Dell XPS 14z Review

There is a security lock at the far left of the rear panel.

Connectivity on the left and right offers headphone and microphone ports, a media card slot (SDXC), and a 8x slot load DVD burner. A handy battery level indicator, with button, rests in front of the optical drive.

The XPS 14z keyboard is an unusual design, which offers two levels of very attractive, white backlighting. It can't compete with the class leading ThinkPad X1 keyboard, but overall it is perfectly fine for modest typing duties. We would like a more defined response click, but on a positive level it has a dual height return key and offers good spacing, especially considering the small chassis size.

There are two modest sized speaker grills on either side of the keyboard which offer decent sound although as expected it lacks power, with weak bass response. We didn't expect a powerhouse sound system however as smaller laptops always have to make compromises. Surprisingly, we didn't notice a huge amount of distortion at higher volumes.

The trackpad is a great size, and is centrally positioned to cater easily for both hands. I could use this pad without problems when traveling in confined spaces.

The internal build quality is fantastic, with everything crammed carefully into the confined space. Dell are using a 58Wh battery which should translate to good battery life. The hard drive is positioned next to the battery and above is the motherboard and optical drive. We noticed that the heatpipes were painted black so they wouldn't be noticeable through the chassis holes. A small fan is placed in the top corner to force cool air in and over the components nearby.

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