Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 laptop review: 50 percent faster processor than before
The Dell XPS 17 9720 is the third iteration of the 17.0-inch XPS 17 series that started with the 2020 XPS 17 9700. While the XPS 17 9700 and 2021 9710 versions would ship with 10th gen and 11th gen Intel CPUs, respectively, the 2022 9720 has added 12th gen CPUs and DDR5 RAM options to the mix. Other core characteristics like the chassis and GPU options are otherwise identical to the XPS 17 9700 or 9710 and so we recommend checking out our existing reviews on the series to learn more about the physical features of the model.
Our unit in review is an upper-midrange configuration with the Core i7-12700H CPU, UHD+ (3840 x 2400) IPS touchscreen, and GeForce RTX 3060 GPU for approximately $3000 USD. Other SKUs are also available with the i5-12500H, i9-12900HK, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, 1200p display, or integrated graphics only.
Competitors to the XPS 17 9720 include 17.3-inch multimedia or prosumer laptops like the Gigabyte Aero 17, Razer Blade 17, HP Envy 17, or Lenovo Legion 5 17.
More Dell reviews:
Potential Competitors in Comparison
Rating | Date | Model | Weight | Height | Size | Resolution | Best Price |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
88.8 % | 05/2022 | Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 19.5 mm | 17.00" | 3840x2400 | |
82.4 % | 08/2021 | HP Envy 17-cg i5-1135G7, GeForce MX450 | 2.7 kg | 19.3 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
87.9 % | 07/2021 | Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | 2.5 kg | 19.5 mm | 17.00" | 3840x2400 | |
87.9 % | 07/2020 | Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q i7-10875H, GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q | 2.5 kg | 19.5 mm | 17.00" | 3840x2400 | |
85.2 % | 02/2022 | Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE R5 5600H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | 3.1 kg | 24.3 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
76.5 % | 05/2022 | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W i7-1065G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) | 2.2 kg | 21.4 mm | 17.30" | 1920x1080 | |
90.1 % | 05/2022 | Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) i7-12800H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU | 2.8 kg | 19.9 mm | 17.30" | 2560x1440 |
Case — Same But Still Great
The chassis has not changed from the XPS 17 9700 or 9710. Despite being a two-year old design, its unique 16:10 17.0-inch form factor allows the model to be noticeably smaller and thinner than other models in the same size category.
SD Card Reader
SD Card Reader | |
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs) | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
HP Envy 17-cg (AV Pro microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB) | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II) | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) | |
HP Envy 17-cg (AV Pro microSD 128 GB V60) | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60) |
Communication — No Wi-Fi 6E
Dell has upgraded the WLAN from the Intel AX1650 on the XPS 17 9710 to the Intel AX1675 (or AX211) on the XPS 17 9720. The newer chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, but the feature is disabled on the XPS 17 9720 much like what we discovered on the XPS 15 9520. Thus, users will only be able to connect to 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz networks and not 6 GHz networks.
Networking | |
iperf3 transmit AX12 | |
HP Envy 17-cg | |
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q | |
iperf3 receive AX12 | |
HP Envy 17-cg | |
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 | |
Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
iperf3 receive AXE11000 | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
iperf3 transmit AXE11000 | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 |
Webcam
The camera continues to be just 720p with no privacy shutter. The low native resolution pairs poorly with the high resolution display for an unavoidably muddy picture. Dell says the IR and RGB sensors are separate now for better performance, but pixel density is still very low. In comparison, the Razer Blade 17 ships with a higher resolution 1080p webcam instead.
Windows Hello is still supported.
Maintenance
Accessories and Warranty
The XPS 17 9720 ships with the same 130 W AC adapter and USB-C to HDMI and USB-A adapter as on the XPS 15 9520, XPS 17 9710, and XPS 17 9700. A base one-year limited manufacturer warranty applies if purchased in the US.
Display — 16:10 60 Hz IPS
There are two display options to choose from (1200p and 2400p) compared to three on the XPS 15 9520. The panel on our unit comes with the same Sharp LQ170R1 IPS panel as found on the XPS 17 9710 or 9700 meaning that the viewing experience hasn't changed since the original 2020 model. It was an excellent display then and it still is now especially in terms of contrast ratio relative to other IPS panels, but we would like to see 90 Hz refresh rate or faster options in the future similar to what is already available on the newest IdeaPad Slim 7i Pro or upcoming Zenbook Pro 14 Duo.
|
Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 512.7 cd/m²
Contrast: 1602:1 (Black: 0.32 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 5.98 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 7.2 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
85.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
100% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
92.9% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.54
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 Sharp LQ170R1, IPS, 3840x2400, 17.00 | Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q Sharp LQ170R1, IPS, 3840x2400, 17.00 | Dell XPS 17 9700 i5-10300H SHP14D7, IPS, 1920x1200, 17.30 | HP Envy 17-cg AU Optronics AUO439D, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE LEN173FHD, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W BOE NV173FHM-N49, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) BOE CQ NE173QHM-NZ1 (BOE09F9), IPS, 2560x1440, 17.30 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Display | 5% | -9% | -17% | -18% | -50% | 2% | |
Display P3 Coverage | 92.9 | 90.5 -3% | 77.4 -17% | 68 -27% | 64.8 -30% | 39.53 -57% | 97.9 5% |
sRGB Coverage | 100 | 100 0% | 100 0% | 95 -5% | 97.2 -3% | 58.85 -41% | 99.9 0% |
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 85.3 | 99.8 17% | 76.6 -10% | 69 -19% | 66.7 -22% | 40.84 -52% | 85.5 0% |
Response Times | 5% | -13% | 19% | 73% | 57% | 69% | |
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% * | 51.2 ? | 51.2 ? -0% | 60.4 ? -18% | 40 ? 22% | 15 ? 71% | 22 ? 57% | 15.2 ? 70% |
Response Time Black / White * | 35.2 ? | 32 ? 9% | 37.6 ? -7% | 30 ? 15% | 9 ? 74% | 15 ? 57% | 11.2 ? 68% |
PWM Frequency | 2500 ? | ||||||
Screen | 20% | 33% | 6% | 16% | -16% | -9% | |
Brightness middle | 512.7 | 539.4 5% | 636 24% | 347 -32% | 323 -37% | 269 -48% | 341 -33% |
Brightness | 463 | 494 7% | 580 25% | 329 -29% | 305 -34% | 263 -43% | 308 -33% |
Brightness Distribution | 85 | 84 -1% | 86 1% | 89 5% | 89 5% | 88 4% | 82 -4% |
Black Level * | 0.32 | 0.32 -0% | 0.34 -6% | 0.27 16% | 0.25 22% | 0.3 6% | 0.45 -41% |
Contrast | 1602 | 1686 5% | 1871 17% | 1285 -20% | 1292 -19% | 897 -44% | 758 -53% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 5.98 | 4.12 31% | 2.4 60% | 3.75 37% | 1.87 69% | 5.8 3% | 4.16 30% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. * | 12.09 | 7.65 37% | 3.5 71% | 7.53 38% | 4.84 60% | 18.46 -53% | 8.14 33% |
Greyscale dE 2000 * | 7.2 | 1.5 79% | 2 72% | 4.88 32% | 2.57 64% | 3.64 49% | 5.09 29% |
Gamma | 2.54 87% | 2.15 102% | 2.08 106% | 2.53 87% | 2.42 91% | 2.35 94% | 2.48 89% |
CCT | 6914 94% | 6438 101% | 6704 97% | 6624 98% | 7012 93% | 6995 93% | 6884 94% |
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated * | 3.91 | 1.5 | 0.92 | 3 | |||
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 90.4 | 67.5 | |||||
Color Space (Percent of sRGB) | 100 | 100 | |||||
Total Average (Program / Settings) | 10% /
14% | 4% /
16% | 3% /
3% | 24% /
17% | -3% /
-12% | 21% /
5% |
* ... smaller is better
Color temperature is warmer than expected when set to the DCI-P3 color standard via the Dell PremierColor software. Unlike many professional laptops like the Dell Precision, Gigabyte Aero, or HP ZBook series, the XPS series is not X-Rite calibrated at factory. An end-user calibration would be necessary to better exploit the wide color gamut of the panel.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
35.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 18.8 ms rise | |
↘ 16.4 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. » 92 % 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 | ||
51.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 26 ms rise | |
↘ 25.2 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. » 86 % 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)
Screen flickering / PWM not detected | |||
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. |
Performance — Alder Lake-H Ups The Ante
Testing Conditions
Our unit was set to Ultra Performance mode via the My Dell software prior to running any benchmarks below for the highest possible scores. We recommend users become familiar with My Dell, Dell Update, and PremierColor software as key features of the system are toggled through these apps.
Optimus 1.0 comes standard for automatic graphics switching between the integrated GPU and discrete GeForce RTX 3060. Internal adaptive sync and MUX are not supported since the XPS 17 is not a gaming machine.
Processor
CineBench xT benchmarks and certain AIDA64 subtests can be up to 50 percent faster than on the XPS 15 9710 equipped with the last generation Core i7-11800H to represent a significant year-over-year improvement to processor performance. The gains are much smaller on other tests, however, including Blender and HWBOT x265, but average gains are still greater than what we observed between the XPS 17 9700 and XPS 17 9710.
Curiously, the Core i7-12700H falls behind the 10th gen Core i7-10875H at a number of AIDA64 benchmarks as shown below.
Some thicker laptops with the same Core i7-12800H CPU are able to run the processor at higher clock rates and up to 20 percent faster such as on the HP Omen 16.
Running CineBench R15 xT in a loop shows no major performance throttling issues when subjected to extreme processing loads for long periods.
Cinebench R15 Multi Loop
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | 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 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
Cinebench R23: Multi Core | 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 5.5: Multi-Core | Single-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
PCMark 10 results are consistently higher than what we recorded on the XPS 17 9710 if just barely. Our XPS 17 9720 scores are still some of the fastest in the multimedia category.
We experienced a bug on our unit where power consumption would strangely stabilize at 40 W when in Sleep mode instead of the usual <2 W leading to very warm surface temperatures and wasted energy. Toggling the power profiles through My Dell appears to be a temporary fix to the problem.
CrossMark: Overall | Productivity | Creativity | Responsiveness
PCMark 10 / Essentials | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (9289 - 12144, n=12) | |
Average of class Multimedia (8480 - 12420, n=81, last 2 years) | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q | |
HP Envy 17-cg | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W |
PCMark 10 / Productivity | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (6161 - 10362, n=12) | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Average of class Multimedia (5462 - 11186, n=81, last 2 years) | |
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 | |
HP Envy 17-cg | |
Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W |
PCMark 10 / Digital Content Creation | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (8950 - 12554, n=12) | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Average of class Multimedia (3861 - 13548, n=81, last 2 years) | |
Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q | |
HP Envy 17-cg | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W |
CrossMark / Overall | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (1649 - 2017, n=11) | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average of class Multimedia (1009 - 2146, n=87, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W |
CrossMark / Productivity | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (1536 - 1958, n=11) | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average of class Multimedia (971 - 2064, n=87, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W |
CrossMark / Creativity | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (1816 - 2084, n=11) | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average of class Multimedia (933 - 2865, n=87, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W |
CrossMark / Responsiveness | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
Average Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (1210 - 2207, n=11) | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average of class Multimedia (926 - 2171, n=87, last 2 years) | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W |
PCMark 10 Score | 7296 points | |
Help |
* ... smaller is better
DPC Latency
LatencyMon reveals minor DPC issues when opening multiple browser tabs on our homepage much like what we observed on the XPS 17 9710 and 9700. 4K video playback at 60 FPS is otherwise perfectly smooth with no dropped frames as to be expected from any Core H-powered multimedia laptop.
DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95 | |
HP Envy 17-cg | |
Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE | |
Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q | |
Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 |
* ... smaller is better
Storage Devices
The XPS 17 9710 shipped at a time when PCIe4 x4 NVMe SSDs were not yet widely available and so SKUs would only come with PCIe3 x4 options instead. PCIe4 drives are thankfully more common nowadays and it's good to see that the XPS 17 9720 has adopted a fast Samsung PM9A1 solution. Our stress tests show that the drive in our unit would have no issues maintaining its maximum sequential read rate of over 7000 MB/s for extended periods without needing to throttle, though overall performance is still slower than what we recorded on the Razer Blade 17 equipped with the same 1 TB Samsung drive.
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
GPU Performance
Dell has downgraded the GeForce RTX 3060 TGP from 70 W on the XPS 17 9710 to 65 W on the XPS 17 9720. Though Dell advertises a 60 W GPU for the 9720, we can confirm that the Nvidia control panel reads 65 W instead which is closer to our own independent results during testing. The effect is a 10 percent decrease is raw graphics performance according to 3DMark benchmarks and tested GPU-bound games such as Witcher 3, Final Fantasy XV, or Strange Brigade.
When compared to the average laptop with the same GeForce RTX 3060 GPU, the one in the XPS 17 9720 is about 20 percent slower. It's worth noting that most other laptops with the RTX 3060 typically aim for higher TGP ceilings of 80 W or more. At the very least, the GPU here is still better than the RTX 2060 Max-Q in the original XPS 17 9700 by about 15 percent. Meanwhile, downgrading to the RTX 3050 Ti SKU would result in a 25 to 30 percent performance deficit.
3DMark 11 Performance | 21962 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 43738 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 15062 points | |
3DMark Time Spy Score | 6473 points | |
Help |
Cyberpunk 2077 1.6 | |
1920x1080 Low Preset | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (80 - 135.7, n=14) | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
1920x1080 Medium Preset | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (68 - 118, n=14) | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
1920x1080 High Preset | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (42.2 - 87.7, n=14) | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
1920x1080 Ultra Preset | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (40 - 78.8, n=16) | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 | |
2560x1440 Ultra Preset | |
Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) | |
Average NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU (23 - 45.8, n=9) | |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 |
Witcher 3 FPS Chart
low | med. | high | ultra | QHD | 4K | |
GTA V (2015) | 186.6 | 179 | 152.8 | 83.8 | 63.4 | |
The Witcher 3 (2015) | 347.7 | 214.6 | 133.9 | 67.8 | ||
Dota 2 Reborn (2015) | 185.7 | 169.9 | 163 | 133.5 | 84.6 | |
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018) | 137.9 | 90.5 | 69.3 | 49.1 | 28.3 | |
X-Plane 11.11 (2018) | 133.3 | 111.6 | 93.8 | 92.3 | ||
Strange Brigade (2018) | 352 | 162.6 | 130.6 | 113.4 | 82.3 | |
Cyberpunk 2077 1.6 (2022) | 95.4 | 78.1 | 60 | 48.9 | 29 | 11.6 |
Emissions — Gaming Laptop Noise And Temperatures
System Noise
Fan noise and behavior have not changed since the original XPS 17 9700 meaning that fan noise will still top out at almost 50 db(A) when gaming or running other high loads. The noise is comparable to many gaming laptops when under such stressful conditions.
The fans will pulse from silent to noisy fairly quickly when medium to medium-high loads are introduced and so we recommend the Quiet power profile to limit fan pulsing if the extra horsepower isn't needed.
Noise Level
Idle |
| 24.1 / 24.1 / 24.1 dB(A) |
Load |
| 43.2 / 48 dB(A) |
| ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min: , med: , max: Earthworks M23R, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 23.8 dB(A) |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-12700H, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR | HP Envy 17-cg GeForce MX450, i5-1135G7, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ1T0HALB | Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, i7-11800H, Micron 2300 1TB MTFDHBA1T0TDV | Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, i7-10875H, Micron 2200S 1TB MTFDHBA1T0TCK | Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, R5 5600H, Samsung PM991a MZALQ512HBLU | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), i7-1065G7, Kingston OM8PCP3512F-AB | Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, i7-12800H, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Noise | -9% | -5% | -10% | -6% | -14% | 4% | |
off / environment * | 23.8 | 26 -9% | 25.5 -7% | 28 -18% | 25 -5% | 29.6 -24% | 23 3% |
Idle Minimum * | 24.1 | 26 -8% | 25.2 -5% | 28 -16% | 25 -4% | 31.4 -30% | 23 5% |
Idle Average * | 24.1 | 31.7 -32% | 25.2 -5% | 28 -16% | 25 -4% | 31.4 -30% | 23 5% |
Idle Maximum * | 24.1 | 25.2 -5% | 28 -16% | 30.5 -27% | 31.4 -30% | 23 5% | |
Load Average * | 43.2 | 43.2 -0% | 45.9 -6% | 43.2 -0% | 37.5 13% | 36.1 16% | 36.92 15% |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 48 | 49 -2% | 49 -2% | 50 -4% | |||
Load Maximum * | 48 | 46.6 3% | 50.4 -5% | 50.5 -5% | 51 -6% | 40.1 16% | 50 -4% |
* ... smaller is better
Temperature
Hot spots can reach over 52 C and 44 C on the top and bottom sides, respectively, when running stressful loads for long periods. These areas are strategically toward the rear of the chassis and away from the palm rests and most keys. The bottom surface will still feel very warm, however, since the bottom plate is a single piece of metal.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 51.8 °C / 125 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 44.2 °C / 112 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.6 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(±) Playing The Witcher 3, the average temperature for the upper side is 33.9 °C / 93 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (33.2 °C / 91.8 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-4.4 °C / -8 F).
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 Intel Core i7-12700H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | HP Envy 17-cg Intel Core i5-1135G7, NVIDIA GeForce MX450 | Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 Intel Core i7-11800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q Intel Core i7-10875H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q | Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE AMD Ryzen 5 5600H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W Intel Core i7-1065G7, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU) | Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) Intel Core i7-12800H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heat | 14% | 1% | -1% | 2% | 12% | 6% | |
Maximum Upper Side * | 51.8 | 45.9 11% | 50.2 3% | 53 -2% | 42.2 19% | 40.2 22% | 43 17% |
Maximum Bottom * | 44.2 | 49.7 -12% | 38.4 13% | 39.2 11% | 50.9 -15% | 47.9 -8% | 44 -0% |
Idle Upper Side * | 34.8 | 24.2 30% | 37.6 -8% | 37 -6% | 34.3 1% | 27.3 22% | 32 8% |
Idle Bottom * | 33.2 | 24.8 25% | 34.2 -3% | 35.8 -8% | 32 4% | 28.9 13% | 34 -2% |
* ... smaller is better
Stress Test
When stressed under Prime95, the CPU would boost to 3.8 GHz, 100 C, and 115 W for about 10 to 15 seconds before falling and stabilizing at 2.5 GHz, 75 C, and 55 W. When compared to the Core i7-11800H XPS 17 9710, our 9720 unit can reach a higher initial power draw (115 W vs. 87 W) while stabilizing at a cooler core temperature (75 C vs. 82 C) and at an identical power draw (55 W). Thus, the XPS system is only able to exploit the higher TDP ranges or clock rates of the Alder Lake platform for short periods before thermal limitations kick in.
GPU clock rates, temperature, and board power draw when running Witcher 3 would stabilize at 1312 MHz, 66 C, and 65 W, respectively, compared to 1530 MHz, 67 C, and 69 W on the XPS 17 9710. The overall slower year-over-year graphics performance reflects our poorer 3DMark results recorded above.
The GPU performance gain from running on Ultra Performance mode versus Optimized mode appears to be negligible.
Running on batteries impacts GPU performance. A Fire Strike test on battery power would return Physics and Graphics scores of 24927 and 14770 points, respectively, compared to 23563 and 16354 points when on mains.
CPU Clock (GHz) | GPU Clock (MHz) | Average CPU Temperature (°C) | Average GPU Temperature (°C) | |
System Idle | -- | -- | 44 | 44 |
Prime95 Stress | 2.5 | -- | 75 | 59 |
Prime95 + FurMark Stress | 1.2 | ~1192 | 71 | 67 |
Witcher 3 Stress (Optimized mode) | ~0.7 | 1290 | 66 | 67 |
Witcher 3 Stress (Ultra Performance mode) | ~0.8 | 1312 | 67 | 66 |
Speakers
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 audio analysis
(±) | speaker loudness is average but good (79.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 5.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (7% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.2% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (3.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2.8% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (3.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (8.3% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 6% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 1% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 98% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro audio analysis
(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (84.7 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(+) | good bass - only 3.8% away from median
(+) | bass is linear (5.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 1.3% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (2.1% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 1.9% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (2.7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (4.6% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 0% of all tested devices in this class were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 0% of all tested devices were better, 0% similar, 100% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%
Energy Management — Higher Turbo Boost Power Consumption
Power Consumption
The XPS 17 9700 exhibited charging issues where the system was unable to draw more than 100 W from the 130 W AC adapter. Thankfully, Dell addressed the issue on the succeeding XPS 17 9710 and the 9720 is no different. When running Witcher 3, our 9720 unit would draw 115 W to be nearly identical to what we recorded on the older 9710. The XPS 15 series and XPS 17 series continue to be the only models in the market to ship with a 130 W USB-C adapter.
Notably, power consumption when running Prime95 is slightly higher than on the 9710 during the start of the test before stabilizing at around 94 W each. The higher power consumption of the 12th gen CPU is therefore short-lived before it becomes similar to the 9710 model with 11th gen processors.
Charging is slowed significantly when gaming or running high loads. When running Witcher 3 at 13 percent battery capacity and on AC power, for example, the battery would only increase by another 12 percent over the course of an hour.
Off / Standby | 0.155 / 1.2 Watt |
Idle | 5.9 / 15.8 / 26.7 Watt |
Load |
117.4 / 136.6 Watt |
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR, IPS, 3840x2400, 17.00 | HP Envy 17-cg i5-1135G7, GeForce MX450, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ1T0HALB, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, Micron 2300 1TB MTFDHBA1T0TDV, IPS, 3840x2400, 17.00 | Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q i7-10875H, GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, Micron 2200S 1TB MTFDHBA1T0TCK, IPS, 3840x2400, 17.00 | Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE R5 5600H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, Samsung PM991a MZALQ512HBLU, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W i7-1065G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), Kingston OM8PCP3512F-AB, IPS, 1920x1080, 17.30 | Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) i7-12800H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, Samsung PM9A1 MZVL21T0HCLR, IPS, 2560x1440, 17.30 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power Consumption | 46% | 3% | 7% | -40% | 61% | -54% | |
Idle Minimum * | 5.9 | 3.8 36% | 7.5 -27% | 5.8 2% | 15.6 -164% | 4.2 29% | 14.4 -144% |
Idle Average * | 15.8 | 9.4 41% | 15.7 1% | 20.6 -30% | 20.7 -31% | 7.9 50% | 20 -27% |
Idle Maximum * | 26.7 | 10.1 62% | 23.1 13% | 21 21% | 22.9 14% | 8.8 67% | 21.5 19% |
Load Average * | 117.4 | 64.4 45% | 87.2 26% | 104.7 11% | 134 -14% | 29.7 75% | 119 -1% |
Witcher 3 ultra * | 114.8 | 64.4 44% | 116 -1% | 99.2 14% | 135 -18% | 28.8 75% | 218 -90% |
Load Maximum * | 136.6 | 68 50% | 131.6 4% | 107.6 21% | 170 -24% | 44 68% | 248 -82% |
* ... smaller is better
Power Consumption Witcher 3 / Stresstest
Power Consumption external Monitor
Battery Life
Runtimes have not changed significantly from the previous generation 9710 or 9700 models. Expect just under 9 hours of real-world WLAN use when on the Balanced or Optimized power profile with the integrated GPU active. Charging from empty to full capacity takes just over 2 hours assuming you're not running any demanding applications as mentioned above.
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060 i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 97 Wh | HP Envy 17-cg i5-1135G7, GeForce MX450, 55.67 Wh | Dell XPS 17 9710 Core i7 RTX 3060 i7-11800H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 97 Wh | Dell XPS 17 9700 Core i7 RTX 2060 Max-Q i7-10875H, GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q, 97 Wh | Lenovo Legion 5 17ACH6H-82JY0003GE R5 5600H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, 80 Wh | Asus VivoBook 17 F712JA-AU708W i7-1065G7, Iris Plus Graphics G7 (Ice Lake 64 EU), 32 Wh | Razer Blade 17 (i7-12800H, RTX 3070 Ti) i7-12800H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU, 82 Wh | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battery Runtime | 47% | 79% | 59% | 21% | 11% | 27% | |
WiFi v1.3 | 524 | 472 -10% | 453 -14% | 580 11% | 263 -50% | 262 -50% | 353 -33% |
Load | 58 | 118 103% | 157 171% | 120 107% | 111 91% | 100 72% | 108 86% |
Reader / Idle | 1063 | 1060 | 1425 | 331 | |||
H.264 | 212 | 295 |
Pros
Cons
Verdict — All About That CPU
There's little to complain about the updated CPU. While it's true that the Alder Lake platform can be very power-hungry, the performance gains are at least respectable. Power users who know they can exploit the extra performance will certainly appreciate the trade-off in this regard.
The Dell XPS 17 9720 introduces a brand new processor with significant performance gains over older 10th gen and 11th gen options. Outside of the CPU, however, the same disadvantages from the XPS 17 9710 or 9700 remain.
Unfortunately, there are a few minor drawbacks that have yet to be addressed two years into this design. Webcam video quality remains poor, charging is significantly slower when running demanding loads, the lid is difficult to open with its poor grip, and there is still no webcam privacy shutter or Wi-Fi 6E support. The fact that the GPU has taken a hit seemingly out of nowhere can be a hard pill to swallow for XPS enthusiasts. The biggest advantages of the XPS 17 9720 when compared to alternatives with more features like the Gigabyte Aero 17 continue to be its more compact chassis size and 16:10 aspect ratio.
Price and Availability
Amazon only has one XPS 17 9720 SKU available at the moment for $2250 USD with the Core i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3050, and 1200p display. For more options, users can order directly from Dell instead.
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060
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05/31/2022 v7
Allen Ngo