Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 is louder and more power-hungry than the Core Ultra 5 option
We've established that the XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H configuration is significantly faster and arguably worth the price increase over the lesser Core Ultra 5 325 or Core Ultra 7 355 configurations. Nonetheless, the Core Ultra X7 option still entails a couple drawbacks that buyers ought to be aware of.
While all 2026 XPS 16 SKUs ship with the same 100 W USB-C AC adapter, the Core Ultra X7 SKU would draw roughly 35 percent more power than the Core Ultra 5 or Ultra 7 configurations when running demanding loads. However, the higher consumption is offset by the much higher performance levels of the Core Ultra X7 especially when it comes to graphics performance.
The cooling solution for the Core Ultra X7 build is identical to the Core Ultra 5 or Ultra 7 builds despite the higher power consumption mentioned above. Thus, fan noise tends to be louder in order to compensate. The dual fans in the Core Ultra X7 configuration reach higher RPMs more quickly to be more noticeable than the fans in the lesser non-X Core Ultra builds. For example, fan noise would reach 38 dB(A) more quickly when running Cyberpunk 2077 and would even reach a higher peak of almost 49 dB(A) when the CPU is fully stressed.
Fortunately, these drawbacks are only noticeable when running stressful workloads as all configurations are otherwise silent and still very power efficient when simply web browsing or idling.
| Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU | Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Ultra 5 325, Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 PTL | |
|---|---|---|
| Noise | 5% | |
| off / environment * (dB) | 23.3 | 22.8 2% |
| Idle Minimum * (dB) | 23.4 | 22.9 2% |
| Idle Average * (dB) | 23.4 | 22.9 2% |
| Idle Maximum * (dB) | 25.8 | 23.9 7% |
| Load Average * (dB) | 38 | 34.8 8% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (dB) | 38.1 | 38 -0% |
| Load Maximum * (dB) | 48.6 | 43.3 11% |
* ... smaller is better
| Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra X7 358H Ultra X7 358H, Arc B390 Panther Lake iGPU, , OLED, 3200x2000, 16" | Dell XPS 16 Core Ultra 5 325 Ultra 5 325, Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 PTL, SK hynix PVC10 HFS512GEM4X182N, IPS, 1920x1200, 16" | |
|---|---|---|
| Power Consumption | 28% | |
| Idle Minimum * (Watt) | 4 | 1.3 67% |
| Idle Average * (Watt) | 4.4 | 4.5 -2% |
| Idle Maximum * (Watt) | 10.2 | 4.6 55% |
| Load Average * (Watt) | 44.2 | 36.5 17% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra * (Watt) | 62.6 | 47.9 23% |
| Cyberpunk 2077 ultra external monitor * (Watt) | 62.4 | 45.4 27% |
| Load Maximum * (Watt) | 94.6 | 82.8 12% |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Cyberpunk / Stress Test
Power Consumption external Monitor
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