Dell XPS 15 9560 vs. Dell Precision 5540: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Dell XPS 15 9560 and Dell Precision 5540 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Dell XPS 15 9560 Pros

Reasons that Dell XPS 15 9560 is better than Dell Precision 5540.

Has one more port and slot

Dell XPS 15 9560 has more ports and slots count than the Dell Precision 5540. It has nine versus eight amount of ports and slots on the Dell Precision 5540.

PortsDell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Battery gauge buttonYesNo
full-size SD card slotYesYes
HDMIYesYes
headphone jackYesYes
lock slotYesYes
power portYesYes
Thunderbolt 3YesYes
USB-AYes x2Yes x2
Total98

Dell Precision 5540 Pros

Reasons that Dell Precision 5540 is better than Dell XPS 15 9560.

Newer manufacturing

2019 vs. 2017

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i9-9980HK inside Dell Precision 5540 has a 102% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-7700HQ inside Dell XPS 15 9560.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i9-9980HK
6,504
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i9-9880H
6,100
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Xeon E-2276M
5,165
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i7-9850H
4,914
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i7-9750H
4,880
Dell Precision 5540 - Intel Core i5-9400H
3,690
Dell XPS 15 9560 - Intel Core i7-7700HQ
3,208
Dell XPS 15 9560 - Intel Core i5-7300HQ
2,685
Dell XPS 15 9560 - Intel Core i3-7100H
1,610
Supports larger memory

Dell Precision 5540 supports a larger memory capacity than the Dell XPS 15 9560. It supports up to 64GB versus 32GB of system memory on the Dell XPS 15 9560.

Max system memory size
Dell Precision 5540
64 GB
Dell XPS 15 9560
32 GB
Supports faster memory

Dell Precision 5540 supports a faster memory speed than the Dell XPS 15 9560. It supports up to 3200MHz versus 2400MHz of system memory on the Dell XPS 15 9560.

Memory type and speed
Dell Precision 5540 - DDR4
3,200 MHz
Dell XPS 15 9560 - DDR4
2,400 MHz

Prices

Here are the latest price updates and offers for both devices.

Dell XPS 15 9560 Price
Dell XPS 15 9560 15.6in FHD InfinityEdge Display Intel Core i7-7700HQ X4 2.8GHz 8GB 256GB SSD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Silver (Renewed)
Dell XPS 15 9560 15.6in FHD InfinityEdge Display Intel Core i7-7700HQ X4 2.8GHz 8GB 256GB SSD NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Silver (Renewed)
By Dell
$464.67
Dell XPS 15 9530 15.6'' FHD+ (Intel 13th Gen 14-Core i7-13700H (Beat i9-12900H), 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, Arc A370M) Business Laptop, Backlit, Fingerprint, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, Platinum Silver
Dell XPS 15 9530 15.6'' FHD+ (Intel 13th Gen 14-Core i7-13700H (Beat i9-12900H), 32GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB SSD, Arc A370M) Business Laptop, Backlit, Fingerprint, Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, Platinum Silver
By Dell
$1,649.00
Dell XPS 15 9560 4K UHD Touch (3840 x 2160) 7th Gen Intel i7-7700HQ Quad Core 1TB SSD, 32GB Ram Thounderbolt NVIDIA GTX 1050 Win 10 Pro Fingerprint Reader Plus Best Notebook Stylus
Dell XPS 15 9560 4K UHD Touch (3840 x 2160) 7th Gen Intel i7-7700HQ Quad Core 1TB SSD, 32GB Ram Thounderbolt NVIDIA GTX 1050 Win 10 Pro Fingerprint Reader Plus Best Notebook Stylus
By Dell
$1,199.00
Dell Precision 5540 Price
Dell Precision M5540 15.6 UHD Touchscreen Intel Core i7-9750H 2.60Ghz 32GB 1TB SSDR Windows 10 Professional (Renewed)
Dell Precision M5540 15.6 UHD Touchscreen Intel Core i7-9750H 2.60Ghz 32GB 1TB SSDR Windows 10 Professional (Renewed)
By Dell
$498.00
$597.00 17% OFF
DELL Precision 5540 Workstation Intel Core i7-9850H 15.6-inch Full HD IPS Display 32GB RAM 512GB SSD NVIDIA Quadro 4GB Win 11 Pro (Renewed)
DELL Precision 5540 Workstation Intel Core i7-9850H 15.6-inch Full HD IPS Display 32GB RAM 512GB SSD NVIDIA Quadro 4GB Win 11 Pro (Renewed)
By DELL
$502.29
Dell Precision 5540 Workstation Laptop PC 15.6" FHD Intel Core i7-9850H Processor, 32GB Ram, 1TB NVMe SSD Drive, Web Camera HDMI NVIDIA Quadro T1000 4GB GDDR5 Windows 10 (Renewed)
Dell Precision 5540 Workstation Laptop PC 15.6" FHD Intel Core i7-9850H Processor, 32GB Ram, 1TB NVMe SSD Drive, Web Camera HDMI NVIDIA Quadro T1000 4GB GDDR5 Windows 10 (Renewed)
By Dell
$700.00

Availability

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Released20172019
Release Date-
  • Announced at Computex 2019.
  • Available from early July 2019.
Pricing-Starting at $1,339
Generations

Exterior

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Dimensions14.06 x 9.27 x 0.45 - 0.66 in (357 x 235 x 11 - 17 mm)
Width: 14.06” (357 mm)
Depth: 9.27” (235 mm)
Height: 0.45 - 0.66” (11 - 17 mm)
14.06 x 9.26 x 0.44 in (357 x 235 x 11.2 mm)
Width: 14.06” (357 mm)
Depth: 9.26” (235 mm)
Height: 0.44” (11.2 mm)
Weight
  • 3-cell battery models: 4 lb (1.8 kg)
  • 6-cell battery models: 4.5 lb (2.0 kg)
3.93 lbs (1.78 kg)
Colors
  • Silver (CNC machined aluminum with carbon fiber composite palm rest in black)
  • Aluminum Platinum Silver LCD Cover
  • Aluminum Titan Gray LCD Cover
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Full size, backlit chiclet keyboard; 1.3mm travel.
  • 4.13 x 3.15 in (105 mm x 80 mm) touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.
  • Full-size backlit keyboard.
  • 4.03 x 2.45 in (102.40 mm x 62.40 mm) touchpad with 5 multi-touch gesture support.

Display

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Size15.6 Inches15.6 Inches
Info
  • 15.6-inch WED FHD non-touchscreen
    1920 x 1080, IPS, 141 PPI, 400-nit brightness 100% sRGB, InfinityEdge Anti-Glare, Non-touch support.
  • 15.6-inch WED UHD touchscreen
    3840 x 2160, IPS, 282 PPI, 350-nit brightness, 100% AdobeRGB, InfinityEdge Anti-Reflective, Touch support.
  • 15.6" UltraSharp FHD IGZO4
    • 1920x1080, AG, NT, w/Prem Panel Guar, 100% sRGB.
  • 15.6" Ultrasharp UHD IGZO4
    • 3840x2160, Touch, w/Prem Panel Guar, 100% Adobe,
  • 15.6" Ultrasharp OLED UHD
    • 3840x2160, Non-Touch,w/Prem Panel Guar, 100% DCI-P3

Ports

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Dell XPS 15 9560 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (5)
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), PCIe Gen 3 x2, DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.0 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
  • 1 x power port
Right (4)
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.0 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
  • 1 x lock slot
  • 1 x Battery gauge button
Dell Precision 5540 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (5)
  • 1 x power port
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x HDMI
    v2.0
  • 1 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone
Right (3)
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
  • 1 x USB-A
    USB 3.1 Gen 1 (5 Gbps), PowerShare
  • 1 x lock slot

Internal Specs

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Processor
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-7100H
    2 cores, 4 threads, 3.00 GHz, 3MB Cache, 35W
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ
    4 cores, 4 threads, 2.50 → 3.50 GHz, 6MB Cache, 45W
  3. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.80 → 3.80 GHz, 6MB Cache, 45W
  1. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9400H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.50 → 4.30 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.50 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9850H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 4.60 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  4. Intel Xeon E-2276M
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.80 → 4.70 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  5. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.30 → 4.80 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
  6. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.40 → 5.00 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-7100H
    Intel® HD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 950 MHz
  2. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1000 MHz
  3. 7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ
    Intel® HD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  1. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9400H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
  2. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  3. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9850H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  4. Intel Xeon E-2276M
    Intel® UHD Graphics P630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
  5. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
  6. 9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Memory
  • 4 GB 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB
    2400 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
  • Memory Slots
    • 2 x DDR4 SoDIMM
  • Memory Configurations
    • Minimum Memory: 8GB
    • Maximum Memory: 64GB
Discrete Graphics
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 (Optional)
    Pascal Architecture, 4GB GDDR5 128-bit, 1354 → 1493 MHz, 640 CUDA Cores.
  • NVIDIA Quadro T1000 (Optional)
    Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR5 128-bit, 1395 → 1455 MHz, 768 CUDA Cores.
  • NVIDIA Quadro T2000 (Optional)
    Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR5 128-bit, 1575 → 1785 MHz, 1,024 CUDA Cores.
Storage
  • 500GB/32GB SSD 512GB/128GB SSD
    Hybrid Hard Drive.
  • 256 GB 512 GB
    PCIe Gen 3 SSD.
  • Hard Drive Slots
    • 1 x M.2 PCIe SSD slot
    • 1 x 2.5 inches hard drive slot
      Available only on a 3-cell 56Wh battery model.
  • Hard Drive Configurations
    • Up to 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD
    • Up to 2TB SATA Hard Drive

Connectivity

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Wi-Fi
  • Rivet Killer 1535
    Up to 867 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, WiFi-4 (802.11n), WiFi-5 (802.11ac).
  • Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2x2 802.11ax 160MHz
  • Intel Wireless-AC 9260 2x2 802.11ac
  • Qualcomm QCA6174A 2x2 802.11ac
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth 4.1
  • Bluetooth 5.0

Battery

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Size
  • 3-cell smart lithium-ion 56 Wh
  • 6-cell smart lithium-ion 97 Wh
  • 56 Wh (3-cell lithium-ion)
  • 97 Wh (6-cell lithium-ion)
Power Supply130 W power adapter
Power rated at 19.50VDC/6.67A.
130 W power adapter
Power rated at 19.5VDC/6.67A.

Software

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
OS
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro Ubuntu 18.04 LTS RedHat 7.5
Upgradable to Windows 11
Built-in Apps
  • Microsoft Office 30-days trial
  • McAfee LiveSafe™ 12 Month Subscription
  • Microsoft Office 30-days trial
  • McAfee® Small Business Security 30 Day Free Trial

Camera & Audio

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Camera
  • Front-facing camera
    Bottom-mount front camera with fixed focus lens, 0.92 Megapixels (1280 x 720 HD) at 30 fps.
  • Front-facing camera
    Top-mount front camera with fixed focus lens, 0.92 Megapixels (1280 x 720 HD) at 30 fps.
Audio
  • Stereo speakers professionally tuned with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro
  • Two speakers (2W x 2 = 4W total)
  • Dual-array microphones
  • Waves MaxxAudio Pro
  • Two speakers
  •  dual-array microphones

Misc

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Windows Hello compliant fingerprint reader in the power button
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Windows Hello compliant fingerprint reader in the power button (optional)
Security
  • Windows Hello with Fingerprint Sign in
  • Kensington lock slot
  • Intel® vPro™ Technology (iAMT 12) (optional, requires Intel WiFi® Link WLAN and a vPro compatible processor), Dell Client Command Suite available (dell.com/command), Factory Installed Dell Client Command | Update, Dell Command | Power Manager
  • Intel® Platform Trust Technology
  • Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0
  • Chassis wedge-shaped security lock
  • Support for Computrace and SmartCard Reader
  • Touch Fingerprint Reader with Control Vault 3.0 (Advanced Authentication with FIPS 140-2 Level 3 Certification)
Warranty-1 Year Hardware Service with Onsite/In-Home Service After Remote Diagnosis

Key Features

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540
At Glance
Released in
2017
16:9 4K UHD
15.6”
2160p 60Hz
Weight
4 lb
1.81 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-7700HQ
4C/8T, 2.80 → 3.80 GHz
Geekbench 5
852
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,208
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® HD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1100 MHz
Up to
32GB
2400 MHz DDR4
Dell XPS 15 9560 Ports
Nvidia Quadro
GTX 1050
4GB GDDR5
Released in
2019
16:9 4K UHD
15.6”
2160p OLED
Weight
3.93 lb
1.78 kg
Up to
Intel Core i9-9980HK
8C/16T, 2.40 → 5.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,114
Single Core
Geekbench 5
6,504
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Upgradable up to
64GB
3200 MHz DDR4
Dell Precision 5540 Ports
Nvidia Quadro
T2000
4GB GDDR5

Comparison Summary

Dell XPS 15 9560 vs. Dell Precision 5540

Dell has released the XPS 15 9560, a 15.6-inch machine, in 2017. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-7700HQ with a boost clock speed up to 3.80 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia Quadro GTX 1050 with 4GB GDDR5.

On the other hand, we have the 15.6-inch Precision 5540 was introduced by Dell about two years later in 2019. It comes with up to an octa-core Intel Core i9-9980HK with a boost clock speed up to 5.00 GHz. It has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia Quadro T2000 with 4GB GDDR5.

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Dell XPS 15 95601
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-7100H67460.18%
2
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ84875.71%
3
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ85276.07%
Dell Precision 55401
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9400H98487.86%
2
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H1,04493.21%
3
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9850H1,08096.43%
4
Intel Xeon E-2276M1,120100.00%
5
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H1,06695.18%
6
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK1,11499.46%
01,120

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Dell XPS 15 95601
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i3-7100H1,61024.75%
2
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-7300HQ2,68541.28%
3
7th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-7700HQ3,20849.32%
Dell Precision 55401
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-9400H3,69056.73%
2
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9750H4,88075.03%
3
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-9850H4,91475.55%
4
Intel Xeon E-2276M5,16579.41%
5
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9880H6,10093.79%
6
9th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9980HK6,504100.00%
06,504

Both Dell XPS 15 9560 and Dell Precision 5540 have the same 15.6-inch display size. In addition, the Dell XPS 15 9560 weighs 4 lbs. about 1% heavier than the 3.93 lbs. Dell Precision 5540. Moreover, measured at 14.06” x 9.27” x 0.66”, the Dell XPS 15 9560 is much bulkier than the Dell Precision 5540 at 14.06” x 9.26” x 0.44”.

Dell XPS 15 9560Dell Precision 5540

There are a toal number of 9 ports and slots available on Dell XPS 15 9560. That includes a Thunderbolt 3 port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a headphone jack, a power port, a full-size SD card slot, a lock slot, and a Battery gauge button. With that said, it has a port or slot more than the Dell Precision 5540 that has a power port, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a Thunderbolt 3 port, a headphone jack, a full-size SD card slot, and a lock slot.

Moving over to upgradability, Dell claims that the Dell XPS 15 9560 supports up to 32GB 2400 MHz DDR4 memory. It also comes with a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace and upgrade in the future.

For Dell Precision 5540, it supports up to 64GB 3200 MHz DDR4 memory that you can upgrade with two memory module slots on the motherboard. It also has a single removable M.2 SSD slot that users can replace or upgrade when needed. Besides that, it also comes with a SATA slot where you can install an additional 2.5-inch SATA-based SSD, SSHD, or a hard disk drive.

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