Dell's 2015 XPS 13 - A Real MBA Challenger

[Vesuvio Cat]

Jeeze, someone forgot to take their blood pressure medication. Anyway, perhaps it was the XPS 12 I had. It was indeed a couple years back, so it can't be the same one you are talking about. At any rate, it blew some serious donkey dong. I had to trade it in twice because of the track pad issue and software crashes and finally just gave it back to my company and bought a MBA for business use. I'd rather buy my own work computer and be able to get all my work done in half the time than lug around a ****** ass Windows laptop with a buggy track pad.

 

[kis]

Dell's 2015 XPS 13 - A Real MBA Challenger

Jeeze, someone forgot to take their blood pressure medication. Anyway, perhaps it was the XPS 12 I had. It was indeed a couple years back, so it can't be the same one you are talking about. At any rate, it blew some serious donkey dong. I had to trade it in twice because of the track pad issue and software crashes and finally just gave it back to my company and bought a MBA for business use. I'd rather buy my own work computer and be able to get all my work done in half the time than lug around a ****** ass Windows laptop with a buggy track pad.

I agree, previous Dell laptops sucked big time. I had the dubious pleasure of having to use those for years and they all sucked. They have, however, put some serious thought in the 2015 model and it really paid off. The trackpad isn't buggy, it's just not 100% as accurate as what Apple produces. They advantages of the 2015 XPS 13 far outweigh the disadvantages, however.

 

[Y So Jelly]

Is Dell still using the same charger port? I had an 09 model and it was common for them get loose over time, eventually becoming unable to charge. Stylistically I like the new HP Spectre, Samsung Book 9 Plus, and Yoga 3 Pro.

 

[AWgamer]

Windows 8 is the tough sell on even high quality laptops like the XPS.

 

[kis]

Windows 8 is the tough sell on even high quality laptops like the XPS.

Indeed

 

[newellj]

Windows 8 is the tough sell on even high quality laptops like the XPS.

8.0 was literally unusable without a touchscreen. 8.1 makes some interface changes that were probably a bad idea, but the OS itself is the fastest, lightest and most stable version of Windows ever released, and I have used every one of them. It runs better on my aging Dell XPS M1330 with 4GB RAM and a T9300 CPU than Win 7 or Win XP ever did.

 

[joeblow7777]

8.0 was literally unusable without a touchscreen. 8.1 makes some interface changes that were probably a bad idea, but the OS itself is the fastest, lightest and most stable version of Windows ever released, and I have used every one of them. It runs better on my aging Dell XPS M1330 with 4GB RAM and a T9300 CPU than Win 7 or Win XP ever did.

"Literally unusable"??

It's not even figuratively unusable. While I prefer to have a touchscreen on my Windows 8/8.1 laptops and I've owned two such PCs, including this new XPS, to be honest, I seldom use the touchscreen. I just like having that feature so that I can use it when I feel like it.

 

[newellj]

"Literally unusable"??

It's not even figuratively unusable. While I prefer to have a touchscreen on my Windows 8/8.1 laptops and I've owned two such PCs, including this new XPS, to be honest, I seldom use the touchscreen. I just like having that feature so that I can use it when I feel like it.

Yes, without a touchscreen you could barely turn 8.0 off. 8.1 made a lot of significant changes in the UI. I am a big 8.1 supporter, but 8.0 was a completely different kettle of fish.

 

[joeblow7777]

Yes, without a touchscreen you could barely turn 8.0 off. 8.1 made a lot of significant changes in the UI. I am a big 8.1 supporter, but 8.0 was a completely different kettle of fish.

Put the cursor in the corner, charms bar appears, there are the power options including shutdown. You can literally turn it off with a single mouse movement and two clicks.

I won't deny that 8.1 made improvements that should have been there from the start, but it's quite an exaggeration to say it was unusable without a touchscreen.

 

[iBilal]

Dell .. plastic crap .. awful batteries .. and don't even get me started on the trackpad ..

 

[bluespark]

You revived an old thread to add that?

 

[iBilal]

yes..

 

[venom600]

You are saying that carbon fiber composite, a lighter, more versatile, and far more expensive material than aluminum is cheap plastic? You lost all credibility right there.

 

[iBilal]

I was talking generally about Dell computers ..

 

[yansun]

So why you're making this statement in a thread about a specific Dell laptop?

 

[iBilal]

.. because I've had a really bad experience with Dell laptops, in the past ..

 

[SmOgER]

You are saying that carbon fiber composite, a lighter, more versatile, and far more expensive material than aluminum is cheap plastic? You lost all credibility right there.

Personally, I don't care much how expensive some material is as long as it feels not sturdy enough. Anything which is visibly flexible in my book is a wrong material for a premium priced laptop. I don't care if you call it cheap/expensive plastic, carbon fiber, 'glass' or whatever... Chassis (including keyboard) shouldn't flex at all and that's the end of it.

 

[venom600]

Personally, I don't care much how expensive some material is as long as it feels not sturdy enough. Anything which is visibly flexible in my book is a wrong material for a premium priced laptop. I don't care if you call it cheap/expensive plastic, carbon fiber, 'glass' or whatever... Chassis (including keyboard) shouldn't flex at all and that's the end of it.

Carbon Fiber is one of the most rigid materials known to man. That's why it's used to form load bearing components on airplanes and race cars. It doesn't deform hardly at all... it just shatters like glass under extreme load. I've held the XPS 13 on multiple occasions, both the old and new versions, and neither of them flexes even a little bit. If you think it visibly flexes, then so does the Macbook/Air/Pro. They are all super premium, rigid, high quality notebooks.

 

[s2mikey]

Carbon Fiber is one of the most rigid materials known to man. That's why it's used to form load bearing components on airplanes and race cars. It doesn't deform hardly at all... it just shatters like glass under extreme load. I've held the XPS 13 on multiple occasions, both the old and new versions, and neither of them flexes even a little bit. If you think it visibly flexes, then so does the Macbook/Air/Pro. They are all super premium, rigid, high quality notebooks.

I agre - carbon fiber is WAY more exotic than aluminum. As for Dell laptops, I use them at work and honestly they arent that great. Of course, we just get the basic models though, never the high end ones so not sure if there is a difference. Macs are very nicely made laptops but there ARE some well-made PC-based laptops too. And, Apple doesnt exactly "give" you their laptops either. You pay an exhorbitantly high price for them.

 

[marc55]

As for Dell laptops, I use them at work and honestly they arent that great. Of course, we just get the basic models though, never the high end ones so not sure if there is a difference. Macs are very nicely made laptops but there ARE some well-made PC-based laptops too. And, Apple doesnt exactly "give" you their laptops either. You pay an exhorbitantly high price for them.

Well,.....

You indicate that Dells are not that great, but the only experience with them are the ones at work which aren't that great; so why say Dells are not that great?

Yes there are some well made PC's the include the Dell XPS-15.

"Apple doesn't exactly give them away" If you took the time to compare top PC models to top Apple models you would see they are comparably priced, so PC manufacturer's do not give away their top models either.

 

[SmOgER]

Carbon Fiber is one of the most rigid materials known to man. That's why it's used to form load bearing components on airplanes and race cars. It doesn't deform hardly at all... it just shatters like glass under extreme load. I've held the XPS 13 on multiple occasions, both the old and new versions, and neither of them flexes even a little bit. If you think it visibly flexes, then so does the Macbook/Air/Pro. They are all super premium, rigid, high quality notebooks.

Material by itself doesn't tell you the whole story, very much depends on its thickness and things alike. There is carbon-fiber ultrabook by Sony (can't recall the name right now) and it's chassis is MUCH more flexible than Air's or Pro's.

But if it IS indeed rigid, then that's good to know - it would be one of the very few solidly made windows ultrabooks.

 

[SSD-GUY]

After doing some reading on the XPS 13, many reviewers have said that the trackpad is still not on par with MacBooks, and neither is the keyboard.

I just hope Apple have a really good redesign/refresh coming out, as Dell, Microsoft, HP etc really are going all out.

 

[kis]

After doing some reading on the XPS 13, many reviewers have said that the trackpad is still not on par with MacBooks, and neither is the keyboard.

I just hope Apple have a really good redesign/refresh coming out, as Dell, Microsoft, HP etc really are going all out.

There's just been a refresh of the XPS 13 with an improved trackpad. The keyboard is and has always been excellent. I've owned an XPS 13 for 7 months now and it's been a truly excellent experience, including the trackpad. I also own a Retina MacBook Pro - there really isn't that much difference between the trackpads, especially not since Windows 10 has been released. But I admittedly use the touch screen a lot.

 

[SSD-GUY]

There's just been a refresh of the XPS 13 with an improved trackpad. The keyboard is and has always been excellent. I've owned an XPS 13 for 7 months now and it's been a truly excellent experience, including the trackpad. I also own a Retina MacBook Pro - there really isn't that much difference between the trackpads, especially not since Windows 10 has been released. But I admittedly use the touch screen a lot.

I will check out the new reviews too.

May I ask why you own a retina MBA and a XPS 13?

 

[cbautis2]

Carbon Fiber can be made extremely stiff or flexible like the Vaio Pro. Unfortunately PC makers are still cheapening out the way carbon fibers are woven in a way that it'll be very stiff. That's why quality and very stiff carbon fibers in bicycles are extremely expensive. Heck if you get an OCLV 500 series (TREK Bike market) carbon fiber level on the Dell chassis, it would cost upwards of $4000