But read on for our selections of the best Dell laptops you can buy today. Dell isn’t very creative in their naming schemes and it can be hard to sort through the alphabet soup. That’s why we’ve laid out our picks for you in a nice, neat list. But beyond that, this laptop has a luxurious keyboard that’s amazing for typing. The rest of the body is covered in a soft-touch carbon material that simply feels great. The laptop isn’t too heavy, slipping in under 3 pounds, but it’s also not the lightest out there. All the same, the great keyboard and screen really make this the best overall pick for a Dell laptop. They’re just that good. On the plus side, this laptop offers a lot of everything else. There are 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage that will keep you going for a long time. There are also several ports on this computer, including an SD card reader, HDMI output, three USB Type-A ports and a headphone jack. There’s a lot to like here, but don’t plan on doing anything more than the basics on this laptop. The base configuration doesn’t include a touchscreen, but a small upgrade gets you a multi-touch display. You might not want it, though, because the touchscreen is not terribly accurate. Adding to that headache, the stylus, which has its own bay in the body of the laptop, can be difficult to get out. These might fall under the category of first world problems, however. If you have the base model, or don’t plan to use the touchscreen, this is a tough laptop with a built-in handle that’s easy to carry and will stand up to the elements. But with great power comes great battery depletion. This laptop won’t last long when disconnected from the power cord—an unfortunate reality with these GPUs. Bottom firing speakers are also a choice I would not have made when designing this laptop. The sound gets muffled and a little distorted when the laptop is on a desk. You’ll want to pack your gaming headphones along with this laptop. But overall, the Intel Core i5 and GPU will give you really good gaming performance in a pretty slim package. The display is a bit dull, though, so you might not get the best graphics for your gaming. It’s a compromise that Dell made here. But if you can look past that, this will give you all the power you need to grind out some games when and where you need to. But if you can get used to it, you’ll have a great laptop with awesome performance and great battery life that can also turn into a tablet. All that is a pretty enticing package, which is why the XPS line is one of our favorites. It’s a versatile and powerful laptop that will do anything you need it to. It’s a good all-arounder. The laptop is on the heavier side, at least compared to competitors in the field, but it’s not too bad. It justifies every dollar of its almost $3,000 price tag, but it wouldn’t be a “splurge” item if it wasn’t expensive. Basically, if you want a laptop that can handle any peripheral you have without #donglelife, this is a solid option, and its power is unmatched. This is a great laptop that will be great for years to come. Nick Jaynes is a tech writer whose writing has been published by Mashable, Digital Trends, Cool Hunting, and Travel+Leisure, among other publications.
What to Look For in a Dell Laptop
Battery Life
Battery life is critical in a laptop because of its portability. The last thing you want to do is lug around a charger along with your laptop and hunt for outlets at your local coffee shop. Battery life is usually measured in hours, and six hours is a median benchmark to look for, but obviously longer is better.
Screen Size
One component that cannot be upgraded is obviously the screen. Of course, the screen size will ultimately determine the size of the laptop itself, so you’ll want to go as large as you’re comfortable with, but not so large as to make the entire machine unwieldy. 13 to 15 inches is a good ballpark.
Specifications
The other specifications inside the laptop will ultimately determine its performance. You’ll want to see high numbers for RAM, hard drive, battery capacity, etc. Since laptops can be hard to upgrade, you’ll generally want to get as much as you can afford when you initially make your purchase.
