Core i7-8700K
38810 Points
Average Intel Core i9-8950HK
  (32438 - 39380, n=5)
36321 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
34763 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Intel Core i7-8705G
23794 Points
Dell XPS 15 9560 (i7-7700HQ, UHD)
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
21671 Points
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8550U
20666 Points
Rendering Single 32Bit
Average Intel Core i9-8950HK
  (6978 - 7735, n=5)
7282 Points
Eurocom Sky X4C
Intel Core i7-8700K
7243 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Intel Core i7-8705G
6436 Points
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8550U
6345 Points
Dell XPS 15 9560 (i7-7700HQ, UHD)
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
5825 Points
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
5256 Points
wPrime 2.10 - 1024m
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
Intel Core i7-8550U
372.4 s *
Average Intel Core i9-8950HK
 
245 s *
Dell XPS 15 9560 (i7-7700HQ, UHD)
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
214.9 s *
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Intel Core i7-8705G
197.6 s *
Eurocom Sky X4C
Intel Core i7-8700K
120.9 s *
AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X
96.6 s *

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
120.7 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
1230 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
190 Points
Help

System Performance

PCMark benchmarks rank our i9 SKU within single-digit percentages of the i7 SKU to show that the Core i9 has very little impact on system performance during day-to-day office loads. We experienced several BSOD crashes during our time with the unit and they all involved either GPU-Z, HWiNFO, Intel XTU, or the i1Profiler display software in some way. The stop codes 'VIDEO_DXGKRNL_FATAL_ERROR' or 'DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE' would occur each time.

PCMark 10 Standard
PCMark 10 Standard
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Home Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 8 Work Accelerated
PCMark 10
Score
Average of class Multimedia
  (4039 - 8670, n=81, last 2 years)
6551 Points +29%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
5059 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G, SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
5001 Points -1%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
4966 Points -2%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H, Lite-On CA3-8D256-Q11
4479 Points -11%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
3728 Points -26%
Essentials
Average of class Multimedia
  (8480 - 12420, n=81, last 2 years)
10420 Points +16%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G, SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
9360 Points +5%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
8951 Points
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
8429 Points -6%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H, Lite-On CA3-8D256-Q11
7922 Points -11%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
7410 Points -17%
Productivity
Average of class Multimedia
  (5462 - 11186, n=81, last 2 years)
8687 Points +20%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
7212 Points
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
7037 Points -2%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G, SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
6786 Points -6%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H, Lite-On CA3-8D256-Q11
6592 Points -9%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
5475 Points -24%
Digital Content Creation
Average of class Multimedia
  (3861 - 13548, n=81, last 2 years)
8558 Points +57%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
5605 Points +3%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
5444 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G, SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
5346 Points -2%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H, Lite-On CA3-8D256-Q11
4672 Points -14%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
2994 Points -45%
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Average of class Multimedia
  (4484 - 5525, n=9, last 2 years)
5075 Points +32%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G, SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
4235 Points +10%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H, Lite-On CA3-8D256-Q11
4030 Points +5%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
3840 Points
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
3659 Points -5%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
3631 Points -5%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
3371 Points -12%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Average of class Multimedia
  (3115 - 6078, n=9, last 2 years)
5278 Points +14%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H, Lite-On CA3-8D256-Q11
5271 Points +14%
Dell XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD)
GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-7300HQ, WDC WD10SPCX-75KHST0 + SanDisk Z400s M.2 2242 32 GB Cache
4884 Points +6%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
4620 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G, SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
4469 Points -3%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
4418 Points -4%
Dell XPS 13 9370 i7 UHD
UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
4125 Points -11%
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3840 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4620 points
PCMark 10 Score
5059 points
Help

Storage Devices

Unlike our i7 XPS 15 and its 512 GB Toshiba SSD, our i9 XPS 15 carries a 1 TB Samsung PM981 SSD with faster sequential read and write rates of 1599 MB/s and 2216 MB/s, respectively. Note that the secondary 2.5-inch SATA III bay option is not available on Core i9 SKUs.

See our table of HDDs and SSDs for more benchmark comparisons.

AS SSD
AS SSD
CDM 5.5
CDM 5.5
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE
Samsung SSD PM961 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVLW1T0)
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme-20MF000XGE
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
HP Spectre x360 15-ch011nr
SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
Razer Blade 15 Base Model
Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
AS SSD
-1%
40%
-19%
-22%
-17%
Seq Read
1320
2099
59%
2703
105%
2302
74%
1739
32%
1803
37%
Seq Write
1500
1729
15%
2336
56%
752
-50%
1189
-21%
1367
-9%
4K Read
30.73
37.78
23%
56.8
85%
41.38
35%
38.76
26%
40.75
33%
4K Write
94.4
100.9
7%
130.9
39%
94.3
0%
93.2
-1%
93
-1%
4K-64 Read
1453
1431
-2%
1805
24%
649
-55%
646
-56%
749
-48%
4K-64 Write
1815
1273
-30%
1782
-2%
637
-65%
545
-70%
1270
-30%
Access Time Read *
0.061
0.04
34%
0.034
44%
0.044
28%
0.054
11%
0.113
-85%
Access Time Write *
0.044
0.036
18%
0.028
36%
0.051
-16%
0.051
-16%
0.04
9%
Score Read
1616
1679
4%
2132
32%
921
-43%
859
-47%
970
-40%
Score Write
2059
1547
-25%
2147
4%
807
-61%
757
-63%
1499
-27%
Score Total
4507
4065
-10%
5355
19%
2132
-53%
2037
-55%
2952
-35%
Copy ISO MB/s
2577
1045
-59%
1523
-41%
1668
-35%
1892
-27%
Copy Program MB/s
515
430.9
-16%
487.9
-5%
486.8
-5%
495.5
-4%
Copy Game MB/s
1120
728
-35%
944
-16%
1042
-7%
1070
-4%

* ... smaller is better

Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
CDM 5/6 Read Seq Q32T1: 2251 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1: 2395 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1: 321.4 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1: 603 MB/s
CDM 5 Read Seq: 1599 MB/s
CDM 5 Write Seq: 2216 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K: 52.6 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K: 103 MB/s

GPU Performance

The GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q is an uncommon find since most OEMs tend to make the jump to a standard GTX 1050 Ti instead. We suspect that Dell went with the less demanding Max-Q variant due to thermal limitations of the chassis. After all, last year's XPS 15 9560 was limited up to the GTX 1050 and the XPS 15 9570 chassis still utilizes the same cooling solution. Performance is neck-to-neck with the Radeon RX Vega M GL as found on the XPS 15 9575.

3DMark benchmarks show the GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q to be about 10 to 20 percent faster than the GTX 1050 and 5 to 10 percent slower than a "proper" mobile GTX 1050 Ti.

3DMark 11
3DMark 11
Cloud Gate
Cloud Gate
Fire Strike
Fire Strike
3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Asus GL704GM-DH74
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H
15436 Points +71%
Dell G7 15-7588
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-8750H
14487 Points +60%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G
10118 Points +12%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
9725 Points +8%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK
9032 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q
  (8317 - 9079, n=7)
8781 Points -3%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H
7790 Points -14%
HP EliteBook 1050 G1-4QY20EA
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q, i7-8750H
6874 Points -24%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Dell G7 15-7588
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-8750H
10798 Points +28%
Asus GL704GM-DH74
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H
9275 Points +10%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G
8633 Points +2%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK
8450 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q
  (7376 - 8982, n=7)
8396 Points -1%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H
7607 Points -10%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
7281 Points -14%
HP EliteBook 1050 G1-4QY20EA
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q, i7-8750H
7176 Points -15%
3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Dell G7 15-7588
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-8750H
81015 Points +92%
Asus GL704GM-DH74
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H
72659 Points +72%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
49539 Points +17%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q
  (41871 - 50801, n=5)
46017 Points +9%
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G
42351 Points 0%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK
42202 Points
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H
39896 Points -5%
HP EliteBook 1050 G1-4QY20EA
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q, i7-8750H
34926 Points -17%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
Asus GL704GM-DH74
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Mobile, i7-8750H
12281 Points +67%
Dell G7 15-7588
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-8750H
11309 Points +53%
Dell Inspiron 15 7000 7567
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i7-7700HQ
7646 Points +4%
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK
7374 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G
7348 Points 0%
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q
  (6957 - 7428, n=7)
7281 Points -1%
Dell XPS 15 2018 i5 FHD 97Wh
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Mobile, i5-8300H
6216 Points -16%
HP EliteBook 1050 G1-4QY20EA
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q, i7-8750H
5677 Points -23%
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G
46963 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q
 
39641 Points
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
Average NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q
  (2196 - 2278, n=3)
2245 Points
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
AMD Radeon RX Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G
2072 Points
HP EliteBook 1050 G1-4QY20EA
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Max-Q, i7-8750H
1596 Points
3DMark 11 Performance
9373 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
24948 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
6688 points
Help

Gaming Performance

Unsurprisingly, gaming performance is between that of the GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 Ti. Modern titles are still playable at 1080p with most settings tuned down. See our dedicated page on the GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q for more technical information and benchmark comparisons.

Note that the system should be set to Ultra Performance through the Dell Power Manager menu when gaming. If not, performance may throttle as exemplified by our Witcher 3 graph below. Frame rates are constant at about 23 FPS when on Ultra Performance (red), but they will otherwise drop to 15 FPS when set to Quiet or Cool mode (orange).

0510152025Tooltip
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR: Ø22.9 (21-25)
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR: Ø15.1 (13-23)
low med. high ultra
BioShock Infinite (2013) 298.2 208.7 181.3 71.8
The Witcher 3 (2015) 122 73.2 42.6 23.5
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) 141.1 82.9 47.7 39.5

Emissions

System Noise

Fan noise profile
Fan noise profile

The twin fans remain quiet during low loads even though the processors underneath are very powerful. Even more impressively, we can notice no constant pulsing when on the High performance profile and so changes in fan noise tend to be moderate and less intrusive.

When gaming, fan noise jumps to a constant 47 dB(A) to be louder than what we recorded on the i7 XPS 15 SKU. If attempting to game on Cool or Quiet mode, fan noise tops out between 37 and 40 dB(A) at the cost of some performance throttling as mentioned in our Gaming Performance section above. Fan noise is most similar to the XPS 15 9575 when subjected to very high processing loads.

Our test unit suffers from slight electronic noise towards the right half of the unit to suggest that it could be from the SSD. Thankfully, the sound is inaudible when sitting and working from a normal distance.

Noise Level

Idle
28.5 / 28.6 / 28.8 dB(A)
Load
36.2 / 47.6 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance)   environment noise: 28.2 dB(A)
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, i7-8750H, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G
Razer Blade 15 Base Model
GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, i7-8750H, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
Vega M GL / 870, i7-8705G, SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE
GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, i9-8950HK, Samsung SSD PM961 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVLW1T0)
Noise
1%
-8%
4%
-2%
off / environment *
28.2
29.9
-6%
27.8
1%
28.2
-0%
28
1%
Idle Minimum *
28.5
29.9
-5%
31
-9%
28.2
1%
28.6
-0%
Idle Average *
28.6
29.9
-5%
31.2
-9%
28.2
1%
29.9
-5%
Idle Maximum *
28.8
30.3
-5%
31.3
-9%
28.2
2%
30.5
-6%
Load Average *
36.2
36.5
-1%
47.2
-30%
29
20%
42.5
-17%
Witcher 3 ultra *
47.6
40.4
15%
51.3
-8%
44.7
6%
44.8
6%
Load Maximum *
47.6
40.4
15%
44.3
7%
47.4
-0%
44.8
6%

* ... smaller is better

Temperature

Dual rear exhaust
Dual rear exhaust

Surface temperature and hot spots are essentially identical to both the i5 XPS 15 and i7 XPS 15 despite the processor swap. Users can expect hot spots as warm as 50 C or 55 C towards the center rear of the system after a long session or gaming or high processing load. The palm rests remain relatively cool no matter the load for comfortable use.

System idle (top)
System idle (top)
System idle (bottom)
System idle (bottom)
Witcher 3 stress (top)
Witcher 3 stress (top)
Witcher 3 stress (bottom)
Witcher 3 stress (bottom)
Prime95+FurMark stress (top)
Prime95+FurMark stress (top)
Prime95+FurMark stress (bottom)
Prime95+FurMark stress (bottom)

We stress the notebook with synthetic loads to identify for any potential throttling or stability issues. When subjected to Prime95, the CPU can be observed running as fast as 4.3 GHz for the first few seconds with core temperature jumping from an idle of 42 C to 97 C in almost an instant. Clock rates subsequently drop and fluctuate between 3.0 GHz and 3.4 GHz in order to maintain a cooler temperature in the 80 C range. When considering that the base clock rate of the i9-8950HK is 2.9 GHz, we can surmise that the XPS 15 can maintain a Turbo Boost in the +100 to +500 MHz range.

Running on Ultra Performance mode does not appear to increase performance over the standard Optimized mode when under such high stress levels. If running both Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously, the CPU will throttle below 2.0 GHz in order to maintain a cooler core temperature in the 70 C range.

Running Witcher 3 is more representative of real-world stress. The CPU and GPU will each stabilize at around 75 C with no performance dips over time.

Attempting to run 3DMark on battery power to test performance on batteries would crash the system each and every time.

Prime95 stress
Prime95 stress
Prime95 stress (Ultra Performance)
Prime95 stress (Ultra Performance)
Prime95+FurMark stress
Prime95+FurMark stress
Witcher 3 stress
Witcher 3 stress
CPU Clock (GHz) GPU Clock (MHz) Average CPU Temperature (°C) Average GPU Temperature (°C)
System Idle -- -- 42 42
Prime95 Stress 3.0 - 3.4 -- 81 - 87 --
Prime95 + FurMark Stress 1.5 - 1.7 1202 75 72
Witcher 3 Stress 3.3+ 1595 ~75 74
Max. Load
 39.6 °C
103 F
53.6 °C
128 F
32 °C
90 F
 
 38.2 °C
101 F
46 °C
115 F
30.8 °C
87 F
 
 28 °C
82 F
28.2 °C
83 F
27 °C
81 F
 
Maximum: 53.6 °C = 128 F
Average: 35.9 °C = 97 F
35 °C
95 F
49 °C
120 F
37 °C
99 F
33.2 °C
92 F
44 °C
111 F
36 °C
97 F
31.4 °C
89 F
33.4 °C
92 F
33.2 °C
92 F
Maximum: 49 °C = 120 F
Average: 36.9 °C = 98 F
Power Supply (max.)  46 °C = 115 F | Room Temperature 21 °C = 70 F | Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 35.9 °C / 97 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 53.6 °C / 128 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 49 °C / 120 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 27.1 °C / 81 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(±) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 35.4 °C / 96 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 28.2 °C / 82.8 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (+0.6 °C / 1 F).

Speakers

Pink noise at maximum volume. Bass reproduction is poor and steadily drops below 500 Hz
Pink noise at maximum volume. Bass reproduction is poor and steadily drops below 500 Hz
dB(A) 0102030405060708090Deep BassMiddle BassHigh BassLower RangeMidsHigher MidsLower HighsMid HighsUpper HighsSuper Highs2036.237.22535.436.43133.634.54032.132.85032.732.26332.933.6803234.61003039.212528.641.816027.94520026.748.725025.853.43152656.240024.962.250023.664.163023.472.28002377.9100022.574.6125022.268.9160022.177200021.774.3250021.872315021.573.4400021.564.7500021.562.2630021.566.7800021.573.31000021.669.81250021.565.21600021.561.5SPL34.484.6N2.260.5median 22.2median 65.2Delta1.58.235.335.132.931.831.83236.535.132.428.93328.936.328.848.32761.52752.924.860.92462.822.763.32269.521.267.82174.82075.919.472.718.97117.770.117.86917.671.817.668.117.671.417.673.717.670.417.571.617.671.617.669.617.459.717.583.630.662.51.5median 69.6median 17.84.72.4hearing rangehide median Pink NoiseDell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHDApple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz
Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD audio analysis

(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (77.9 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 17.9% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (8.4% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(±) | higher mids - on average 7.2% higher than median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (12.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.6% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (9.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (20.9% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 67% of all tested devices in this class were better, 9% similar, 24% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 51% of all tested devices were better, 8% similar, 41% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Users can expect consumption to be anywhere from 7 W to 14 W when idling on desktop depending on the power profile and brightness setting. When gaming, consumption jumps to about 103 W not unlike on the Zenbook UX580 with the same GPU but still more than the ThinkPad X1 Extreme.

The highest consumption we can record is 131 W when running both Prime95 and FurMark simultaneously. This is unsustainable due to throttling, however, and consumption quickly falls to about 103 W after just a minute or so. The medium-sized (~14.4 x 6.5 x 2.2 cm) 130 W AC adapter is therefore just barely sufficient for powering the notebook under extreme processing loads.

Note that the small spikes in power consumption when running Prime95 in the graph below align with the spikes in core temperature from our Stress Test section.

Constant power consumption when running 3DMark 06
Constant power consumption when running 3DMark 06
Constant power consumption when running Witcher 3
Constant power consumption when running Witcher 3
Prime95 initiated at 20s mark. Consumption peaks at the start before immediately falling
Prime95 initiated at 20s mark. Consumption peaks at the start before immediately falling
Prime95+FurMark initiated at 20s mark
Prime95+FurMark initiated at 20s mark
Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.35 / 0.85 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 7.1 / 13.6 / 14.1 Watt
Load midlight 103.9 / 130.9 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Metrahit Energy
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
i9-8950HK, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.60
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.60
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE
i9-8950HK, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, Samsung SSD PM961 1TB M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe (MZVLW1T0), IPS, 3840x2160, 15.60
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme-20MF000XGE
i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB1T0HALR, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.60
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
i7-8705G, Vega M GL / 870, SK hynix PC401 NVMe 500 GB, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.60
Razer Blade 15 Base Model
i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB256HAHQ, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.60
Power Consumption
-12%
-24%
0%
15%
-12%
Idle Minimum *
7.1
9.48
-34%
11.7
-65%
7.6
-7%
6.2
13%
10.2
-44%
Idle Average *
13.6
16.1
-18%
18.5
-36%
14.8
-9%
12.9
5%
13.2
3%
Idle Maximum *
14.1
16.9
-20%
22.8
-62%
17.6
-25%
13.6
4%
17.6
-25%
Load Average *
103.9
90.8
13%
97.5
6%
86
17%
76.1
27%
99.5
4%
Witcher 3 ultra *
103
102.9
-0%
85
17%
84.3
18%
113.6
-10%
Load Maximum *
130.9
134.4
-3%
111.1
15%
118.9
9%
99.4
24%
133.3
-2%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Runtimes are slightly shorter than the i7 XPS 15 SKU. Nonetheless, users can still expect around 8 hours of constant WLAN use before needing to recharge the large 97 Wh internal battery. Be sure to run on Power Saver, Cool, or Quiet mode alongside the integrated Intel UHD GPU to squeeze more from the battery.

Charging from near empty to full capacity takes 2 to 2.5 hours or almost a full hour longer than on most Ultrabooks.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
14h 59min
WiFi Websurfing
8h 34min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 02min
Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD
i9-8950HK, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, 97 Wh
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD
i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, 97 Wh
Asus ZenBook Pro 15 UX580GE
i9-8950HK, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mobile, 71 Wh
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme-20MF000XGE
i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, 80 Wh
Dell XPS 15 9575 i7-8705G
i7-8705G, Vega M GL / 870, 75 Wh
HP Spectre x360 15-ch011nr
i5-8550U, GeForce MX150, 84 Wh
Razer Blade 15 Base Model
i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1060 Max-Q, 65 Wh
Battery Runtime
18%
-3%
15%
-14%
48%
-6%
Reader / Idle
899
842
-6%
691
-23%
673
-25%
927
3%
690
-23%
WiFi v1.3
514
576
12%
375
-27%
384
-25%
420
-18%
625
22%
330
-36%
Load
62
76
23%
76
23%
119
92%
63
2%
135
118%
87
40%
Witcher 3 ultra
62
63

Verdict

Pros

+ fast 1 TB Samsing PM981 NVMe SSD
+ faster than the Core i7-8750H SKU
+ quiet fans under low-medium load
+ long battery life

Cons

- red and violet could be more accurate out-of-the-box
- very marginal boost over the i7-8750H
- less stable than the Core i7 SKU
- PWM at lower brightness levels
In review: Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9. Test model provided by Dell US
In review: Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9. Test model provided by Dell US

There's a reason why the same Core i9-8950HK runs much faster on the thick and heavy MSI GT75. To get the most out of the Core i9 CPU, the cooling solution must be up to snuff to sustain faster Turbo Boost clock rates at reasonable temperatures.

For our i9 XPS 15, this appears to be the classic case of jamming a very powerful Core i9 processor in a chassis more appropriate for a Core i7 instead. We've seen this before on both the i9 ZenBook UX580 and i9 Eurocom Q8 and the i9 XPS 15 is no different. The i9-8950HK is wholly capable of running 25 percent faster than the i7-8750H, but i9 XPS 15 owners will see a boost of just 10 percent at best compared to 50 percent between the i5 XPS 15 and i7 XPS 15.

As of this writing, the i9 XPS 15 SKU is $250 USD more than the i7 XPS 15. We recommend topping out at the Core i7 level and then investing in RAM, storage, display, and/or graphics for a more tangible boost in performance.

Dell XPS 15 9570 Core i9 UHD - 11/10/2018 v6(old)
Allen Ngo

Chassis
96 / 98 → 98%
Keyboard
89%
Pointing Device
94%
Connectivity
66 / 81 → 81%
Weight
63 / 20-67 → 91%
Battery
91%
Display
84%
Games Performance
90 / 85 → 100%
Application Performance
94 / 92 → 100%
Temperature
85%
Noise
89 / 95 → 93%
Audio
75%
Camera
40 / 85 → 47%
Average
81%
90%
Multimedia - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

Read all 1 comments / answer
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Dell XPS 15 9570 (i9-8950HK, 4K UHD, GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q) Laptop Review
Allen Ngo, 2018-11-11 (Update: 2018-11-11)