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Dell XPS 17 70 W vs. 130 W GeForce RTX 3060: How much slower is it, really?

Dell XPS 17 70 W vs. 130 W GeForce RTX 3060: How much slower is it, really?
Dell XPS 17 70 W vs. 130 W GeForce RTX 3060: How much slower is it, really?
After testing over a dozen different laptops with the GeForce RTX 3060, users can expect up to a 19 percent performance decrease between the fastest and slowest models currently available. There's a catch, however, as real-world gaming performance on the 70 W GPU can be brought closer to average by opting for a newer CPU with higher or faster RAM.

The mobile GeForce RTX 3060 comes in a wide range of TGP targets from 70 W up to 130 W. The thicker the laptop, the higher the TGP target generally speaking. Extreme examples from both ends include the 19.5 mm thick Dell XPS 17 9710 with its 70 W RTX 3060 and the 30.1 mm thick Schenker XMG Core 17 with its 130 W RTX 3060. The Schenker system is expected to offer faster graphics performance, but we're here to see just how much of a difference users can actually expect.

It's important to remember that even though the 70 W RTX 3060 is targeting a 46 percent lower TGP than the 130 W version, it's nowhere near 46 percent slower. This was observed during the Pascal and Turing generations as well where the Max-Q GPUs would only be around 10 to 15 percent slower than their non Max-Q counterparts despite their much lower TGP targets. Our 3DMark comparisons below reveal that the fastest 130 W RTX 3060 laptop in our database is only about 20 to 25 percent faster than the XPS 17 with the slowest 70 W version. When averaging all the GeForce RYX 3060 laptops we've tested thus far, the XPS 17 is only about 10 percent slower.

Interestingly, the XPS 17 appears to perform much closer to the average RTX 3060 laptop when running real-world games. Of the six games we've tested, our Dell unit would return average frame rates that are within just a few percentage points lower or sometimes even higher. We suspect that its newer 11th gen Intel Tiger Lake-H Core i7 CPU and spacious 32 GB of RAM are helping the system close the gap between it and other RTX 3060 laptops where 10th gen Comet Lake-H CPUs and 16 GB of RAM are much more common.

If you're considering "settling" for a laptop with a lower TGP target like the Dell XPS 17 or MSI GF65 Thin 10UE, then you can still boost gaming performance to be closer to most other RTX 3060 laptops by opting for a newer generation Intel CPU or increasing RAM capacity.

3DMark
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H
21931 Points +22%
Asus TUF Gaming F15 FX506HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
21111 Points +18%
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (16354 - 23109, n=49)
20436 Points +14%
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10870H
20381 Points +13%
Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H
20312 Points +13%
Razer Blade 15 Base Edition 2021, i7-10750H RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
20155 Points +12%
SCHENKER XMG Core 15 Ampere
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 4800H
20081 Points +12%
Asus TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i9-11900H
19737 Points +10%
Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-55-57GF
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i5-10300H
18864 Points +5%
MSI Katana GF76 11UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
18851 Points +5%
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401QM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HS
18436 Points +3%
MSI GF65 Thin 10UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
18434 Points +3%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
17960 Points
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H
8706 Points +24%
SCHENKER XMG Core 15 Ampere
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 4800H
8425 Points +20%
Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H
8295 Points +18%
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (6285 - 9235, n=49)
8057 Points +14%
Razer Blade 15 Base Edition 2021, i7-10750H RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
7897 Points +12%
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10870H
7716 Points +10%
Asus TUF Gaming F15 FX506HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
7677 Points +9%
Asus TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i9-11900H
7582 Points +8%
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401QM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HS
7234 Points +3%
MSI Katana GF76 11UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
7175 Points +2%
Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-55-57GF
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i5-10300H
7062 Points 0%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
7042 Points
MSI GF65 Thin 10UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
7041 Points 0%
2560x1440 Port Royal Graphics
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021, RTX 3060, 5800H)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H
5042 Points +21%
SCHENKER XMG Core 15 Ampere
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 4800H
4997 Points +20%
Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H
4852 Points +16%
Asus TUF Gaming F15 FX506HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
4795 Points +15%
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (3724 - 5399, n=25)
4791 Points +15%
Razer Blade 15 Base Edition 2021, i7-10750H RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
4614 Points +11%
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10870H
4610 Points +11%
MSI Katana GF76 11UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
4208 Points +1%
MSI GF65 Thin 10UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
4185 Points 0%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
4168 Points
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401QM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HS
3724 Points -11%
3840x2160 Fire Strike Ultra Graphics
SCHENKER XMG Core 15 Ampere
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 4800H
5094 Points +19%
Asus TUF Gaming F15 FX506HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
4979 Points +16%
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (3844 - 5480, n=23)
4898 Points +14%
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10870H
4794 Points +12%
Razer Blade 15 Base Edition 2021, i7-10750H RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
4682 Points +9%
MSI GF65 Thin 10UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
4321 Points +1%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
4297 Points
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401QM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HS
3968 Points -8%
3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Asus TUF Gaming F15 FX506HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
27898 Points +12%
SCHENKER XMG Core 15 Ampere
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 4800H
27741 Points +12%
Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H
26881 Points +8%
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (13799 - 30772, n=43)
26816 Points +8%
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10870H
26790 Points +8%
Razer Blade 15 Base Edition 2021, i7-10750H RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
26286 Points +6%
Asus TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i9-11900H
25793 Points +4%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
24844 Points
MSI Katana GF76 11UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
24656 Points -1%
Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-55-57GF
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i5-10300H
24476 Points -1%
MSI GF65 Thin 10UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
23840 Points -4%
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401QM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HS
22063 Points -11%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
17479 Points
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (10227 - 22387, n=42)
16977 Points -3%
Asus TUF Gaming F15 FX506HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
15770 Points -10%
MSI Katana GF76 11UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H
15431 Points -12%
Asus TUF Gaming F17 FX706HM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i9-11900H
15274 Points -13%
Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen Edition
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 5800H
14366 Points -18%
Asus Zephyrus G14 GA401QM
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R9 5900HS
14204 Points -19%
SCHENKER XMG Core 15 Ampere
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R7 4800H
14173 Points -19%
SCHENKER XMG Core 17 (Early 2021)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10870H
13939 Points -20%
Razer Blade 15 Base Edition 2021, i7-10750H RTX 3060
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
12937 Points -26%
MSI GF65 Thin 10UE
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-10750H
12870 Points -26%
Acer Aspire Nitro 5 AN515-55-57GF
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i5-10300H
10227 Points -41%
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark
1280x720 Lite Quality
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (122.5 - 214, n=33)
157 fps +12%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
140 fps
1920x1080 Standard Quality
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (70.4 - 133.5, n=37)
105.6 fps +8%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
98.2 fps
1920x1080 High Quality
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (55 - 100.9, n=42)
79.4 fps +8%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
73.5 fps
GTA V
1024x768 Lowest Settings possible
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
181 (3.69min, 125P1 - 313max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (164 - 186.8, n=38)
179.5 fps -1%
1920x1080 Lowest Settings possible
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
177 (4.74min, 111P1 - 469max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (156 - 186.6, n=32)
175.6 fps -1%
1366x768 Normal/Off AF:4x
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
178 (3.79min, 125P1 - 367max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (152 - 183.4, n=36)
174.1 fps -2%
1920x1080 Normal/Off AF:4x
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
172 (5.2min, 111P1 - 320max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (146 - 183.7, n=33)
170.2 fps -1%
1920x1080 High/On (Advanced Graphics Off) AA:2xMSAA + FX AF:8x
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
155 (5.18min, 83.3P1 - 335max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (120 - 179.4, n=42)
154 fps -1%
1920x1080 Highest Settings possible AA:4xMSAA + FX AF:16x
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (69.2 - 109.8, n=46)
89.7 fps +10%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
81.6 (8.6min, 52.6P1 - 175max) fps
Dota 2 Reborn
1280x720 min (0/3) fastest
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
168 (147min) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (112.5 - 204, n=49)
155.6 fps -7%
1366x768 med (1/3)
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
148 (119.6min) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (106 - 177.4, n=49)
142.6 fps -4%
1920x1080 high (2/3)
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (98.9 - 169.2, n=49)
133.6 fps 0%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
133 (115.1min) fps
1920x1080 ultra (3/3) best looking
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
126 (109.6min) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (90.7 - 154.8, n=49)
125.9 fps 0%
The Witcher 3
1024x768 Low Graphics & Postprocessing
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
341.6 (321min - 366max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (221 - 449, n=35)
324 fps -5%
1366x768 Medium Graphics & Postprocessing
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (204 - 296, n=33)
237 fps +9%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
218.1 (201min - 227max) fps
1920x1080 High Graphics & Postprocessing (Nvidia HairWorks Off)
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (81 - 186.8, n=41)
144.8 fps +2%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
142.2 (133min - 156max) fps
1920x1080 Ultra Graphics & Postprocessing (HBAO+)
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (58.2 - 91.5, n=48)
76.9 fps +6%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
72.3 (68min - 76max) fps
X-Plane 11.11
1280x720 low (fps_test=1)
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
125 fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (83.6 - 157.1, n=48)
115.1 fps -8%
1920x1080 med (fps_test=2)
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
105 fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (73 - 138.3, n=48)
100.9 fps -4%
1920x1080 high (fps_test=3)
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
84.6 fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (61.9 - 109.3, n=48)
82 fps -3%
3840x2160 high (fps_test=3)
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (58.5 - 92.3, n=12)
69.5 fps +15%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
60.2 fps
Strange Brigade
1280x720 lowest AF:1
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
348 (35.6min, 250P1 - 516max) fps
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (253 - 471, n=37)
347 fps 0%
1920x1080 medium AA:medium AF:4
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (154.9 - 242, n=38)
193.8 fps +10%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
176 (50.7min, 142P1 - 318max) fps
1920x1080 high AA:high AF:8
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (115.6 - 192.1, n=41)
157 fps +12%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
140 (5min, 100P1 - 305max) fps
1920x1080 ultra AA:ultra AF:16
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
  (102.2 - 166.3, n=43)
137.6 fps +12%
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU
123 (55.3min, 90.6P1 - 228max) fps

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2021 07 > Dell XPS 17 70 W vs. 130 W GeForce RTX 3060: How much slower is it, really?
Allen Ngo, 2021-07-19 (Update: 2021-07-17)