Laptop Upgrade

[Guest]

Hello All,

 

I am considering upgrading my current laptop (Dell XPS 15 L521X) to a newer machine.

 

I have looked at the XPS 15 9550, Precision model with the same body as the XPS, 14" Latitude, and potentially a Macbook Pro 15".

 

I often have a lot of tabs open in Chrome.

Use Photoshop and Illustrator on a regular basis.

Possibly working with Premiere in the future.

MS Office and other daily productivity applications.

No gaming.

 

I would like to keep the cost below £1500.

 

I'm assuming eBay would be the best option for this.

 

All advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[MisterMK3]

It's interesting that you're considering moving to a MacBook from Windows. Do you have any preference between the two operating systems?

[Guest]

Just now, MisterMK3 said:

It's interesting that you're considering moving to a MacBook from Windows. Do you have any preference between the two operating systems?

I personally have a preference for Windows. I've worked with Macs a good bit in the past, and I find them fine after a short while. It was a thought, honestly. I can drop Windows on it anyway, even though it won't run as nicely.

 

Certainly not a fanboi. Android all day.

[Cela1]

6 minutes ago, FatherGermany said:

I often have a lot of tabs open in Chrome.

Well clearly you will need at least 64GB of RAM which limits some options...

[Redfern]

Yeah any higher end one would be good, Dell XPS are normally good for editing too. I do most of that stuff on my £250 craptop anyway, apart from the editing in Premier, tried that but hmm no.. dont do that either way you'll be golden with that budget

[Guest]

Just now, Cela1 said:

Well clearly you will need at least 64GB of RAM which limits some options...

A man after my own heart.

 

 

[Kenobi3371]

10 minutes ago, FatherGermany said:

Hello All,

 

I am considering upgrading my current laptop (Dell XPS 15 L521X) to a newer machine.

 

I have looked at the XPS 15 9550, Precision model with the same body as the XPS, 14" Latitude, and potentially a Macbook Pro 15".

 

I often have a lot of tabs open in Chrome.

Use Photoshop and Illustrator on a regular basis.

Possibly working with Premiere in the future.

MS Office and other daily productivity applications.

No gaming.

 

I would like to keep the cost below £1500.

 

I'm assuming eBay would be the best option for this.

 

All advice is greatly appreciated!

 

The new XPS 13's are really solid. On one right now

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Kenobi3371 said:

The new XPS 13's are really solid. On one right now

That's good to hear. I'm hoping that the XPS 15 is a solid.

 

The XPS 15 L521X (my current device) has horrible WiFi issues. Truly horrible.

[Kenobi3371]

Just now, FatherGermany said:

That's good to hear. I'm hoping that the XPS 15 is a solid.

 

The XPS 15 L521X (my device) has horrible WiFi issues. Truly horrible.

Yeah, I haven't experienced any wifi issues as of yet and I've had this for over a year

[Logarithm]

As always, I recommend getting a ThinkPad.

 

You have a decently high budget, so perhaps the W541?

It's usually around the $1300 range on Ebay.

They are very big and bulky though, and that might not be your thing. The keyboards are fantastic though.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Logarithm said:

As always, I recommend getting a ThinkPad.

 

You have a decently high budget, so perhaps the W541?

It's usually around the $1300 range on Ebay.

They are very big and bulky though, and that might not be your thing. The keyboards are fantastic though.

I must admit I am a bit of a stickler for looks.

 

I do appreciate the design of Lenovo's professional offerings, but not any that include a number pad; I understand this is sacrilegious for some.

[Pendragon]

16 minutes ago, FatherGermany said:

I do appreciate the design of Lenovo's professional offerings, but not any that include a number pad; I understand this is sacrilegious for some.

HAHA. I'm one of those. I need a number pad. I mean the XPS15 has the same specs as a Y700 which goes for alot cheaper. Do you like Y700's looks? Since you're looking for a good looking premium laptop, I think you've nailed your selection. The XPS15 (dont get the precision line as it limits you to a M1000M) with a 960m is pretty much top tier for your use case. I could never get one cause number pad missing ): 

 

Depending on how professional you need your photoshop and illustrator to be (color gamut, sRBG coverage, NTSC? etc.) I would recommend the 1080p/16gb/512/non-touch/84w/hr battery version. 4k introduces windows scaling and higher battery drain. But if you're a professional and need the 4k for your use cases you should definitely get it. Both screens are gorgeous in either case. Just be prepared for lower battery on the 4k version.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Pendragon said:

HAHA. I'm one of those. I need a number pad. I mean the XPS15 has the same specs as a Y700 which goes for alot cheaper. Do you like Y700's looks? Since you're looking for a good looking premium laptop, I think you've nailed your selection. The XPS15 (dont get the precision line as it limits you to a M1000M) with a 960m is pretty much top tier for your use case. I could never get one cause number pad missing ): 

 

Depending on how professional you need your photoshop and illustrator to be (color gamut, sRBG coverage, NTSC? etc.) I would recommend the 1080p/16gb/512/non-touch/84w/hr battery version. 4k introduces windows scaling and higher battery drain. But if you're a professional and need the 4k for your use cases you should definitely get it. Both screens are gorgeous in either case. Just be prepared for lower battery on the 4k version.

I'm not a huge fan of the Y700. Too Gamer-ish for me. I like the ThinkPad lines though.

 

I was definitely gunning for the 1080p version. No need for 4K (or touch) on the laptop.

 

[Pendragon]

28 minutes ago, FatherGermany said:

I'm not a huge fan of the Y700. Too Gamer-ish for me. I like the ThinkPad lines though.

 

Outside of the workstation P50. Everything else has a duo-core, and not suitable for Premiere. (T460P with a 940MX is available but overheats)

[Mark77]

So its the WiFi that's bothering you? 

 

But seriously, there have been some Latitude E5570's available on the Dell Outlet, fully loaded (256gb SSD, 16gb RAM, TB port, 1080p screen, etc.) in the ~$800 range. 

[Guest]

12 hours ago, Pendragon said:

Outside of the workstation P50. Everything else has a duo-core, and not suitable for Premiere. (T460P with a 940MX is available but overheats)

Agreed. I wish Lenovo would beef up their other lines, or at the very least offer the ability to do so.

 

Would you recommend waiting for an update to the XPS 15? If I am not mistaken, I believe Dell updates them in Q3/Q4.

 

@Mark77 - the WiFi is rough stuff, but the machine itself is starting to show its age. Screen has blemishes and bright spots. I've made it slow to a crawl on several occasions.

[Pendragon]

5 minutes ago, FatherGermany said:

Would you recommend waiting for an update to the XPS 15? If I am not mistaken, I believe Dell updates them in Q3/Q4.

 

Honestly? I wouldn't. 2 reasons: kaby lake isn't expected to such a large jump as from skylake to haswell (broadwell basically didn't exist in the notebook world). and there's not going to be a viable replacement for 960m by that time considering they haven't announced anything like a 1050 or 1050ti.

 

if you were waiting for something like a macbook pro that would be another story.