First, please be aware that Amazon often mixes reviews for various optional models on a single item’s page. That is the case with the reviews here.THIS review is specifically for the DELL XPS 9700 17-inch Ultra High-Definition+ Touch Screen laptop with the 1Tb NVMe hard drive, the 6-cell (97 Watt-Hour) battery, the 130-Watt rapid charger, 10th Generation Intel Core i9-10885H processor, 32 Gb RAM, Qualcomm Killer AX500s DBS Wi-Fi module, Bluetooth 5.2, and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 video graphics processor with 6Gb dedicated memory to supplement the built-in Intel UHD Graphics 630 CPU based graphics.This is, by all measures, a top-of-the-line powerful, capable, and stylish laptop with excellent battery life, fast charging, and an amazingly sharp and bright display. Despite its slim and sleek profile, it is a workhorse with an amazingly large 17” screen in a package just a half inch deeper than my old HP 15.4-inch laptop and much thinner and lighter. Open, it has a handsome “carbon fiber” look keyboard platform, a huge touch-pad, and that stunning wide-viewing-angle 3840 X 2400 9.2 Megapixel screen with a minuscule .0954mm pixel pitch. Closed, it is all metal on the outside.As I began to put it through its various usability tests, I found that the laptop was, as expected, amazingly fast and responsive. Cold boot times are on the order of 20-25 seconds from opening the lid (if using facial recognition sign on) and wake-up from sleep averages 7-9 seconds.I configure the laptop to use three different sign-on schemes, PIN, fingerprint reader, and facial recognition. As expected, PIN works flawlessly every time but if it is a number only PIN, the lack of a dedicated number pad on the keyboard slows entry somewhat. Dell could perhaps have chosen to narrow the keys and relocate the two stereo speakers that flank the keyboard thereby gaining enough space for a number pad, but it would have required that the keyboard be compact instead of the comfortably large standard-size keys that are a joy to type on.After configuring the fingerprint reader, it too flawlessly recognized my fingerprint quickly and reliably every time and rejected all other attempts at using the wrong fingerprint. It is, in this application a viable security method in my opinion. Lastly, I engaged the facial recognition feature of sign-in. This means that you will need to allow camera operation, so the typical piece of tape over the camera practiced by paranoid users will defeat this function. It is, by far, the fastest and easiest of the sign-in options and, like the fingerprint reader, accurate and reliable. I did a little testing whether it could be fooled by a good picture or a selfie on a large tablet, and it did not respond to those “hacks”, but like any security system, I’m sure it can be defeated with enough effort. Still, it worked perfectly for me scores of times using my actual face.Once all the Windows set-up questions were completed, I began installing various programs and applications for my use. Since, like most modern “slim” laptops, this computer lacks a CD / DVD drive, I had to employ an external one to load some of my older applications. The laptop comes with a pair of USB 3.2 Gen 2, DisplayPort 1.4 (supporting up to HBR2), Thunderbolt 3 ports on each side, and using a USB C to USB A adapter, my old external drive was immediately recognized.The XPS 17 came with some Dell applications pre-installed. Some may consider them as “bloat-ware,” although I found many of them useful. Dell’s Support Assistant, for instance, keeps drivers up to date and performs a “tune-up” on demand. Similarly, Dell Power Manager is very useful for customizing battery life. I recommend giving them a chance and deciding which ones are useful for you and removing the rest later.During extensive use testing, I ran up against some limitations of the included Windows 10 Home operating system. Therefore, after a few weeks, I upgraded the OS to Windows 10 Pro using a complete reformat and clean install. This required that I re-visit the Dell support site and re-install some of the more useful Dell utilities and features, but I found the process to be smooth and trouble free. Once win 10 Pro was installed, I began to work the computer in earnest.If you use very processor-intensive applications the two internal fans will spool up and can be somewhat noisy, but during typical use they rarely engage. During high resolution gaming, expect the fans to run continuously at varying speeds. Temperature control seems adequate to keep the outside of the laptop comfortably cool. For a slim laptop, the built-in speakers and two rear “subwoofer” ports provide remarkably good sound. The built-in sound card can drive a full multi-channel setup given the right external adapter and speakers.The lack of a LAN port (RJ-45) was almost always compensated by the very capable and strong Wi-Fi adapter that connected almost instantly to either of my two home wireless networks whenever the computer was awakened. But, in the interest of running some file transfer tests across my LAN, to and from my NAS servers, I acquired an Anker 11-in-1 USB 3 hub that allows for a wired Ethernet connection (among many other options).Using the Anker hub, and running many hours of tests, I discovered that the laptop’s built-in USB 3.2 ports can handle virtually any challenge at top speed. Not once did the laptop limit transfer speeds. Rather, the limits of the Gigabit LAN or the hardware of the various external drives I used determined maximum speeds. Additionally, the hub allowed me to use two external 1080p monitors, and although the ports are rated up to 4K, unfortunately I did not have any displays to test that with. The laptop easily supports external displays in “duplicate” or “extended desktop” modes.Next, I ran the laptop on battery power alone during a routine day of authoring and browsing and emailing via the Wi-Fi connection. Battery life was exceptional despite purposely running the display at higher than recommended brightness. After nearly 7 hours of work with few interruptions the battery meter still read around 18%. Using the supplied 130-Watt charger, it recovered the full charge in just under two hours, which makes this one of the most portable and usable field machines I have ever used. My vehicle, which has a 110V outlet in the console and a built-in Wi-Fi hotspot make for an exceptionally productive mobile office using this computer.When you first get started with this high-end laptop, you will undoubtedly find that some of the functions do not perform exactly the way you want them to. One of the most important is how the touch-pad responds to your touch. I need to say, unequivocally, that THIS laptop is NOT the one so many reviewers have panned for its touch-pad issues. First, there are many settings that can be applied to customize the touch-pad sensitivity, response, and functions. This touch-pad is glorious to use. It is big enough to allow for incredible pointing detail and can easily be set to move the cursor fully across the screen with a single swipe. It makes “Click and Drag” functions fast and simple. The touch-pad is rock solid, doesn’t move in its frame, is silent, and bulls-eye accurate. All the multiple finger gestures are supported and customizable. It works so well that I hardly, if ever, resort to the touch screen. There is, of course, an option to add an external mouse, and even a setting that allows you to have the built-in touch pad turn off when you connect the mouse so you can use the panel as a wrist rest without inadvertently moving the cursor.If, while you are using this laptop, you find one of its functions annoying or imperfect, it’s my belief that buried somewhere in Windows or a Dell app, there’s a setting for it that will allow you to fine tune it to your liking. You just may have to hunt for it.This is an ideal, fast, beautiful business / graphics laptop that will work at lightning speed to get your jobs done. It’s a high-rez, clear-screen gamer with a very fast and capable NVIDIA graphics adapter. It’s a looker, and easy to carry, charge, and use. Information storage and retrieval is virtually instant due to the fast i9 CPU and the extremely fast and huge NVMe drive. It is fast booting and runs most apps at blazing speeds.But, I do have a few quibbles to comment on perhaps to prove that nothing is perfect.First, for me, it’s a shame that such a powerful laptop comes with Win 10 Home, not Win 10 Pro. Since it is such a strong business machine, I would expect that it will be used in a domain environment. Win 10 Home does not support domains, nor do they allow remote access. You have to upgrade to Pro for $99 retail to fix that.Next, there is an included USB 3 adapter to hook an external display and any standard USB-A cabled accessory, but it does not have a LAN port. Again, in business , you may want to hook to a wired network for internal security, and that requires a third party adapter. Both adapters I did try to use for this worked flawlessly and at full LAN speeds though.The camera is weak. It only supports 1280 by 720 resolution, which given the exceptional graphics screen on this machine, is inadequate. It does work just fine for conferencing though.Ergonomically, three things strike me as negatives. One, the case is actually hard to open, as it has no real grip point on the front to swing open the screen and it is stiff to open. Maybe it will loosen with time. Second, you cannot fold this back to use it as a tablet, despite the touch screen. To me, that is truly minor, but others may feel it is more important. Third, the front edge of the body where one naturally rests one’s hand when using the touch-pad is not rounded in any way. It is a sharply defined edge that eventually irritates the heel of your hand after hours of use. I started using an external mouse when I intended to work long hours on it.Lastly, the computer comes with some “bloat-ware.” Some is from Microsoft, some is from Dell. Some of the included apps are actually useful, but I found some to be just a waste of storage space. Your needs may dictate that you will have to systematically remove some of these apps.In conclusion, this is a fabulous high-end laptop. Comparing it to my brother’s premium Macbook Pro, it is very similar in performance and yet is considerably less expensive than the Mac. It is backed by what I consider to be an industry leader in support and service and backed by a very extensive support website. It never crashed, faltered, or failed to run anything I tasked it with. It has industry leading battery life and recharge times, and is satisfyingly fast.As well as it performed, there is no way that my few negative points could add up to detract even a half a star from my unequivocal 5-star rating. If you need a monster laptop in a demure package with an all-day battery, this is your machine.