Versatile and powerful, the best Dell laptop is no stranger to laptop buying guides. Great for multitasking with plenty of style to boot, Dell has always delivered the goods when it comes to providing efficient laptops to suit a multitude of workloads.
We love the Dell XPS 14 (2024) and have named it our top Dell laptop overall. It’s kitted out with the latest Intel Meteor Lake processors plus an Nvidia RTX GPU and knocks it out of the park as a work laptop with excellent battery life. It scores high in the portability stakes with its sleek and lightweight design, and is available in an OLED model too, if you want to gain even more visual fidelity.
If you’re looking for the best for less, the Dell XPS 13 Plus delivers value for money in spades. It has a slightly smaller 13.4-inch display but still has plenty of chops regarding performance and portability. Provided you don’t mind fewer ports on board, you’ll appreciate its slim chassis, making it ideal for working on the move. And with a competitive starting price, it will appeal to your wallet as well as your workload.
With plenty of options to sift through, finding the best laptop for you can be an intimidating prospect. But thanks to its expansive catalog of options, which includes some of the best ultrabooks, there’s a good chance you’ll find what you need in Dell’s roster. And luckily for you, we have extensively tried and tested over a hundred Dell laptops over the years to bring you our selection of top picks to suit every need and every budget.
The Quick List
The best Dell laptop overall
With its new Intel Meteor Lake chip backed by a powerful NPU, the Dell XPS 14 confidently takes the lead as the best Dell laptop on the market, and the cherry on top is the OLED display it boasts.
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2. Dell XPS 13 Plus (2023)
Best value Dell laptop
While the Dell XPS 13 Plus may lack the new Meteor Lake architecture of the XPS 14, it has the OLED screen and offers a far cheaper entry price with strong performance for its class.
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Best Dell laptops for creatives
Simply put, the Dell XPS 17 combines a super-powerful RTX 4080 GPU with a massive 4K screen making it the ideal choice for content creators of all types wanting a large canvas to work with.
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4. Alienware m17 R5 AMD Advantage
The best Dell gaming laptop
Going all-in on AMD, the Alienware m17 R5 impresses with some excellent gaming performance backed up by a large display with a staggering 4K resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate for high-end gaming.
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The best 15-inch Dell laptop
Although the Dell XPS 15 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it does offer excellent performance backed up by a Raptor Lake Core i9 CPU that’ll appeal to all laptop users.
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The best Dell laptop with Nvidia hardware
While you’ve got the choice of either Intel or AMD for your processor, this machine gives you a wide selection of Nvidia RTX GPUs to tailor your experience in either Full HD or Quad HD.
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7. Dell Latitude 9330 2-in-1
The best Dell laptop for business
The Dell Latitude 9330 2-in-1 may not come cheap but its hybrid nature and respectable hardware make it an ideal thin-and-light notebook for those wanting more flexibility from their work days.
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8. Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1
The best value convertible Dell laptop
There’s no reason why you should have to shell out serious money for a convertible Dell laptop as the Inspiron 16 2-in-1 shows with its hybrid design and mid-range pricing.
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9. Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1
The best compact Dell laptop
If you’re in the market for a rucksack-friendly 2-in-1 device then the Dell Inspiron 14 ticks all the right boxes with its small size and punchy hardware inside.
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10. Dell Chromebook 3110 2-in-1
Best Dell Chromebook for kids
The Dell Chromebook 3110 2-in-1 may not be very powerful, however, it’s tough build quality and aggressive pricing make it ideal for younger learners.
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Best Dell laptop overall
The all-new Dell XPS 14 sees a massive shake-up in the hardware for the company’s compact laptop thanks to the utilization of Intel Meteor Lake silicon and a display that’s hard to beat for its size. Under the hood, you’ll find the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H with a staggering 16-cores (22-threads) with a max boost clock of 4.8GHz for far stronger and more consistent performance than previously seen.
What’s more, the new Dell XPS 14 leads the charge with a staggering 3.2K OLED display which is among the best laptop screens that we’ve ever tested. This self-lit panel tech means you get deep inky blacks combined with bright and vivid colors which are far stronger than the usual IPS LCD that we typically see at this size. The screen is augmented by new up-firing speakers which provide loud and clear audio playback (far better than down-firing offerings).
Buy it if…
✅ You want the best of Intel Meteor Lake right now: The improvements delivered by the new Intel Core Ultra 7 155H cannot be understated and the powerful NPU should keep it nicely future-proofed.
✅ A strong battery life is a must: While Apple’s hardware has the XPS 14 beat in terms of longevity, there’s no faulting the 10 hours on a single charge, nor the fact that the battery takes just 30 minutes to juice back to 100%.
Don’t buy it if…
❌ Leading performance is essential: While the Intel Core Ultra 7 155H is an excellent processor, it’s not quite the best you can slot into a laptop, and the same can be said of the RTX 4050 GPU for its price tag.
❌ You have limited funds: Even the Dell XPS 14’s base configuration doesn’t come cheap at $1,499 / £1,599 / AU$2,998.60. For the same money, you could get a mid-range gaming laptop with a more powerful GPU inside, or a respectably powerful Ultrabook from a competitor, but you’re missing out on the design prowess.
Everything about the design of the Dell XPS 14 screams premium, including its machined aluminum chassis (in platinum or graphite) which tapers off at the edges. While it’s not going to be for everyone, the touchbar row replacing the function keys, and invisible trackpad, also go a long way to separating this machine from your average run-of-the-mill Ultrabook.
The main star of the show with Dell’s latest flagship device is the performance though. That’s because the Core Ultra 7 155H does an incredible job of holding its own against Apple’s M3 chip found inside the latest MacBook Pros. The Intel CPU delivers solid gaming performance and fantastic productivity chops bolstered by the NPU on the chip. While the RTX 4050 is the weakest of Nvidia’s Lovelace line-up, it’s still powerful enough to provide a consistent gaming experience at 1080p resolution.
While the Dell XPS 14 may not have as good battery life as the aforementioned Apple laptop, it does offer up to 10 hours of longevity. For context, that’s a significant lead over the previous model’s average of about seven hours. Meteor Lake is far more efficient than Alder Lake and Raptor Lake, and it shows in spades here.
Just keep in mind that this laptop doesn’t come cheap even at its base configuration. The starting price for the new Dell XPS 14 is a hefty $1,499 / £1,599 / AU$2,998.60, although this can be maxed out to as much as $3,399 / £3,238.99 / AU$5,999.40 which nets you 64GB of RAM and a 4TB NVMe SSD onboard. Simply put, there’s no better Dell laptop on the market than this one in 2024.
Read our full Dell XPS 14 (2024) review
Best value Dell laptop
While much fanfare can be made around Dell’s XPS 14 market leader, the XPS 13 Plus still confidently punches above its weight performance-wise, combining that with a stellar visual design and a fantastic display. Starting at just $1,249 / £1,198.99 / AU$2,398, this hardware revision outguns its competition with ease and offers dazzling OLED panel tech at a price few can argue with.
Buy it if…
✅ You want a laptop with an excellent screen: Whether you’re interested in the 1080p or 4K model, the Dell XPS 13 Plus looks simply stunning with OLED panel tech which elevates it above rivals.
✅ You’re in the market for a powerful yet compact PC: At just over 13-inches, the Dell XPS 13 impresses with a lean and lightweight form factor that still packs a punch.
Don’t buy it if…
❌ Leading battery life is a must: While the around seven hour battery life of the Dell XPS 13 Plus is far from poor, it’s behind the times of what some top-end Ultrabooks are capable of in 2024.
❌ You want a suite of connectivity options: If you have a lot of USB accessories then you may be disappointed with this laptop’s port selection. It’s a case of form over function, meaning you may need to reach for a USB hub.
Dell was smart to give consumers the choice of screen resolution, RAM capacity, and total storage ranging from the aforementioned entry-level price to a heftier $1,749 / £2,119.38 / AU$3,880.80 which gets you a UHD+ display and 32GB RAM. Regardless of what you spend, you’ll be getting OLED, giving you a screen far better than the IPS LCDs typically seen on 13-inch Ultrabooks.
While the CPU inside the Dell XPS 13 Plus, the Intel Core i7-1360P, has since been superseded by the new Intel Meteor Lake range, there’s no faulting the performance capabilities here. In our testing we noticed impressive benchmark results in the likes of 3DMark, GeekBench 6, HandBrake, and CrossMark, meaning you should be all set for demanding creativity and productivity tasks. Sadly, the Iris integrated graphics just aren’t up to the task of gaming.
Where the mid-range pricing of the Dell XPS 13 Plus shows itself the most compared to the flagship options in Dell’s notebook line-up is in terms of battery life. That’s because you can expect about seven hours with moderate use which isn’t exactly top class. However, you won’t be waiting around for the laptop to charge, as it juices up for six hours of longevity in just 20 minutes. While you’ll keep a charger within easy enough reach, this isn’t a laptop you’ll need to keep plugged in by any means.
Read our full Dell XPS 15 (2023) review
Best Dell laptop for creatives
The Dell XPS 17 (2024) might be the finest iteration of Dell’s large-form-factor XPS laptop yet. Packing some mighty internal components including 14th-gen Intel CPUs with Intel’s neural processing unit for AI workloads and up to a mighty Nvidia RTX 4080 graphics card, this is a professional laptop that can handle just about anything you throw at it.
All that processing power is wrapped up in a stylish chassis with a beautiful UHD+ display and comfortable keyboard, with Dell’s XPS line once again setting the standard for what a good work laptop should be. It powered through our benchmark suite when we reviewed it, and our only real point of criticism is that it lacks a 1080p webcam, opting for a slightly less sharp 720p one instead – well, that and the fact that the high-end configurations of this laptop get expensive rather quickly.
Read our full Dell XPS 17 (2024) review
The best Dell gaming laptop
Dell’s Alienware range of gaming laptops is the most recent brand to release an ‘AMD Advantage’ edition exclusively packing AMD internal components, and it might just be the best one yet. The Radeon RX 6850M XT laptop GPU performs fantastically, offering top-notch gaming performance and a pricey but not unreasonable cost.
It won’t melt your thighs either – unlike most gaming laptops, this Alienware model has a nifty cooling solution that really works, keeping your device from getting too toasty during long gaming binges (though the fans can get pretty noisy under heavy system loads).
It’s worth noting that this configuration is only available in the US right now, although other models of the Alienware m17 R5 are available in different territories – we raved about the quality of the sturdy, RGB-equipped chassis and large, bright display in our review, so if you’re looking for a high-end 17-inch gaming laptop, the m17 R5 is an excellent choice.
Read the full Alienware m17 R5 AMD Advantage review
Best 15-inch Dell laptop
While ultimately more of an iterative upgrade over its predecessor than a sweeping innovator, the Dell XPS 15 still does enough to justify its place on our list as the best 15-inch Dell laptop that money can buy. The most recent version here features either the 13th-gen Core i7 or i9 CPU depending on configuration, and that pairs beautifully with the Nvidia RTX 4070 graphics card for some seriously powerful productivity potential.
Of course, pairing either a Core i7 or i9 CPU with an RTX 4070 GPU means that the Dell XPS 15 can also be considered quite the fearsome gaming laptop, made all the better by its OLED panel. With a 3.5K resolution, this laptop’s screen looks simply stunning whether you’re consuming media, engaging in some heavy productivity tasks or gaming (even if you’ll need to knock things down to 1440p resolution for the latter).
Buy it if…
✅ You’re after an Ultrabook that can do it all: The Dell XPS 15 impresses with an excellent GPU for 1440p gaming and intense productivity combined with a powerful CPU to handle everything else, with a stunning OLED display on top.
✅ You want plenty of configuration options: You can choose between either a Full HD or 4K display here with a wide variety of storage options meaning you’ll only need to pay for the hardware you’ll actually use.
Don’t buy it if…
❌ You want the best value for money: The Dell XPS 15 justifies its price tag with its performance but there’s no getting over the fact that you’re paying a premium for that high-end brushed metal chassis and OLED display.
❌ You want a laptop that runs bleeding-edge hardware: While the RTX 4070 is a commendable GPU, it’s not the best you can find in a machine of this price range, as some RTX 4080 gaming laptops are available for a similar outlay, offering a bit more grunt.
In our testing, we found that the Dell XPS 15 delivered strong performance across the board both when gaming and when put under stress in our industry-standard benchmarks. That’s not too surprising given the Intel Raptor Lake CPU and mid-range Nvidia Lovelace GPU combo, but the slight stumbling block is performance could have been improved by including an RTX 4080 instead, which is common in this kind of price bracket. The RTX 4070 is a decent performer with its 8GB VRAM, but you may feel the pinch more compared to the RTX 4080’s 12GB of video RAM.
As for the battery life of the Dell XPS 15, it might be solid, but it’s unspectacular. Our testing revealed about eight hours of longevity when used for casual working tasks, but you’re going to see that time cut down dramatically to around an hour or two when doing something as intensive as gaming. Fortunately, the laptop charges up from flat in just under an hour, so you shouldn’t need to constantly sit within reach of an AC adapter with this notebook.
Read our full Dell XPS 15 (2023) review
Best Dell laptop with an Nvidia
If you’re looking for a gaming laptop with an Nvidia GPU instead of the AMD model above, the Alienware m15 R7 (2022) is a seriously fast and powerful bit of hardware from Dell. It’s a dream machine for esports gamers thanks to a display with a 360Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time at 1080p resolution or a 1440p display at 240Hz and 2ms, letting all your favorite competitive games run buttery smooth and responsive.
The build quality doesn’t have as premium a feel as some of its X-series counterparts from the Alienware line, but this also means that it can be slightly more affordable as well, but just remember that this is a relative comparison; as an Alienware gaming laptop, even the starting price for this one is going to price a few people out entirely.
Read the full Alienware M15 R7 (2022) review
Best Dell laptop for business
Busy office workers looking for a flexible work laptop, look no further: Dell’s enterprise-grade Latitude series has produced yet another stellar office laptop, this time the versatile Latitude 9330 2-in-1.
With a QHD+ touchscreen and 360-degree hinge, the Latitude 9330 can swap between laptop and tablet modes effortlessly, with a 12th-gen Intel CPU providing strong performance no matter your workload. The 13-inch display also means that this 2-in-1 laptop is eminently lightweight and portable, so you won’t end up with a sore back if you want to throw it in your bag to take on your commute.
Lastly, the Latitude 9330 comes bundled with a bunch of virtual meeting software from the go, and has plenty of security and privacy features that will appeal to professionals. We mean plenty, too – it’s got everything from a fingerprint scanner and IR camera for facial recognition, to ‘onlooker protection’, which detects when you’ve moved away from your laptop and dims the screen automatically to ward off prying eyes. Neat!
Read the full Dell Latitude 9330 2-in-1 review
Best value convertible Dell laptop
It’s not the most exciting laptop Dell has ever put out, but if you’re looking for a versatile 2-in-1 touchscreen laptop for everyday work that won’t cost the world, the Inspiron 16 is a great choice.
We say ‘won’t cost the world’ – this device does still start at $1,000 (£780 / AU$1,600), which is a bit steep for the average 2-in-1 laptop, but this isn’t the average 2-in-1: most hybrid laptops pack a 13- or 14-inch display, but this Inspiron’s beefy UHD+ display is a whopping 16 inches, bigger than the majority of 2-in-1s around right now.
That means the Inspiron 16 fills a rather unique niche, but is arguably the very best at what it does. The only significant downside is the resultant increase in weight – and the lack of a garaged stylus, which would’ve been nice to see. If you want a powerful 2-in-1 but don’t want to downsize, snap this up.
Read the full Dell Inspiron 16 2-in-1 review
Best compact Dell laptop
If you like the look of the Inspiron 16 2-in-1 but think it’s just a little bit too big (or a little bit too expensive), then perhaps its little sibling might be the right laptop for you.
A very similar hybrid touchscreen laptop, the Inspiron 14 excels in the same areas – good performance, versatility, good value – and falls down in largely the same areas too: once again, the lack of an included stylus is a real shame, since it could’ve added a lot to the package.
The overall specs of the Inspiron 14 are ever-so-slightly less impressive than its big brother the Inspiron 16; the drive capacity caps out at 512GB, and the i7 processor is a marginally less powerful i7-1255U as opposed to the i7-1260P found in the 16-inch model. Given the lower starting price of $849.99 (£699 / AU$1,278), though, it’s still an easy recommendation from us.
Read the full Dell Inspiron 14 2-in-1 review
Best Dell Chromebook
It’s not going to blow anyone away in terms of raw performance, but the Dell Chromebook 3110 is a great little laptop for younger users, whether that’s for school projects or just watching YouTube at home.
It’s easy to spend a ton of cash on a new laptop, but this Chromebook starts at just $289 (£346.92 / around AU$430), making it an excellent choice for a kid’s first laptop. The ruggedized design with rubber edges makes it seriously durable too, so it should be able to stand up to plenty of unintentional abuse from tiny, clumsy hands.
Since it runs Chrome OS, you can also download apps and games from the Google Play Store, and using Google’s cloud-based software suite for work is a cinch. The 3110 comes in both touch- and non-touchscreen models, and packs a 720p webcam for Zoom classes (or family video calls) too.
How to choose a Dell laptop
Choosing the best Dell laptop is easy if you’ve got plenty of funds to throw at it, but it becomes a lot harder if you’re trying to purchase within a limited budget and want to know that you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Luckily, the current generation of Intel processors proves that we’re currently in a golden age of CPUs that deliver excellent performance without costing the world – thanks for that, Intel. That means you can snap up a perfectly capable laptop without having to spend a ton of cash.
When looking at buying a new laptop, a budget should be the first thing you set. From there, it’s all about deciding what features matter most to you: screen size is a good place to start, since everyone has their own preferences for how big a laptop should be.
Next, consider what you’ll actually be using the laptop for. If it’s just going to be for video meetings and answering emails, you can probably get away with lower specs – think an Intel i5 processor and a minimum of 8GB of RAM. If you’re planning to play the best PC games on it, though, make sure you get something with at least 16GB of RAM and a dedicated graphics card – not CPU-integrated graphics like Intel’s UHD or Iris Xe offerings.
Keep battery life in mind, too – if you’re going to be bereft of access to a wall outlet for long periods, you’ll definitely want something with all-day battery longevity. Check out our reviews of the laptops above for a more detailed breakdown of how long a laptop can last on a single charge.
Lastly, be sure to think about how much storage space you’ll need: if you plan to use cloud storage (like Google Drive) for your files, you probably won’t need to splash out on a 1TB or larger drive for your laptop. In our experience, 512GB is plenty for most users – unless you’re planning to install a bunch of games, in which case 1TB should be considered the minimum.
How TechRadar tests the best Dell laptops
TechRadar reviews laptops, including the best Dell laptops, on four different criteria: price, design, performance, and battery life. We make sure to use all laptops throughout the day so we get an accurate reading of how well it performs from the moment it comes out of the box to when its battery finally needs a recharge.
Price may not be an issue for everyone looking for a new laptop, but we make sure to note whether a laptop’s asking price is the going rate compared to the competition or if it’s a bit higher or lower. We also want to help you snag a deal on the newest tech, so we often include a price comparison tool as well.
Design is a crucial part of every laptop, and we don’t just mean how sleek or impressive it looks. We consider if there are enough ports for all your devices and the overall usability of each notebook. For example, if you type all day you wouldn’t want an uncomfortable keyboard – you’d want something that types efficiently and doesn’t hurt your wrist or fingers over time.
Performance and battery life go hand in hand when evaluating laptops, as some laptops are known to have their performance decrease as the battery drains. By running the best Dell laptops all day, we get an accurate feel for how the machine performs at every battery percentage while also making sure it’s got a long-lasting battery for all your computing tasks.
Best Dell laptops – FAQs
Which Dell laptop series is best?
There isn’t one best Dell laptop series, since different product lines emphasize and focus on different consumer bases. For enterprise-level workstations, you’ll want to look at the Dell Precision and Inspiron lines, as those are the most likely to have the kind of security features that are absolute must-haves for a business laptop.
The XPS line is probably the strongest choice here if you’re looking for more portable options for productivity work, but it is also the most premium all-around laptop line Dell makes, competing directly with the MacBook Air in the ultraportable market.
When it comes to gaming, Dell’s Alienware line includes some of the best gaming laptops out there, so should definitely be on any gamer’s shortlist. If you’re on a tight budget, consider Dell’s G-series gaming laptops instead.
Are Dell laptops good quality?
Not only are the best Dell laptops industry-leading devices when it comes to design and quality, its more budget offerings are also well-built, powerful relative to their price, and well-designed. Some sacrifices have to be made on the lower end, so there is some plastic chassis construction on budget offerings, but Dell usually makes up for this by featuring more impressive hardware.
Today’s Best Dell Laptop Deals
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