Xps 13 or 15? (2016 and 2017 models)

[Omid1234]

Hi there!

I'm in the process of choosing a laptop for college. Budget is limited, but I want something great, as I will need it for several years.

Before I dive further into the thread, I won't be using the machine for games and other demanding tasks, as I have a desktop station for that purpose. The purpose of the machine will probably be, youtube, netflix, office pack and day-to-day multitasking.

My search led to the xps-series from dell. Question is, do I get the xps 13 (kabylake) or last years xps 15 (skylake)

Both computers are 1080p to preserve battery life. The xps 15 comes with a 32gb ssd + 1hdd in a raid configuration, which I plan to upgrade to a 250gb samsung 960 ssd instead. The xps 13 comes with the standard 256gb ssd.

I do want to preserve battery life, but also want enough power in the machine. The xps 15 comes with a dedicated gpu (960 2gb) and a quad core cpu, whereas the xps 13 comes with only integrated graphics and a weaker cpu.

Obviously the xps will drain the battery faster, but is it worth getting the xps 15 over the 13, considering I will have to spend a few hundred bucks on upgrading the ssd on the xps 15?

Thread may be a little long, sorry for that.
Cheers

 

[n0ns3ns3]

I'm not sure what your budget is.
for learning (taking it to classes) only, 13" is more reasonable. The mobile GTX 960 is kinda crap and not worth the money.
Anyway, have you looked Dell Inspirion 7000 http/www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7567-laptop
It comes with real Quad Core i7 (most laptops use mobile dual core i5 and i7) and decent GPU in a form of GTX 1050.
that can do the job for at least 3-4 years.

 

[Omid1234]

I'm not sure what your budget is.
for learning (taking it to classes) only, 13" is more reasonable. The mobile GTX 960 is kinda crap and not worth the money.
Anyway, have you looked Dell Inspirion 7000 http/www.dell.com/en-us/shop/productdetails/inspiron-15-7567-laptop
It comes with real Quad Core i7 (most laptops use mobile dual core i5 and i7) and decent GPU in a form of GTX 1050.
that can do the job for at least 3-4 years.

Budget is around 1500 dollars, do keep in mind I live in denmark, so prices are considerably higher here, compared to the US. The Inspirion seems a little too bulky for my taste, any serious gaming will be done on my desktop anyhow. I'm looking for a laptop in the ultrabook category. Thanks for the response though.

 

[n0ns3ns3]

The XPS 13 is excellent.
My prefered ultrabook style is ThinkPad X series. The keyboard is excellent for typing and once you get used to the trackpoint, there is no need to move your hands from keyboard. Very hard to go back and use touchpads or trackpoints of other companies. Another, IMHO huge, advantage is the incredible durability of X series.