Laptop search for university

[ccwky12]

I'm attempting to find the best solution for an all-in-one solution for gaming and schoolwork, I currently have no clue as to a career path but i was hoping to have a system that would be the most applicable to a majority of degrees, currently I'm looking at:

XPS 15 9570 (I7 256 ssd 16gb ram)

XPS 13 9370 (I7 256 ssd 16 gb ram with a GTX 980ti via thunderbolt 3)

Dell G7 7588 (I7 128 gb ssd with 1Tb HDD 16 gb ram)

my current PC is:

I7 6700k 

GTX 980ti

32 gb ram

1 TB Samsung 850 Evo 2.5" (boot drive)

1 tb Crucial bx100 ssd 

 

I'm trying to avoid taking my current tower to university for space concerns, MacOs is not an option, I live in the U.s and the max budget (peripherals included) is $2,000 USD (though below or close to $1,500 would be far easier to swallow), preferably the battery would last 6 or more hours doing light tasks such as web browsing. Thunderbolt 3 is a must have as i wish to keep the laptop for several years.  I'm very hopeful for guidance as I really don't have a clue as to what I should do. Thank you for your interest in assisting me.

[TLCH723]

XPS 15 has thermal issues so I would avoid.

G7 will not last 6 hours on battery. Review sites clocked it around 4 to 5. And is heavy.

 

Out of those three, I would pick XPS 13 and hold off on the eGPU. How much time are you going to spend on gaming instead of studying or hanging out in party?

 

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, ccwky12 said:

the battery would last 6 or more hours doing light tasks such as web browsing

Aero 15/15X with undervolt+LM or eGPU solution (XPS 13)

[ccwky12]

2 hours ago, TLCH723 said:

XPS 15 has thermal issues so I would avoid.

G7 will not last 6 hours on battery. Review sites clocked it around 4 to 5. And is heavy.

 

Out of those three, I would pick XPS 13 and hold off on the eGPU. How much time are you going to spend on gaming instead of studying or hanging out in party?

 

basically no partying, I'm not a very social person. and medium studying 

Also, what thermal issues are you referring to on the XPS 15, looking at pricing the XPS 13 seems to be the same price for way worse performance (at least on Dell's Website) as long as it doesn't throttle to the point of performing consistently at the level of XPS 13's components and the battery life is similar I would think it should be fine, am I misinformed?

[ccwky12]

16 minutes ago, ZM Fong said:

Aero 15/15X with undervolt+LM or eGPU solution (XPS 13)

I have no experience with undervolting or LM(which i dont even know what that is) is that a simple process? Will it void the warranty?

 

[genexis_x]

1 hour ago, ccwky12 said:

I have no experience with undervolting or LM(which i dont even know what that is) is that a simple process? Will it void the warranty?

Undervolting is simple to do, Notebookcheck has a guide (Throttlestop)

 

LM is liquid metal, if you don't know how to apply it correctly and wanted to keep the warranty (you'll void the warranty if anything is damaged), buy from resellers like GentechPC, they can do it for you while keeping the warranty

[Commodus]

I'm leaning toward the XPS 13 + eGPU option, especially since you could bring the 980 Ti with you.

 

I've seen many people declare they're going to get a gaming laptop that will replace their beefy desktop and find out that they ended up with the worst of both worlds: it was neither fast enough to truly replace their desktop (and of course, not really upgradeable) nor portable enough to be easy to carry.  You may think you can handle a 15-inch gaming laptop... but then you realize you're likely going to be hauling this thing across campus, and every extra pound matters when it's sitting on your shoulder or back.

 

The main reason I'd consider a larger model is if you know you're going to be doing compute-intensive tasks or ones that really, really need a lot of screen real estate (CAD, 4K video editing, scientific calculations, that sort of thing).  But even then, it's not too much of a stretch to get a decent external monitor.  Otherwise, get something that will be easier to carry.

[TLCH723]

5 hours ago, ccwky12 said:

basically no partying, I'm not a very social person. and medium studying 

Also, what thermal issues are you referring to on the XPS 15, looking at pricing the XPS 13 seems to be the same price for way worse performance (at least on Dell's Website) as long as it doesn't throttle to the point of performing consistently at the level of XPS 13's components and the battery life is similar I would think it should be fine, am I misinformed?

Even though it looks better on paper, it cannot perform due to thermal throttling. You can read more about its issues here https://www.ultrabookreview.com/19675-im-not-buying-new-xps-15-9570/

 

XPS 13 also can be easily charge with a regular power bank. the 15 needs Dell's.

 

Also consider buying refurb from Dell outlet. Right now, they have 17% off on XPS

[ccwky12]

7 hours ago, TLCH723 said:

Even though it looks better on paper, it cannot perform due to thermal throttling. You can read more about its issues here https://www.ultrabookreview.com/19675-im-not-buying-new-xps-15-9570/

 

XPS 13 also can be easily charge with a regular power bank. the 15 needs Dell's.

 

Also consider buying refurb from Dell outlet. Right now, they have 17% off on XPS

Based on everyone's suggestions, (thank you for your time btw) I believe the XPS 13 as you mention is likely the best choice, I keep portability, Thunderbolt 3 with 4 PCIE lanes, acceptable gaming performance and possible graphics work on the eGPU, thanks again for the input and helping me narrow down my choice