Hi everyone,
I recently bought a refurbished Dell XPS 15 9520 from a professional seller in Germany (1-year warranty, 30-day return policy). Specs:
i7-12700H
64 GB RAM
1 TB SSD
Intel + NVIDIA graphics (RTX 3050)
Battery: 56 Wh (original config, not upgraded)
I’ve noticed the battery life is way below expectations. Here's what I tested:
Started at 100% battery at 13:12
Light use: YouTube, Prime Video, web browsing
At 15:18, I was at 51%
Started a Steam + game download (22 GB) (just download, not playing)
By 16:03, battery hit 5%
→ Total runtime: about 3 hours
I’ve already applied power-saving tweaks on Windows:
Set to best power efficiency
Disabled NVIDIA GPU for browser/media apps
Wi-Fi in power-save mode
Brightness around 50%
TLP/powertop considered for Linux
Battery report shows:
Design capacity: 54,891 mWh
Full charge capacity: 46,786 mWh (~15% wear)
This wear seems acceptable for a used device, but the battery life is just too short, even with light load. I was hoping for 5–6h minimum.
My options now are:
Ask the seller to replace the battery (possibly with the 86 Wh one)
Replace it myself (I'm willing if it's worth it)
Try Linux/Ubuntu to gain better runtime (but wear remains)
Return the laptop entirely
Questions:
Anyone using an XPS 15 9520 with either battery config? What’s your real-world battery life?
Is 3h normal for a 56 Wh battery with ~15% wear?
Would you recommend swapping in an 86 Wh? Any known issues with thermals or fit in this model?
Thanks in advance for any advice — especially if you’ve dealt with battery upgrades or dual-boot setups!
