Help Me Choose a Notebook - [University][Programming]

[Kimpton]

Hello All,

 

This is probably one of the best locations to ask this sort of question, so here I go. I'll be starting University on Monday, to study a masters in Computer Science - I already have a fairly powerful desktop (Specs below) and I just want a laptop to take around Uni, and to friends houses to play games such as Over watch, League of Legends, Diablo 3, and any other modern popular game PC gamers play. However, this laptop needs to be able to run 2 or 3 virtual machines of phones simultaneously while I program in android studio (Something I commonly do already, the reason for the multiple VM of phones is so I can spot obvious mistakes in UI on various phone displays), and do this without long delays or freezing. I have a max budget of around £1400, but would like to stay around the £800 price point if I can.

 

I have done some of my own research already: I really like the design of the dell XPS 13/15 - I would happily go for the XPS 13 if it had dedicated graphics (Something like 960m or 1060) Both the XPS 13/15 look really stylish, and the near nonexistent bessel I find very ascetically pleasing. My problem with the XPS 15 is that the GPU is only 2GB, and the webcam being at the bottom and off to one side (I only noticed when Linus pointed it out). 

 

I want it to be a note book, not too heavy, but made of sturdy material (Please, just no cheap plastic), i quite like the aluminium cases on the dell XPS. I also want it to be fairly stylish, but this isn't too much of a problem. Lastly I want it to be fairly thin, (So its a definite no to alienware and water cooled laptops).

 

16GB of Ram is a must for me, I often can reach 12GB+, and especially when I have phone vm's running. I quite like the look of the new razer blade, but its extremely pricey, and I don't think I can get it in my country yet (UK). Also, an SSD is a must, 256GB + 1tb 7200rpm or a single 512 GB would be needed. 

 

Dispite all what I have said, it primary use will be to program. Primarily in Android Studio - obviously other platforms too, as I'm sure I wont be developing in Android for 4 years. Which just as a sudden thought, it would be useful if this laptop could run the unreal engine and unity - and as another side thought, any 3d modeler aswell (i.e Blender or Maya). This might be pushing it, and I'm sure I can offload this to my desktop.

 

Here are the laptops I'm currently looking at: 

XPS 15: http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd?ref=121_img&oc=cnx5525&model_id=xps-15-9550-laptop

Random Brand: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/173-scan-3xs-lg17-vengeance-g-sync-gtx-1060-core-i7-6700hq-16gb-ddr4-240gb-ssd-1tb-hdd-win-10?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KEQjwyJi_BRDLusby7_S7z-IBEiQAwCVvny8VWBIY0_ojCBCHfpgdrZ0t50lCZSpOMa8Xq0BazNAaAmP-8P8HAQ

Razer Blade: http://www.razerzone.com/gaming-systems/razer-blade

 

Other solutions I have thought of were to buy a much cheaper laptop to just remotely desktop to my PC at home.... viable? it would have to be seamless - none of this delay rubbish. I really enjoy using my Nvidia Shield tablet for a similar purpose.

 

If any of you have a golden gem for this, please let me know. Currently I am searching the Dell outlet site for a maxed configuration of the Dell XPS 15.

 

PS. Apple? Hmh, I have always stayed away from them, their over priced equipment and schemes to lock you into an apple environment annoys me, but it would seem a lot of developers use them.

 

DESKTOP SPEC:

i7 4790K @ 4.00ghz

512 SSD + 4TB 7200HDD

GTX 970 Zotac Amp

Gigabyte Gaming V5 mobo

Huge 'Be Quiet' Heatsink

16GB Vengence 2133 Ram

 

[ZenSra]

ASUS UX501vw , more specs than XPS 15, but with less price.

 

https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX501VW-Touchscreen-i7-6700HQ-Thunderbolt/dp/B01CQRNBJG ($1311)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Asus-UX501VW-DS71T-ASUS-15-6-Laptop/dp/B018AX3OHO ($1478 , i think it has windows pro that's why it's more expensive).

 

I am also going to buy a laptop soon , either XPS 15 ($1399 model) or this $1311 ASUS model , but i am more inclined towards ASUS model because of it's Price-Performance Ratio as well as 96 Whr Battery which i think is great !!

[don_svetlio]

XPS 15 or UX501 - both are fantastic

Avoid the Blade - it overheats, runs extremely loud and has serious quality control and support problems.

[Kimpton]

1 minute ago, ZenSra said:

ASUS UX501vw , more specs than XPS 15, but with less price.

 

https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX501VW-Touchscreen-i7-6700HQ-Thunderbolt/dp/B01CQRNBJG ($1311)

 

https://www.amazon.com/Asus-UX501VW-DS71T-ASUS-15-6-Laptop/dp/B018AX3OHO ($1478 , i think it has windows pro that's why it's more expensive).

 

I am also going to buy a laptop soon , either XPS 15 ($1399 model) or this $1311 ASUS model , but i am more inclined towards ASUS model because of it's Price-Performance Ratio as well as 96 Whr Battery which i think is great !!

 

the $1311 model is nice, but 4K? I was specifically staying away from 4K as I thought it would be a huge battery drainer? It does tick a lot of my boxes though. It actually works out cheaper for me to get the XPS 15 as I get a 15% discount due to being a student. Thank you for your links, I've added them to my bookmarks.

[Kimpton]

3 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

XPS 15 or UX501 - both are fantastic

Avoid the Blade - it overheats, runs extremely loud and has serious quality control and support problems.

Thanks for the tip, I actually read this on an article site (toms hardware?) but as it was the only reference, I didn't take much notice. I'll scratch the blade off my list, it was already a bit pricey.

[Kimpton]

Does anyone know if their will be a XPS 15 2016 model? Possibly with the new GTX 1060 (as they are getting rid of the M), should I wait? I wouldn't be buying this laptop till mid-late October anyway. I'm not in a super rush to get on just yet. On top of that, I'm trying to see if my UNI will give me a Laptop.

[don_svetlio]

15 minutes ago, Kimpton said:

Does anyone know if their will be a XPS 15 2016 model? Possibly with the new GTX 1060 (as they are getting rid of the M), should I wait? I wouldn't be buying this laptop till mid-late October anyway. I'm not in a super rush to get on just yet. On top of that, I'm trying to see if my UNI will give me a Laptop.

1060 is too hot and power-hungry - at most you'd get a 7700HQ - 960M is here to stay for now. Also, keep in mind, if buying a XPS 15 - buy the i7 model - i5 models throttle

[don_svetlio]

25 minutes ago, Kimpton said:

Thanks for the tip, I actually read this on an article site (toms hardware?) but as it was the only reference, I didn't take much notice. I'll scratch the blade off my list, it was already a bit pricey.

Blade and Blade Stealth both have serious problems which no reviewer aside from Gaming Laptop Junky and NBC are covering. Most owners of the Blade series on NBR forums are really pissed cause of that

[Pendragon]

2 hours ago, Kimpton said:

XPS 15: http://www.dell.com/uk/p/xps-15-9550-laptop/pd?ref=121_img&oc=cnx5525&model_id=xps-15-9550-laptop

Random Brand: https://www.scan.co.uk/products/173-scan-3xs-lg17-vengeance-g-sync-gtx-1060-core-i7-6700hq-16gb-ddr4-240gb-ssd-1tb-hdd-win-10?utm_source=google+shopping&utm_medium=cpc&gclid=Cj0KEQjwyJi_BRDLusby7_S7z-IBEiQAwCVvny8VWBIY0_ojCBCHfpgdrZ0t50lCZSpOMa8Xq0BazNAaAmP-8P8HAQ

These are pretty big differences in these two selections.

 

XPS15 is great. Everyone already mentioned that.

The "Random Brand" you listed is actually Clevo and one of the best Pascal gaming laptops currently on the market. With a 1060, it'll be more powerful than your desktop rig with a 970 in it. The 15in version of it is https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/defianceIII-15/. You can also find it from scan.co.uk. Clevo just makes laptops, and all there other retailers just rebrand them. They are very solid laptops. 

[Kimpton]

11 hours ago, Pendragon said:

These are pretty big differences in these two selections.

 

XPS15 is great. Everyone already mentioned that.

The "Random Brand" you listed is actually Clevo and one of the best Pascal gaming laptops currently on the market. With a 1060, it'll be more powerful than your desktop rig with a 970 in it. The 15in version of it is https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/notebooks/defianceIII-15/. You can also find it from scan.co.uk. Clevo just makes laptops, and all there other retailers just rebrand them. They are very solid laptops. 

Ahh I see, does the Clevo sound like its taking off under heavy load? Or does it over heat? Things to consider.

 

Another laptop I've seen is the: http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-7559-laptop/pd?oc=cn95704&model_id=inspiron-15-7559-laptop#secondaryContent I'm pretty sure this beats the £1400 model XPS 15 for only £1000: has the same processor, but a 4K screen instead of 1080p with a 4GB 960M instead of the 2GB. Apart from the SSD, it wins all round? Is there much difference in the speed of Ram? DDR4 sounds nice, but how much in performance is it better than DDR3L ?

[Kimpton]

13 hours ago, Erik Sieghart said:

I could use my XPS to play overwatch on high settings. It just ran super hot.

Noticeably hot? Or just a bit warm? I don;t want a laptop that sounds like its lifting off to the moon. But I wouldn't mind if it just ran a little hot with low fan speeds.It can't be too hot to touch or thermal throttle.

[don_svetlio]

1 minute ago, Kimpton said:

Ahh I see, does the Clevo sound like its taking off under heavy load? Or does it over heat? Things to consider.

 

Another laptop I've seen is the: http://www.dell.com/uk/p/inspiron-15-7559-laptop/pd?oc=cn95704&model_id=inspiron-15-7559-laptop#secondaryContent I'm pretty sure this beats the £1400 model XPS 15 for only £1000: has the same processor, but a 4K screen instead of 1080p with a 4GB 960M instead of the 2GB. Apart from the SSD, it wins all round? Is there much difference in the speed of Ram? DDR4 sounds nice, but how much in performance is it better than DDR3L ?

The 7559 is nowhere near as good as the XPS 15 - 7559 is plastic with a crappy keyboard and sub-par display. XPS 15 is made of high-end carbon fibre and aluminium. It has a MUCH better keyboard and the IGZO dispaly of the XPS is unrivaled.

 

Just now, Kimpton said:

Noticeably hot? Or just a bit warm? I don;t want a laptop that sounds like its lifting off to the moon. But I wouldn't mind if it just ran a little hot with low fan speeds.It can't be too hot to touch or thermal throttle.

If you want a silent laptop - UX501 is probably your best bet

[Kimpton]

2 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

The 7559 is nowhere near as good as the XPS 15 - 7559 is plastic with a crappy keyboard and sub-par display. XPS 15 is made of high-end carbon fibre and aluminium. It has a MUCH better keyboard and the IGZO dispaly of the XPS is unrivaled.

 

If you want a silent laptop - UX501 is probably your best bet

I noticed you said in another thread that 2GB graphics card is not enough. Doesn't that rule out the XPS 15 and the zenbook? They both cap with models of 2GB 960m

[don_svetlio]

Just now, Kimpton said:

I noticed you said in another thread that 2GB graphics card is not enough. Doesn't that rule out the XPS 15 and the zenbook? They both cap with models of 2GB 960m

UX501 has a 4GB 960M. XPS 15 is not a gaming device primarily - it's a work-grade machine with gaming capability for less demanding games.

[Kimpton]

Just now, don_svetlio said:

UX501 has a 4GB 960M. XPS 15 is not a gaming device primarily - it's a work-grade machine with gaming capability for less demanding games.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zenbook-UX501VW-DS71T-HID1-i7-6700HQ-2-6-3-5GHz-Touchscreen/dp/B0190DG32G?th=1 ???

[don_svetlio]

3 minutes ago, Kimpton said:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zenbook-UX501VW-DS71T-HID1-i7-6700HQ-2-6-3-5GHz-Touchscreen/dp/B0190DG32G?th=1 ???

Standard config is 4GB. Check other sites - not sure why Amazon.co.uk doesn't have it as 4GB

[Kimpton]

4 minutes ago, don_svetlio said:

Standard config is 4GB. Check other sites - not sure why Amazon.co.uk doesn't have it as 4GB

I'm having a look around - only sites I can find want to ship it from the US (I'm from the UK), do you know a estore in Europe?

[don_svetlio]

5 minutes ago, Kimpton said:

I'm having a look around - only sites I can find want to ship it from the US (I'm from the UK), do you know a estore in Europe?

Hmmm, not that I can recall. It's very odd that you have the 2GB model as Asus' uk site lists 4GB

[Kimpton]

8 hours ago, don_svetlio said:

Hmmm, not that I can recall. It's very odd that you have the 2GB model as Asus' uk site lists 4GB

Okay I've spent all day researching laptops. 

 

I'm going to wait for October/December *ish* before I make a purchase. Firstly let me start with this: I spoke with a dell rep today, and I explained my situation, to which he gave me a little insight to the upcoming XPS 15 2017 model, there will be some confirmed info released around mid to late October, with expected release of December/January time. All he could tell me as that there will be an upgraded graphics card (He wouldn't elaborate) SO I assume he means either 4GB 960m OR possibly a 1050? Who knows. This was enough to make me reconsider. I much prefer the XPS design (I think its the bessel) so if it was packing a 4GB gtx, I would prefer it. 

 

Secondly, while doing my research, the 4GB 960m zenbook is not released officially in Europe. It has launched in the US, and you could order from the US site, (I assume I have to pay a import tax and possibly VAT?) which makes the XPS a much cheaper solution for me. (Plus I have a 15% discount on XPS devices).

 

Lastly, I considered selling my desktop. I would have thought I could get around 800 for the base unit, and use that towards my laptop. I would keep my monitor, to act as a second display. Thoughts on this? Is the XPS 15 a desktop replacement, you can see my PC specs above. If the graphics card and processor are a massive step down, I would reconsider this, as I would like at least one device to handle extensive gaming and work loads.

[Squirrel724]

A 960M isn't really powerful enough to use 4GB of VRAM. I have an XPS 15 which I use for gaming as well as school and I have not had any issues with running out of VRAM.