Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus vs Dell XPS 13 9310 Comparison

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Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus

12.3 inches | January 2021

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Dell XPS 13 9310

13.4 inches | October 2020

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Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus vs Dell XPS 13 9310 Comparison Overview

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Dell XPS 13 9310

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Dell XPS 13 9310

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In this review, we will be comparing Surface Pro 7 Plus and XPS 13 9310, two laptops from Microsoft and Dell. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus was introduced to market in January 2021 and Dell XPS 13 9310 was launched in October 2020. There is only 3 months difference between Surface Pro 7 Plus and XPS 13 9310 so we are expecting this to be a fair comparison regarding age and technology level.

Click for Available Configurations of the Laptops

Here is a brief look at the main features of Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus and Dell XPS 13 9310 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus Key Specs

Launched in January 2021
12.3" TouchScreen - IPS LCD, 3:2 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i3 1115G4
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4
8GB Ram
292 x 201 x 8.5 mm (11.5 x 7.91 x 0.33 inches)
Weight: 0.77 kg (1.7 lbs)

Dell XPS 13 9310 Key Specs

Launched in October 2020
13.4" IPS LCD, 16:10 Aspect Ratio Display
CPU: Intel Core i3 1115G4
GPU: Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4
8GB Ram
296 x 199 x 15 mm (11.65 x 7.83 x 0.59 inches)
Weight: 1.2 kg (2.65 lbs)

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus was replaced by Microsoft-Surface-Pro-8. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Microsoft-Surface-Pro-8 vs Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus
Microsoft-Surface-Pro-8 vs Dell XPS 13 9310

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Surface Pro 7 Plus and XPS 13 9310 compares and decide which one is better for you.

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking through my links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Reasons to choose Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus over Dell XPS 13 9310

Weight	0.77 kg vs 1.20 kg	0.43 kg lighter
Screen PPI	267 ppi vs 169 ppi	More pixels per inch
Touch Screen	Yes vs No	Interact with your fingers
Screen Resolution	2736 x 1824 pixels vs 1920 x 1200 pixels	Higher pixel count screen
Dolby Atmos Speakers	Yes vs No	3D Surround Sound Support

Reasons to choose Dell XPS 13 9310 over Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus

Screen-to-Body Ratio	~88.4% vs ~76.7%	Larger screen area ratio
Side Bezel Thickness	3.7 mm vs 16.1 mm	12.4 mm thinner bezels
Display Size	13.4 inches vs 12.3 inches	Larger Screen Estate
Screen Type	Matte vs Glossy	potentially less reflections on screen
sRGB Color Space	100% vs 96.8%	Wider sRGB Color Space Coverage
Max Brightness	500 nits vs 400 nits	Brighter Screen
Charging Port Position	Left, Right vs Right	Flexible cable positions
Speaker Loudness	84.6 dB vs 75.2 dB	Generates higher sound levels
Bluetooth	v5.1 vs v5	More advanced Bluetooth connectivity
Fingerprint Sensor	Yes vs No	Easy login with fingerprint
Number of USB-C Ports	2x USB 3.1 vs 1x USB 3.1	Connect more device at the same time
Thunderbolt	v4 vs No	Support audio, data, power and video all through one single port

Common Strengths of Dell XPS 13 9310 and Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus

Fast Charging Support	Yes vs Yes	Charge the battery in a shorter time
USB Power Delivery	Yes vs Yes	Charging via USB port gives flexibility
RAM Type	PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x) vs PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)	Fast RAM type
Upgradable Storage	Yes vs Yes	Option to increase the Storage size
SSD Type	NVMe vs NVMe	Faster Data Transfers
Wi-Fi Standard	v6 vs v6	Fast and Reliable Wi-Fi Connections
VGA Output	No vs No	Connect to External Displays via VGA cable
Built-in SD Card Reader	Yes vs Yes	Read & Write SD Cards
Keyboard Backlight	Yes vs Yes	Easily see the keys under low light

Common Weaknesses of Dell XPS 13 9310 and Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus

Upgradable RAM	No vs No	No Option to increase the RAM size
HDMI Output	No vs No	Need an adapter to connect to HDMI displays

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus vs Dell XPS 13 9310: Physical Specs Comparison

In this section, we will be comparing the physical specifications and body features of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus and the Dell XPS 13 9310.

Physical Specs
Weight	0.77 kg (1.7 lbs)	1.2 kg (2.65 lbs)
Surface Area	587 cm2 (91 inches2)	589 cm2 (91.2 inches2)
Screen to Surface Ratio	~76.7%	~88.4%
Side Bezel Thickness	~16.1 mm	~3.7 mm
Weight per Inch of Screen	0.06 kg/inch	0.09 kg/inch
	0.132 lbs/inch	0.198 lbs/inch
Colors	Black, Silver	White, Black

Comparison of the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus and the Dell XPS 13 9310 External Dimensions

Weight

Surface Pro 7 Plus weighs 0.77 kg (1.7 lbs), whereas the XPS 13 9310 weighs 1.2 kg (2.65 lbs). There is a notable difference in weight between these two laptops. However, it's important to consider that comparing their weights directly may not provide a complete picture since they also have different display sizes.

Weight Comparison

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus 0.77 kg

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 1.11 kg

Dell XPS 13 9310 1.20 kg

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 1.22 kg

Thickness Comparison

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus 8.50 mm

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 14.24 mm

Dell XPS 13 9310 15.00 mm

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 15.38 mm

Another value that we use for comparing the weights of the laptops is the Weight per Inch of Screen, which is calculated by dividing the total weight of the model with its usable diagonal screen size. This value for the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus is 0.06 kg/inch.In comparison, this value for the Dell XPS 13 9310 is 0.09 kg/inch.Here are some of the best performing laptops in this area:

Microsoft Surface Go 4: 0.05 kg/inch
LG Gram SuperSlim 15.6 2023: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus ProArt PZ13 HT5306: 0.06 kg/inch
Asus Zenbook A14 UX3407: 0.06 kg/inch
Dell Latitude 7330: 0.07 kg/inch
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 2: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2022: 0.07 kg/inch
LG Gram 14 2-in-1 2022: 0.07 kg/inch

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus vs Dell XPS 13 9310: Internals (CPU, GPU, RAM, Battery, SSD, etc.) Comparison

CPU Comparison

CPU Model	Intel Core i3 1115G4 Intel Core i5 1135G7 Intel Core i7 1165G7	Intel Core i3 1115G4 Intel Core i5 1135G7 Intel Core i7 1165G7 Intel Core i7 1185G7 Intel Core i7 1195G7
Base Frequency	1.7-3.0 GHz	1.7-3.0 GHz
Turbo Frequency	4.1 GHz	4.1 GHz
Number of Cores	2	2
Number of Threads	4	4
L3 Cache	6 MB	6 MB
Integrated GPU	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4
CPU Fabrication Process	10 nm	10 nm
Geekbench 5 (Single)	1264	1264
Geekbench 5 (Multi)	2563	2563
Cinebench 23 (Single)	1330	1330
Cinebench 23 (Multi)	3144	3144

Above you can see the CPU options and the CineBench and GeekBench test scores for both laptops, which gives an idea about what kind of performance difference you may experience between the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus and Dell XPS 13 9310.

You may also read reviews of latest laptops with the same CPU ( Intel Core i3 1115G4 ) and compare them:

GPU Comparison

GPU Model	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4	Intel UHD Graphics Xe G4
Base Clock Frequency	300 MHz	300 MHz
Boost CLock Frequency	1100 MHz	1100 MHz
TGP (Total Graphics Power)	15 W	15 W
Type	Integrated	Integrated
FLOPS	844.8 GFLOPS	844.8 GFLOPS
Memory Size	System Shared	System Shared
Memory Type	System Shared	System Shared
Memory Bus	System Shared	System Shared
Memory Speed	System Shared	System Shared
Shading Units Cores	384	384
TMUs	24	24
ROPs	12	12

GPU is as critical as the CPU for graphic heavy applications and the table above gives a picture of how the two GPU compares. FLOPS is a measure of a GPU's performance based on the number of floating-point arithmetic calculations that the processor can perform within a second. Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus has a FLOPS value of 0.84 TFLOPS whereas the Dell XPS 13 9310 ' has a FLOPS value of 0.84 TFLOPS.

RAM Comparison

RAM	8GB 16GB 32GB	8GB 16GB 32GB
Memory Bus	2x4 GB	2x4 GB
RAM Clock	4267 MHz	4267 MHz
RAM Type	LPDDR4X	LPDDR4X
Upgradable	No	No
Memory Bus	PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)	PCI-E Gen 3.0 (4x)

Both laptops, the Surface Pro 7 Plus and the XPS 13 9310, come with similar RAM capacities of 8 GB, providing comparable performance in memory-intensive tasks.

LOCAL LLM Compatibility Evaluation

This quick guide shows what types of large language models (LLMs) each of these laptops could support, based on their respective hardware specifications. It's meant to help you compare their suitability for running AI models locally.

LLM Category	Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus	Dell XPS 13 9310
Small Models(1-3B):Examples: Phi-2, Qwen-1.8B	✔ Run smoothly.	✔ Run smoothly.
Medium Models(7-8B):Examples: Mistral-7B, Qwen-7B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Large Models(13-30B):Examples: Mixtral, Qwen-14B	✖ Not supported.	✖ Not supported.
Extra-Large Models(65B+):Examples: LLaMA2-70B, Qwen1.5-72B	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.	✖ Not supported on most systems. Requires high-end GPU or advanced setup.

Note: Optimized (e.g., 4-bit) models may run on limited hardware. Performance depends on runtime and setup.

📌 MoE Models: Some models like Mixtral 8x7B and Qwen3-30B-A3B use a Mixture of Experts (MoE) design, activating only part of the model during inference. This means they can often run efficiently on laptops with 12–16 GB of VRAM when quantized.

BATTERY

BATTERY	48.9 Wh	52 Wh
Battery Type	Li-Ion	Li-Ion
Replaceable	No	No
Fast Charging	No	No
USB Power Delivery	Yes	Yes
Charging Port Position	Right	Left, Right
Charge Power	65 W	45 W
Full Charging Time	1:40 hr	3:00 hr
AC Adapter Weight	255 gramm	218 gramm

On the other hand, the XPS 13 9310 features a higher battery capacity of 52 Wh, delivering longer usage time compared to the Surface Pro 7 Plus's 49 Wh.

Battery Comparison

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus 49 Wh

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 43.28 Wh

Dell XPS 13 9310 52 Wh

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 53.1 Wh

STORAGE
The XPS 13 9310 offers a larger max storage capacity of 2 TB, providing more room for storing files and data compared to the Surface Pro 7 Plus's storage capacity of 512 GB.

Storage Options	128 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB	256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB
Upgradable	Yes	Yes
Total Slots	1	1
Storage type	SSD (M2)	SSD (M2)
NVMe	Yes	Yes

If your budget allows, we recommend opting for the largest possible disk size, considering the potential increase in storage capacity needs in the future. However, please keep in mind the question 'What will the laptop be used for?' when making this decision. Of course, you can later upgrade the hard disk capacity by getting a larger disk. However, if your laptop has only one disk slot, it may not be as straightforward as a RAM upgrade, where you simply add or replace a module, as moving or cloning files to a new disk may be necessary.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus vs Dell XPS 13 9310: Display Comparison

The display is an essential aspect to consider when comparing the Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus and Dell XPS 13 9310 since its is the component that you interact the most and significantly impact the experience.

Screen Area and Dimensions

Now let's look at the comparison of the actual display areas of both laptops below, keeping the bezels around the screens out of the equation. Surface Pro 7 Plus has a display size of 12.3".On the other hand, XPS 13 9310 has a larger13.4" display.The total usable screen area of the Surface Pro 7 Plus is 451cm² / 70inch² whereas the XPS 13 9310's total usable screen area is 521cm² / 81inch².

PPI (Pixels per Inch)
Additionally, the Surface Pro 7 Plus features a higher pixel density with 267 pixels per inch (PPI), ensuring sharper image details.

Screen PPI (Pixels Per Inch) Comparison

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus 267 PPI

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 199 PPI

Dell XPS 13 9310 169 PPI

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 186 PPI

Refresh Rate
Both Surface Pro 7 Plus and XPS 13 9310 offer the same refresh rate of 60 Hz.

Both Surface Pro 7 Plus and XPS 13 9310 boast the same response time of 35.0 ms.

Brightness
The XPS 13 9310 offers a higher maximum brightness of 500 nits, delivering a brighter screen.

Brightness Comparison

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus 400 nits

Avg: 12.0-12.9" 370 nits

Dell XPS 13 9310 500 nits

Avg: 13.0-13.9" 438 nits

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 Plus vs Dell XPS 13 9310 Connectivity Comparison

In terms of connectivity,

Wifi
Both laptops offer the same Wi-Fi standard (v6), ensuring fast and reliable wireless connections.

Below, you'll find a Wi-Fi Versions Table, along with their release dates and speeds, to provide a brief overview of its development.

Wi-Fi Versions and Speeds

Standard	Speed	Release Date	Network	Frequency Bands (GHz)
Wi-Fi 7	up to 40 Gbps (5 GB/s)	2023	802.11be	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6E	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2020	802.11ax	2.4, 5, 6
Wi-Fi 6	up to 9.6 Gbps (1.2 GB/s)	2019	802.11ax	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 5	up to 6.93 Gbps (866.25 MB/s)	2014	802.11ac	2.4, 5
Wi-Fi 4	up to 600 Mbps (75 MB/s)	2009	802.11n	2.4, 5

* Please note that the provided transfer rates are maximum theoretical values, and real-life performance may vary based on environmental factors.

USB
Surface Pro 7 Plus is equipped with 1x USB 3.1 USB-A ports. XPS 13 9310 does not have USB-A ports.
Both Surface Pro 7 Plus and XPS 13 9310 have USB Type-C ports. Surface Pro 7 Plus has 1x USB 3.1 USB Type-C ports, while XPS 13 9310 has 2x USB 3.1 USB Type-C ports.

Below, you'll find a table of USB ports, along with their release dates and speeds.
To mitigate the confusion caused by generation names, the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) suggests using marketing names like USB 5Gbps, USB 10Gbps, and so forth, based on their respective transfer rates.

USB Type and Speeds

USB Type	Version	Speed	Date	Other Features/Explanations
USB4	Gen 4 (2.0)	80 Gbps	2022	Also known as USB 80Gbps
USB4	Gen 3×2	40 Gbps	2019	Also known as USB 40Gbps
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2x2	20 Gbps	2019	Double the data transfer rates of Gen 2
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.1
USB 3.2	3.2 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2017	Previously known as USB 3.0
USB 3.1	3.1 Gen 2	10 Gbps	2013	Faster data transfer rates
USB 3.0	3.1 Gen 1	5 Gbps	2010	SuperSpeed USB, improved data transfer rates
USB 2.0	2.0	480 Mbps	2000	High-speed data transfer
USB 1.0	1.0	1.5 Mbps	1996	Original USB standard

Thunderbolt
XPS 13 9310 is equipped with Thunderbolt 4 port. Surface Pro 7 Plus does not have Thunderbolt port.

HDMI
Neither Surface Pro 7 Plus nor XPS 13 9310 has an HDMI port for connecting to external monitors. Neither Surface Pro 7 Plus nor XPS 13 9310 has an HDMI port for connecting to external monitors.

Below, you'll find a comparison table detailing different HDMI versions, including their bandwidth, color depth, maximum resolution, and release dates. This information can be helpful in understanding the capabilities of each HDMI version and choosing the most suitable one for your needs.

HDMI Comparison Table

HDMI Version	Maximum Resolution	Bandwidth (Gbps)	Color Depth (bits)	Release Date
HDMI 2.1-2.1b	7680 x 4320 *(8K)* @ 60p 3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 120p	48.0	48	2017
HDMI 2.0-2.0b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 60p	18.0	48	2013
HDMI 1.4-1.4b	3840 x 2160 *(4K)* @ 30p	10.2	48	2009
HDMI 1.3-1.3a	2560 x 1440 @ 60p	10.2	48	2006
HDMI 1.0-1.2a	1920 x 1200 @ 60p	4.95	24	2002

* Please note that the provided resolution values represent the maximum supported resolution, and actual display quality may depend on other factors such as source content and connected devices.

SD Card Reader
Both Surface Pro 7 Plus and XPS 13 9310 come with an SD Card Reader for easy access to memory cards.

Audio Jack
Both Surface Pro 7 Plus and XPS 13 9310 are equipped with a 3.5mm Audio Jack, providing seamless connection to headphones and speakers.

To summarize the connectivity and ports details, please refer to the table below to see them listed.

Connectivity and Ports
WiFi Standard (latest: v7)	v6	v6
Bluetooth (latest: v5.4)	v5	v5.1
USB-A (latest: 3.2)	1x USB 3.1	No
USB Type-C (latest: USB4 2.0)	1x USB 3.1	2x USB 3.1
Thunderbolt (latest: 4)	No	Thunderbolt 4
HDMI (latest: 2.1)	No	No
Display Port (latest: v2.0)	No	No
VGA	No	No
Fingerprint Sensor	No	Yes
Optical Drive	No	No
Audio Jack 3.5mm	Yes	Yes
Ethernet RJ45	No	No
SD CardReader	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Charging Port	No	No