Dell is an American company founded in 1984 by Michael Dell. They're known for enterprise products and consumer electronics like desktops, laptops, workstations, monitors, and a wide range of computer peripherals. Dell is one of the largest laptop manufacturers and currently offers a wide product lineup, ranging from cheap Chromebooks to more recognizable brands like Inspiron, XPS, Latitude, Precision, and Alienware. Their higher-end devices feature exceptional build quality, performance, and unique designs. A common criticism of Dell is the company's use of proprietary parts, which makes repairs and upgrades challenging for the average user.
We've tested 20 Dell laptops, and below are our recommendations for the best Dell laptops for business, gaming, and overall use.
Updates
- 09/24/2024 Dell Precision 3591 (2024) updated
- 09/16/2024 Dell Precision 5690 (2024) reviewed
- 05/29/2024 Dell XPS 13 (2024) reviewed
- 05/28/2024 Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 (2023) updated
- 05/27/2024 Dell XPS 16 (2024) reviewed
Best Dell Laptops
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Best Dell Laptop
School7.9Gaming7.6Multimedia8.6Workstation8.8Business8.0The best Dell laptop we've tested is the Dell XPS 16 (2024). This 16-inch premium model has exceptional build quality and great performance. It's available with Intel Meteor Lake CPUs (up to a Core Ultra 9) paired with integrated graphics or an NVIDIA RTX 40-series GPU (up to a 4070), giving you plenty of processing power to tackle general productivity tasks and intensive workloads like content creation. You can choose between a 120Hz FHD+ IPS or a 90Hz 4k+ OLED panel; we recommend the latter for color-critical work, as it offers full coverage of the DCI P3 color space.
The overall user experience is hit-and-miss. The design is sleek, but many key features, like the invisible touchpad, edge-to-edge keys, and capacitive function row, can take some time to adjust to. Port selection is okay; you get three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4 ports (depending on your GPU choice), a MicroSD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Biometrics include a fingerprint sensor and a facial recognition IR camera. Battery life is good at around nine to 10 hours of light use, though it's much shorter if you perform CPU/GPU intensive tasks, reducing it to around 2.5 hours.
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Best Upper Mid-Range Dell Laptop
School8.0Gaming6.0Multimedia8.4Workstation7.4Business7.6If you don't need the power of a mobile workstation but still want something premium, get the Dell XPS 13 (2024). This 13-inch ultraportable features the same great build quality and minimalist design as its bigger sibling, the Dell XPS 16 (2024). It also features Intel Meteor Lake CPUs; however, there are no dedicated GPU options, so it's better suited to general productivity tasks like web browsing, spreadsheets, and word processing, making it one of the best Dell laptops for business use. There are FHD+ non-touch and QHD+ touchscreen IPS panels, as well as a 2.8k OLED touchscreen panel to choose from. The IPS panels get brighter and have a higher refresh rate, but the OLED is much sharper, so which panel is best depends on your wants, needs, and budget.
You get a good 1080p webcam, Wi-Fi 7 connectivity (the latest Wi-Fi standard), as well as a fingerprint sensor and a facial recognition camera for added security and quick logins. Its 55Wh battery lasts a full workday of light use, and it charges over USB-C. Speaking of ports, this is one area where it falls short, as there are only two USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s. Finally, just like the XPS 16 above, the keyboard and touchpad are a love-it-or-hate-it affair; they feature the same edge-to-edge keycaps that are prone to accidental inputs, and since you can't see the touchpad, you can sometimes be right at the edge where the tracking is inconsistent.
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Best Dell Gaming Laptop
School6.3Gaming9.1Multimedia6.0Workstation9.4Business7.8The Dell Alienware m18 R2 (2024) is our Dell gaming pick. This 18-inch model delivers incredibly smooth gameplay in the most demanding games. It's available with high-performance 14th Gen Intel Core i7 and i9 CPUs and discrete NVIDIA GPUs, up to a GeForce RTX 4090 mobile. Display options include a 480Hz FHD+ and a 165Hz QHD+ display; the former is a better option if you prefer increased input responsiveness and smoother motion, while the latter gives you a sharper image, providing a more immersive experience in slower-paced games like RPGs and atmospheric titles. Both displays support G-SYNC to reduce screen tearing. Memory and storage max out at 64GB and 8TB, respectively, and they're user-replaceable, so you can upgrade or add more later.
There are plenty of other ports for your peripherals, including two USB-As, three USB-Cs (two support Thunderbolt 4), an HDMI 2.1 that can output a 4k 120hz signal, a Mini DisplayPort, and an SD card reader. Also, you can get the laptop with a mechanical keyboard that sports ultra low-profile Cherry MX switches. One drawback is this laptop isn't suited for on-the-go use; it's heavy and bulky, and its battery lasts about an hour when gaming. Online gamers will be happy to hear that it has Wi-Fi 7 and an Ethernet port to ensure a fast, reliable internet connection—you'll need a compatible router if you want to take advantage of Wi-Fi 7's lower latency and higher connection speeds. Check out recommendations for the best Wi-Fi routers if you're thinking of upgrading your router.
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Best Dell Workstation
School8.2Gaming7.4Multimedia7.5Workstation8.8Business8.0The Dell Precision 5690 (2024) is the best Dell workstation we've tested. This 16-inch model offers various hardware configurations, making it adaptable to different workflows. It features Intel's Meteor Lake CPUs (up to a Core Ultra 9) and NVIDIA RTX Ada Generation Laptop GPUs (up to an RTX 5000), which are ideal for specialized tasks like 3D modeling and simulations. Display options include FHD+ IPS and 4K+ OLED at 60Hz. RAM and storage reach 64GB and 4TB, though the RAM isn't user-replaceable. However, it has two NVMe m.2 slots for expandable storage.
As for the design and user experience, although it isn't as sleek as the XPS 16, this older Dell design is more functional, as it takes less time to get used to the keyboard and touchpad, and you don't have to deal with a capacitive function row. It also has a wider range of ports, including an HDMI 2.1, three USB-C/Thunderbolt 4s, an SD card reader, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. While this is an excellent workstation overall, Dell has limited the power target of its GPU configurations to just 95W, even on the NVIDIA RTX 5000 Ada Generation Laptop GPU. As a result, other models with the same hardware but a higher TGP will perform better.
Compared To Other Brands
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Wide selection of products.
Dell has many different lineups that produce devices ranging from cheap Chromebooks to premium workstations. -
Well-built premium models.
Dell's premium brands like XPS and Alienware feature models with exceptional build quality. -
Great customizability.
Dell laptops feature a wide range of customization options, allowing you to configure devices to best suit your needs. -
Detailed product manuals and support pages.
Dell offers extensive documentation, product support pages, and online diagnostic tools to help troubleshoot issues.
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Poor serviceability.
Dell laptops often use proprietary parts or soldered memory and/or storage, making them difficult or impossible to service or upgrade. -
Sketchy warranty tactics.
Dell has faced criticism about including paid additional warranty coverage on devices without clearly communicating the costs to consumers. -
Low availability via marketplaces and other retailers.
Dell laptops are often hard to find through marketplaces and other retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, so it's best to get them directly from Dell. You also get much more configuration options when buying from Dell.
Dell vs Lenovo
Dell and Lenovo offer similar products ranging from cheap Chromebooks to premium workstations. Where Lenovo tends to be known for the value of its budget and mid-range offerings, Dell is better known for their premium product lines like XPS or Alienware. See our Lenovo laptop recommendations.
Dell vs Apple
While Apple only produces a small line-up of high-end devices, Dell offers a much wider range of products for different uses. People usually compare Apple's premium products with Dell's high-end productivity laptops in terms of build quality and user experience. One major difference between these two companies is hardware: Dell primarily uses x86 chips in its laptops (though with new models featuring Snapdragon ARM SoCs on the way), while Apple uses its in-house ARM-based SoCs. See our Apple laptop recommendations.
Dell vs ASUS
Dell and ASUS are both major laptop manufacturers that make a wide range of laptops for productivity, content creation, and gaming. ASUS tends to focus more on gaming, regularly sponsoring esports events and players. The company also often experiments with new form factors, like gaming tablet PCs and dual-screen laptops. On the other hand, Dell focuses more on productivity laptops and has a larger footprint in the corporate/business world. See our ASUS laptop recommendations.
Dell vs HP
Dell and HP make a wide range of laptops at nearly every price point. While Dell's premium XPS and Precision lineups compete with HP's Spectre and Zbook brands, Dell has a stronger foothold in the corporate world with a wider selection of products tailored for business use. For gaming, Dell's Alienware lineup has more high-end configurations available than HP's OMEN brand. Both companies' premium products tend to be expensive, but they also offer large sales directly on their websites. Dell and HP provide similar build quality and user experiences, so the choice depends on your needs and preferences. See our HP laptop recommendations.
Dell vs Microsoft
While Microsoft and Dell both make Windows laptops, Dell has a much larger portfolio that includes models for different uses and at various price points, whereas Microsoft only makes productivity laptops. Microsoft's Surface products and Dell's XPS line are comparable in quality and performance, though Surface products tend to have less bloatware.
Like ASUS, Acer, HP, and Lenovo, Dell makes a huge range of laptops. Although some of their high-end models are among the best on the market, their mid-range and budget models aren't as feature-rich or well-built as their competitors. Nevertheless, the wide range of options means that Dell has something to offer most users. However, shopping for the exact laptop configuration you want is sometimes hard with Dell; their products aren't always widely available from third-party sellers and marketplaces, and their website only offers customization options based on what's available rather than all possible configurations.
Lineup
Dell offers several different laptop brands to meet your specific needs. They use the following names:
- Inspiron: Cheap to mid-range devices to meet general productivity and everyday needs.
- XPS: Features upper-mid-range ultraportables and mobile workstations.
- Alienware: Mid-range to premium gaming laptops.
- G-series: Cheap and budget gaming laptops.
- Latitude: Budget to mid-range general productivity devices for enterprises.
- Precision: Mobile workstations for enterprises.
- Vostro: Budget to mid-range general productivity devices for small businesses.
Recent Updates
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Small text changes for clarity and added a comparison with Microsoft. No change in recommendations.
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We've expanded the product categories to differentiate Dell's workstation offerings and also added an HP brand comparison. We've also made small edits throughout for clarity.
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Sep 26, 2024: Small text changes to add the Dell Precision 5690 (2024) as an alternative to the Dell XPS 16 (2024).
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Sep 04, 2024: Small text changes to add comparison with ASUS. No change in recommendations.
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Aug 19, 2024: We've removed the 'Best Mid-Range Dell Laptop' category, as the Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 (2023) is discontinued, and among the laptops we've tested, there isn't a suitable replacement available. We've also checked the article for clarity.
Conclusion
Dell laptops range from basic devices for everyday tasks like word processing or web browsing to powerful workstations and gaming laptops. Their premium laptops from the XPS and Alienware lineups often feature striking designs and generally provide a great user experience and exceptional performance. However, their budget lineups aren't quite as competitive, typically lacking features or offering inferior build quality compared to their direct competitors. Nevertheless, Dell's higher-end models are among the best laptops we've tested, and we recommend them if you need a solid device for work or gaming.