Our test unit is equipped with a PCIe NVMe Lite-On CA3-8D256-Q11 (256 GB). Dell will not offer an entry-level device with a hard drive and SSD cache like the XPS 15 2017 9560 (7300HQ, Full-HD) in all regions this year. In the US, users can purchase a model with a 128-GB SSD plus a 1-TB HDD, a 256-GB PCIe SSD or a 1-TB SSHD as possible alternatives to larger SSD configurations with 512/1024/2048 GB.

The Lite-On cannot keep up with the Lite-On CX2 in the Dell XPS 15 9560 or the Aero 15, which is due to the lower 4K QD32 write/read speeds. When writing large blocks of data (Write 512), the Lite-On CA3 is also on the weak side, but not so during the Read 512.

The Toshiba SSD in the current XPS 13 (9370) can offer slightly better performance in some areas but has the same overall performance as the Lite-On CA3 in our test unit. In any case, the operating system boots very quickly and is extremely responsive as well. The previously mentioned PCMarks confirm our subjective impression.

If 256 GB is too small for you in the long run (184 GB available at purchase), you do NOT have the possibility of adding a SATA hard drive or a second PCIe SSD. The 97-Wh model does not offer a second M.2 slot nor space for a 2.5-inch hard drive (7 mm/0.27 in). If you downgrade the battery to a 56-Wh version later on, you should be able to fit in a 2.5-inch hard drive with the suitable caddy.

If you are looking for a model with two storage devices, you had better go for the 56-Wh version. This also includes a 2.5-inch SATA slot. Of course, you will have to trade in the good 15-hour runtimes for this option.

An issue with the SSD (ePSA error "Hard Drive - No NVMe Drive detected on PCI tag 00B8, Namespace ID 09") put a sudden end to our test. Fortunately, we had already done the tests and measurements that are relevant for our rating. The system had already frozen three times during testing and could only be reactivated by doing a hard reset (pressing the power button for a long time). This problem did not have an impact on our rating, however, we believe this is an issue specific to our test unit and does not apply to the entire series.