Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360: Which is a Better Choice for You?

Are you having a hard time deciding between the latest Dell and HP laptops? If that is the case, this Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360 comparison will help your decision-making.

Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360: At First Glance

Dell and HP are two technology companies that always catch the attention of their users. In 2020, Dell released the Dell XPS 15 9500 while HP released the HP Spectre x360 – 15-BL100NX.

The release of both laptops came with excitement and some confusion as well because many were not sure which to go for. The price difference didn’t make it any easier either since both devices are within the same price range of $1400-$1500.

In terms of the target market, both laptops are often placed side-by-side among the best mobile workstation laptops in the gadget market. By that, you can guess that they are a very close match and that further makes it difficult to choose between them.

Now the big question is, which of these most talked about laptops of 2020 is truly better? Well, truth is, you will not find answers till you read on.

Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360: Design, Dimensions and Weight

Have you ever seen someone bring out a laptop and you almost want to go “wow! That’s beautiful”? Yeah, that’s exactly the kind of reaction both these laptops will give you.

They both have a smooth, premium, and delicate look that makes you want to handle them like raw eggs. To be more descriptive, the Dell XPS 15 for starters, has a sleek aluminum build with carbon fiber.

Dell laptops have been known for their simple, yet sophisticated look and the XPS 15 is no exception. Whoever constructed the bodywork of this laptop definitely did a good job.

The design intentionality of complimenting the silver aluminum with the black carbon fiber of the laptop’s deck is evident. Also, the laptop’s lid is devoid of dramatic looks as it only has the “Dell” text logo on the shimmering silver lid.

Speaking of the lid, be careful when opening it because the solid hinges of this laptop can only be open at 135 degrees. Consequently, it means you cannot open the Dell XPS 15 all the way to lay flat, talk more of being a convertible.

Meanwhile, when you do open the lid, you will find something very impressive underneath.

To be precise, underneath the lid is a near bezel-less screen. These bezels are so slim, you’ll think they’re almost not there.

In a bid to achieve such slimness, Dell did something interesting about the camera of the XPS 15. Instead of having the camera lens at the top bezel, Dell placed this camera lens on the lower bezel, beside the “Dell” text logo.

Such an alternative design choice from Dell is really unique and innovative. However, it does come with its shortcomings.

As interesting and unique as that may sound, it does seem uncomfortable, especially for those who will need this laptop for a lot of video calls. This is inconvenient because you’ll have to push the laptop farther back just to really capture your face.

On the other hand, if you won’t be dealing with the laptop’s camera, this may not be such a deal-breaker.

In the case of the HP laptop though, the Spectre x360 has an evident premium look that aims to impress. As a matter of fact, this laptop has a more MacBook appeal.

Rather than giving the Spectre x360 a plain black color, HP made this laptop more attractive with bronze edges. To be precise, the black aluminum unibody of this laptop is well defined with bronze around its curved edges.

To further highlight its beauty, the revamped “hp” logo on the lid also has a bronze finish to it.

Asides from the revamped HP logo, the other sign of branding you’ll see is the subtle “Spectre” text logo on the hinges. Speaking of hinges, the HP Spectre x360 takes a different approach from the Dell XPS when it comes to hinges.

Unlike Dell, this HP product is a convertible, which means you can open the lid all the way back to form a tablet. This explains why “x360” is included as its name – because the hinges open all the way to 360 degrees.

Considering the convertible feature of this HP laptop, you may be curious as to how heavy or lightweight it is. Well, the HP Spectre x360 is not a burden to move around with.

More precisely, this laptop weighs 2010 g. When compared to the Dell XPS 15, there’s little difference because this Dell laptop weighs around 1830 g – 2005 g.

Asides from weight, dimension is something to also care about especially when you need your laptop to fit into a compact bag. In the aspect of dimension, both laptops are also very similar.

The dimensions of the Dell XPS 15 is 344.72 x 230.14 x 18 mm (W x D x H) – while that of the HP Spectre x360 is 356 x 251 x 17.9 mm (W x D x H).

On opening the lid of the Spectre x360, you will not see an extremely slim bezel like that of the Dell. This is to say that these bezels are slim but not as slim as that of the Dell XPS 15.

We cannot talk about bezels and ignore the one thing the bezels surround, which is the display. To start with, both laptops have a 15.6″ display size.

Both laptops also have In-plane switching (IPS) display technology. To make more sense, the IPS technology makes it possible to view the laptop screen regardless of where you are seated.

This is what is referred to as viewing angles. Fortunately, you will get a good view of what’s on the screen of the XPS 15 and Spectre x360 whether or not you are seated directly in front.

Away from the IPS, the display resolution is another important feature of a display. In this aspect, both laptops have the 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) display resolution.

Just before I get to what the term “resolution” means, it is worth noting that the Dell XPS 15 offers another display resolution you can opt for. The first choice of display resolution for this Dell laptop is a Full HD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution.

Notably, the Full HD+ is cheaper than the 4K UHD resolution and the latter does a better job than the former.

Back to the 4K UHD and its function, the 4K display of the HP Spectre and Dell XPS 15 are super high than the typical FHD display. As a matter of fact, the 4K resolution provides more clarity, details, and color depth.

As good as all these sounds, the one major downside of this resolution is how much strain it puts on a laptop’s battery. More details about that are in the battery section of this article.

Just before you think it is over, the display features do not exactly end there. Since I mentioned that the HP Spectre x360 is a convertible, you were probably wondering if it’s touchscreen-enabled.

Well, goodness is, your guess was right. As expected for a convertible laptop, the screen of the Spectre x360 is a touchscreen display.

In addition to using your fingers on this display, you can also make use of the stylus pen. Rather than paying some extra cash for that, the stylus pen comes with the laptop on purchase.

As for the Dell XPS 15, the touchscreen feature is optional. This means you will have to pay extra to get the touchscreen display model of this laptop.

From the look of things, Dell wants to give its users many options to choose from.

Away from the display, it’s time to talk about what is below the display which is the laptop’s base. Starting with the keyboard, the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 both have backlit keyboards.

This means that both laptops will make typing worthwhile when used in the dark. Another good indicator of good typing experience on a keyboard is key travel.

Key travel refers to the distance a key travels when pressed into and when it returns to its original form. Ideally, a good key travel should be around 1.5mm.

Thankfully, both the HP Spectre 15 and Dell XPS 15 meet the exact key travel of 1.5mm respectively. Consequently, not only will you enjoy the feel of typing but your typing speed will also be on par.

In terms of keyboard spacing and size, the HP Spectre x360 has more spaced keys than Dell XPS 15. One reason for that is the wider trackpad Dell prioritized over keyboard spacing.

Apparently, if you love large trackpads similar to what you’ll find in Apple MacBooks then you’ll love that of this Dell laptop. This is not to say that the trackpad of the Spectre x360 is inferior.

As a matter of fact, both the Spectre x360 and XPS 15 have precision trackpads. This means that they both allow multi-touch gestures when using the trackpads.

Hence, both trackpads are really smooth and easy to use which makes it hard to say which is better in this aspect.

Still at the base of the laptop, let’s talk about ports. Starting with the Dell XPS 15, there’s the power-in, USB Type-A, and HDMI ports on the left side.

Furthermore, a USB Type-C thunderbolt and a headphone jack are also on the left side of this Dell laptop. Moving on to the right, there’s the full SD card slot, a USB Type-A port, and a Kensington lock.

For HP, you also get a similar setup with a USB Type-A, headphone jack, power button, and full SD Card on the left. On the right, there are two USB Type-C ports, HDMI, and volume control buttons.

You should not be surprised with the volume controls, after all, this laptop can be used as a tablet.

In brief, the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 are both excellent in terms of design features. They not only offer the essential, but also a little more impressive tweaks.

Following that, I will rate both laptops an even score of nine out of ten in this section of the Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360 comparison.

Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360: Processor (CPU) Performance

In the aspect of processor, you will find out that both laptops are different in terms of processor options. To make more sense, some laptop manufacturers provide different processor options to choose from when buying their products.

Fortunately, one of those manufacturers is Dell. With that said, you must have guessed that the Dell XPS 15 will have a wide variety of processor options.

Well, you guessed right, the Dell XPS 15 has as many as four processor options to choose from. I will go ahead to mention these processor options and their key features just before moving to the HP Spectre.

Focusing on the Dell XPS 15, you can get this laptop with the octa-core Intel Core i5-10300H procesor. This octa-core processor has an 8 MB cache as well as a base and maximum frequency of 2.50 GHz and 4.5 GHz respectively.

Another processor option for this laptop is the Intel Core i7-10750H which has 6 cores. Furthermore, this processor has a 2.60 GHz base frequency, 5.0 GHz boost frequency, and a 12 MB cache.

The third processor option of the Dell XPS 15 is an 8-core Intel Core i7-10875H processor. This processor has a 16 MB cache as well as a base and boost frequency of 2.30 GHz and 5.1 GHz.

A fourth and final alternative when it comes to processor options on this laptop is an Intel Core i9-10885H processor. This processor is also an 8-core processor with a 16 MB cache.

As for its base and boost frequency, this Intel Core i9 processor clocks at 2.40 GHz base frequency and 5.3 GHz boost frequency.

Having looked at all the processor options the Dell XPS 15 offers, I’ll talk now about that of the HP Spectre. Unlike its counterpart, the HP Spectre x360 has only one processor option which is the Intel Core i7-8550U.

Consequently, HP does not give you another option for a processor which means you’re stuck with this Core i7 processor. Despite this restriction as compared to the Dell XPS 15, I will go ahead and provide the features of this HP Spectre processor.

The Intel Core i7-8550U of the HP Spectre x360 is a quad-core processor with an 8 MB cache. When it comes to speed, this processor has a base frequency of 1.8 GHz and a boost frequency of 4.0 GHz.

With all the numbers and technical terms, your main concern would be to know how the processors perform. To provide that information, I will be talking about the processor performance of each laptop.

As it is a standard here at www.itechguides.com, I will base the performance metrics of both laptops’ processors on benchmark test scores. In addition to that, I will also provide the real-life use performance of these processors.

Just before I get started, do note that our review unit of the Dell XPS 15 is equipped with the Intel Core i7-10875H processor. I needed to state that considering the fact that this laptop comes with four processor options.

To start off the performance test, both the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 performed great in real-life use. As a matter of fact, it is realistic to say that these laptops can handle anything you bring their way.

From continuous web browsing to video editing, photo editing, and data entry, both the Dell and HP products did not flinch. In addition to the real-life test, we found out that the HP Spectre x360 takes about 18 minutes to convert a video from 4K to 1080p.

Comparatively, the processor of Dell XPS 15 saves more time. Instead of spending 18 minutes, this laptop converts a video from 4K to 1080p in about 10 minutes.

This is an important aspect of the laptops to note if you are involved in video editing.

To further analyze the performance of both laptops, let’s focus on the Cinebench R20 test scores. Just in case the term is strange to you, the Cinebench is a benchmark test tool that analyses the performance level of a processor.

Moving on, in this test, the Dell XPS 15 outperformed the HP Spectre x360 by a wide margin. To be precise, the HP Spectre x360 scored 1052 while the Dell XPS scored 1594 points.

Judging by these test scores and how long both laptops take in converting a video, it is apparent that Dell XPS 15 has won this round. This laptop also stole the show with its more versatile CPU configuration options.

Considering that, I will rate the Dell XPS 15 a nine. On the other hand, the HP Spectre x360 deserves an eight in this section of the Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360 comparison review.

Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360: Memory (RAM) Performance

For short-term application storage, a computer random access memory (RAM) is necessary to keep things moving. Like the processor features, the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 have similar memory features.

To make more sense, both laptops have two memory slots.

It’s important to note that for both laptops, one of the two slots is soldered to the motherboard which makes it difficult to replace. The second slot, however, can be easily replaced without the services of a laptop technician.

Speaking of upgradability, the Dell XPS 15 has a standard memory of 8 GB SDRAM that is upgradable up to 64 GB RAM.

Comparatively, the HP Spectre x360 is somewhat close to that with its 16 GB standard memory. On this HP laptop, you can upgrade the RAM up to 32 GB.

From the look of things, despite having a smaller standard memory size, the Dell XPS 15 has a larger maximum memory capacity. Another impressive memory feature of this Dell laptop is the different memory configuration options.

Interestingly, you can get this laptop either with 8, 16, 32, or 64 GB RAM. This avails you the opportunity of buying the right amount of RAM you so require – an advantage the HP Spectre x360 does not have.

Such difference might not be a deal-breaker though if the standard RAM can handle your computing tasks and you have no reason to upgrade. Going by that, you’re probably asking yourself “Just how much can the memory of these laptops handle?”

To answer that, 16 GB RAM of both laptops should be able to handle multiple computing tasks simultaneously. As a matter of fact, you should be able to stream videos and audio with about 30 web browser tabs open.

While that is going on, you can write some codes and do some data entry on Anaconda – both laptops should be able to handle the pressure. To support this information, let’s look at benchmark test results.

Like in the processor section, the memory of a computer can equally be tested with the use of a benchmark test tool called PCMark 8. The PCMark 8 does the job of putting a computer memory under multitasking pressure so as to determine just how much work productivity the computer can handle.

Similar to pretty much every other benchmark test, a higher score on the PCMark 8 indicates good performance.

In that regard, both the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 proved to be capable of productivity tasks with their impressive test results. By a small margin, the Dell XPS 15 resulted in about 9800 points while the HP Spectre is in sync with about 9470 points.

Judging by these figures, it’s evident that both laptops are truly going head-to-head in performance. Consequently, an even score of nine befits the memory performance of both laptops in this Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360 comparison.

Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360: Storage Options and Performance

So far, the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 have been sharing very similar features and the storage aspect is no exception either. Each of these laptops comes packed with 500 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD storage.

Two differences though are the number of storage slots and maximum storage size of both laptops. To be exact, the Dell XPS 15 has four storage slots that can take up 500 GB each, resulting in a total maximum storage capacity of 2 TB.

At a lesser capacity though is the HP Spectre which comes with two storage slots with 500 GB each. This makes that the maximum storage capacity of this laptop is 1 TB.

Looks like this Dell laptop has outdone that of the HP in terms of storage capacity. Although, sticking to just the standard storage might not be favorable for you especially if you deal with large files.

However, opting for the maximum storage of either laptop should be sufficient even if you deal with large files.

Nevertheless, there is yet another storage similarity both laptops share which is the SD card reader. Both the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre have a full SD card reader for additional storage or if you need to access files from an SD card.

Now that you’re clear on the storage specifications, I’ll go ahead to provide some performance metrics. Two things are involved when talking about storage performance.

These are the file transfer speed test and read and write speed test. To determine the former, there’s a need to put both laptops on real-life tests.

In doing that, we discovered that it took the HP Spectre x360 15 seconds to transfer a 4.97 GB file. The Dell XPS 15 did not take that long though when it transferred the same 4.97 GB file under 10 seconds.

With such a little disparity in the file transfer speed, let’s further see how both laptops perform with read and write speed. To provide some background, read speed refers to how long it takes a storage type to open a file.

Write speed, on the other hand, measures how long it takes storage to save a file. To determine these read and write speeds, the CrystalDiskMark is the ideal benchmark test tool for this.

Since we’re referring to speed, the results of this test will be presented with MB/s which means “megabyte per second”. Without further ado, the Dell XPS 15 has a read and write speed of about 1617 MB/s and 2054 MB/s respectively.

At a slightly lower rate, there’s the HP Spectre x360 with its read and write speed of about 1650 MB/s and 1410 MB/s respectively.

From the above, both the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 have impressive storage performance. Even though they both perform at a close margin, it is evident that the Dell XPS 15 does slightly better than its competetor.

This Dell laptop offers more storage options and also performs better in storage performance. Judging by that, I will rate the Dell XPS 15 a nine while the HP Spectre x360 will be rated an eight.

This means that the Dell and HP laptops score a nine and eight respectively in this Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360 comparison.

Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360: Graphics Card Performance

Whether you’re a gamer, video editor, or someone in between, graphics is an integral part of a laptop. Looking at the specs sheet, both Dell and HP seem to understand the importance of graphics.

To make more sense, the Dell XPS 15 offers two graphics card options of both integrated and dedicated graphics. If this is your first time hearing those terms, not to worry, I’ll explain.

Simply put, an integrated graphics card does not have its own dedicated RAM. Consequently, it shares the system’s memory with the CPU to perform graphics tasks.

In contrast, a dedicated graphics card has its own RAM which is called Video RAM (or VRAM). This VRAM is capable of handling graphics tasks which means it does not share the system’s memory with the CPU.

Just by looking at how they both function, a dedicated graphics card is more powerful than an integrated one.

With that cleared, I’ll go ahead to provide the graphics specifications of both laptops. Starting with the Dell XPS 15, this laptop has both an integrated and dedicated graphics card depending on the model you opt for.

Starting with the least powerful, the integrated Intel UHD Graphics of the XPS 15 has 350 MHz as its base frequency. The boost frequency on the other hand is 1250 MHz.

Alternatively, there’s a more powerful option which is the dedicated NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics card. Its video RAM is 4 GB GDDR6 and its base frequency is at 1350 MHz while its maximum frequency is 1485 MHz.

Unlike this Dell laptop, the HP Spectre x360 comes with just one graphics configuration which is dedicated graphics. I guess HP did not see the need to make a less powerful graphics card an option after all!

Enough with the digression, let’s get to the graphics features of the HP Spectre. This laptop comes equipped with a dedicated NVIDIA GeForce MX150 card.

In terms of speed, it has a base frequency of 1469 MHz and a boost frequency of 1532 MHz. Furthermore, this dedicated graphics card is equipped with 2 GB GDDR5 video RAM.

Moving on, providing these graphics specifications is of no use if you cannot determine their performances. Speaking of which, I will be providing performance-based benchmark test results as determined by 3DMark 11.

Similar to the benchmark tests carried out for the processor, memory, and storage of both laptops, the graphic is also not left out. The 3DMark focuses on graphics performance test which is done by analyzing the high-graphics capacity of a computer.

As for the test results, the Dell XPS 15 delivers an impressive score of about 16600 points. A less impressive score however is the 8930 points of the HP Spectre x360.

We totally expected the XPS 15 to outperform the Spectre, however, we didn’t think it would be such a huge difference! The core reason for that though is the more powerful dedicated graphics card of the XPS 15.

It is worth noting that the powerful GPU Dell included in this laptop is sometimes found in some gaming laptops.

However, that does not make the XPS 15 a gaming laptop. Despite not being a gaming laptop, such an amount of graphics power will make you curious about its gaming performance, right?

Well, the Dell XPS 15 is definitely capable of handling some interesting games. We also cannot say anything less about the HP Spectre x360.

To be precise, let’s talk about the real-life gaming performance of both laptops.

For starters, the Dell XPS 15 reached 135 frames per second when running Dirt 3 on the 1080p medium settings. This is almost twice the average 63 frames per second you’ll find in more premium laptops.

As for the HP Spectre x360, it also beat the average benchmark of 63 frames per second. In fact, this laptop will run Dirt 3 at about 118 fps on 1080p medium settings.

If you are a fan of The Witcher 3, it will interest you to know that the XPS 15 will run this game at about 200 fps. In this same game, the HP Spectre x360 will deliver gaming performance at about 90 fps.

In a word, both laptops perform similarly in terms of real-life gaming performances. However, there is such a huge difference in benchmark test scores.

Considering those factors, the graphics card performance of the Dell XPS 15 is best rated of nine. The HP Spectre x360 on the other hand is worth an eight in this Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360 comparison.

Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360: Battery Life and Performance

No laptop user wants to be burdened with battery anxiety, which is why battery life is important. Before delving into the battery life of these laptops, you need to know the battery features first.

You noticed how Dell provides configuration options in virtually every section of this comparison? Well, they did it yet again in the aspect of the battery.

More precisely, you can purchase the Dell XPS 15 with a 56WHr or 86Whr battery. In In comparison, even though the HP Spectre x360 does not have multiple battery options, it is powered by a 6-cell, 79.2 Wh Li-ion battery.

After knowing the battery specifications, your next concern will be the battery life of both laptops. According to Dell’s claims, the 56WHr battery of the XPS 15 will last a little over 20 hours while the 86WHr battery will last 18 hours.

HP also advertised the Spectre x360 to have a battery life of 17 hours. Well, all those statements are marketing gimmicks, not real-life use.

To know the exact battery life of both laptops, I’ll be presenting their actual battery life based on real-life use. Before then, please note that our review unit of the Dell XPS 15 comes with an 86WHr battery.

That said, when web browsing continuously with brightness at 50%, this laptop will last about 12 hours. It is also worth noting that this 12-hour battery life is applicable to the 4K display option of this laptop.

In contrast, if you opt for the FHD+ display, you should be getting around 15-18 hours of battery life. This is to tell you that display resolutions play a huge role in how long a battery can last.

Moving on, the advertised battery life of HP Spectre x360 is also not the same as its relal-life battery life. On continuous web browsing and brightness set at 50%, this laptop lasts about 13 hours.

The HP Spectre’s ability to last slightly longer than the XPS 15 should not surprise you since the display resolution of the former is not as battery intensive as that of the latter.

Summarily, both laptops seem to head it really closely as they perform as expected in the aspect of the battery. That said, I will rate both laptops an even score of nine in this Dell XPS 15 vs HP Spectre x360 comparison.

Our Rating Summary

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

In conclusion, both the Dell XPS 15 and HP Spectre x360 put up a good fight in being number one. They both share a number of close similarities that make it difficult to choose one definite laptop.

Both laptops are best suited for work productivity and also for creatives. However, there has to be a winner, and going by our ratings, the Dell XPS 15 pretty much takes the lead.

Not only is the Dell XPS 15 a higher performer, but it also has more options and is less pricey than the HP Spectre x360.

However, if those options or the price tag don’t matter and you really need a convertible PC for work productivity, then the Spectre x360 is the way to go.

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