New Dell XPS 15 (9550) vs M3800 vs E6540?

[GKeith]

I'm in the enviable position of getting a new laptop for work, and I'm comparing the Dell models listed in the title.

The new XPS 15 caught my eye, but my IT guy is pushing for M3800 or E6540 because they already have some and want to try to stick to similar models to sort of standardize on components. Understandable, but I want to know if it's worth pushing for the new XPS.

I'm a software developer, so compiling code is what I need to optimize for the most. I will be likely running at least one VM from time to time. Much of my work involves mapping software, so graphics performance is also important.

Budget is around $2100 including 3 year support option.

Thanks!
-Keith

M3800: 16GB 1600MHz DDR3L (2x8GB), Nvidia Quadro K1100M, Intel Core i7-4712HQ (Quad Core 2.30GHz, 3.3GHz Turbo, 6MB 37W, w/HD Graphics 4600), 500GB Hybrid 2.5inch, 6Gb/s SATA

E6540: 16GB (2x8GB) 1600MHz DDR3L, 4th gen Intel® Core™ i7-4810MQ Processor (2.8GHz), AMD Radeon HD 8790M Graphics 2GB GDDR5 with Express Card, 500GB 7200rpm Hard Drive

XPS 15 9550: 16GB (2x8GB) 2133Mhz DDR4 Memory, 6th Generation Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad Core (6M Cache, up to 3.5 GHz), NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M with 2GB GDDR5, 512GB PCIe Solid State Drive, FHD display

 

[csnoob]

They all have sort of the same specs, the XPS 15 comes with a 4k screen though and a 1TB SSD which is sweet, but the GPU might struggle a bit to run a 4k screen with any graphics you may run. I would personally go for the XPS 15, it is light and small, will last a few hours on battery and also it has the lastest components (CPU/RAM/M2.SSD). It also has DDR4 RAM which is faster as you know already. But there are no reviews around at the moment so you might want to stall for awhile to make the right choice.

I've been looking for the XPS 15 or the XPS 13 for soft. dev. as well (student), do you think 13" screen is enough? The XPS 15 is just too expensive.

 

[GKeith]

For the XPS, I'm looking at the 512GB SSD and FHD (non-touch) display not the 4k.

For me personally, a 13" is too small for everyday stuff. Your eyes may be stronger than mine, though. 13" would work for occasional work while traveling, but even for a 15" I will attach a monitor and full keyboard for my daily work.

They all have sort of the same specs, the XPS 15 comes with a 4k screen though and a 1TB SSD which is sweet, but the GPU might struggle a bit to run a 4k screen with any graphics you may run. I would personally go for the XPS 15, it is light and small, will last a few hours on battery and also it has the lastest components (CPU/RAM/M2.SSD). It also has DDR4 RAM which is faster as you know already. But there are no reviews around at the moment so you might want to stall for awhile to make the right choice.

I've been looking for the XPS 15 or the XPS 13 for soft. dev. as well (student), do you think 13" screen is enough? The XPS 15 is just too expensive.

 

[csnoob]

For the XPS, I'm looking at the 512GB SSD and FHD (non-touch) display not the 4k.

For me personally, a 13" is too small for everyday stuff. Your eyes may be stronger than mine, though. 13" would work for occasional work while traveling, but even for a 15" I will attach a monitor and full keyboard for my daily work.

They all have sort of the same specs, the XPS 15 comes with a 4k screen though and a 1TB SSD which is sweet, but the GPU might struggle a bit to run a 4k screen with any graphics you may run. I would personally go for the XPS 15, it is light and small, will last a few hours on battery and also it has the lastest components (CPU/RAM/M2.SSD). It also has DDR4 RAM which is faster as you know already. But there are no reviews around at the moment so you might want to stall for awhile to make the right choice.

I've been looking for the XPS 15 or the XPS 13 for soft. dev. as well (student), do you think 13" screen is enough? The XPS 15 is just too expensive.

Oh you're in the US, I'm so envious of US people, here in the uk I get completely crap configurations
http/www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd (oh and we're getting ripped off)

The XPS 15 looks better imo than the others with the config you're looking to get. If you get the 84W battery it will be the p e r f e c t laptop, thin, light, fast, great screen, looks good. The only thing it needs is a better keyboard, they say it's the same as the XPS 13 with short key travel and not as good feedback as lets say the apple keyboards...

 

[GKeith]

Still looking for a more quantifiable answer ...

 

[bfos33]

For the XPS, I'm looking at the 512GB SSD and FHD (non-touch) display not the 4k.

For me personally, a 13" is too small for everyday stuff. Your eyes may be stronger than mine, though. 13" would work for occasional work while traveling, but even for a 15" I will attach a monitor and full keyboard for my daily work.

They all have sort of the same specs, the XPS 15 comes with a 4k screen though and a 1TB SSD which is sweet, but the GPU might struggle a bit to run a 4k screen with any graphics you may run. I would personally go for the XPS 15, it is light and small, will last a few hours on battery and also it has the lastest components (CPU/RAM/M2.SSD). It also has DDR4 RAM which is faster as you know already. But there are no reviews around at the moment so you might want to stall for awhile to make the right choice.

I've been looking for the XPS 15 or the XPS 13 for soft. dev. as well (student), do you think 13" screen is enough? The XPS 15 is just too expensive.

I'm also looking at getting the xps 15 with the full hd rather than the 4K. Will the screen quality still be great??