ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 vs. Dell XPS 15 9570 – Which One Is Better For Creative Professionals?
Both the ASUS Zenbook Pro & the Dell XPS 15 have been updated for 2018 with 8th gen Intel Core H-series CPUs & some awesome new features. Many of the creative professionals seem to be confused to choose either one on these pro-sumer laptops & like always we got you covered. This is a comparison between these two devices which focuses on the major differences between the Asus Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 & Dell XPS 15 9570 to help you determine which one is right for you. As always, we will start up with the specification sheet.
| ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 | Dell XPS 15 9570 | |
| Display |
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| Processor |
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| RAM | 8GB/16GB DDR4 2400 MHz | 8GB/16GB/32GB DDR4 2400 MHz |
| GPU | NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5 VRAM) | NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti (4GB GDDR5 VRAM) |
| Trackpad | Screen Pad (5.5 inch FHD IPS), Glass Surface, Windows Precision Drivers |
Glass Surface, Windows Precision Drivers |
| Storage | 256GB or 512GB or 1TB SSD | 256GB or 512GB or 1TB or 2TB SSD |
| Ports | 2 x USB-C Thunderbolt 3, 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2, 1 x HDMI, 1 x 3.5 mm Headphone And Microphone Combo Jack, 1 x MicroSD card slot |
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 1, 1 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x USB-C Thunderbolt 3, 1 x 3.5 mm Headphone And Microphone Combo Jack, 1x SD Card Slot |
| Wi-Fi | Integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2×2 | Integrated 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, 2×2 |
| Bluetooth | V5.0 | V4.2 |
| Battery | 71 Whrs (8 Cells) | 97 Whrs (6 Cells) |
| Number Of Speakers | 2 | 2 |
| Webcam | VGA | HD |
| Weight | 1.88 Kilograms | 2 Kilograms |
| OS | Windows 10 Pro | Windows 10 Pro |
| Price | – | $1499.99-$1899.99-$2549.99 |
Let’s talk about the things that hasn’t changed first which are mostly found in the design area. So, in both cases the design looks kinda the same from the outside as last year. The Zenbook Pro 15 has it’s chassis made, completely out of Aluminium with that signature concentric design of ASUS while the XPS 15 9570 has Aluminium at the top & the bottom with Carbon Fiber in the keyboard area. The Display bezels are still way thinner in the XPS 15 which allows the laptop to have a smaller physical size compared to the Zenbook Pro.
CPU, RAM & Storage:
Okay, Now there are several things that have changed. First are the CPUs. Just as I mentioned in the beginning of this article, both of these laptops have been updated with 8th gen Intel Core H-series CPUs. So, the Dell XPS 15 now comes with either a Core i7-8750H or a Core i9-8950HK option & both of these CPUs have Hexacore configurations. In the other hand the Zenbook Pro 15 comes with either an i7-8750H or an i9-8950HK as well bit, it adds an additional option with a Core i5-8300H which is a Quadcore CPU. In the RAM & Storage segment, the Zenbook Pro 15 can go upto 16 GB RAM & 1TB of M.2 NVMe SSD storage while the XPS 15 can go all the way upto 32 GH RAM for the 4K, i9 model with upto 2TB of M.2 NVMe SSD Storage.
The GPUs:
Next let’s talk about the GPU. Both the devices spot a GTX 1050 Ti with 4 Gigabytes of GDDR5 VRAM but, the XPS 15 runs a Max-Q variant of the GPU. In both cases creative professionals should not have much issues as both of these laptops shall be able to deliver very close results but, when it comes to raw graphical horsepower, the Zenbook Pro 15 will have a slight edge.
The Displays:
The Displays are also very similar with either a 15.6 inch, 60 Hz, 1080P IPS panel that covers 100% of the sRGB color space or a 4K IPS panel that covers 100% of the Adobe RGB color space in both of the devices. So, again in terms of Display quality, both the devices have almost identical displays with great accuracy. However, the 4K option is definitely more color accurate compared to the 1080P one.
The Ports:
Let’s come to the ports now. Both of these laptops spot all the major ports. However. the Zenbook Pro 15 spots two Thunderbolt 3 ports while the XPS 15 spots only one. In both cases the posts have access to all 4-lanes of PCI-e so, external GPU connections should be no problem. On the other hand the XPS 15 spots a full size SD card slot while the Zenbook Pro 15 spots a Micro-sd slot which may turn down many creative professionals as most of them are using full size SD cards anyway. The USB 3.1 Type-A ports are another thing that is different. Both of the devices come with two USB 3.1 ports but, for the Zenbook Pro, these ports are Gen-2 while for the XPS these are Gen-1.
The Trackpads:
Now, let’s talk about the trackpads & this is a very important part of this comparison. So, both of the devices use Windows Precision Trackpads with Glass Surface so, the tracking should be smooth & accurate in both cases. But, the trackpad on the Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 (also on the Zenbook Pro 14) has something that the XPS 15 or any other laptop does not have s of now. I’m talking about a 5.5 inch 1920×1080 IPS Display built right into the Trackpad.
ASUS has named this new trackpad approach as the “ScreenPad” & it can do a lot of things like, functioning as an extension or replication to your main Display or functioning as a toolbar for certain apps (the Microsoft Office Apps are already supported) & even more like acting as a Calculator, Music Player or showing up your Calender etc. The Screenpad SDK will be open to the developers so, we can expect a lot more apps being compatible with the ScreenPad in near future. So, ASUS definitely took a huge lead in this segment.
Other Differences
Other differences are minor but, some of them need to be mentioned here. The Battery is smaller in the Zenbook Pro 15 (71 Wh) compared to the XPS 15 (97 Whrs), the Webcam on the Zenbook Pro is VGA (480P) while the XPS 15 9570 spots a HD (720P) Webcam & the Bluetooth version of the Zenbook Pro 15 is newer (v5.0) compared to the XPS 15 9570 (v4.2).
The Dell XPS 15 starts at $1499 (i7, 16GB, 1080P) & goes all the way upto $2549 (i9, 32GB, 4K) (there is a $999 variant available but, it comes with way lower specs so, it hasn’t been considered in this comparison). However, we don’t know the exact pricing details for the Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 as of now but, we can expect it to be quite similar (or maybe slightly cheaper) to the XPS 15 in terms of pricing.
Which One Should You Go For ?
Until last year, if we had to recommend one of the predecessors of these laptops, the XPS 15 always had that slight edge in almost everything. Maybe the design was better on the Zenbook. This year the equation has completely changed & though the core internals are kinda the same, things like the ScreenPad, the full-fat GTX 1050 Ti, the Bluetooth 5.0 makes the Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 a much more desired option this year & it’s quite like ASUS did it better from everyone else this year. However, the Dell XPS 15 9570 does have a Bigger Battery, a Higher-res Webcam, a full size SD Card slot & thinner Bezels. You can go for it if you want a better battery life or better Video Call quality or a SD card slot or all of these but, otherwise the Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 seems to be the better option for everyone else out there.
Okay, that wraps up our comparison between the Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 & the Dell XPS 15 9570. If you have any questions then please drop them in the comment section below & we’ll definitely try to answer them.
Hi !
I’m a student and I still don’t know if I take the Asus or the Dell..
The Zenbook pro I can afford comes with a FHD display, an Intel Core i7 8750H, a Nvidia GTX 1050 (not the TI), 16 Go of Ram and a 512 Go SSD storage. It is exactly the same specs for the dell, but with a 1050 Ti max Q. Is the 1050Ti Max Q still better than a normal 1050?
I play some games such as LOL or Fortnite, but I’m not a proper gamer, and I really hesitate beacuse of the much better design of the Asus + the screen pad.
Which one do you think I should take?
Thank you
It depends.
Both the laptop has premium features, but ASUS Zenbook pro 15 has some cool features that you cannot find in other laptops.
Dell on the other hand comes with higher MaxQ 1050Ti graphics, where ASUS comes with maxQ GTX 1050. Considering your requirements you are into moderate gaming. And also being in college I believe that you also need something that everyone will look back for.
I would suggest you to go with the ASUS Zenbook pro 15. but, if you are OK to compromise looks & features and purely looking for a better machine, then I would suggest you to go for Dell XPS 15…
The Zenbook Pro also comes in a 1050Ti variant so, if that is available in your country you can go for that. But, even if you’re getting the 1050 model, it isn’t a huge deal over the MaxQ version of the 1050 Ti particularly for gaming. Also, we have to keep thermals in mind for both laptops as the chassis are not designed for gaming. So, Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 should hold fine.
The XPS 15 on the other hand, has slightly better Build Quality. But, both of these laptops are great for their purposes. You can go for any of them. So, if you’re going to use that Screenpad, go for the Zenbook Pro. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Both are great laptops.
Hi, thank for the review. Do you when the Asus Zen book pro 2018 will be available in Australia ? Thank you
Hi Marissa,
We have no confirmation from the team yet, but it is expected to be available in Q4 of this year.
We will update you about the exact date, once we get an official confirmation.
Hi !
I’m a student and I still don’t know if I take the Asus or the Dell..
The Zenbook pro I can afford comes with a FHD display, an Intel Core i7 8750H, a Nvidia GTX 1050 (not the TI), 16 Go of Ram and a 512 Go SSD storage. It is exactly the same specs for the dell, but with a 1050 Ti max Q. Is the 1050Ti Max Q still better than a normal 1050?
I play some games such as LOL or Fortnite, but I’m not a proper gamer, and I really hesitate beacuse of the much better design of the Asus + the screen pad.
Which one do you think I should take?
Thank you
It depends.
Both the laptop has premium features, but ASUS Zenbook pro 15 has some cool features that you cannot find in other laptops.
Dell on the other hand comes with higher MaxQ 1050Ti graphics, where ASUS comes with maxQ GTX 1050. Considering your requirements you are into moderate gaming. And also being in college I believe that you also need something that everyone will look back for.
I would suggest you to go with the ASUS Zenbook pro 15. but, if you are OK to compromise looks & features and purely looking for a better machine, then I would suggest you to go for Dell XPS 15…
The Zenbook Pro also comes in a 1050Ti variant so, if that is available in your country you can go for that. But, even if you’re getting the 1050 model, it isn’t a huge deal over the MaxQ version of the 1050 Ti particularly for gaming. Also, we have to keep thermals in mind for both laptops as the chassis are not designed for gaming. So, Zenbook Pro 15 UX580 should hold fine.
The XPS 15 on the other hand, has slightly better Build Quality. But, both of these laptops are great for their purposes. You can go for any of them. So, if you’re going to use that Screenpad, go for the Zenbook Pro. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter which one you choose. Both are great laptops.
Hi, thank for the review. Do you when the Asus Zen book pro 2018 will be available in Australia ? Thank you
Hi Marissa,
We have no confirmation from the team yet, but it is expected to be available in Q4 of this year.
We will update you about the exact date, once we get an official confirmation.