Surface Pro 4 vs Dell XPS 13 or suggest alternative for my Requirements

[engineer5261]

Hello Everyone,

So my sister wants to purchase a laptop for her Masters. She is thinking of a Dell XPS 13 (1000$) or Surface Pro 4 tablet/laptop thing(1500$). I felt these laptops are quite pricey for the hardware they contain and wanted to consult my knowledgeable friends at Toms.

She is a fine arts student so picture quality and portability is high priority. There is no budget restriction really, the cheaper the better and would not like to pay for features that are not required.

What she does require is:-
Portability (light weight and small, Comparable size to new Surface Pro 4)
LCD Type = ? - (Wants to have most realistic/accurate still picture/colors rendering. Go IPS?)
at least 8 Gb Ram (some decent DDR4 but ofc that comes with Kaby Lake)
i5 (7th generation)
Good build quality

So the questions become:-
Does anyone know about the latest laptop LCD technologies?
Would IPS type screen be the best for a realistic image (FPS does not matter so much)?
Which one would be better amongst these two laptops?
Is there not a cheaper alternative that has the required portability/specs and a better display?

Thanks in advance for your responses!

 

[boosted1g]

If she needs to draw on the tablet then the Surface Pro 4.

I opted to get a Lenovo Yoga over the Surface Pro (version 3 back then) because the surface pro's keyboard dock is only usefull on a hard flat surface, thus you cant use it on your lap, only on a desk which was an immediate killer for me.

Display wise they are both top notch screens.
Have you looked at Lenovo Yoga 700 serries, that would be a little cheaper.

If you dont need the 2-in-1 capability then there are plenty of "ultrabook" laptop only models as well that would be more in the $700 range.

 

[engineer5261]

Thank you for your response boosted1g.

AFAIK she has no requirement to draw on the tablet, she will be drawing on a physical medium using art supplies. The 2-in-1 capability is also not a requirement. I will look at the Lenovo Yoga 700 and ultrabooks. Would anyone be able to suggest some ultrabooks which fulfill the requirements?

 

[why_wolf]

Yes to IPS for color accuracy.

A review of the SP4 screen. Microsoft realized back with the SP3 that artists were a big buyer of the tablet and went the extra mile on the screen as a result. http/www.displaymate.com/Surface_Pro4_ShootOut_1.htm
(this review also has the XPS 13 in it, they appear to be in the same range so I don't think she would be disapointed choosing one over the other screen wise.)
http/www.anandtech.com/show/9727/the-microsoft-surface-pro-4-review-raising-the-bar/6

The real question is does she want a laptop to type on all day or does she want a tablet that she will sometimes type on. The SP4 will let her draw directly onto the screen with the pen, the XPS does not.

Please remember the SP4 requires you to buy the keyboard separately ($100-150) so be sure to budget that in. Also Microsoft offers student discounts as well, I think 10% off?

 

[engineer5261]

Thanks for the reply why_wolf. I do not think she will be needing to draw on the tablet as she does her work on a physical medium. There will be typing involved, to create documents/assignments in word I suppose. Thank you for the link's I will check them out in a few hours after work today. That is an excellent point about needing to purchase the SP4 keyboard separately.

Any more suggestions, reviews or personal experience with these/similar laptops/tablets are welcome. Thanks!

 

[engineer5261]

Yes to IPS for color accuracy.

A review of the SP4 screen. Microsoft realized back with the SP3 that artists were a big buyer of the tablet and went the extra mile on the screen as a result. http/www.displaymate.com/Surface_Pro4_ShootOut_1.htm
(this review also has the XPS 13 in it, they appear to be in the same range so I don't think she would be disapointed choosing one over the other screen wise.)
http/www.anandtech.com/show/9727/the-microsoft-surface-pro-4-review-raising-the-bar/6

The real question is does she want a laptop to type on all day or does she want a tablet that she will sometimes type on. The SP4 will let her draw directly onto the screen with the pen, the XPS does not.

Please remember the SP4 requires you to buy the keyboard separately ($100-150) so be sure to budget that in. Also Microsoft offers student discounts as well, I think 10% off?

Very relevant links! Thanks!

It appears that the surface pro has one of the best displays closely followed by the XPS13. I looked at the Lenovo Yoga. It seemed to fit the bill but I felt that it was of a lower build quality, which is justified given the lower price tag.
Does anyone know if there is a surface pro with Kaby Lake cpu's? I only found the Surface Pro 4 with skylake cpu's only.

Another thing I was concerned about was the resolution for the Surface Pro 4 is "2736 x 1824". I am unfamiliar with this resolution and I feel that 1080p content would have problems upscaling to 2736 x 1824, would you or someone else be able to comment on it?

 

[why_wolf]

Yes to IPS for color accuracy.

A review of the SP4 screen. Microsoft realized back with the SP3 that artists were a big buyer of the tablet and went the extra mile on the screen as a result. http/www.displaymate.com/Surface_Pro4_ShootOut_1.htm
(this review also has the XPS 13 in it, they appear to be in the same range so I don't think she would be disapointed choosing one over the other screen wise.)
http/www.anandtech.com/show/9727/the-microsoft-surface-pro-4-review-raising-the-bar/6

The real question is does she want a laptop to type on all day or does she want a tablet that she will sometimes type on. The SP4 will let her draw directly onto the screen with the pen, the XPS does not.

Please remember the SP4 requires you to buy the keyboard separately ($100-150) so be sure to budget that in. Also Microsoft offers student discounts as well, I think 10% off?

Very relevant links! Thanks!

It appears that the surface pro has one of the best displays closely followed by the XPS13. I looked at the Lenovo Yoga. It seemed to fit the bill but I felt that it was of a lower build quality, which is justified given the lower price tag.
Does anyone know if there is a surface pro with Kaby Lake cpu's? I only found the Surface Pro 4 with skylake cpu's only.

Another thing I was concerned about was the resolution for the Surface Pro 4 is "2736 x 1824". I am unfamiliar with this resolution and I feel that 1080p content would have problems upscaling to 2736 x 1824, would you or someone else be able to comment on it?

That will come with the Surface Pro 5, probably this summer. Though Kaby Lake is such a minor upgrade over Skylake it hardly warranted getting a new generation name.

As for the screen size the Surface line is based around having the screen be the same size and shape as a standard piece of paper, again focusing on artists. 1080p content will run just fine, I run old 480p dvd rips on mine all the time.

 

[engineer5261]

Yes to IPS for color accuracy.

A review of the SP4 screen. Microsoft realized back with the SP3 that artists were a big buyer of the tablet and went the extra mile on the screen as a result. http/www.displaymate.com/Surface_Pro4_ShootOut_1.htm
(this review also has the XPS 13 in it, they appear to be in the same range so I don't think she would be disapointed choosing one over the other screen wise.)
http/www.anandtech.com/show/9727/the-microsoft-surface-pro-4-review-raising-the-bar/6

The real question is does she want a laptop to type on all day or does she want a tablet that she will sometimes type on. The SP4 will let her draw directly onto the screen with the pen, the XPS does not.

Please remember the SP4 requires you to buy the keyboard separately ($100-150) so be sure to budget that in. Also Microsoft offers student discounts as well, I think 10% off?

Very relevant links! Thanks!

It appears that the surface pro has one of the best displays closely followed by the XPS13. I looked at the Lenovo Yoga. It seemed to fit the bill but I felt that it was of a lower build quality, which is justified given the lower price tag.
Does anyone know if there is a surface pro with Kaby Lake cpu's? I only found the Surface Pro 4 with skylake cpu's only.

Another thing I was concerned about was the resolution for the Surface Pro 4 is "2736 x 1824". I am unfamiliar with this resolution and I feel that 1080p content would have problems upscaling to 2736 x 1824, would you or someone else be able to comment on it?

That will come with the Surface Pro 5, probably this summer. Though Kaby Lake is such a minor upgrade over Skylake it hardly warranted getting a new generation name.

As for the screen size the Surface line is based around having the screen be the same size and shape as a standard piece of paper, again focusing on artists. 1080p content will run just fine, I run old 480p dvd rips on mine all the time.

That answers my questions. Marking as best answer. Thanks.