All three Dell XPS 13 Plus 9320 SKUs in review: Core i5-1240P, i7-1260P, or i7-1280P OLED?

After its initial unveiling at CES 2022, the 2022 XPS 13 Plus is now shipping with three processor options to choose from (Core i5-1240P, Core i7-1260P, and Core i7-1280P) alongside three different display resolutions (1920 x 1200 IPS, 3456 x 2160 OLED, and 3840 x 2400 IPS). We’ve already tested the i5-1240P, i7-1260P, 1200p IPS, and 2400p IPS configurations leaving only the i7-1280P 2160p OLED SKU left. This review focuses on the i7-1280P and 2160p OLED configuration and the differences users can expect between it and the other XPS 13 Plus options.

As configured, the unit currently retails for $1750 USD. We recommend checking out our existing two reviews on the XPS 13 Plus to learn more about the physical features of the model. More Dell reviews: The OLED panel isn’t the be all end all option as it carries both advantages and disadvantages over IPS.

Advantages include better brightness uniformity, deeper black levels, full P3 coverage, and significantly faster black-white and gray-gray response times. Disadvantages include screen flickering and a 100-nit dimmer maximum brightness. The brightness difference shouldn’t be an issue if working indoors, but the IPS panels are be slightly easier on the eyes if working outdoors.

Note that the OLED panel here is almost exactly the same as the one used for the last generation XPS 13 9310 (Samsung 134XK04 vs. Samsung 134XK01). If you’ve seen the XPS 13 9310 OLED before, then you’ll know exactly what to expect from the XPS 13 Plus 9320 OLED.

Like almost every other laptop with an OLED panel, the panel here exhibits flickering or pulse-width modulation. The frequency is set at 227. 3 Hz from 0 to 52 percent brightness before changing to 59.

5 Hz from 53 to 100 percent brightness. If your eyes are sensitive to flickering, then you may want to consider the IPS SKUs instead. We set our unit to Performance mode via Windows and Ultra Performance mode via the My Dell software prior to running any benchmarks below.

It is recommended that users become familiar with My Dell as it is the control hub for the laptop. Multi-thread performance is about 15 percent faster than the Core i7-1260P configuration or about 25 to 30 percent faster than the Core i5-1240P configuration. However, it’s interesting to note that our Core i7-1280P can dip below the Core i7-1260P when subjected to prolonged stress tests.

Our CineBench R15 xT loop test results below show the i7-1280P outperforming the i7-1260P for the first several runs before eventually running slower by almost 8 percent. Dell appears to be sourcing its SSDs from several manufacturers for its XPS 13 Plus series. While our two earlier test units would ship with Micron 3400 or Samsung PM9A1 PCIe4 x4 NVMe SSDs, our i7-1280P test unit would ship with the Western Digital SN810 instead.

Unfortunately, this WD drive appears to be inferior to the Samsung or Micron as performance would throttle to just 3000 MB/s when running DiskSpd in a loop as shown by our graph below. In comparison, the Samsung or Micron drives would exhibit steady transfer rates when subjected to the same stress test. Graphics performance is essentially identical to the Core i7-1260P configuration.

When compared to the Core i5-1240P option with 8 GB of RAM and Iris Xe 80 EUs , however, our Iris Xe 96 EUs is approximately 30 to 65 percent faster. You’ll want to configure with at least 16 GB of RAM and a Core i7 CPU if you wish to maximize GPU performance. The twin internal fans are excellent at staying quiet during low to low-medium loads as we’re only able to measure a noise of just 25.

4 dB(A) when browsing or video streaming against a silent background of 23. 4 dB(A). Higher loads like games will induce a fan noise between the 35 to 42 dB(A) range.

Strangely, we’re unable to reach the 45. 5 dB(A) ceiling that we recorded on the i7-1260P configuration even when set to Ultra Performance mode. Overall results are instead closer to what we recorded on the older XPS 13 9310 2-in-1.

Initiating Prime95 stress causes CPU clock rates, temperature, and board power draw to spike to 2. 9 GHz, 100 C, and 64 W, respectively, lasting for almost 3 minutes. Afterwards, clock rates, temperature, and board power draw would fall and stabilize to 1.

5 GHz, 85 C, and 28 W, respectively, as shown by the screenshot below. These results align with out CineBench R15 xT stress test above where the initial high score was not sustainable over long periods due to the limited Turbo Boost of the laptop. Interestingly, the stable 28 W target is actually lower than the stable 34 W target of the i7-1260P configuration which may explain the slightly better CineBench R15 xT results from our i7-1260P test unit.

GPU clock rate and temperature would stabilize at 1147 MHz and 81 C, respectively, when running Witcher 3 to represent demanding graphics loads. Power consumption can be as low as 6 W when displaying a pitch black image or up to 13 W when displaying an all-white image at the maximum brightness setting. In comparison, the IPS panels on the other XPS 13 Plus SKUs would only increase by 2 to 4 W between their minimum and maximum brightness settings.

We’ve explored how power consumption relates to OLED panels in the past and the trend continues on these XPS 13 Plus configurations. In short, the IPS options are going to be more power efficient in most scenarios especially since websites, spreadsheets, and word processing programs tend to be predominately white in color. Running higher loads like games shows higher power consumption than the 8 GB Core i5-1240P configuration by about 15 to 55 percent which roughly correlates with the higher graphics performance of our 16 GB i7-1280P configuration.

Results are otherwise very close to the Core i7-1260P configuration except when running CPU-intensive loads like Prime95 for the first few minutes as shown by our graph below. At just 5. 5 hours of real-world WLAN usage on the Balanced power profile, runtimes are shorter than any other XPS 13 Plus configuration due in large part to the OLED panel.

The other IPS SKUs last about 1 to 2 hours longer. The highest-end configuration with the Core i7-1280P CPU and OLED display is designed for a very specific subset of users. If your workloads require P3 colors and heavy multi-tasking between applications, then the faster initial Turbo Boost of the CPU and OLED panel may be worth the investment over the less expensive Core i7-1260P and IPS options.

Otherwise, the disadvantages they entail not necessarily outweigh their benefits. OLED introduces flickering that is otherwise not present on the IPS panels in addition to both a lower maximum brightness and a shorter battery life. The i7-1280P CPU isn’t guaranteed to be faster than the i7-1260P either when the initial spike in Turbo Boost performance inevitably tapers off.

Another unexpected result relates to the performance of the WD SN810 SSD which would throttle on our test unit when under stress. If you can find SKUs with the Micron 3400 or Samsung PM9A1 instead, then those drives may offer steadier performance. For most users, the Core i7-1260P and IPS configuration strikes a better balance between performance and price than the i7-1280P and OLED configuration.

It even offers both longer battery life and a brighter display despite the smaller price point. The differences between the i7-1260P and i7-1280P SKUs are narrower than the differences between the i5-1240P and i7-1260P SKUs when it comes to integrated graphics performance. We recommending configuring with at least 16 GB of RAM no matter the CPU option or else graphics performance nosedives.

Configurations with the Core i7-1280P are not yet widely available through resellers like Newegg, Amazon, or Best Buy as SKUs with the i7-1260P are significantly more common. However, OLED options are widely available albeit with the i7-1260P instead. Users can purchase directly from Dell for our exact i7-1280P OLED configuration for $1750 USD.

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