The new Dell XPS 17 is drop-dead gorgeous, thin, relatively fast, and has what looks like a potentially show-stopping charging problem. How serious is

Dell XPS 17 9700 has a charging problem

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2020-07-18 06:13:08

The new Dell XPS 17 is drop-dead gorgeous, thin, relatively fast, and has what looks like a potentially show-stopping charging problem.

How serious is it? We’ll just say that based on our review unit, it’s enough to recommend that you put a pause on a potential purchase until the problem is addressed by Dell.

The charging issue first came to light on July 10, when respected technology site Notebookcheck.com reported that its XPS 17 9700 review unit discharged the battery under heavy loads even when plugged into the wall.

This probably isn’t a surprise to anyone who pays attention to the unsung hero of laptops: the power brick. When we saw that Dell had chosen a 130-watt USB-C charger for the XPS 17, we even expressed our concern in a video posted on YouTube in May.

If you don’t have time to watch the video, you should know that the vast majority of laptops we’ve seen with six- and eight-core CPUs plus GeForce RTX 2060 GPUs feature 180-Watt power bricks using conventional “barrel” plugs.