Surface Book 3 vs. Dell XPS 17 9700: Which is better?

Here is a side by side comparison between Surface Book 3 and Dell XPS 17 9700 specs including CPU, RAM, storage, battery, display, and more.

Surface Book 3 Pros

Reasons that Surface Book 3 is better than Dell XPS 17 9700.

Supports faster memory

Surface Book 3 supports a faster memory speed than the Dell XPS 17 9700. It supports up to 3733MHz versus 2933MHz of system memory on the Dell XPS 17 9700.

Memory type and speed
Surface Book 3 - LPDDR4X
3,733 MHz
Dell XPS 17 9700 - DDR4
2,933 MHz
About 28% lighter

Surface Book 3 weighed 3.38 pounds, 28% lighter than the 4.65 pounds Dell XPS 17 9700.

WeightSurface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Pound
3.38 lbs.
4.65 lbs.
Kilogram
1.53 kg
2.11 kg

Dell XPS 17 9700 Pros

Reasons that Dell XPS 17 9700 is better than Surface Book 3.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i9-10885H inside Dell XPS 17 9700 has a 82% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Intel Core i7-1065G7 inside Surface Book 3.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Dell XPS 17 9700 - Intel Core i7-10875H
6,874
Dell XPS 17 9700 - Intel Core i9-10885H
6,788
Dell XPS 17 9700 - Intel Core i7-10750H
5,412
Dell XPS 17 9700 - Intel Core i5-10300H
3,747
Surface Book 3 - Intel Core i7-1065G7
3,722
Surface Book 3 - Intel Core i5-1035G7
3,691
Supports larger memory

Dell XPS 17 9700 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Book 3. It supports up to 64GB versus 32GB of system memory on the Surface Book 3.

Max system memory size
Dell XPS 17 9700
64 GB
Surface Book 3
32 GB
25% larger display

Dell XPS 17 9700 has a 17-inch screen size 25% larger than the 13.5-inch Surface Book 3.

Display size
Dell XPS 17 9700
17-inch
Surface Book 3
13.5-inch

Prices

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

Surface Book 3 Price
Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
By Microsoft
$1,026.03
New Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
New Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5" Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i5 - 8GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum
By Microsoft
$790.00
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5 Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum (Renewed)
NEW Microsoft Surface Book 3 - 13.5 Touch-Screen - 10th Gen Intel Core i7 - 16GB Memory - 256GB SSD (Latest Model) - Platinum (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$798.00
Dell XPS 17 9700 Price
Dell XPS 17" 9700 FHD+ Laptop PC Intel Core i7-10750H Processor, 16GB Ram, 1TB NVMe SSD, Type C, Webcam, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB, Windows 11 Pro (Renewed)
Dell XPS 17" 9700 FHD+ Laptop PC Intel Core i7-10750H Processor, 16GB Ram, 1TB NVMe SSD, Type C, Webcam, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB, Windows 11 Pro (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,916.99
2020 Dell XPS 9700 Laptop 17 - Intel Core i7 10th Gen - i7-10750H - Six Core 5Ghz - 1TB SSD - 32GB RAM - Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti - 1920x1200 FHD+ - Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
2020 Dell XPS 9700 Laptop 17 - Intel Core i7 10th Gen - i7-10750H - Six Core 5Ghz - 1TB SSD - 32GB RAM - Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti - 1920x1200 FHD+ - Windows 10 Home (Renewed)
By Dell
$1,458.81
Dell New XPS 17 9700 17 inch UHD Plus Laptop, Intel i9-10885H 10th Gen, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6, Windows 10 Home, Silver
Dell New XPS 17 9700 17 inch UHD Plus Laptop, Intel i9-10885H 10th Gen, 32GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6, Windows 10 Home, Silver
By Dell
$1,799.00

Availability

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Released20202020
Release Date
  • Introduced: May 6, 2020
  • Pre-ordered: May 6, 2020
  • Released: May 12, 2020
Announced Date: May 13, 2020
PricingFor Consumer
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • $1,600 - i5 | 8GB | 256GB | Iris Plus
    • $2,000 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1650
    • $2,500 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1650
    • $2,700 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1650
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • $2,300 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $2,800 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,000 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,400 - i7 | 32GB | 2TB | GTX 1660 Ti
For Commercial
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • $1,700 - i5 | 8GB | 256GB | Iris Plus
    • $2,100 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1650
    • $2,600 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1650
    • $2,800 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1650
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • $2,400 - i7 | 16GB | 256GB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $2,900 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,100 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,500 - i7 | 32GB | 2TB | GTX 1660 Ti
    • $3,500 - i7 | 32GB | 512GB | RTX 3000
    • $3,700 - i7 | 32GB | 1TB | RTX 3000
-
Generations-

Exterior

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Dimensions
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i5)
    12.3” x 9.14” x 0.51”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 13 mm-23 mm)
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i7)
    12.3” x 9.14” x 0.59”-0.90” (312 mm x 232 mm x 15 mm-23 mm)
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    13.5” x 9.87” x 0.568-0.90” (343 mm x 251 mm x 15 mm-23 mm)
  • 14.74 x 9.76 x 0.77 in (374.45 x 248.05 x 19.5 mm)
    • Width: 14.74” (374.45 mm)
    • Depth: 9.76” (248.05 mm)
    • Height: 0.77” (19.5 mm)
Weight
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i5)
    • Total: 3.38 lbs (1,534 g)
    • Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g)
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i7)
    • Total: 3.62 lbs (1,642 g)
    • Tablet: 1.59 lbs (719 g)
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • Total: 4.20 lbs (1,905 g)
    • Tablet: 1.80 lbs (817 g)
  • Non-touch with 56Wh: 4.65 lbs (2.11 kg)
  • Touch screen with 97Wh: 5.53 lbs (2.51 kg)
Colors
Platinum
  • CNC machined aluminum in platinum silver with carbon fiber composite palm rest in black
  • Edge-to-edge Corning® Gorilla® Glass 6 on touch panel
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Keyboard:
    • Full-size mechanical backlit keyset with 1.55mm travel.
    • Mechanical friction attaches the Clipboard to the keyboard.
  • Trackpad:
    • Larger size 105 mm x 70 mm, glass.
    • Supports up to Five-finger multitouch gesture.
  • Full size, backlit chiclet keyboard with larger keycaps.
  • Larger touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.

Display

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Size13.5 Inches17 Inches
Info
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • Display Resolution: 3000 x 2000 (6M Pixels)
    • Display Density: 267 PPI
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • Display Resolution: 3240 x 2160 (7M Pixels)
    • Display Density: 260 PPI
  • PixelSense™ Display
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Contrast ratio: 1600:1
  • Inking: designed together with Surface Pen
  • Touch: 10 points multi-touch
  • 17-inch FHD+ non-touchscreen
    • 1920 x 1200, IPS, 145 PPI, 500-nits brightness, 1650:1 contrast ratio, 100% sRGB, InfinityEdge Anti-Glare, Non-touch support.
  • 17-inch UHD+ IPS touchscreen
    • 3840 x 2400, IPS, 290 PPI, 500-nit brightness, 1600:1 contrast ratio, 100% AdobeRGB, InfinityEdge, Anti-Reflective, Touch support.

Ports

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Surface Book 3 Ports
Image Source: Microsoft
  • 2 x Full-size USB 3.1 Gen 2
  • 1 x USB Type-C 3.1 Gen 2
    Supports Power Delivery and DisplayPort.
  • 2 x Surface Connect™
    1 in tablet, 1 in keyboard base, both supports charging and docking.
  • 1 x Headset jack
  • 1 x Full-size SDXC card reader
    UHS-II Performance
Dell XPS 17 9700 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (3)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery
  • 1 x lock slot
Right (4)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 3
    40 Gpbs, USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), DisplayPort 1.4, Power Delivery
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
    v6.0
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone

Internal Specs

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Processor
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.20 → 3.70 GHz, 6MB SmartCache, 15W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    4 cores, 8 threads, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 15W
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H
    4 cores, 8 threads, 2.50 → 4.50 GHz, 8MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10750H
    6 cores, 12 threads, 2.60 → 5.00 GHz, 12MB SmartCache, 45W
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10875H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.30 → 5.10 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
  4. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10885H
    8 cores, 16 threads, 2.40 → 5.30 GHz, 16MB SmartCache, 45W
Integrated Graphics
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1050 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7
    Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
    64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
  1. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1050 MHz
  2. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10750H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1150 MHz
  3. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10875H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1200 MHz
  4. 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10885H
    Intel® UHD Graphics 630
    24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Memory
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    8GB 16GB 32GB
    3733 MHz LPDDR4x
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    16GB 32GB
    3733 MHz LPDDR4x
  • 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB 64 GB
    2933 MHz Dual-channel DDR4 RAM.
Discrete Graphics
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 with Max-Q
      Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR5, 128-bit, 1020 → 1245 MHz, 1024 CUDA Cores.
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1660 Ti with Max-Q
      Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6, 192-bit, 1245 → 1425 MHz, 1536 CUDA Cores.
    • NVIDIA® Quadro® RTX™ 3000 with Max-Q
      Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6,  192-bit, 765 → 1305 MHz, 1920 CUDA Cores, 240 Tensor Cores, 30 RT Cores, Real-time ray tracing, AI hardware acceleration, ODE, QNF,
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1650 Ti with Max-Q (Optional)
    • Turning Architecture, 4GB GDDR6 128-bit, 1035 → 1200 MHz, 1024 CUDA Cores.
  • NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2060 with Max-Q (Optional)
    • Turning Architecture, 6GB GDDR6 192-bit, 975 → 1185 MHz, 1920 CUDA Cores.
Storage
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB
PCIe SSD
  • 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB 4TB
    • 2 x Removable M.2 2230/2280 PCIe® 3x4 NVMe™ SSD, Up to 32 Gbps.

Connectivity

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Wi-Fi
  • Wi-Fi 6: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.
  • Rivet Killer AX1650w
    Up to 2400 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, WiFi-4 (802.11n), WiFi-5 (802.11ac), WiFi-6 (802.11ax)
  • Rivet Killer AX500s DBS
    Up to 1774.50 Mbps, Dual band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g, WiFi-4 (802.11n), WiFi-5 (802.11ac), WiFi-6 (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
  • Bluetooth Wireless 5.0 technology
  • Rivet Killer AX1650w › Bluetooth 5.1
  • Rivet Killer AX500s DBS › Bluetooth 5.2
More
  • Surface Book 3 15” Only: Xbox Wireless built-in
-

Battery

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Size
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i5)
    Total: 69Wh
    Clipboard: 18Wh
    Base: 51Wh
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i7)
    Total: 75.3Wh
    Clipboard: 18Wh
    Base: 57.3Wh
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    Total: 90Wh
    Clipboard: 23Wh
    Base: 67Wh
  • 3-cell smart lithium-ion 56 Wh
  • 6-cell smart lithium-ion 97 Wh
Battery Life
  • Surface Book 3 13.5”
    • Up to 15.5 hours of typical device usage
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    • Up to 17.5 hours of typical device usage
-
Power Supply
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i5)
    65W Surface Power Supply with USB-A (5W) charging port.
  • Surface Book 3 13.5” (Core i7)
    102W Surface Power Supply with USB-A (7W) charging port.
  • Surface Book 3 15”
    127W Surface Power Supply with USB-A (7W) charging port.
  • 90 W USB Type-C power adapter
    Power rated at 5VDC/3A, 9VDc/3A, 15VDC/3A, 20VDC/4.5A.
  • 130 W USB Type-C power adapter
    Power rated at 5VDC/1A, 20VDC/6.5A.

Software

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
OS
  • For Consumer: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
  • For Commercial: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Free upgrade to Windows 11
Windows 10 Home Windows 10 Pro
Upgradable to Windows 11
Built-in AppsMicrosoft Office 365 30-days trial
  • Microsoft Office 30-days trial
  • McAfee LiveSafe™ 12 Month Subscription

Camera & Audio

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p HD video
  • 8.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p HD video
  • Front-facing camera
    Top-mount front camera with fixed focus lens, 0.92 Megapixels (1280 x 720 HD) at 30 fps.
  • Infrared camera
    576 x 360 (VGA) at 30 fps for Windows Hello Facial Recognition.
Audio
  • Dual far-field Studio Mics
  • Front-facing stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos®
    • Support for Windows Sonic for Headphones
    • Support for Dolby® Atmos for Headphones
  • Studio quality tuning with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro and Waves Nx® 3D audio
  • Quad-speaker design
  • Dual microphone array optimized with Waves MaxxVoice supporting VoIP - Microsoft Cortana capable

Misc

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
InkingSupports Surface Pen
4096 levels of pressure
Tilt sensing
Best in class latency
Paper feel
0.1mm precision
-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Proximity sensor
  • Accelerometer
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Windows Hello compliant fingerprint reader in the power button
Security
  • HW TPM 2.0 chip for enterprise security
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Windows Hello with Fingerprint Sign in
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Wedge-shaped lock
In the box
  • Surface Book 3
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
-
WarrantyOne-year limited hardware warranty-
MoreSupports Surface Dial
Supports both on-screen and off-screen interaction.
-

Key Features

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700
At Glance
Released in
2020
3:2 3.2K
13.5”
2160p 60Hz
Weight
3.38 lb
1.53 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-1065G7
4C/8T, 1.30 → 3.90 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,088
Single Core
Geekbench 5
3,722
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Plus Graphics
64 Execution Units, 300 → 1100 MHz
Configurable up to
32GB
3733 MHz LPDDR4X
Surface Book 3 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3000
6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q
Released in Mid
2020
16:10 4K UHD+
17”
2400p 60Hz
Weight
4.65 lb
2.11 kg
Up to
Intel Core i9-10885H
8C/16T, 2.40 → 5.30 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,196
Single Core
Geekbench 5
6,788
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® UHD Graphics 630
24 Execution Units, 350 → 1250 MHz
Up to
64GB
2933 MHz DDR4
Dell XPS 17 9700 Ports
NVIDIA GeForce
RTX 2060
6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q

Comparison Summary

Surface Book 3 vs. Dell XPS 17 9700

Microsoft has released the Surface Book 3, a 13.5-inch machine, in 2020. It is powered by up to a quad-core Intel Core i7-1065G7 with a boost clock speed up to 3.90 GHz. The laptop has a dedicated GPU option up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 with 6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q.

On the other hand, we have the 17-inch XPS 17 9700 was introduced by Dell around the same year in mid-2020. It comes with up to an octa-core Intel Core i9-10885H with a boost clock speed up to 5.30 GHz. It has a dedicated GPU option up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 with 6GB GDDR6 with Max-Q.

Geekbench 5 Single Core

Surface Book 31
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G71,00283.78%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G71,08890.97%
Dell XPS 17 97001
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H1,06188.71%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10750H1,13494.82%
3
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10875H1,19299.67%
4
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10885H1,196100.00%
01,196

Geekbench 5 Multi Core

Surface Book 31
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-1035G73,69153.70%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G73,72254.15%
Dell XPS 17 97001
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-10300H3,74754.51%
2
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10750H5,41278.73%
3
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10875H6,874100.00%
4
10th Gen Intel® Core™ i9-10885H6,78898.75%
06,874

The Surface Book 3 has a 13.5-inch display which is considerably smaller than the 17-inch Dell XPS 17 9700. In addition, The Surface Book 3 weighs 3.38 lbs. about 37% lighter than the 4.65 lbs. Dell XPS 17 9700. Moreover, measured at 12.3” x 9.14” x 0.9”, the Surface Book 3 is considerably more portable than the Dell XPS 17 9700 at 14.74” x 9.76” x 0.77”.

Surface Book 3Dell XPS 17 9700

Moving over to upgradability, Microsoft claims that the Surface Book 3 supports up to 32GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4X memory. However, it has an onboard memory module that is not upgradable by the users.

For Dell XPS 17 9700, it supports up to 64GB 2933 MHz DDR4 memory. It also has two M.2 slots that users can easily swap or add an extra SSD to get extra space when needed.

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