DELL XPS 15" 9550 upgrade from Macbook Pro 2012 15"

[Schmutz]

DELL XPS 15" 9550 upgrade from Macbook Pro 2012 15"

Hi, I'm looking to upgrade my Macbook Pro 2013 15" (256GB SSD/8GB RAM/i7/Retina). I love using OSX, but I like Windows 10 more and I've always preffered Windows.

I like the £1899 model - 1TB SSD/2GB 960M/16GB RAM/i7 6700HQ and the Infinity Edge display - 4K. Extremely good specifications. Seems to be a buyers market right now with great options. I am just seeking input from some other people in the same boat and with experience before I make a decision.

I'm also considering the Surface Book.

I seek to use it for multimedia production. Website design, FL Studio (music production Windows only), Adobe CS (Video Editing) and 3D modelling.

it's a brand new release - I would be disappointed if the value dropped sharply after I bought it because it would be quite an investment. From the specs, I would expect the performance would be significantly better too.

Do you think the Dell XPS 15" 9550 is the best investment at this time?

 

[glitchmaster0001]

surface books dont have much power to them. butt hey do make good portable laptop tablets

 

[jaguarskx]

I would not be too bothered with the "investment" side of your purchase because all laptops drop in value especially if it has been used and no longer under warranty. MacBooks generally hold their value better than Windows laptops because no one other than Apple makes MacBooks so there is little competition aside from older / new MacBooks with different specs.

Considering the 2013 MacBook Pro only uses a dual core i5 CPU and most likely relies on integrated graphics, you should see a pretty good performance increase especially with programs that can take advantage of more than 2 cores and the GTX 960m.

 

[jaguarskx]

The Surface Book is nice if you want a laptop that can also be used as a tablet for a brief period of time. The "clipboard" section of the Surface Book is only rated at up to 3 hours of use.

 

[Schmutz]

I would not be too bothered with the "investment" side of your purchase because all laptops drop in value especially if it has been used and no longer under warranty. MacBooks generally hold their value better than Windows laptops because no one other than Apple makes MacBooks so there is little competition aside from older / new MacBooks with different specs.

Considering the 2013 MacBook Pro only uses a dual core i5 CPU and most likely relies on integrated graphics, you should see a pretty good performance increase especially with programs that can take advantage of more than 2 cores and the GTX 960m.

Sorry it is 2012 Macbook I own, but it is an i7 model, with dedicated GPU. GPU info:

Chipset Model: NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M
Type: GPU
Bus: PCIe
PCIe Lane Width: x8
VRAM (Total): 1024 MB
Vendor: NVIDIA (0x10de)
Device ID: 0x0fd5
Revision ID: 0x00a2
ROM Revision: 3688
gMux Version: 3.2.19 [3.2.8]

What do you think? Good time to upgrade then?

 

[Schmutz]

I just checked again on the Dell website and the price is now £1699 and not £1899?

 

[jaguarskx]

The quad core i5-6300HQ is more powerful than the dual core i7 CPU in your Macbook Pro. The GTX 960m would be a significant increase in performance compared to the GT 650m. The GTX 960m's performance is between the GTX 675MX and the GTX 680m.

Due to the quad core CPU in the Dell you should expect less battery life. A 4k screen also consumes more power than a 1080p screen. I suspect the battery life on the 4K version will be around 90 minutes less than the 1080p version.

 

[Schmutz]

Thanks for your help. I'm suspicious that the price on the Dell website has dropped from £1899 to £1699? I was happy to buy at £1899 - it hasn't been released yet. What happened?

 

[jaguarskx]

Dunno... maybe out of stock due to the price drop.

 

[Schmutz]

Oh. The reason the price was £1699 and not £1899 was because I was on the Business Site (didnt notice). So yep the price is £1899.

Any opinions from people who have used the XPS 15", and others who have migrated from a Macbook Pro to a Windows 10 laptop?

 

[LadybugCrystal]

- Display
Unless you really really need the pixels and the higher color gamut , I strongly recommend the FullHD version for $500 less. Since it's gonna reduce the battery life quite tremendously. It's also VERY glossy, thanks to the Gorilla Glass that Dell put on it.
Spend that money into a nice desktop monitor that you can plug in whenever you get home, if you still need the pixels.

- Yes, the XPS 15 9550 is the perfect notebook if you don't mind paying a bit more compared to similar Windows notebook.

- The Surface Book is VERY expensive, even more expensive than MacBook Pros. If you don't use it as a digital clipboard often, you really don't want it.

 

[Schmutz]

- Display
Unless you really really need the pixels and the higher color gamut , I strongly recommend the FullHD version for $500 less. Since it's gonna reduce the battery life quite tremendously. It's also VERY glossy, thanks to the Gorilla Glass that Dell put on it.
Spend that money into a nice desktop monitor that you can plug in whenever you get home, if you still need the pixels.

- Yes, the XPS 15 9550 is the perfect notebook if you don't mind paying a bit more compared to similar Windows notebook.

- The Surface Book is VERY expensive, even more expensive than MacBook Pros. If you don't use it as a digital clipboard often, you really don't want it.

Thanks. I do want the 4K display, which also comes with touch. I definitely weigh that above extra battery life as I do a lot of photoshop, video editing, and 3D work - mostly when plugged in somewhere. If I can get around 5-6 hours of life from a charge I'm happy with that - that's what I get on my Macbook Pro 15". If it's going to be under 4 hours, then it would be a problem. Money wise, I'm not that fussed. It is a big investment for me but I want the best I can get under around £2K.

I think you convinced me to go with the XPS 9550 and avoid the surface book I was looking for a second opinion which matched what I was thinking.

 

[DrFyzziks]

The quad core i5-6300HQ is more powerful than the dual core i7 CPU in your Macbook Pro. The GTX 960m would be a significant increase in performance compared to the GT 650m. The GTX 960m's performance is between the GTX 675MX and the GTX 680m.

Just FYI: the 15" MacBook Pros have quad-core "HQ" i5 and i7 CPUs (with 45 watt TDP). Only the 13" MacBook Pros are dual-core.