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None of these results make a great deal of sense. Both driver issues and thermal issues strike me as plausible reasons for the odd results, but none of these are exotic benchmarks or unusual situations. If a system is going to ship with a discrete GPU, it seems that the discrete GPU should be demonstrably faster. For the results to be so inconsistent is peculiar. It may well be that Intel's integrated GPUs are a lot faster than they used to be, but they surely shouldn't win, should they? Why bother with that extra cost and complexity if they don't?

Update: What a difference a few days make. I've changed a bunch of things since performing the original benchmarks—Dell released a new firmware and some other driver updates, Nvidia released a new driver—and reset the power management and some other settings, and now the GPU is performing pretty much as it should be: it's substantially faster than the integrated graphics, providing a meaningful performance boost to any graphically-intensive application. You won't be able to do much away from a power outlet—the GPU draws 65W all by its lonesome, making the CPU/GPU pair dissipate a whopping 110W when both running at full tilt—but as long as you're plugged in, the 960M creams any integrated GPU.

Even with questions about the performance, the dedicated GPU with its large chunk of dedicated memory means that the XPS 15 should be much better suited to graphically intensive workloads, including gaming. Though Dell isn't really positioning it as a gaming laptop—not least because it isn't covered with colored lights and similar gamer gimmickry—it should prove competent in this role. OK, it won't be driving many games at its native 4K resolution, but that's still challenging even for desktop machines. Dropping back to 1080p (and perhaps even plumping for the natively 1080p screen) should be a better match of GPU power and screen resolution.

The keyboard and touchpad seem to be unaltered from the XPS 13, and that's a good thing, as they're both great. Enlarge / The keyboard and touchpad seem to be unaltered from the XPS 13, and that's a good thing, as they're both great. The larger chassis affords another couple of internal changes. The XPS 15 has a wider selection of storage options. In addition to PCIe SSDs up to 1TB, there are two cheap options: 500GB 7200rpm or 1TB 5400rpm hard disks, paired with 32GB of SSD cache. While the spinning disk will be unappealing to many, it does have an obvious upside: it's a much more affordable option for those wanting lots of space.

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Finally, the XPS 15 comes with two different battery sizes. There's a 56Wh battery and a whopping 84Wh option. Both systems are the same external size (this isn't one of those "fattery" options that makes the system bigger), though the higher capacity unit is a bit heavier and loses the internal 2.5 inch drive bay. This is why all the 84Wh systems only offer SSDs.Unfortunately, even with this 84Wh battery, the battery life of the XPS 15 wasn't tremendous. The blame for this lies almost certainly with that large screen. Dell's own battery life estimates (which are in the same ballpark as ours, given some differences in testing methodology) suggest that swapping out the 4K panel for the 1080p one would extend battery life in similar workloads by 60 percent or more.

Speaking of swapping, the XPS is slightly serviceable. The RAM is socketed, and in principle, both the RAM and the storage (whether hard disk or solid state) can be replaced. You'll have to do an awful lot of disassembly to do so, but the option is there if you want it.The HDMI port isn't found on the smaller laptop. Enlarge / The HDMI port isn't found on the smaller laptop. The one thing Dell hasn't done with the extra size is to give the XPS 15 substantially more connectivity than the XPS 13. It's pleasing to see that it has a USB Type-C port supporting Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.1 generation 2, and power in—this is surely the connector of the future—along with a pair of USB 3 ports and an SD card slot for all your existing devices. It does have one extra port, a full-size HDMI output.

Unfortunately, the similarities also mean that a couple of XPS 13 weaknesses are retained. First, there's no Windows Hello biometric authentication.Second, the XPS 15 ships with the same awful McAfee software as I found on the XPS 13. This hateful application implores the user to switch from using Edge to Internet Explorer just so that it can install a browser plugin. I've heard through the grapevine that Microsoft isn't very happy about this, so perhaps Intel will update the software to remove the prompt. But in the meantime, I'd uninstall it. Honestly, I'd uninstall it anyway. I'm deeply suspicious of this kind of security software in general, and when it's making recommendations that I know to be quite horrible, well... I'd pass on it altogether.

I think a large part of the popularity of 14- and 15-inch laptops is that they can be extremely cheap. The XPS 15 isn't that. It's a premium system. The cheapest system at $999 unfortunately lacks an SSD, instead including the 500GB spinning disk. Even with that, I think it would make a good system for a lot of people; its keyboard and touchpad will be just as good, and it's still remarkably slim and light.Getting an SSD is unfortunately a big step up in price. The way Dell's configurations work, the cheapest version with an SSD costs another $500. This model also includes the discrete GPU and a much faster processor, neither of which are bad things as such; they're just going to be of more limited value than the solid state disk. I would have liked to see an option with one of the cheaper processors and integrated graphics that also had an SSD at something around $1,250-1,300.The fine-looking 4K screen starts at $1,799, which gets you 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD, as well as the discrete graphics. I think this is probably the best-rounded system. For the top spec, with the fastest processor, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD, you're looking at $2,749.

I'm a big fan of the XPS 13, so it's not a surprise that I like the XPS 15. The external features that made the XPS 13 so good are all retained, and some of the internals have received a hefty upgrade. If you're more comfortable with a larger laptop or want to run heavier workloads that need the extra oomph that the XPS 15 has to offer, it's a fine choice.I’m 30,000 feet in the air — headed to the headquarters of Xero and Slack in Melbourne. This is a perfect opportunity to test out the Samsung TabPro S’s productivity chops while travelling in the confines of public transport. I’m Chris Jager from Lifehacker, and this is the Roadtrip Challenge.

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2-in-1 laptops are supposed to provide the best of both worlds. The ability to change into a tablet offers a level of flexibility that standalone laptops can’t match — especially if you’re frequently on the road. Last week, I put this concept to the test by travelling to Melbourne, Brisbane and then back to Sydney armed with nothing but Samsung’s Galaxy TabPro S. Along the way, I visited interesting Aussie tech hubs and startups to see how they work. And yep, Samsung is sponsoring this series under the agreement that I get to be completely honest with my experience.

As I explained in yesterday’s diary, I tend to favour Clydesdale-style workhorses when it comes to buying laptops due to their zippier performance and larger displays. With that said, they can be a real pain in the butt to lug around — especially on cramped economy flights where space is already at a premium. On more than one occasion, I’ve postponed filing stories in the air simply because I can’t be bothered struggling with my big-arsed notebook.This is something that the Samsung TabPro S obviously doesn’t suffer from. Measuring a scant 6.3mm at its thickets point and weighing under 700 grams, it’s small enough to comfortably sit on your lap for the entirety of a flight. Hell, it even fits on those dainty fold-out service trays that barely have enough room for your undersized airline meal.I was seated on a Qantas flight that recently upgraded its in-flight entertainment system to a BYO streaming app. Unfortunately, there isn’t a Windows 10 application or any browser support yet, so I couldn’t hate-watch The Big Bang Theory as originally planned.