While looking for the best laptop with i5 processor and the best laptop, one should also consider taking a look at the older laptops market. And the Dell XPS 9350 is one of the better ones among those. The hardware inside might be dated, but pretty much everything on the outside is still modern. This may be a top contender for highly-rated laptops.
Why We Like It – Dell XPS 9350
Even though the Dell XPS 9350 (more widely known as the Dell XPS 13) is almost six years old at this point, it still has a lot of value left. Maybe not from the performance standpoint, but everything like the build quality, keyboard, trackpad, display, etc., are still absolutely excellent.
- 13.3 inch QHD+ (3200 x 1800p) touch screen
- 256GB SSD (NVME) built-in
- Excellent carbon fiber finish on the hand rest area
- Slightly lower battery life than expected
Power & Performance
The Dell XPS 9350 sports an Intel Core i5 6200U inside. While very performant for its time, it’s over four generations old at this point. An Intel Core i7 processor would’ve been nice to see, as it would’ve given a bit more performance to be more suitable for handling demanding workloads. If you’re not happy with its performance, you should rather go for the Dell G5 15 Gaming Laptop. Take a look at our Dell Xps 15 review for a laptop that comes with an i7 processor.
Battery
The battery life is lower than expected, but it’s not bad. You do get about 5 hours of battery life out of it. And obviously, you can disable things like the Wi Fi when not needed to extend that battery life to half a working day. Still, if you want better battery life, you should go for the Acer Aspire 5 A515 instead with its 8 hours of battery life.
Ports & Expandability
Thankfully the XPS 9350 doesn’t completely throw you into the dongle life. There’s a fairly good selection of I/O. You get two full-sized USB Type-A 3.0 ports on either side. And there’s a USB C port too. Also, you get an SD card slot and a combo jack.
Build Quality
It is very durably built from top to bottom. Everything feels quality and high end here. The keyboard has zero down flex, and honestly, it’s some of the best laptop keyboards you can get at this price. The trackpad is similarly excellent. The display has narrow bezels, giving it a very cool and modern look. If you are an avid gamer, then you should go through our Gigabyte P2742G Windows 8 Gaming Laptop review.
Value
What the Dell XPS 9350 doesn’t have in terms of hardware and performance, it makes up for in terms of outside appearance and quality. If you can find a good deal on it along with free shipping, it’s still an excellent laptop that you can actually consider buying. If you can’t find a good deal on it, the ASUS VivoBook S14 S433 thin and light is an excellent option too.
Dell XPS 9350 Wrap Up
Overall, the Dell XPS 9350 still holds up to this day as one of the best budget laptops available out there. Even though a lot of other laptops have launched since its release, very few actually have managed to replicate the level of quality on the outer parts like Dell.
