Dell XPS 17 9700 review

Dell XPS 17 9700 (2020): the desk-bound creator's 2020 flagship

The XPS 17 9700 at $650 pairs an i5-10300H with a GTX 1650 Ti and 64GB of memory — a genuine creator configuration of its era — and the sheet prices the format honestly: graphics at 53.31 top-quarter of the ultrabook class and photo design at 87 top-tier, against mobility at 15, the batch's lowest reading, and portability at 13, the batch's floor.

Where it holds up

The GTX 1650 Ti posts 53.31 — thirteen times the ultrabook-class median, top-quarter — with receipts: Overwatch, Grand Theft Auto V and Rainbow Six Siege clear recommended bars, Photoshop and Visual Studio Code clear minimums. Photo design at 87 is top-tier, modeling and CAD both at 54 mid-tier show real depth, and office at 89.41 is top-tier. The 64GB memory ceiling doubles the class norm. Value at 65.55 high-tier summarizes the era-flagship-at-used-money arithmetic, and performance at 66.82 is high-tier.

Where it falls short

Mobility at 15 — 77 percent below the class median — is the stated weakness, and portability at 13 is the lowest reading in this batch: this is a 17-inch creator chassis shelved among thin-and-lights, and the class comparison punishes it for the shelf's mistake as much as its own mass. Judge the machine, not the shelf: against desk machines it is merely heavy; against ultrabooks it is furniture. Gaming at 48 mid-tier is the 1650 Ti's honest ceiling in this weight class.

Price and depreciation

$650 with no anchor recorded; the class curve runs 8.93 percent per year — one of the two gentlest schedules in this batch. A five-year-old flagship on the slowest curve at $650 is close to terminal pricing: the creative capability that remains is nearly all margin over the ask.

Alternatives to consider

The G5 15 5510 at $590 posts photo at 93 in a gaming frame for less money; the Precision 17 5760 at $721 offers the professional CPU-first alternative with a bigger screen. The XPS 17 splits them: creator hardware in the premium chassis, at the gentlest curve in the batch.

Bottom line

Fairly priced for the class once the shelf is discounted. Top-tier photo, rec-bar receipts and pro memory in the 2020 premium 17-inch frame — with the batch's lowest portability as the standing cost. A desk creator's used buy, not a carry machine mislabeled.