Under $1500 All purpose laptop : Asus UX501 vs Dell XPS 15

[ZenSra]

After a lot of searching , i have narrowed my choice of laptop to Dell XPS 15 and Asus UX501VW. But i simply can't decide between these two , as more and more i read reviews one of them becomes better than the other. 

 

However , I need to make up my mind. First of all Here are the configuration which i have selected for both of these laptops :-

 

Dell XPS 15 (Current price on dell.com / $1399) : 17-6700HQ , 8GB DDR4, 256 SSD , 1080p , 960m 2GB , 56 Whr 3 cell battery.

Asus UX501VW (Current price on Amazon.com / $1311) 17-6700HQ, 16GB DDR3, 512 SDD , 4K Touch , 960m 2GB , 96 Whr battery.

 

I want to buy a laptop that i can easily carry around , can put under heavy load without having any performance issues (I am a Computer Science Major) and can also handle some AAA titles even at low settings but playable framerates. Battery life is also important, screen size not less than 15 inch (i haven't used any 13 inch laptop yet).

 

Till now ASUS has more advantage than XPS 15 in-terms of Price-Performance Ratio , but i don't need 4k as it consumes too much battery and neither i need a touch-screen, Here XPS 15 looks more promising but then 56 Whr battery vs 96 Whr battery irritates me a lot because there is a version of XPS 15 with 84 Whr battery but that costs $1699 !!!! 

 

I need to finalize my decision between these two so i need someone who has either used these machines or is expert in laptops to give any useful suggestion or advice, or if someone has other better option under $1500. 

 

I have read that many software's and games are not compatible with 4k resolution , and therefore it's very difficult to use ASUS model. (I don't know much about this , just read from one or more reviews)

 

P.S There is also another ASUS laptop K501UW (https://www.amazon.com/K501UW-AB78-15-6-inch-Full-HD-Gaming-Glacier/dp/B01DT49XN8/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474744140&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=Asus+kl)

Any Expert Reviews on this version (K501UW) , it's price is $800-900.

[Speakerator]

since you won't game at 4k with a 960m anyway, it really doesn't matter. Power consumptions will be different, but there should be plenty of revies stating battery lfe under various conditions. Sepc wise the Asus looks more promising, but if it were up to me, things like, aesthetics, noise and weigth count alot.

[PRTI]

Laptop Heretic knowall @don_svetlio

[don_svetlio]

19 minutes ago, ZenSra said:

After a lot of searching , i have narrowed my choice of laptop to Dell XPS 15 and Asus UX501VW. But i simply can't decide between these two , as more and more i read reviews one of them becomes better than the other. 

 

However , I need to make up my mind. First of all Here are the configuration which i have selected for both of these laptops :-

 

Dell XPS 15 (Current price on dell.com / $1399) : 17-6700HQ , 8GB DDR4, 256 SSD , 1080p , 960m 2GB , 56 Whr 3 cell battery.

Asus UX501VW (Current price on Amazon.com / $1311) 17-6700HQ, 16GB DDR3, 512 SDD , 4K Touch , 960m 2GB , 96 Whr battery.

 

I want to buy a laptop that i can easily carry around , can put under heavy load without having any performance issues (I am a Computer Science Major) and can also handle some AAA titles even at low settings but playable framerates. Battery life is also important, screen size not less than 15 inch (i haven't used any 13 inch laptop yet).

 

Till now ASUS has more advantage than XPS 15 in-terms of Price-Performance Ratio , but i don't need 4k as it consumes too much battery and neither i need a touch-screen, Here XPS 15 looks more promising but then 56 Whr battery vs 96 Whr battery irritates me a lot because there is a version of XPS 15 with 84 Whr battery but that costs $1699 !!!! 

 

I need to finalize my decision between these two so i need someone who has either used these machines or is expert in laptops to give any useful suggestion or advice, or if someone has other better option under $1500. 

 

I have read that many software's and games are not compatible with 4k resolution , and therefore it's very difficult to use ASUS model. (I don't know much about this , just read from one or more reviews)

 

P.S There is also another ASUS laptop K501UW (https://www.amazon.com/K501UW-AB78-15-6-inch-Full-HD-Gaming-Glacier/dp/B01DT49XN8/ref=sr_1_sc_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474744140&sr=1-2-spell&keywords=Asus+kl)

Any Expert Reviews on this version (K501UW) , it's price is $800-900.

For that price - UX501VW is the best option. Get that. The Samsung SM951 in the UX501 is MUCH faster (talking double) than the one in the XPS 15 base

[ZenSra]

1 minute ago, don_svetlio said:

For that price - UX501VW is the best option. Get that. The Samsung SM951 in the UX501 is MUCH faster (talking double) than the one in the XPS 15 base

True that , but what about that 4k problem ? I think it's called scaling ( i don't have much knowledge). I think it goes like this , that menu bar and text becomes so little to see. 4k is the only problem which i am seeing in ASUS as i will be using a lot of softwares from Programming/development to graphics and i don't want to end up in a situation where i am unable to use those softwares just because the product(software) is not compatible with 4k resolution and i don't think i can switch between 4k or 1080p in ASUS , just as we can switch between Integrated and Dedicated Graphics.

 

Asus is looking so promising to me , but the only thing that is holding me back is compatibility of software's that i would be running (e.g Visual Studio/Android Studio, Adobe Suite , MS Office etc).

[don_svetlio]

Just now, ZenSra said:

True that , but what about that 4k problem ? I think it's called scaling ( i don't have much knowledge). I think it goes like this , that menu bar and text becomes so little to see. 4k is the only problem which i am seeing in ASUS as i will be using a lot of softwares from Programming/development to graphics and i don't want to end up in a situation where i am unable to use those softwares just because the product(software) is not compatible with 4k resolution and i don't think i can switch between 4k or 1080p in ASUS , just as we can switch between Integrated and Dedicated Graphics.

 

Asus is looking so promising to me , but the only thing that is holding me back is compatibility of software's that i would be running (e.g Visual Studio/Android Studio, Adobe Suite , MS Office etc).

Run games at 1080p, upscale programs by 200% - that solves most of it (though older games won't be that easy to run)

[Pendragon]

2 hours ago, ZenSra said:

True that , but what about that 4k problem ? I think it's called scaling ( i don't have much knowledge). I think it goes like this , that menu bar and text becomes so little to see. 4k is the only problem which i am seeing in ASUS as i will be using a lot of softwares from Programming/development to graphics and i don't want to end up in a situation where i am unable to use those softwares just because the product(software) is not compatible with 4k resolution and i don't think i can switch between 4k or 1080p in ASUS , just as we can switch between Integrated and Dedicated Graphics.

 

Asus is looking so promising to me , but the only thing that is holding me back is compatibility of software's that i would be running (e.g Visual Studio/Android Studio, Adobe Suite , MS Office etc).

Ugh. At THAT price. It's hard to argue with the Asus. I prefer XPS15s over UX501s. But the price and spec difference is too large. 4k is a big problem. Windows scaling is still a tragic mess and I will always hate it until they fix it. I would say your should be look at XPS15 refurbs with manufacturer (Dell) warranty on ebay. 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DELL-XPS-15-9550-15-6-FHD-1080P-INTEL-i7-6700HQ-16GB-512GB-SSD-GTX-960M-PROSPRT-/201654654998?hash=item2ef38dd816:g:lioAAOSwJb9Wqidt

^ this is the exact model I would grab.