Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1) review – prepare for disappointment

Some manufacturers are more invested in their gaming laptops than their other lineup. However, others, like Dell, actually want to be recognized for their premium business devices. This is why the XPS series are usually getting more attention than others.

Today, we are going to show you the 2-in-1 iteration of the XPS 13 9310. It comes with a choice of Tiger Lake processors, an extremely thin profile, and according to Dell – a ton of performance.

Before we start, we have to take into consideration the fact that like its clamshell brother, this laptop has a 16:10 display. This provides its users with more vertical working space. Ultimately, this makes working on image edits and spreadsheets a lot more comfortable.

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-xps-13-9310-2-in-1/

Contents


Specs Sheet

Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1) - Specs

  • Sharp GRNPP-LQ134N1 (SHP14F7)
  • Color accuracy  4.2  1.0
  • HDD/SSD
  • up to 2000GB SSD
  • RAM
  • up to 32GB
  • OS
  • Windows 11 Home, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Home
  • Battery
  • 51Wh, 4-cell, 51Wh
  • Body material
  • Aluminum, Carbon
  • Dimensions
  • 297 x 207 x 14.3 mm (11.69" x 8.15" x 0.56")
  • Weight
  • 1.32 kg (2.9 lbs)
  • Ports and connectivity
  • 2x USB Type-C
  • 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Thunderbolt 3, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
  • Card reader
  • MicroSD
  • Wi-Fi
  • 802.11ax
  • Bluetooth
  • 5.1
  • Audio jack
  • 3.5 Combo Jack
  • Features
  • Fingerprint reader
  • optional
  • Web camera
  • HD
  • Backlit keyboard
  • optional
  • Microphone
  • Dual Array Digital Microphones
  • Speakers
  • 2x 2W, Waves MaxxAudio Pro
  • Optical drive
  • optional
  • Security Lock slot

All Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1) configurations

#CommissionsEarned

What’s in the box?

Unsurprisingly, the XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1) comes in premium packaging. Inside, you will find the mandatory paperwork and a 45W USB Type-C power adapter.


Design and construction

Of course, the laptop looks stunning, and its body is constructed of aluminum and carbon fiber. After all, you are paying a premium, so you should be expecting the same, right? In addition to that, you receive an extremely thin device. Its profile measures only 14.35mm. The weight is low as well – 1.32 kg. However, the low thickness came at a price. There is a little bend to the chassis, but it is enough to make the touchpad click.

Although the lid can be opened with a single hand, you will hardly be able to grip it because of the tight fit. Also, at around 80-85°, the hinges tighten and the base gets lifted from the ground. Other than that, we are pleasantly surprised by the thin bezels around the glass display. And inside the top one, you will find an HD camera with an IR sensor array for face recognition.

Speaking of biometrics, the power button acts as a fingerprint reader as well. This is good, but do you know what is not really good – the keyboard. It has exceptionally short key travel. Think about Apple’s Butterfly switches. There is clicky feedback but it is only just longer than a capacitive button. Even though the keycaps are pretty large, the keyboard is not comfortable at all.

Thankfully, the touchpad happens to be a lot more comfortable. It even has a significantly longer click travel.

So, you might haven’t noticed, but there is a set of slots just above the keyboard. Interestingly, they are not the speaker grills, but rather the hot air ventilation.

This leaves the bottom panel to the speaker cutouts and the cool air vents.

Ports

Once again, the port situation looks sad. There are two Thunderbolt 4 connectors, a MicroSD card slot, and an audio jack.


Disassembly, upgrade options and maintenance

To get this device opened, you need to undo 8 Torx-head screws. After that, carefully pry the bottom panel with a plastic tool.

Here we see a battery with a 51Wh capacity.

Unfortunately, both the memory, and the storage here are soldered to the motherboard, so there is no way to upgrade your convertible XPS 13.

On the bright side, the cooling solution comprises a vapor chamber and two rather small fans.


Display quality

Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1) is equipped with a Full HD IPS panel, Sharp GRNPP-LQ134N1 (SHP14F7). Its diagonal is 13.4-inch (34 cm), and the resolution – 1920 х 1200p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 16:10, the pixel density – 169 ppi, their pitch – 0.15 х 0.15 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 50 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels).

Viewing angles are comfortable. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality.

Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.

The maximum measured brightness is 551 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 514 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 13%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6450K – close to matching the 6500K temperature standard for sRGB.
In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 21% Brightness (White level = 142 cd/m2, Black level = 0.08 cd/m2).
Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is very good – 1720:1.

To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy.

Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook.

Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day.

The yellow dotted line shows Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1)’s color gamut coverage.

Its display covers 94% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976, providing a punchy and vibrant image.

Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode.

We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile.

Below you can compare the scores of Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1) with the default settings (left), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right).

The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light.

The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions.

Response time (Gaming capabilities)

We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa.

We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 28 ms.

After that, we test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “Gray-to-Gray” method from 50% White to 80% White and vice versa between 10% and 90% of the amplitude.


Health impact – PWM / Blue Light

PWM (Screen flickering)

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.

Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1)’s backlight flickers up until 140 nits but it does so with a relatively high frequency (while 2.5 KHz is generally considered safe, it is a good idea to avoid it). Above the 21% mark, there is no PWM detected, hence the display becomes comfortable for long work periods.

Blue light emissions

Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.

Buy our profiles

Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1) configurations with 13.4″ Sharp GRNPP-LQ134N1 (SHP14F7) (FHD+, 1920 × 1200) IPS panel.

*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].

Read more about the profiles HERE.

In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.

Office Work

Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.

Design and Gaming

This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.

Health-Guard

Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.

Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount


Sound

Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1)’s speakers produce a sound of pretty good quality. Its low, mid, and high tones are clear of deviations.


Drivers

All of the drivers and utilities for this notebook can be downloaded from here: https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/xps-13-9310-2-in-1-laptop/drivers

Battery

Now, we conduct the battery tests with Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. This notebook’s 51Wh battery lasts for 12 hours and 13 minutes of Web browsing, and 11 hours and 46 minutes of video playback.


CPU options

This device can be found with Core i3-1115G4, Core i5-1135G7, Core i5-1145G7, Core i7-1165G7, and Core i7-1185G7.


GPU options

In terms of graphics, you get one of the integrated solutions inside of the respective CPUs. These would be the Iris Xe Graphics G4, and the Iris Xe Graphics G7 with either 80EUs or 96EUs.


Gaming tests

cs-go-benchmarks

CS:GOHD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings)HD 1080p, MAX (Check settings)
Average FPS144 fps94 fps44 fps

DOTA 2HD 1080p, Low (Check settings)HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings)HD 1080p, High (Check settings)
Average FPS125 fps66 fps33 fps

Temperatures and comfort

Max CPU load

In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.

Average core frequency (base frequency + X); CPU temp.

Intel Core i5-1135G7 (15W TDP)0:02 – 0:10 sec0:15 – 0:30 sec10:00 – 15:00 min
Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1)3.36 GHz (B+40%) @ 99°C @ 41W3.16 GHz (B+32%) @ 99°C @ 37W1.92 GHz @ 72°C @ 16W
Dell XPS 13 93103.15 GHz (B+31%) @ 100°C @ 40W2.73 GHz (B+14%) @ 100°C @ 30W1.65 GHz @ 73°C @ 15W
Dell Vostro 15 55023.33 GHz (B+39%) @ 100°C @ 38W1.96 GHz @ 72°C @ 14W2.02 GHz @ 74°C @ 15W
Dell Vostro 14 54023.02 GHz (B+26%) @ 99°C @ 29W2.61 GHz (B+9%) @ 99°C @ 25W2.00 GHz @ 76°C @ 15W
MSI Modern 15 (A11X)3.59 GHz (B+50%) @ 94°C @ 44W3.45 GHz (B+44%) @ 95°C @ 40W3.18 GHz (B+33%) @ 91°C @ 34W
Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga3.52 GHz (B+47%) @ 94°C3.24 GHz (B+35%) @ 94°C2.63 GHz (B+10%) @ 75°C
Lenovo Yoga 7 (14)3.34 GHz (B+39%) @ 94°C2.97 GHz (B+24%) @ 94°C2.39 GHz @ 75°C
Acer Aspire 5 (A514-54)3.54 GHz (B+48%) @ 87°C2.01 GHz @ 66°C2.03 GHz @ 67°C

Due to the superior cooling solution and the larger vapor chamber of the convertible, we see higher clocks than the clamshell model.

Comfort during full load

Unfortunately, the thin profile of the laptop leads to high temperatures both at the keyboard and the bottom panel during extreme load scenarios.


Verdict

As we said at the beginning of the review, Dell is confident that its laptop is a performer. Well, we disagree. If you use the device for video editing (for instance), you will experience high internal and external temperatures, the latter of which leads to discomfort.

Although the XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1) is a snappy machine, it lacks in many areas. For instance, they don’t offer a stylus inside the package. Another letdown is the lack of USB Type-A ports. Yes, the laptop is paired with two Thunderbolt 4 connectors, but they mean nothing if you don’t have a USB dongle.

Not in the last place, there is the upgradability. Many laptops these days lack memory expansion, but it was a shocker to see that this one has its storage soldered too. So ultimately, this is a tablet with a keyboard attached to it. And not a very good one.

Dell XPS 13 9310 (2-in-1)’s IPS panel (Sharp GRNPP-LQ134N1 (SHP14F7)) has a Full HD+ resolution, a very high maximum brightness and contrast ratio, and comfortable viewing angles. Furthermore, it covers 94% of the sRGB color gamut. It is safe to say that the backlight doesn’t flicker above 140 nits, and with the help of our Gaming and Web design profile you can achieve very high color accuracy, good enough for color-sensitive work.

Yes, this notebook has an IR face recognition camera, a fingerprint reader, and a MicroSD card slot. It also lasts for 12 hours and 13 minutes of Web browsing, and 11 hours and 46 minutes of video playback, which is essentially more than one workday worth of use.

However, we’ve seen both more affordable, and more powerful 2-in-1s on the market. One of them is the Lenovo Yoga 7 (14″).

You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/dell-xps-13-9310-2-in-1/

Pros

  • Premium build quality and materials
  • Covers 94% of sRGB colors (Sharp GRNPP-LQ134N1)
  • Very high color accuracy when Gaming and Web design profile is installed (Sharp GRNPP-LQ134N1)
  • 12 hours of battery
  • Fingerprint reader and optional IR face recognition systems
  • Great speakers


Cons

  • Limited I/O
  • Uses PWM below 140 nits (our Health-Guard profile fixes the issue) (Sharp GRNPP-LQ134N1)
  • Memory and storage are soldered to the motherboard
  • Gets really warm on the outside
  • Extremely short key travel

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
2 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
dude
dude
2 years ago

It would be great on all reviews if you offer maybe 2 alternatives for the same money / better money ?

Oty
Oty
9 months ago

Bro, the Micro sd card slot on this Dell does not work. I couldn’t believe it. You can check it out yourself. Crap machine spent £1500 for nothing.