The Dell XPS 15 and the Surface Laptop 5 are two great flagship laptops, but there are several differences you’ll want to take note of.
The Dell XPS 15 (2023) model brings some modest improvements over the previous generation. It has options for Intel's newest 13th-generation CPUs and the latest Nvidia RTX 40-series graphics cards. All of that is packed into the same sleek and light package with the option for an OLED display.
The Surface Laptop 5 features a sleek design, runs Windows 11, and has a touchscreen. For the money, it's one of the best laptops around right now, and for the 15-inch model, it's one of the lightest.
When it comes to great laptops, there are two flagship devices that you'd want to consider. There's the flagship Dell XPS 15 (2023), which sports options for an OLED display and Nvidia RTX graphics. Then, there's the Microsoft Surface Laptop 5, which has support for the Surface Pen and a great 3:2 aspect ratio screen.
That's just the start of all the differences though. Once you start looking under the hood, along with the overall design and dimensions, you'll see there's more here than just two 15-inch laptops. So if you're on the fence about buying either one, we're here to help you choose between the best Dell laptop and the best Microsoft laptop.
Both of these laptops are available right now for purchase. The Surface Laptop 5 comes in two sizes. There's the 13.5-inch size that comes in either a fabric Alcantara finish or a metal finish, and the 15-inch size, which closer competes with the XPS 15. We'll be focusing on that 15-inch model here, which starts at $1,300, but the two options have a lot of similarities.
The XPS 15, meanwhile, starts at nearly double the price at $2,250. More affordable configurations of the XPS 15 are coming soon, however. You can buy the Surface Laptop 5 through Microsoft, Amazon, Best Buy, or other retailers. The XPS 15 (2023) is currently limited right now to Dell.com only, but if you want the older 2022 model, you'll find it at other retailers. No word yet on when we can expect the 2023 model at other retailers.
The design of the XPS 15 (2023) and the Surface Laptop 5 are almost identical. These are both clamshell laptops, where you can't flip the screen around or detach it. However, they come in different colors and at different weights. The XPS 15 is a bit heavier of a laptop, coming in at a whopping 4.23 pounds, which is giant compared to the Surface Laptop 5's 3.44 pounds. It's also slightly thicker at 0.71 inches compared to the Surface's 0.58 inches. This added size though is because of the GPU, which the Surface Laptop 5 lacks.
On product colors, the XPS 15 only comes in platinum with a black interior. The Surface Laptop 5 15-inch, meanwhile, has two options: platinum or black.
The performance of these laptops is where things contrast the most, and there's no doubt that the XPS 15 is a way more powerful machine. Microsoft's Surface Laptop 5 is using the previous generation Intel 12th-generation CPUs and is better suited as a productivity laptop. The Dell XPS 15 (2023), meanwhile, sports newer 13th-generation Intel CPUs, in combination with the latest Nvidia GPUs, making it a solid laptop for casual gaming as well as video editing.
While Intel's new 13th-generation CPUs are still hybrid with performance and efficiency cores, it doesn't bring that much of a performance jump. Intel mentioned a 10% productivity gain between generations. There's still a critical thing to note: On the XPS 15, Dell is using 45W H-series CPUs, which are quite powerful. You'll see options for the Intel Core i7-13700H and the Intel Core i9-13900H CPUs, an Intel Core i5-13500H CPU option will become available in the future for the more budget-conscious. The models that are available now, in particular the Core i9 and Core i7 CPU options, pack in a whopping 14 cores total. That's a lot of power for this form factor.
There's no doubt that the XPS 15 is a way more powerful machine than the Surface Laptop 5.
You also can configure your XPS 15 with options for GeForce RTX 40-series graphics. There are currently two options, either the RTX 4060 or RTX 4070, and an Intel Arc and additional 40-series GPUs are coming soon. These GPUs have the power of the new Nvidia Ada Lovelace architecture and DLSS3 support for ray tracing that's double as fast as previous generations. That makes it great for folks who are into video editing and content creation, but it is important to keep in mind that the power-hungry CPU isn't the best for battery life.
Elsewhere, the XPS 15 comes with as much as 64GB of RAM and 8TB of storage. That's more than enough RAM for memory-intensive applications and for storing large media files like movies and photos.
Meanwhile, the Surface Laptop 5 has U-series CPUs. These are indeed hybrid CPUs just like you'll find on the XPS 15, but they are nowhere as powerful. The top-end chip on the Surface Laptop 5 only runs at 15W and only comes with 10 core counts. There's also no GPU option, either that can help with heavier tasks. So that means this laptop is better suited for things like web browsing and office work.
On storage and RAM, the Surface Laptop 5 is a bit limited. It maxes out with 32GB RAM and 1TB of storage. For a productivity laptop, 32GB RAM is a bit overkill, but the storage is just the right size, and you can upgrade it later if you need to.
If you're wondering about performance, check out the results. We recently completed our XPS 15 (2023) review, and it's one beast of a laptop. In all the tests that need extra CPU power like Cinebench and PCMark 10, the XPS excels and outscores the Surface Laptop 5. This shows how powerful a 45W CPU is over a 15W one.
Dell XPS 15 (2023) Core i7-13700H, RTX 3070
Surface Laptop 5 Core i7-1255U
PCMark 10
7,128
5,287
3DMark: Time Spy (regular / Extreme)
7,430
1,772
Geekbench 6 (single / multi)
2,477 / 12,814
Test not run
Cinebench R23 (single / multi)
1,801 / 13,679
1,662 / 8,711
Despite both being 15-inch laptops, the display options are quite different. The Surface Laptop 5 has a single display option. You'll find the device in a 2496×1664 resolution with a 3:2 aspect ratio. It supports the Surface Pen, which lets you draw and ink on the screen. Microsoft calls the display a "Pixel Sense" display. As we said in our Surface Laptop 5 review, we do love the display, but we don't like how it's only 60Hz. It has a great pixel density though, and the 3:2 aspect ratio is very tall. This ends up giving you more vertical space than the XPS's 16:10 display would, but keep in mind that the device has very thick bottom and top bezels.
However, the XPS 15 still has a better display. While it's set in the 16:10 aspect ratio that isn't that much taller than a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio or the Surface Laptop 5's 3:2 ratio, there's a trick that Dell has. All corners of the screen have super slim bezels, where there appears to be no border. This helps in making content on the screen feel very immersive when you want to stack things side by side and get work done.
There are also two display resolutions you can choose from. The standard resolution of 1920×1200 is lower than what you'll get on the Surface Laptop 5, but the secondary 3456×2160 resolution is higher than what the Surface Laptop 5 offers. The screen with this resolution is also an OLED panel, which can output better and more accurate colors, deeper contrast ratios, and a more vibrant-looking image than the PixelSense display on the Surface Laptop 5. There is no pen support, however.
Both of these laptops have 720p Windows Hello webcams atop the displays. It's not the best webcam by 2023 standards, however. 1080p is the new standard, so you won't look your best while conferencing on either laptop.
The ports on these laptops are great, but the Surface Laptop 5 might be better for those who need USB-A. The Surface Laptop 5 packs in the Surface Connect port for charging, USB-A, and a Thunderbolt 4 port and headphone jack. The XPS 15, meanwhile, has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB-C port, a headphone jack, and an SD card slot. Dell includes a USB-C to USB-A and HDMI 2.0 adapter in the box of the laptop for you. The XPS 15's options are better overall, but the Surface does have the benefit of USB-A if you need it.
Undoubtedly, the XPS 15 (2023) is a better laptop for most people. While it has nearly double the price of the Surface Laptop 5, it's better in a few critical areas. There are more ways to customize the display with a high-resolution panel or an OLED panel. The laptop is better for video editing and other CPU and GPU-intensive tasks. Finally, it also has a better port selection, with a dongle included in the box.
The Dell XPS 15 (2023) model brings some modest improvements over the previous generation. It has options for Intel's newest 13th-generation CPUs and the latest Nvidia RTX 40-series graphics cards. All of that is packed into the same sleek and light package with the option for an OLED display.
That's not to say the Surface Laptop 5 is a bad laptop. If you don't need a laptop for things like video editing or gaming and content creation, the Surface Laptop 5 will it your needs. It has the benefit of supporting the Surface Pen, and it has better battery life thanks to the lesser-powered CPU. It's a great productivity laptop that you shouldn't pass up.
The Surface Laptop 5 features a sleek design, runs Windows 11, and has a touchscreen. For the money, it's one of the best laptops around right now, and for the 15-inch model, it's one of the lightest.
I have over six years of experience covering Microsoft, Surface, Windows, macOS and ChromeOS news and rumors for sites like Digital Trends and OnMSFT. I also write laptop reviews and how-to guides. I am a Microsoft fan and I have a drawer full of PCs and other devices. You can follow and interact with me on Twitter if you want to chat! I’m always there making new friends!
