The XPS 13 has been going sturdy in its present iteration for 9 years, setting the usual for thin-and-light Windows laptops that’s been imitated and iterated ever since. Today, Dell is promoting final yr’s mannequin with a Twelfth-gen Core i5 processor for just $599. That’s $400 off for this base mannequin laptop computer.

Six hundred bucks will get you the 9315 model of the XPS 13, notably lacking the touch-sensitive perform row of the XPS Plus designs (which have been incorporated into the non-plus models as of late). The lack of those considerably finicky buttons may truly be a Plus for you. A considerably pokey 8GB of DDR5 RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage increase a 13.4-inch, 1920×1200 display within the base model. This mannequin doesn’t use a touchscreen, although its 500-nit score is unusually vivid.

You’ll get a USB-C port on each side, however take observe that the laptop computer doesn’t embrace a headphone jack, so you’ll need a USB-C dock or adapter for lots of exterior {hardware}. In his review of the 9315 model, PCWorld’s Matt Elliott noticed that whereas the laptop computer is as modern because it ever was, it’s considerably missing in pure efficiency, and its lid is difficult to elevate with one hand.

For my cash, I’d go for a mild improve choice: a $200 upsell that will get you a Core i7 processor, expands the RAM to a way more roomy 16GB, and doubles storage to 512GB. You can double each of these once more (32GB and 1TB), bringing the full value to $999, however sadly the snazzy Umber (learn: darkish gray) coloration choice is just out there on the $599 mannequin.

Get a Dell XPS 13 for just $599 at Dell.com