Dell XPS 17 9720 (2022) Review: Creative, with a gaming side

If Apple isn’t going to make a 17-inch MacBook Pro, then someone else is going to have to. That’s what I always think when I see one of Dell’s big-screen XPS 17 laptops.

My oldest review of the XPS 17 that I could find was from 2011, although I’ve been reviewing this particular product line (or its identically named predecessors) since at least 2007.

Speaking of things that happened a long time ago, 2012 was when Apple discontinued the 17-inch MacBook Pro, and frankly there’s still an audience for a big-screen 17-inch laptop with the same style and vibe—a crisp, minimalist design , wrapped around hardware that’s creative but also great for students and business types.

One of the machines I use regularly is 16-inch MacBook Pro with M1 Max processor. It’s a powerful (and very expensive) laptop, but 16 inches isn’t 17 inches, so I was excited to spend some time with the latest XPS 17.

The cheapest XPS 17 is currently $1,750 and includes a 12th-generation Intel Core i5, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a standard 1920×1080 display.

This particular configuration adds many notable upgrades to the processor, graphics, and other features. For $2799 (currently – prices on Dell’s website can change frequently) you get a 12th Gen Intel Core i7, 32GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage and the best graphics option in the line right now, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 GPU. The 16:10 touchscreen display has a 4K 3840×2400 resolution.

The biggest missing piece is probably a higher-resolution webcam, which is becoming increasingly important in our work-from-home Zoom meeting era. Instead, the 720 resolution camera has added a discrete IR sensor for better overall camera performance. But keep in mind that the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops, and even the upcoming new MacBook Air, have been upgraded to 1080 resolution cameras, so it shouldn’t be a big ask.

This massive silver gray laptop tank is built around the same design as the last few generations of this system. It is a CNC machined aluminum chassis with carbon fiber inside. Despite its weight, I like that the lid can be lifted with one hand or even one finger.

The slim frame around the large screen minimizes any wasted space, even when the webcam is tucked into the top border. Ports are on the thin side for a 17-inch laptop, with just 4 USB-C ports and an SD card reader. For HDMI or USB-A needs, you’ll need an adapter or dongle.

Work and play

If you’re investing in a big, expensive laptop like this, with a CPU and GPU, it’s probably out of professional interest. This will appeal to Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere experts who are not yet locked into Apple platforms.

The 4K display is a big help there, as is the taller 16:10 aspect ratio, which lets you fit more work onto the screen at once. I threw a few Photoshop projects at the system without issue and appreciated the extra screen real estate.

Dell’s keyboard and touchpad are considered excellent among Windows laptops, and I’ve always liked the XPS versions. However, the touchpad feels smoother than Apple’s best-in-class version.

But the XPS 17 has one more trick up its sleeve—it’s also a decent stealth gaming laptop. The GPU options are best with the current generation Nvidia 3060, so it won’t match a similarly priced gaming laptop, but this GPU is suitable for any current or upcoming game, with one important caveat – you need to tune most games up to 1920×1200 (FHD) or maybe 2560×1600 (QHD) resolution. These are slightly different than the standard resolutions (like 1920×1080) you may be used to because this is a 16:10 display, not 16:9.

Since my testing time with this laptop coincided with Valve’s annual Steam Summer Sale, I had plenty of opportunities to play games with it. Among the recent games I played on the XPS 17 were the medieval multiplayer game Chivalry 2, Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters, and the turn-based RPG King Arthur: Knight’s Tale. Games generally stuttered at higher resolutions, but ran great at either FHD or usually QHD.

In fact, the XPS 17 became my primary gaming laptop for a while, not because it had the best gaming hardware, but because it ran games well enough while offering a great widescreen display.

True large-screen laptops are rarer than ever, and 16-inch screens tend to be the new 17-inch screens for most. If you’re determined to find a 17-inch system that combines the creativity of the MacBook Pro with essential gaming capabilities, the XPS 17 remains one of the only solutions that will satisfy both sides of that equation.