Surface Pro 9 5G vs. Dell XPS 17 9720: Full specs comparison

We have comprehensively analyzed the technical specifications for the Surface Pro 9 5G and Dell XPS 17 9720 models. Our report includes intricate details such as the CPU, memory, storage, battery life, display quality, and other features.

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Surface Pro 9 5G image

Surface Pro 9 5G

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Dell XPS 17 9720 image

Dell XPS 17 9720

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Surface Pro 9 5G Pros

Reasons that Surface Pro 9 5G is better than Dell XPS 17 9720.

About 60% lighter

Surface Pro 9 5G weighed 1.95 pounds, 60% lighter than the 4.79 pounds Dell XPS 17 9720.

WeightSurface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Pound
1.95 lbs.
4.79 lbs.
Kilogram
0.88 kg
2.17 kg

Dell XPS 17 9720 Pros

Reasons that Dell XPS 17 9720 is better than Surface Pro 9 5G.

Much faster CPU performance

Intel Core i7-12700H inside Dell XPS 17 9720 has a 147% better multi-core CPU performance score than the Microsoft SQ3 inside Surface Pro 9 5G.

Geekbench 5 multi-core score
Dell XPS 17 9720 - Intel Core i7-12700H
11,774
Dell XPS 17 9720 - Intel Core i5-12500H
9,293
Surface Pro 9 5G - Microsoft SQ3
4,760
Supports larger memory

Dell XPS 17 9720 supports a larger memory capacity than the Surface Pro 9 5G. It supports up to 64GB versus 16GB of system memory on the Surface Pro 9 5G.

Max system memory size
Dell XPS 17 9720
64 GB
Surface Pro 9 5G
16 GB
Supports faster memory

Dell XPS 17 9720 supports a faster memory speed than the Surface Pro 9 5G. It supports up to 4800MHz versus 4266MHz of system memory on the Surface Pro 9 5G.

Memory type and speed
Dell XPS 17 9720 - DDR5
4,800 MHz
Surface Pro 9 5G - LPDDR4X
4,266 MHz
Upgradable memory

Dell XPS 17 9720 comes with two SODIMM slots that allow you to replace or upgrade when needed. On the flip side, you can't upgrade RAM on the Surface Pro 9 5G since it has onboard memory.

MemorySurface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Slots
Onboard
x2
TypeLPDDR4XDDR5
Supports discrete graphics

Configurable up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 70W TGP vs. integrated

30% larger display

Dell XPS 17 9720 has a 17-inch screen size 30% larger than the 13-inch Surface Pro 9 5G.

Display size
Dell XPS 17 9720
17-inch
Surface Pro 9 5G
13-inch
Has one more port and slot

Dell XPS 17 9720 has more ports and slots count than the Surface Pro 9 5G. It has seven versus six amount of ports and slots on the Surface Pro 9 5G.

PortsSurface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
full-size SD card slotNoYes
headphone jackNoYes
lock slotNoYes
nanoSIM card slotYesNo
SSD slotYesNo
Surface ConnectYesNo
Surface Type CoverYesNo
Thunderbolt 4Yes x2Yes x4
Total67
More versatile connectivity

Dell XPS 17 9720 has better versatile I/O connectivity than the Surface Pro 9 5G. It has three versus one commonly used port and slot on the Surface Pro 9 5G.

PortsSurface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Thunderbolt 4YesYes
full-size SD card slotNoYes
headphone jackNoYes

Prices

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

Microsoft Surface Pro 9 Price
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (2022), 13" 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop, Thin & Lightweight, Intel 12th Gen i7 Fast Processor for Multi-Tasking, 16GB RAM, 256GB Storage with Windows 11, Sapphire Microsoft Copilot
 Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (2022), 13" 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop, Thin & Lightweight, Intel 12th Gen i7 Fast Processor for Multi-Tasking, 16GB RAM, 256GB Storage with Windows 11, Sapphire Microsoft Copilot
By Microsoft
$1,069.99
$1,599.99 33% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 13" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-16GB Memory - 256GB SSD Platinum
 Microsoft Surface Pro 9 13" Touch-Screen Intel Core i5-16GB Memory - 256GB SSD Platinum
By Microsoft
$960.99
$1,299.00 26% OFF
See at Amazon
Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (2022), 13" 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop, Thin & Lightweight, Intel 12th Gen i5 Fast Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage with Windows 11, Copilot, Graphite (Renewed)
 Microsoft Surface Pro 9 (2022), 13" 2-in-1 Tablet & Laptop, Thin & Lightweight, Intel 12th Gen i5 Fast Processor, 8GB RAM, 256GB Storage with Windows 11, Copilot, Graphite (Renewed)
By Microsoft
$659.59
$749.99 12% OFF
See at Amazon
Dell XPS 17 9720 12700H Price
Dell XPS 9720 Laptop PC 17 Inch UHD+ 3840 x 2400 Intel Core i7-12700H Processor, 32GB Ram, 1TB NVMe SSD, Thunderbolt, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, Webcam, Windows 11 Pro (Renewed)
 Dell XPS 9720 Laptop PC 17 Inch UHD+ 3840 x 2400 Intel Core i7-12700H Processor, 32GB Ram, 1TB NVMe SSD, Thunderbolt, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, Webcam, Windows 11 Pro (Renewed)
By Dell
$2,478.99
See at Amazon
Dell 2023 XPS 9720 17" UHD+ Touchscreen Laptop PC 12th Intel 14-Core i7-12700H NVIDIA RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 32GB DDR5 1TB NVMe SSD WiFi 6E 4xThunderbolt4 Backlit KB Fingerprint Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
 Dell 2023 XPS 9720 17" UHD+ Touchscreen Laptop PC 12th Intel 14-Core i7-12700H NVIDIA RTX 3060 6GB GDDR6 32GB DDR5 1TB NVMe SSD WiFi 6E 4xThunderbolt4 Backlit KB Fingerprint Windows 10 Pro (Renewed)
By Dell
$2,527.99
See at Amazon
Dell XPS 17 9720 17" UHD+ (3840 x 2400) Touchscreen Laptop - 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H 14-Core up to 4.70 GHz Processor, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, GeForce RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6, Windows 11 Pro
 Dell XPS 17 9720 17" UHD+ (3840 x 2400) Touchscreen Laptop - 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H 14-Core up to 4.70 GHz Processor, 64GB DDR5 RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, GeForce RTX 3050 4GB GDDR6, Windows 11 Pro
By Dell
$2,686.49
See at Amazon

Specs Comparison

Availability

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Released20222022
Release Date
  • Introduced: October 12, 2022
  • Pre-ordered: October 12, 2022
  • Released: October 25, 2022
Announced on March 3, 2022
PricingStarting at $2,999.99Windows 11 Home
  • $1,839
    i5-12500H, 8GB, 512GB, Intel UHD, FHD+ Non-touch
Windows 11 Pro
  • $1,899
    i5-12500H, 8GB, 512GB, Intel UHD, FHD+ Non-touch
  • $1,999
    i5-12500H, 16GB, 512GB, Intel Iris Xe, FHD+ Non-touch
  • $2,349 
    i7-12700H, 16GB, 512GB, RTX 3050, FHD+ Non-touch
  • $2,649
    i7-12700H, 16GB, 512GB, RTX 3050, 4K UHD+ Touch
Applicable Models
  • Surface Pro 9 with 5G
  • Surface Pro 9 SQ® 3
  • 2022 Dell XPS 17
  • Dell XPS 17 9720
  • Dell XPS 9720
Generations

Exterior

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Dimensions11.3” x 8.2” x 0.37” (287 mm x 208 mm x 9.3 mm)14.74” x 9.76” x 0.77” (374.45 x 248.05 x 19.5 mm)
Weight1.95 lb (883 g)
  • 4.79 lb (2.17 kg)
    Non-touch with 97Wh.
  • 5.67 lb (2.57 kg)
    Touch with 97Wh.
Colors
Platinum
Platinum Silver exterior Black interior
CNC machined aluminum in platinum silver with carbon fiber composite palm rest in black.
Keyboard and Trackpad
  • Not included.
  • Compatible with 
    Surface Pro Signature Keyboard Surface Pro X Keyboard
  • Type Cover Features:
    • Activation: Moving (mechanical) keys
    • Layout: QWERTY, full row of function keys (F1-F12)
    • 4 directional keys; Windows, Brightness and Media Controls Keys;
    • LED backlighting
  • Trackpad:
    • Precision glass trackpad.
    • Trackpad size: 4 x 2 inches (101.6 mm x 50.8 mm)
    • Supports a five-finger multitouch gesture.
  • Surface Slim Pen Storage
    • Magnetic dock
    • Automatically wireless charge Surface Slim Pen
  • Full size, backlit chiclet keyboard.
  • 5.91 x 3.50 in (150 mm x 89 mm) touchpad with multi-touch gesture support.

Display

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Size13 Inches17 Inches
Info
  • 13” PixelSense™ Flow Display
  • Resolution: 2880 x 1920
    5.53M Pixels.
  • Density: 267 PPI
  • Color profile: sRGB and Vivid
  • Dynamic refresh rate: up to 120Hz
  • Aspect ratio: 3:2
  • Contrast ratio: 1200:1
  • Touch: 10-point multi-touch
  • Brightness: 450 nits maximum (typical), 5 nits minimum
  • Gorilla® Glass 5
  • Adaptive Color
  • 17” FHD+ Nontouch
    1920 x 1200 133 PPI 500 nits 16:10 100% sRGB 1650:1 60Hz Dolby Vision™️ Eyesafe®️ Anti-glare WVA 5.06 W
  • 17” 4K UHD+ Touch
    3840 x 2400 266 PPI 500 nits 16:10 100% AdobeRGB 99% DCI-P3 1600:1 60Hz DisplayHDR™️ 400 Dolby Vision™️ Eyesafe®️ Anti-reflective Anti-smudge WVA 13.73 W

Ports

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Left (2)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
Right (1)
  • 1 x Surface Connect
    Charging, Docking
Bottom (1)
  • 1 x Surface Type Cover
Under Kickstand (2)
  • 1 x nanoSIM card slot
  • 1 x SSD slot
    M.2 2230 NVMe slot
Dell XPS 17 9720 Ports
Image Source: Dell
Left (3)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x lock slot
Right (4)
  • 2 x Thunderbolt 4
    40 Gpbs, USB 4.0 (40 Gbps), DisplayPort, Power Delivery
  • 1 x full-size SD card slot
    v6.0
  • 1 x headphone jack
    Headphone/Microphone

Internal Specs

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Processor
  1. Microsoft® SQ3™ with Neural Processing Unit
    8 cores, 8 threads, 3.00 GHz, 8MB Cache, 7W
  1. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12500H
    12 cores, 16 threads, 2.50 → 4.50 GHz, 18MB SmartCache, 45W
  2. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700H
    14 cores, 20 threads, 2.30 → 4.70 GHz, 24MB SmartCache, 45W
Integrated Graphics
  1. Microsoft® SQ3™ with Neural Processing Unit
    Microsoft® SQ3™ Adreno™ 8cx Gen 3 GPU
    N/A,
  1. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i5-12500H
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    80 Execution Units, 400 → 1300 MHz
  2. 12th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-12700H
    Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    96 Execution Units, 400 → 1400 MHz
Memory
8GB 16GB
4266 MHz LPDDR4X RAM
4 GB 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB 64 GB
4800 MHz Dual-channel DDR5 RAM.
2 x SODIMM slots.
Discrete Graphics-
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3050
    Ampere Architecture 4GB GDDR6 128-bit 2304 CUDA Cores 60W
  • NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060
    Ampere Architecture 6GB GDDR6 192-bit 3584 CUDA Cores 70W
Storage
128GB 256GB 512GB 1TB
Removable SSD.
256 GB 512 GB 1 TB 2TB 4TB 8TB
  PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe SSD.
Up to 64Gbps.
  • Storage slots: 2 x M.2 2230/2280 slots.
Fans Number--

Connectivity

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Wi-FiWi-Fi 6E: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax compatible.Intel Killer 1675 (AX211)
Onboard Dual Band 2.4GHz/5GHz Up to 2400 Mbps WiFi 6 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax
BluetoothBluetooth Wireless 5.1 technologyBluetooth 5.2
Wireless WAN
  • Location: GPS, Glonass, Galileo, and Beidou Support
  • NanoSIM and eSIM support
  • Supports 5G
-

Battery

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Size
  • 47.7 Wh
    Nominal battery capacity.
  • 46.5 Wh
    Minimum battery capacity.
97 Wh
6-cell "smart" lithium-ion.
Battery LifeUp to 19 hours of typical device usage-
Power Supply
  • 39W power supply
  • Supports Fast Charge (0-60% in about one hour)
130 W USB Type-C power adapter
Power rated at 5VDC/1A, 20VDC/6.5A.

Software

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
OSConsumer models
  • Windows 11 Home on ARM
Business models
  • Windows 11 Pro on ARM
Windows 11
Home Pro Pro National Academic
Built-in Apps
  • Preloaded Microsoft 365 Apps
  • Microsoft 365 Family 30-day trial
  • Preloaded Xbox app
  • Xbox Game Pass Ultimate one-month trial
  • Microsoft Office 30-days trial
  • McAfee LiveSafe™ 12 Month Subscription

Camera & Audio

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Camera
  • Windows Hello face authentication camera (front-facing)
  • 5.0MP front-facing camera with 1080p Skype HD video
  • 10.0MP rear-facing autofocus camera with 1080p full HD and 4K 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
  • 2W stereo speakers
  • Realtek ALC711-CG Audio Controller
  • Realtek ALC1319D Amplifier
  • Studio quality tuning with Waves MaxxAudio® Pro and Waves Nx® 3D audio
  • Quad-speaker design with 2.5W x2 woofers and 2.5W x2 tweeters = 10W total peak output
  • Dual microphone array optimized with Waves MaxxVoice supporting VoIP - Microsoft Cortana capable

Misc

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
Inking
  • Designed for Surface Slim Pen 2
  • Supports Microsoft Pen Protocol (MPP)
    4096 levels of pressure Tilt sensing Best in class latency Paper feel 0.1mm precision magnetic storage
  • Supports Tactile signals with Surface Slim Pen 2
  • The integrated storage and wireless charging for Surface Slim Pen 2 with Surface Pro Signature Keyboard
-
Sensors
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Gyroscope
  • Magnetometer
  • Ambient Color Sensor (brightness and color)
  • Ambient light sensor
  • Windows Hello compliant fingerprint reader in the power button
  • IR Camera
Security
  • Enhanced security with Microsoft Pluton
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Windows 11 Secured-core PC
  • Windows Hello with Fingerprint Sign in
  • Enterprise-grade protection with Windows Hello face sign-in
  • Wedge-shaped lock
In the box
  • Surface Pro 9 SQ3 with 5G
  • Power supply
  • Quick Start Guide
  • Safety and warranty documents
  • SIM Card access tool
-
Warranty1-year limited hardware warranty1 Year ProSupport with Next Business Day Onsite Service

Key Features

Surface Pro 9 5GDell XPS 17 9720
At Glance
Released in Late
2022
3:2 2.8K
13”
1920p 60~120Hz
Weight
1.95 lb
0.88 kg
Powered By
Microsoft SQ3
8C/8T, 3.00 GHz
Geekbench 5
978
Single Core
Geekbench 5
4,760
Multi-Core
With integrated
Microsoft® SQ3™ Adreno™ 8cx Gen 3 GPU
N/A
Configurable up to
16GB
4266 MHz LPDDR4X
Starting at
$1,299.99
i5, 8GB, 128GB, Win 11 Home for ARM
Up to
19 hours
Battery life for typical device usage.
Released in Early
2022
16:10 4K UHD+
17”
2400p 60Hz
Weight
4.79 lb
2.17 kg
Up to
Intel Core i7-12700H
14C/20T, 2.30 → 4.70 GHz
Geekbench 5
1,658
Single Core
Geekbench 5
11,774
Multi-Core
With integrated
Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
96 Execution Units, 400 → 1400 MHz
Upgradable up to
64GB
4800 MHz DDR5
Dell XPS 17 9720 Ports
Nvidia GeForce
RTX 3060
6GB GDDR6 70W TGP
Starting at
$1,839
i5-12500H, 8GB, 512GB
Built-in
97Wh
Large Battery
Built-in
Facial Recognition
Built-in
Fingerprint Reader
Featuring
Waves Nx® 3D
2 Woofers + 2 Tweeters
Advanced Thermal Design
Vapor Chamber
Cooling System
Supports
Dell Power Manager
Controls fan, battery life, & performance

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