Dell XPS 15 vs. Inspiron 15 7000 Series

[BewareTheMugwump]

Hi Everybody.

I have my laptop choice narrowed down to these two Dells:

New XPS 15
i7-6700HQ 2.6/3.5
16gb ddr4
512 ssd
GeForce 960M 2gb
15.6" UHD 4K Touch
84 Wh 6-cell
4.4 lbs, 357 by 235 by 17 mm
$2,100

or

New Inspiron 7000 series:
i7-6700HQ 2.6/3.5
16gb ddr3l
128 ssd + 1TB hdd
GeForce 960M 4gb
15.6" UHD 4K Touch
74 Wh 6-cell
6 lbs, 383 by 265 by 25 mm
$1,300

As far as I can tell, these are very similar systems. Either would meet my needs pretty well. It will be my primary computer used for all applications. That means some gaming (I only game occasionally, but I want something that can keep up when I have my little obsessions), lots of multimedia, occasionally some pretty intensive audio editing. Portability is important, but the system I've used for years is pretty big and heavy, so I'm sort of used to that.

As far as I can tell, either of these machines will meet my needs nicely. But I'm trying to decide whether I want to stretch my budget by $800 to afford the XPS, and I'm trying to figure out what exactly that extra $800 gets me.

Obviously the XPS is much lighter, smaller, and sexier. And just generally cooler. But is that all I'm getting? Is this really just $800 extra for a status symbol? Or am I overlooking some more substantive differences? I can--just barely--afford the XPS, but do you think it's worth it?

I appreciate any insight you all my have. Thanks!

 

[droyjul]

I would get the Dell Inspiron since it is much cheaper. But I would also consider looking at the Asus ROG g501JW as you get 16gb ram, i7(2.6/3.6GHz), a 4k matte display, and a 960M at 4gb. You could also look at the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro as that has a 970M but the battery on that is not so good. The Asus is closer in price to the Dell Inspiron.

I am not sure about the new dell Xps 15 as the webcam is at the bottom and not the top. And I like Laptops to be fully functional as possible.

 

[BewareTheMugwump]

I would get the Dell Inspiron since it is much cheaper. But I would also consider looking at the Asus ROG g501JW as you get 16gb ram, i7(2.6/3.6GHz), a 4k matte display, and a 960M at 4gb. You could also look at the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro as that has a 970M but the battery on that is not so good. The Asus is closer in price to the Dell Inspiron.

I am not sure about the new dell Xps 15 as the webcam is at the bottom and not the top. And I like Laptops to be fully functional as possible.

Thanks for the reply. I'll check out those other systems, but at first glance it looks like they both have 4th-gen processors. I've only really been considering Skylake stuff so far. Maybe this isn't the right thread for this question, but am I wrong to limit myself in that way?

 

[jaguarskx]

You should be getting a much higher quality IPS screen with the Dell XPS 15 since that is their premium line of laptop, however, we would need to wait for reviews of the 4k resolution screen version to determine that. You get a much lighter laptop that is also a bit smaller as well so some of that extra $800 covers the additional engineering and materials used by the Dell XPS 15 which should also have higher build quality since it is Dell's premium line.

Since the Dell XPS 15 is sexier looking than the Dell Inspiron 15 you can expect it to have a better profit margin for Dell; meaning Dell charges a premium for a premium product. A simple analogy would be like comparing a Chevy Camero to a Chevy Corvette... both can get you from point A to point B, but if money was no object which car would you rather have?

 

[BewareTheMugwump]

You should be getting a much higher quality IPS screen with the Dell XPS 15 since that is their premium line of laptop, however, we would need to wait for reviews of the 4k resolution screen version to determine that. You get a much lighter laptop that is also a bit smaller as well so some of that extra $800 covers the additional engineering and materials used by the Dell XPS 15 which should also have higher build quality since it is Dell's premium line.

Since the Dell XPS 15 is sexier looking than the Dell Inspiron 15 you can expect it to have a better profit margin for Dell; meaning Dell charges a premium for a premium product. A simple analogy would be like comparing a Chevy Camero to a Chevy Corvette... both can get you from point A to point B, but if money was no object which car would you rather have?

Thanks for a great answer. I guess that's what I was asking this community: Which car would *you* rather have? droyjul picks the Camaro; it sounds like you're saying you'd stretch for the Corvette. Me, I'm still on the fence. It's not quite right to say money is no object. It's a sacrifice, I'm just trying to decide if it's a worthy one. Anyone else want to cast a vote?

 

[Cygnus_7]

You should be getting a much higher quality IPS screen with the Dell XPS 15 since that is their premium line of laptop, however, we would need to wait for reviews of the 4k resolution screen version to determine that. You get a much lighter laptop that is also a bit smaller as well so some of that extra $800 covers the additional engineering and materials used by the Dell XPS 15 which should also have higher build quality since it is Dell's premium line.

Since the Dell XPS 15 is sexier looking than the Dell Inspiron 15 you can expect it to have a better profit margin for Dell; meaning Dell charges a premium for a premium product. A simple analogy would be like comparing a Chevy Camero to a Chevy Corvette... both can get you from point A to point B, but if money was no object which car would you rather have?

Thanks for a great answer. I guess that's what I was asking this community: Which car would *you* rather have? droyjul picks the Camaro; it sounds like you're saying you'd stretch for the Corvette. Me, I'm still on the fence. It's not quite right to say money is no object. It's a sacrifice, I'm just trying to decide if it's a worthy one. Anyone else want to cast a vote?

Did you finally buy either of the 2 options listed above?

I am in the same situation right now. My past 2 laptops were XPS 15 (M1530 and L502X). I would like to buy an XPS but with a price diff of $800 for Inspiron vs $1600 XPS 15, I am having a hard time deciding. Also, I am not a big fan of thin laptops. For some reason XPS 15 looks too fragile for my usage.

 

[BewareTheMugwump]

You should be getting a much higher quality IPS screen with the Dell XPS 15 since that is their premium line of laptop, however, we would need to wait for reviews of the 4k resolution screen version to determine that. You get a much lighter laptop that is also a bit smaller as well so some of that extra $800 covers the additional engineering and materials used by the Dell XPS 15 which should also have higher build quality since it is Dell's premium line.

Since the Dell XPS 15 is sexier looking than the Dell Inspiron 15 you can expect it to have a better profit margin for Dell; meaning Dell charges a premium for a premium product. A simple analogy would be like comparing a Chevy Camero to a Chevy Corvette... both can get you from point A to point B, but if money was no object which car would you rather have?

Thanks for a great answer. I guess that's what I was asking this community: Which car would *you* rather have? droyjul picks the Camaro; it sounds like you're saying you'd stretch for the Corvette. Me, I'm still on the fence. It's not quite right to say money is no object. It's a sacrifice, I'm just trying to decide if it's a worthy one. Anyone else want to cast a vote?

Did you finally buy either of the 2 options listed above?

I am in the same situation right now. My past 2 laptops were XPS 15 (M1530 and L502X). I would like to buy an XPS but with a price diff of $800 for Inspiron vs $1600 XPS 15, I am having a hard time deciding. Also, I am not a big fan of thin laptops. For some reason XPS 15 looks too fragile for my usage.

I decided to spring for the XPS. I've ordered it, but it hasn't arrived yet. It'll come later this week, hopefully. I did end up opting for the smallest SSD option to save a few bucks. I could've had the 1TB mechanical plus the 128GB SSD on the 7559, but I wound up with just a 256GB SSD on the cheapest i7 version of the XPS 15. That's enough for me.

I think it was the build quality that finally convinced me to go for the XPS. Not that I know for sure that the 7559 wouldn't be well built, but I wasn't able to get any very clear answers to those questions. For example, I think the chassis and cover of the 7559 are metal, covered in some kind of rubbery coating, but when I asked Dell about that, the rep replied (via IM), "It has premium chassis materials like aluminum." That answer was a little vague for me, but I didn't press the issue. There are a couple of amateur YouTube reviews of the 7559, but it was hard for me to get a sense of the physical reality of the laptop from them. Then I went down to Best Buy to look for some comparable models so I could have something to wrap my head around. They didn't have the new 7000 series, only last year's 7000. So that's apples and oranges, I know, but still the build of last year's 7000 didn't inspire confidence. Maybe if they'd had a new 7559 for me to test drive, I would have made a different decision. But they did have the new XPS 15, and I gotta tell you, it's pretty awesome. If you can get your hands on one, I have a feeling you won't be too put off by the thinness. It seems pretty sturdy to me.

But I'll know more when I get mine later this week.

And thanks again to everyone here who replied.

 

[KP2015]

Can you let me know your thoughts one month down the line.
I have the same dilemma and your help is very much appreciated.

Thank you very much.

 

[BewareTheMugwump]

Can you let me know your thoughts one month down the line.
I have the same dilemma and your help is very much appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Sure. I have been entirely satisfied, and I think I made the right choice. The XPS runs like a dream. It's the perfect size and weight. The screen is beautiful, and the overall design is elegant and seems rugged enough. I plan to be careful with it, but it doesn't seem flimsy in any way. I hear the fan whine a little sometimes, but it doesn't bother me. Battery life is good. I can't say I've really put it through its paces yet, in the sense that I haven't had time to install any good games. But it has made short work of anything I've tried to do.

The only complaints I have are that one time it didn't shut down properly when I closed the lid, so it stayed on in my bag, got quite hot, and drained the battery. Still not totally sure what caused that, but I tweaked the shutdown settings and haven't had the problem again. Also, I bought an external blu-ray drive, but I can't get the PC to recognize it. So that's a puzzle for me to solve, but I'm sure I'll figure it out if I keep at it. I probably would be having the same problem with the 7559.

Of course I can't give you a point by point comparison because I still don't know what the Inspiron is really like, but I can say I'm not disappointed in the XPS at all. Regarding the extra money I spent, I can see it in the screen, the quality of the materials, and the sleek design. I've chosen to believe that it was a worthy investment. I'm not kidding myself about this: I splurged on the fancier computer when I'm sure I could have gotten along fine with the cheaper one. But I always would have wondered what I was missing out on.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

dan

 

[frugalpov]

Can you let me know your thoughts one month down the line.
I have the same dilemma and your help is very much appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Sure. I have been entirely satisfied, and I think I made the right choice. The XPS runs like a dream. It's the perfect size and weight. The screen is beautiful, and the overall design is elegant and seems rugged enough. I plan to be careful with it, but it doesn't seem flimsy in any way. I hear the fan whine a little sometimes, but it doesn't bother me. Battery life is good. I can't say I've really put it through its paces yet, in the sense that I haven't had time to install any good games. But it has made short work of anything I've tried to do.

The only complaints I have are that one time it didn't shut down properly when I closed the lid, so it stayed on in my bag, got quite hot, and drained the battery. Still not totally sure what caused that, but I tweaked the shutdown settings and haven't had the problem again. Also, I bought an external blu-ray drive, but I can't get the PC to recognize it. So that's a puzzle for me to solve, but I'm sure I'll figure it out if I keep at it. I probably would be having the same problem with the 7559.

Of course I can't give you a point by point comparison because I still don't know what the Inspiron is really like, but I can say I'm not disappointed in the XPS at all. Regarding the extra money I spent, I can see it in the screen, the quality of the materials, and the sleek design. I've chosen to believe that it was a worthy investment. I'm not kidding myself about this: I splurged on the fancier computer when I'm sure I could have gotten along fine with the cheaper one. But I always would have wondered what I was missing out on.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

dan

Any games installed another month down the line? I'd love to know if heat is an issue while gaming.
Thanks!

 

[jk_lah]

I see the author has left your question unanswered. lol! I'll contribute... my specs:

i5-6300HQ 2.3/3.2
32gb ddr4
32 ssd + 1TB HDD
GeForce 960M 2gb
1080p non Touch
56 Wh 3-cell
4.4 lbs
$1, 249.99 ( + $120 for HyperX Ram upgrade)

I've owned this laptop for a month now.

Overall very pleased with my purchase. I decided against the fancy 4k because it adds $500 to the price tag, also... I don't need a SSD; I need more RAM because I run a lot of VMs and code + game.... thus I went for the cheaper option + upgraded my RAM.

- I game quite a bit. I get ~110 FPS for high settings in CSGO competitive, ~40 FPS for Tomb Raider 2013 on high settings, and ~40 FPS for High in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege 2015.

- Battery performance is good if you're not gaming (4-5 hours for VM code work). If you're gaming, you should plug in or the system will default to intel graphics card to conserve energy. I've not found a way to change this default settings yet, but I'm sure there is a way (I did it before in my old laptop).

- The entire experience with the XPS has been premium. From unboxing to handling like a butter. It handles whatever I throw at it... It auto-reset twice when I first got it, but I'm familiar with the gripes of windows 10 and immediately updated all drivers + instructed windows not to autoupdate my drivers. It's a W10 issue.

 

[DJ_99]

I see the author has left your question unanswered. lol! I'll contribute... my specs:

i5-6300HQ 2.3/3.2
32gb ddr4
32 ssd + 1TB HDD
GeForce 960M 2gb
1080p non Touch
56 Wh 3-cell
4.4 lbs
$1, 249.99 ( + $120 for HyperX Ram upgrade)

I've owned this laptop for a month now.

Overall very pleased with my purchase. I decided against the fancy 4k because it adds $500 to the price tag, also... I don't need a SSD; I need more RAM because I run a lot of VMs and code + game.... thus I went for the cheaper option + upgraded my RAM.

- I game quite a bit. I get ~110 FPS for high settings in CSGO competitive, ~40 FPS for Tomb Raider 2013 on high settings, and ~40 FPS for High in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege 2015.

- Battery performance is good if you're not gaming (4-5 hours for VM code work). If you're gaming, you should plug in or the system will default to intel graphics card to conserve energy. I've not found a way to change this default settings yet, but I'm sure there is a way (I did it before in my old laptop).

- The entire experience with the XPS has been premium. From unboxing to handling like a butter. It handles whatever I throw at it... It auto-reset twice when I first got it, but I'm familiar with the gripes of windows 10 and immediately updated all drivers + instructed windows not to autoupdate my drivers. It's a W10 issue.

Hi! I noticed that you have upgraded you XPS 15. If your answer turns out to be positive, I may just get it. The one I'm looking at is just the 1080p (I have no need for the touch screen, though the 4k would have been nice) and it comes with the standard 256gb SSD (they say "PCIe" so I assume M.2) and I was wondering if it's possible to install a 2.5 mechanical HDD as well. I haven't been able to find much info about this so anything you can share would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[jaguarskx]

The Dell XPS 15 9550 has a standard 2.5" bay for a SATA SSD. The M.2 slot accepts a PCIe M.2 SSD.

The high end version of the Dell XPS 15 9550 with the larger capacity 84WHr battery will not allow you to install anything into the 2.5" bay because the larger battery uses the space.

See below links for video reviews from MobileTechReview. The 2nd video is a followup long term review after 6 month of usage.

https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRUgx8A9q_w
https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gda3v2hqnFY

 

[jk_lah2]

I see the author has left your question unanswered. lol! I'll contribute... my specs:

i5-6300HQ 2.3/3.2
32gb ddr4
32 ssd + 1TB HDD
GeForce 960M 2gb
1080p non Touch
56 Wh 3-cell
4.4 lbs
$1, 249.99 ( + $120 for HyperX Ram upgrade)

I've owned this laptop for a month now.

Overall very pleased with my purchase. I decided against the fancy 4k because it adds $500 to the price tag, also... I don't need a SSD; I need more RAM because I run a lot of VMs and code + game.... thus I went for the cheaper option + upgraded my RAM.

- I game quite a bit. I get ~110 FPS for high settings in CSGO competitive, ~40 FPS for Tomb Raider 2013 on high settings, and ~40 FPS for High in Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege 2015.

- Battery performance is good if you're not gaming (4-5 hours for VM code work). If you're gaming, you should plug in or the system will default to intel graphics card to conserve energy. I've not found a way to change this default settings yet, but I'm sure there is a way (I did it before in my old laptop).

- The entire experience with the XPS has been premium. From unboxing to handling like a butter. It handles whatever I throw at it... It auto-reset twice when I first got it, but I'm familiar with the gripes of windows 10 and immediately updated all drivers + instructed windows not to autoupdate my drivers. It's a W10 issue.

Hi! I noticed that you have upgraded you XPS 15. If your answer turns out to be positive, I may just get it. The one I'm looking at is just the 1080p (I have no need for the touch screen, though the 4k would have been nice) and it comes with the standard 256gb SSD (they say "PCIe" so I assume M.2) and I was wondering if it's possible to install a 2.5 mechanical HDD as well. I haven't been able to find much info about this so anything you can share would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Whatever jaguarskx mentioned. If you want to upgrade your HDD, you need to buy the version with the 1TB HDD + smaller 3-cell battery (my version). The larger 6-cell battery versions can only fit SSD.

 

[raul1234]

Even I've ordered 9550 $1199 model. I got 10% discount and final price including taxes came around $1100 .
Dell will provide another 150$ gift coupon as promotion offer which will expire within 90 days ( if i could sell the gift card for $120, i am getting this beautiful laptop for $980 )

I could not find XPS model in any of the store in display .I have never purchased laptop without getting a feel of it . But just ordered by checking out youtube reviews and i am still waiting it to be shipped

Original poster comments are helping me tremendously as he is still using the 5400 rpm HDD which came with it.

I was initially thinking to purchase Samsung evo 500 GB for $169 from Dell website itself using the gift card . I confirmed with dell that the m.2 slot is empty in 9550 $1199 model ( core i5 6300HQ nvidia gtx960 1TB 5400 + 32 cache )

Moreover Dell confirmed that warranty will not be void but warranty will be only for the original configuration which we purchased. So please make sure incase you replace or add SSD and unfortunate enough to send it back for repair, Dell might ship another refurbished unit and you will lose your SSD

Dont spend $2200 + for these laptops. I am thinking buy 500 gb or more capacity m.2 ssd instead of 256 , as after 3 years once your battery needs to be replaced, remove the 1 TB hdd along with caddy and purchase 84W battery from dell which will occupy the whole bottom of the laptop.