It’s been a while since the release of the new Dell XPS 15 and so far, it’s been a superb laptop! The combination of 9th Gen CPU, GTX 1650 and the stunning OLED makes it one of the best work laptops for content creators.
Compared to the previous model, it would seem that nothing has changed since both have the same aesthetics, but quite a few things have changed.
Comparison with previous models
Now, this laptop is powered by the latest Intel 9th Gen CPUs and you can choose from i5-9300H, i7-9750H or i9-9980HK options. It’s not a huge upgrade with respect to performance of the previous model, however it has been claimed that the thermal performance is a bit better.
Generally, I wouldn’t recommend to go for an i9 unless you’re planning on under volt-ing.
GTX 1650
Compared to the previous model which had GTX 1050 Ti-Max Q, this model (except the base i5 model) is equipped with a GTX 1650 and has a slightly better performance in benchmarks.
See the full comparison here.
4K OLED Screen
While the performance is slightly improved, the 4K OLED screen option surely is a big selling point. The images are crisp and the colors are phenomenal. It truly is one of the best screens on a laptop!
If you’re any kind of a content creator (video editor, photo editor or graphic designer), the 4K OLED screen will be a better option, unless you already use an external screen.
Apart from the 4K OLED screen, you can also select from a 4K IPS Touch screen or a typical Full HD screen for this laptop.
Webcam is now on top!
Webcam position was a highly criticized point in the previous models as it was located in the lower bezel. It was not nice to have the person on the other end of a video call seeing into your nose or right at the knuckles. Now, they have moved the webcam to the top bezel, where it belongs.
Improved WiFi
Another pain point of previous models was the WiFi card. Many people complained about the WiFi disconnecting often or sometimes completely disappearing. But now, it’s bundled with the Killer WiFi 6 card which supports WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. I personally didn’t have issues after the one time I had to reset the WiFi and update its drivers.
Slightly improved thermal performance
Even though the chassis design hasn’t changed much, Dell claims they have improved the cooling process to avoid/reduce heating. Thermal throttling was a major complaint regarding the Dell XPS series, especially with the i9 model. I have the i7 model and during my use, I have not experienced any thermal throttling. The only annoying thing is a loud noise from the fan when I carry out heavy tasks like video editing/rendering.
This is a great laptop and I personally love it. Here are the top 4 features on Dell XPS 5 7590, and hopefully you will also find them attractive.
Top Features
4K OLED Screen
As I have already mentioned, 4K OLED screen is a beauty! It supports both HDR and Dolby Vision. Because it has more pixels, that means the contents look more clear and you’ll have more space for your workspaces. It covers 100% DCI-P3 color range and a higher contrast ratio, which makes it ideal for content creators. Given the fact this is one of the very few laptops with an OLED display, it rises above many of it’s competitors.
There was a small issue with the Screen flickering, but it can easily be fixed by disabling the “Panel Self Refresh” from the Intel UHD Control Panel.
Performance
You can tell how good this laptop is by just looking at the specs. One of the most attractive things is that you can upgrade the RAM, Hard Disk and even the WiFi card. I got the i7 model with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD, because it’s easier (and cheaper) for me upgrade it to 32GB RAM and 2TB SSD.
The benchmarks says a lot, but it’s also about how you feel. When I edit videos, this easily can render 12 minutes Full HD video (with several adjustment layers) in around 8 minutes!
IO Ports
When the laptops go thinner, the manufacturers decide to drop IO ports for some reason! It’s nice to have a thinner laptop, but what’s the point if you have to carry a dongle (or several) when you’re traveling (or even at work)?
Dell XPS 15 7590 is geared with many essential ports, except the Ethernet port (RJ-45), which is a bummer.
It has:
1 x Thunderbolt™ 3 with power delivery & Display Port
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1
1 x HDMI 2.0
1 x 3.5mm Headphone/Microphone jack
1 x SD card slot
I wish they put at least one more Thunderbolt port, but this is better than many other laptops out there in the market.
Keyboard + Track-pad + Fingerprint Sensor
Yes, these are also related to IO, but I consider them more than simple IO ports.
The keyboard is one of the best keyboards I’ve ever tried on a laptop. It’s super comfortable to type, has a nice key-travel and has an LED back-light. Even though this is not a full-sized keyboard, I prefer this over full-sized because of the convenient size and the feel.
The track-pad supports Microsoft precision drivers and this is also one of the best track-pads on a Windows Laptop. Yes, the track-pads on MacBooks are the best without any doubt :|. However, you get most of the gestures you have on a MacBook in this laptop as well. The only complain is the size of the track-pad. I wish they made it at least one more inch bigger, especially in width.
The fingerprint sensor is an unsung hero. It’s embedded to the power button (on top right) and it’s faster than many (1 second from the time to press the button till the Desktop is shown)
Things I didn’t like
The speakers
The speakers are bad! Period!
They are down firing stereo speakers and they don’t sound good. It lacks the highs and lows, so it sounds like a tune from a cheap mobile phone. The MAXXAudio claimed to improve the sound quality, but I got a clearer sound with it turned off.
Fan noise
The heating is handled quite well by sacrificing the fan noise. The fan runs quite often even when you’re not doing anything heavy – though it does a great job cooling the device!
However, the space between the vents (on the back side) and any surface you put the laptop, is very small. So, you have to lift the laptop for better air circulation to avoid any heating.
Because the fans constantly struggle to cool the device, they can get louder, even louder than the stand fan in my room 😐
Drivers
One of the biggest issues I faced with this laptop is the drivers! There were many issues with the Graphics Card, WiFi and Bluetooth.
Issues with the graphics card eventually went away after upgrading drivers (several times) and BIOS. Then make sure you have selected your GTX card for 3D or rendering work, both in the Nvidia control panel and whichever the software you’re using.
I had to reset the Network to fix the issue with the WiFi. Suddenly, it stopped working and I couldn’t see any WiFi connections. Restarting or updating drivers didn’t help. So, I had to reset network from the Settings.
Then you have to:
- Shut down the computer
- Unplug power, and disconnect the battery if possible (you have remove the screws under the base for this).
- Leave it for 10 minutes.
- (Connect the battery if you disconnected)
- Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds, until the keyboard flashes (or the Dell logo shows up)
- Log in to the laptop.
- Reinstall the WiFi drivers.
- Update the BIOS
There were issues with the Bluetooth as well, but it took me some time to figure it out. All the devices worked perfectly for the first time, but after the laptop wakes up from sleep, no Bluetooth device worked. Reinstalling the drivers also doesn’t help.
To fix this, you have to turn off power saving for the Bluetooth driver.
- Go to Device Manager (type it on the Start Menu)
- Expand “Bluetooth” section.
- Double click on “Intel(R) Wireless Bluetooth(R)
- On the Properties window, go to the Power Management tab.
- Uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”
- Press OK and done!
Track-pad
Regardless of the Track-Pad being super smooth and accurate, it’s small. Also, it’s very hard to use for an excessive time period because it’s too high from the base – so, your hand will end up hurting.
Because of this, I bought one of the best Mice for a PC: Microsoft Precision Mouse, and it’s great for video editing and even light gaming.
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Yes, they moved the webcam to the top bezel now, but the quality is not good. And yes, even though you won’t be making movies from this, you would need it for video calls or even make video tutorials.
In my opinion, this could have been a 1080p camera, or at least of better quality.
Battery
One small complaint is the battery life. I understand the 4K screen consumes a lot of battery life, but 4 hours for normal usage seems a bit lesser than average. On the other hand, I can imagine how much the 4K IPS screen drains battery compared to my OLED version. Maybe I need to follow some battery saving tips 😀
Summary
In summary, this laptop is great for content creators. If video/photos editing is your main requirement, I highly recommend this laptop for you. You can also use this for programming or some light gaming.
If you are only going to use this for programming, I don’t think you should buy this, rather go for a more light-weighted laptop.
You need a gaming laptop, you made the wrong choice. You may need to check Asus or Razor series.
If you still don’t give a damn and have enough money, yeah, you can buy this! Who can say no to a 4K OLED screen this amazing!
Order your Dell XPS 15 7590 from the official website.
See my YouTube videos on the Dell XPS 15 7590 for more information.
