Are Dell laptops good?

Dell XPS 13 Plus (9320) for 2022
(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)

Are Dell laptops good?

Best answer: Dell laptops are some of the best devices available on the market. Whether you need something budget-friendly, an Ultrabook, or a powerful gaming laptop, there's something in Dell's lineup that will be perfect for you.

What makes Dell laptops so good?

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There are several reasons Dell's laptops are great, but chief among them is the fact that the best Dell laptops always feature excellent hardware specs. The latest devices from the company feature powerful and efficient 12th Gen Intel CPUs, cutting-edge DDR5 RAM, and an abundance of speedy SSD storage. You'll also find many of the latest and greatest GPUs from NVIDIA within Dell's workstation and gaming laptops, ensuring that you'll have the heavy-hitting hardware you need to get specialized creative work done or dominate the virtual battlefield. Notably, even Dell's more affordable laptops offer reliable performance and all-day battery life, often making them a superior choice compared to the budget-friendly competition.

Dell's laptops also come with some of the best designs in the industry, complete with bright, gorgeous, and extremely color-accurate displays. Dell has been manufacturing laptops since 1989, and that experience shows; all of the company's modern devices have excellent build quality, very comfortable keyboards and trackpads, and a clean, sleek aesthetic. Most of Dell's laptops are also very thin and light, making them easy to take with you on the go.

Additionally, there's a wide variety of different laptop types available in Dell's inventory, giving consumers plenty of options to pick from. Devices from the XPS lineup are positioned as the company's flagship Ultrabooks, delivering top productivity performance alongside some of Dell's best designs and displays. Alienware and G-Series models are ideal for gamers since they feature beefy top-of-the-line gaming hardware, while folks who need (or want) to save money will love the simple designs and reliable mid-range performance you get with Inspiron laptops. There's also the Vostro and Latitude series, which are aimed at the small and enterprise business markets, respectively, as well as the Precision lineup of laptops meant for specialized CAD work.

Which Dell laptop should you buy?

(Image credit: Daniel Rubino)

If you're wondering which Dell laptop is right for you, the answer entirely depends on what kind of experience you're looking to have. If you want something fast and performant for day-to-day productivity, web browsing, and viewing movies and TV shows, we strongly recommend either the Dell XPS 13 Plus or the latest refresh of the regular Dell XPS 13. The former has Intel's phenomenal 12th Gen P-Series CPUs and a stellar new design with an edge-to-edge keyboard and a massive "invisible" trackpad, while the latter retains Dell's classic XPS 13 chassis and features 12th Gen U-Series CPUs that are less performant, but also less taxing on battery life (both come with Intel's advanced Iris Xe integrated graphics, DDR5 memory, and tons of SSD storage). The latest Dell XPS 15 is also a great option if you're looking for a workstation with more horsepower under the hood, as it comes with performance-optimized 12th Gen H-Series chips and up to a dedicated NVIDIA RTX 3050 Ti GPU.

If you're a gamer, you'll be best served by the Alienware x15 R2, which packs up to a 12th Gen H-Series i9 CPU and up to an RTX 3080 Ti into the thinnest and lightest chassis that Dell has ever used for a gaming laptop. It can also be configured with up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM and up to a massive 4TB SSD, as well as a beautiful FHD display with a refresh rate of 165Hz, 240Hz, or 360Hz. We're also big fans of the Dell G15, a less expensive alternative with an 11th Gen i5 H-Series CPU, an RTX 3050 Ti, DDR4 memory, and a FHD 120Hz panel.

Folks in need of something as inexpensive as possible should look no further than the Dell Inspiron 15 3000. Our favorite configuration is the $450 model with an 11th Gen i3 CPU, Intel UHD integrated graphics, 8GB of DDR4 memory, and a 256GB SSD. These specs offer a great balance between price and performance for simple web browsing and productivity. The laptop's design is also comfortable to use and doesn't feel cheap, which isn't something you can always say about budget devices.

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Brendan Lowry

Brendan Lowry is a Windows Central writer and Oakland University graduate with a burning passion for video games, of which he's been an avid fan since childhood. He's been writing for Team WC since the summer of 2017, and you'll find him doing news, editorials, reviews, and general coverage on everything gaming, Xbox, and Windows PC. His favorite game of all time is probably NieR: Automata, though Elden Ring, Fallout: New Vegas, and Team Fortress 2 are in the running, too. When he's not writing or gaming, there's a good chance he's either watching an interesting new movie or TV show or actually going outside for once. Follow him on X (Twitter).