Dell XPS 18 Portable All-In-One Review

Overall, we are impressed with the Dell XPS 18 All-In-One Portable. The build quality of the system is excellent and the included stand will deal with a lot of rough handling.

Perhaps most surprising is the effectiveness of the cooling system. Cooling powerful hardware in such a small chassis is no mean feat but Dell have managed to prevent the system from running too hot, even after prolonged periods of stress.

Looking at the results of our benchmarks it would be easy to conclude the XPS 18 All-In-One delivers unremarkable performance when compared against high-end notebooks. However, after several weeks of using the XPS 18 All-In-One for general office tasks we feel it is up to the task.

We have no complaints about the battery life. We managed to squeeze 3 hours and 41 minutes out of the system whilst performing a variety of office tasks. Casually browsing the internet increased this time to 4 hours and 21 minutes.

Using applications such as Photoshop and 3DS Max Design (under light work conditions) was a pleasure, in large part due to the IPS panel's excellent clarity. Although a pixel density of 119 ppi is not ground breaking in the world of mobile devices, viewing angles, colour saturation and text display all rated highly. Using scenes up to 1 million polygons in size, the XPS 18 All-In-One remained responsive in 3DS Max Design. That said, we would recommend exporting scenes to a dedicated desktop machine for final renders.

Applying a variety of filters and effects in Photoshop CS6 proved to be no problem on a 4272 x 2848 pixel image, as the system remained responsive throughout the whole process.

In our opinion, the XPS 18 All-In-One can be a great addition to office environments where regular collaboration is essential and for staff in customer facing roles. When compared to desktop solutions the system offers reduced cable clutter and very low power consumption.

However, it is not as clear cut in a household. In terms of versatility we feel the lack of an HDMI Out port makes the XPS 18 All-In-One less suited as an alternative media hub when compared to the likes of MSI's Wind Box systems. We do hope this is something Dell will consider implementing in future revisions.

The 18.4″ screen size also means it is not feasible to continuously use the device on the go as one would with, for example, a Samsung Galaxy Tab or Apple iPad.

At the end of the day, the Dell XPS 18 All-In-One is a solid performer in terms of general office tasks and casual home usage. The basic model retails for £979.99 inc vat which means it is expensive, but ideal for a variety of real world tasks.

Pros:

• Excellent IPS panel.
• Great cooling system prolongs system life span.
• Low power draw.

Cons:

• Expensive.
• Lack of an HDMI port limits media capabilities.

KitGuru says: In its attempt to bring together the best of mobile devices and traditional desktops the XPS 18 All-In-One leaves its mark.

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