If you prefer a more affordable option for general use and occasional multimedia tasks, the Dell XPS 15 offers a solid experience at a somewhat lower price point with good battery life and a quality display. However, if you need better performance for 3D rendering, machine learning, or gaming, and you're willing to spend more, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a stronger GPU and higher screen resolution, which suits intensive tasks despite slightly lower battery life and increased cost. While both are fairly portable, the Dell XPS 15 is slightly lighter, an advantage if you travel often. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Dell XPS 15
Very good overall build quality
Very good battery life
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Advantages of the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16"
Very good for gaming and AI
Very good overall display quality
Key differences
Gaming and AI
6.8/10
8.2/10
4.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
Yes
9.1/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is very good for gaming and AI, while the Dell XPS 15 is only fair.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
8.1/10
8.6/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
4.4/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
8.3/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" and Dell XPS 15 are both very good for engineering and design, though the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" is somewhat better.
The Dell XPS 15, with its Intel CPU and Arc GPU, suits engineering and design tasks well due to its excellent screen quality and build, but the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" excels with a more powerful AMD CPU and Nvidia GPU combination and higher resolution display, which is crucial for highly detailed work in these fields, despite being slightly less portable and having a shorter battery life.
Screen Quality
7.4/10
8.7/10
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
240Hz
606.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
502.0 nits
The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has a better screen than the Dell XPS 15 for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
For general use, screens like on the Dell XPS 15, with their sharp resolution and brightness, provide crisp and clear visuals, enriching everyday tasks such as browsing and video streaming. When dealing with engineering and design, the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 with its wider color gamuts brings out more accurate and vibrant colors essential for detailed work. However, both laptops' screens fall short for gaming and 3D use due to their lower refresh rates, which can lead to less smooth visuals in fast-paced scenarios where this is a critical aspect.
Battery
10.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The Dell XPS 15 has 10 hours of battery life. The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 has 7 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.6/10
The Dell XPS 15 has very good build quality, while the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,000
$1,344
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Dell XPS 15 has a price of $1,000 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" costs $1,344.
The Dell XPS 15 and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Content Creation
8.3/10
8.3/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The Dell XPS 15 and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.1/10
8.0/10
9.0/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
9.1/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
1920 x 1200
RESOLUTION
2560 x 1600
9.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.5/10
The Dell XPS 15 and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" are both very good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Portability
Good
Good
15.6in
SIZE
16.0in
4.2 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The Dell XPS 15 and Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Dell XPS 15 and the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16" compare to other laptops
"The 2023 Dell XPS 15 is more or less exactly what you'd expect from the company flagship. Its fresh components deliver measurably superior power and longevity, while the machine's premium build and design remain intact. It may not be overly exciting, but XPS loyalists and upgraders should be more than happy."
"The Lenovo Legion Slim 7 is a slim Legion notebook that is just as excellent with Nvidia & Intel. However, the Legion Slim 7i slightly sullied by lacklustre battery life. You get a slim aluminium chassis, great input devices, decent port selection, fast high-quality WQXGA display and great performance. Supporting Thunderbolt 4 is one advantage of the Intel/Nvidia model tested in this review. Moreover, this variant has slightly higher CPU performance as well as better GPU performance in certain applications (e.g. CUDA-based apps). The Lenovo Legion S7i is thin, premium and performant – but less efficient than its AMD counterpart."
Get a great deal on the Dell XPS 15 or the Lenovo Legion Slim 7 16"
About Dell
Dell is a highly recognizable American technology company, and is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. Their laptops are very popular for both personal and professional use, and they also own the Alienware brand which makes mid to high end gaming laptops. Their premium XPS range of laptops offer great build quality and portability, while Latitude and Precision laptops are known for reliability, repairability and performance for business users.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
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Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.