Review : Dell XPS 14z Notebook

Previously this season, all of us required an extended, difficult take a look at among Dell's the majority of highly-anticipated media notebook computers up to now. Which was the actual XPS 15z, as well as all of us believed fairly extremely from it within nearly every measurable method, such as it's wonderfully slim measurements.

Quick ahead a couple of months, as well as within 35mm slides the actual XPS 14z. Based on it's personalisation, this particular device is simply just one quantity diverse from the actual XPS 15z, and when a person did not understand much better, you'd probably simply presume which somebody required the shrink-ray towards the 15z. Certainly, the actual 14z is really only a little 15z in certain methods, however through the exact same symbol, that is something which has not truly been around beyond HP's Jealousy fourteen as well as Sony's VAIO SA collection. Sub-15" media able notebook computers are not precisely simple to come across, as well as many of them help to make fairly large surrender upon overall performance someplace on the way.

The 14z is Dell's "thinnest, fully-featured 14" laptop with an internal optical drive." That's a lot of qualifications, but one thing is clear: it's thin, it's compact, and it packs a punch for the size. LG's Shuriken display is one of the standout features here, enabling a 14" display to be crammed into a 13" form factor. How so? There's barely a bezel. The display stretches almost entirely from edge to edge. In other words, the dimensions here resemble that of similar 13" notebooks, but you're getting a 14" display. Unfortunately, Dell doesn't do a lot to really take advantage of it. There's only a single screen resolution option -- 1366x768 -- which is the same as found on many 12" and 13" machines. In other words, you aren't actually gaining any screen real estate with this in terms of pixel density, but it does make it a bit easier to see fonts and such without squinting. There's still no question that this machine is serving a niche. If you're in the market for a gaming-capable notebook, but you'd prefer the form factor more closely associated with an ultraportable, the XPS 14z is a worthy option.

Specifications-wise, you'll have options of Core i5 and Core i7 processors, plenty of RAM, NVIDIA Optimus technology (a discrete GPU paired with Intel's integrated GPU for times when battery life is important), a 7200RPM hard drive, optional SSD, an 8-cell battery and a built-in slot load DVD+/- RW drive. Here's a look at the full breakdown.