XPS 13 (9310)

[raqball]

So my X1 Yoga (6th gen) is a brick... This is the 2nd one in a week that's arrived bad... C'mon Lenovo!

Anyways, instead of trying for the 3rd time with the Yoga I am seriously considering the new XPS 13" (9310) with either i5 or i7. Either will be ordered with 16GB RAM and a 512 SSD... The new XPS13's are 16:10 aspect ratio which is nice...

Anyone have the new 9310? I've read they run hot which is why I might consider the i5 instead of the i7. I am a basic home user that does web, email, watching video and light 4K video and photo editing..

Also I am debating between the 1080p matte (non touch) screen and the 4K OLED (touch) screen..

Any insight would be appreciated...

 

[skaertus]

So my X1 Yoga (6th gen) is a brick... This is the 2nd one in a week that's arrived bad... C'mon Lenovo!

Anyways, instead of trying for the 3rd time with the Yoga I am seriously considering the new XPS 13" (9310) with either i5 or i7. Either will be ordered with 16GB RAM and a 512 SSD... The new XPS13's are 16:10 aspect ratio which is nice...

Anyone have the new 9310? I've read they run hot which is why I might consider the i5 instead of the i7. I am a basic home user that does web, email, watching video and light 4K video and photo editing..

Also I am debating between the 1080p matte (non touch) screen and the 4K OLED (touch) screen..

Any insight would be appreciated...

I do not have an XPS 13 9310, but I can give you some input. I had an XPS 15 9550, which ended up failing. It was a nice laptop, and, even being an earlier version of the XPS line, it shares some features with the XPS 13 9310.

SCREEN

I had the 4K LCD screen, which is a delight (there was no OLED screen available back then). Very beautiful and bright. The colors were very saturated, but I think it was a good thing. It consumed a lot of battery, but it was hands down the best feature of the laptop, and I was so glad that I opted for the 4K screen instead of the Full HD. The only issue is that the screen of my XPS 15 was much more reflective than the one in a MacBook.

I have seen an XPS 15 with an OLED screen at a Best Buy store and it was even better than the LCD (but it should be reflective as well). The OLED screen on the XPS 15 was incredibly beautiful, perhaps the best screen I have ever seen on a laptop. If I had the option, I would go for the OLED screen, it is a thing of beauty, a joy every time you look at it.

MATERIALS

The XPS 15 had an OK build quality, which was not top-notch, and the same applies to the XPS 15, which is similar. The carbon fiber has a nice touch, but, combined with the aluminum in the chassis, it gives an impression of being not as solid as a MacBook.

It did not run too hot, but note that it was a 15.6-inch laptop, significantly larger than the XPS 13.

My specific XPS 15 had a lot of problems, some of them related to build quality and reliability, but I suppose Dell had the time to fix them over the years.

KEYBOARD AND TRACKPAD

The keyboard was OK, but not amazing. The space key in my XPS 15 started to register double taps. In any case, other keyboards were better. The Dell Latitude 7000 series had a much better keyboard, and so does the Microsoft Surface.

The trackpad was fine, but nowhere near the perfect responsiveness of the MacBooks. I suppose Dell made them better over the years.

 

[raqball]

I do not have an XPS 13 9310, but I can give you some input. I had an XPS 15 9550, which ended up failing. It was a nice laptop, and, even being an earlier version of the XPS line, it shares some features with the XPS 13 9310.

SCREEN

I had the 4K LCD screen, which is a delight (there was no OLED screen available back then). Very beautiful and bright. The colors were very saturated, but I think it was a good thing. It consumed a lot of battery, but it was hands down the best feature of the laptop, and I was so glad that I opted for the 4K screen instead of the Full HD. The only issue is that the screen of my XPS 15 was much more reflective than the one in a MacBook.

I have seen an XPS 15 with an OLED screen at a Best Buy store and it was even better than the LCD (but it should be reflective as well). The OLED screen on the XPS 15 was incredibly beautiful, perhaps the best screen I have ever seen on a laptop. If I had the option, I would go for the OLED screen, it is a thing of beauty, a joy every time you look at it.

MATERIALS

The XPS 15 had an OK build quality, which was not top-notch, and the same applies to the XPS 15, which is similar. The carbon fiber has a nice touch, but, combined with the aluminum in the chassis, it gives an impression of being not as solid as a MacBook.

It did not run too hot, but note that it was a 15.6-inch laptop, significantly larger than the XPS 13.

My specific XPS 15 had a lot of problems, some of them related to build quality and reliability, but I suppose Dell had the time to fix them over the years.

KEYBOARD AND TRACKPAD

The keyboard was OK, but not amazing. The space key in my XPS 15 started to register double taps. In any case, other keyboards were better. The Dell Latitude 7000 series had a much better keyboard, and so does the Microsoft Surface.

The trackpad was fine, but nowhere near the perfect responsiveness of the MacBooks. I suppose Dell made them better over the years.

Thanks for the response.. I've mainly read and watched very positive reviews on the 9310 but these are from the normal reviewers, and I generally don't trust them...

I've read the XPS reddit and their official forums. Best I can tell the main issue is heat and the OLED screen has complaints about battery life. I am not worried about battery life diminishing with the OLED as anyone getting a 4K or OLED screen should go into it expecting worse battery life...

I generally don't like glossy screens. Dell says they've added a coating to cut back on that with the OLED but I am skeptical.. I might just get the Arctic White color with the 1080p matte (non touch)...

I've not seen or read many complaints re: the KB or Trackpad..

 

[skaertus]

Thanks for the response.. I've mainly read and watched very positive reviews on the 9310 but these are from the normal reviewers, and I generally don't trust them...

I've read the XPS reddit and their official forums. Best I can tell the main issue is heat and the OLED screen has complaints about battery life. I am not worried about battery life diminishing with the OLED as anyone getting a 4K or OLED screen should go into it expecting worse battery life...

I generally don't like glossy screens. Dell says they've added a coating to cut back on that with the OLED but I am skeptical.. I might just get the Arctic White color with the 1080p matte (non touch)...

I've not seen or read many complaints re: the KB or Trackpad..

I have read many positive reviews as well.

The battery life of my XPS has never been stellar, but I suppose it has improved since then. The high-resolution OLED screen will certainly consume much more battery than a Full HD screen. But the screen is so great that it is worth any hit in battery life. As for the screen being matte, I am skeptical about it. You should see one for yourself to check.

As for the keyboard, I am very, very picky. Everybody praised the keyboard in the XPS 15 back then, but I found it only to be OK. I tend to like keyboards in professional lines of laptops such as the Dell Latitude and the Lenovo ThinkPad. As for the trackpad, I suppose it should be great by now.

 

[raqball]

Been doing some more research and I ended up pulling the trigger on an XPS 13 (13.4" 16:10) with 16GB RAM, 512 SSD, and the OLED screen...

One thing I found interesting when playing around on their site with different configs, is that Dell does not upcharge much for RAM and SSD upgrades. To go from 8GB to 16GB was $100 and to go from 256 SSD to 512 was $100... Half the price of what Apple charges.. C'mon Apple quit ripping us off! LOL...

Says it was ready to ship and will be delivered by the 9th.. If I don't dig the OLED I'll send it back and get the 1080p screen. I really wish Dell had a 3K screen as that would be a nice balance between a good looking screen and battery life...

Mailed both defective X1 Yoga's back this morning and am not going to try a 3rd.. Back on the Air until the Dell arrives..

 

[diamond.g]

Been doing some more research and I ended up pulling the trigger on an XPS 13 (13.4" 16:10) with 16GB RAM, 512 SSD, and the OLED screen...

One thing I found interesting when playing around on their site with different configs, is that Dell does not upcharge much for RAM and SSD upgrades. To go from 8GB to 16GB was $100 and to go from 256 SSD to 512 was $100... Half the price of what Apple charges.. C'mon Apple quit ripping us off! LOL...

Says it was ready to ship and will be delivered by the 9th.. If I don't dig the OLED I'll send it back and get the 1080p screen. I really wish Dell had a 3K screen as that would be a nice balance between a good looking screen and battery life...

Mailed both defective X1 Yoga's back this morning and am not going to try a 3rd.. Back on the Air until the Dell arrives..

In the PC space QHD tends to be the go between for folks that want something between 4K and FHD.

 

[lcseds]

Disappointed to hear about your X1 Yoga Gen 6 experience. That was the machine I had narrowed down to. What problems did you have?

 

[skaertus]

Been doing some more research and I ended up pulling the trigger on an XPS 13 (13.4" 16:10) with 16GB RAM, 512 SSD, and the OLED screen...

One thing I found interesting when playing around on their site with different configs, is that Dell does not upcharge much for RAM and SSD upgrades. To go from 8GB to 16GB was $100 and to go from 256 SSD to 512 was $100... Half the price of what Apple charges.. C'mon Apple quit ripping us off! LOL...

Says it was ready to ship and will be delivered by the 9th.. If I don't dig the OLED I'll send it back and get the 1080p screen. I really wish Dell had a 3K screen as that would be a nice balance between a good looking screen and battery life...

Mailed both defective X1 Yoga's back this morning and am not going to try a 3rd.. Back on the Air until the Dell arrives..

Great buy! Post your impressions on the laptop and particularly on the screen.

 

[raqball]

Great buy! Post your impressions on the laptop and particularly on the screen.

Will do..

My worry with OLED is screen burn in.. I had an LG OLED TV a few years ago and the scrolling tickers that are common on news channels and ESPN was burnt into the screen after several months. I wonder if the same will happen with a PC as the bottom menu bar is static...

Also concerned over brightness as the OLED only rated at 400 nits but I believe OLED screens do not need to be as bright so it might be fine..

 

[minimo3]

I have a 9310 with i7, LCD screen, 16GB ram, 512GB SSD. it’s been regularly used since Feb. very happy with it, I find the keyboard pretty good, it’s no thinkpad keyboard but it’s miles better than the 2016-2020 butterfly keyboard. Overall it’s been a solid workhorse

 

[raqball]

I have a 9310 with i7, LCD screen, 16GB ram, 512GB SSD. it’s been regularly used since Feb. very happy with it, I find the keyboard pretty good, it’s no thinkpad keyboard but it’s miles better than the 2016-2020 butterfly keyboard. Overall it’s been a solid workhorse

Thanks for the reply.. Mine is suppose to ship today and be here Friday.

 

[skaertus]

Will do..

My worry with OLED is screen burn in.. I had an LG OLED TV a few years ago and the scrolling tickers that are common on news channels and ESPN was burnt into the screen after several months. I wonder if the same will happen with a PC as the bottom menu bar is static...

Also concerned over brightness as the OLED only rated at 400 nits but I believe OLED screens do not need to be as bright so it might be fine..

I suppose 400 nits is enough. The screen on the MacBook Air has some 400 nits.

 

[LordVic]

So my X1 Yoga (6th gen) is a brick... This is the 2nd one in a week that's arrived bad... C'mon Lenovo!

Anyways, instead of trying for the 3rd time with the Yoga I am seriously considering the new XPS 13" (9310) with either i5 or i7. Either will be ordered with 16GB RAM and a 512 SSD... The new XPS13's are 16:10 aspect ratio which is nice...

Anyone have the new 9310? I've read they run hot which is why I might consider the i5 instead of the i7. I am a basic home user that does web, email, watching video and light 4K video and photo editing..

Also I am debating between the 1080p matte (non touch) screen and the 4K OLED (touch) screen..

Any insight would be appreciated...

Yes.

Avoid it. Especially the 11th gen i7 models. i've a few different years worth of these models, but I can absolutely say the 9310 is problematic and has issues I have never had with any previous XPS 13 i've used.

They run hot as you mentioned. Really hot and not in good ways at times. This was not an issue with previous generations either. There is something fundamentally broken with the heating solution in this version (or the latest 11th gen intel CPU's are that bad)

There are other issues

Removal of ports: the 2021 only has 2 USB-C/thunderbolt ports. A reduction of 2 from previous years. EVen on the i7 version with 16gb RAM.

Constant "waking" issues where the laptop will change it's sleep state, wake up, and then promptly overheat because the sleep state won't also turn on any fans. I burned with blisters my finger last week taking it out of the bag. The only real fix is remove sleep states in the bios, or don't use windows.

it shipped with about 3.5gb of RAM utilization in pure absollutely ****** DELL specific applications pre-installed using Microsoft's AppX Packaging. Meanign even if you "uninstall" them, they're still technically running and installed and show back up when any new user logs in, or even after some updates. You'll have to use POwershelll to fully remove them from running. On shipping, this laptop started with 6gb of the 16 utilized due to bloat. I was able to remove most of it, and bring it's footprint down to 1.5gb of RAM utilization.

The power button was moved to where the delete key used to be. And delete key / function key shrunk. not a fan of this. I end up smacking the power button instead of the Delete key when I touch type.

Simply put, the 11th gen based Dell XPS 13 is a massive regression from the previous generations. I have never had the same problems with the 10th or 9th gen XPS 13s with my users as I have now with the 9310s. My VP has outright removed windows and installed Ubuntu over the issues and it's been amuch much btter experience. but the BIOS overheating issues just won't go away.

 

[raqball]

Yes.

Avoid it. Especially the 11th gen i7 models. i've a few different years worth of these models, but I can absolutely say the 9310 is problematic and has issues I have never had with any previous XPS 13 i've used.

They run hot as you mentioned. Really hot and not in good ways at times. This was not an issue with previous generations either. There is something fundamentally broken with the heating solution in this version (or the latest 11th gen intel CPU's are that bad)

There are other issues

Removal of ports: the 2021 only has 2 USB-C/thunderbolt ports. A reduction of 2 from previous years. EVen on the i7 version with 16gb RAM.

Constant "waking" issues where the laptop will change it's sleep state, wake up, and then promptly overheat because the sleep state won't also turn on any fans. I burned with blisters my finger last week taking it out of the bag. The only real fix is remove sleep states in the bios, or don't use windows.

it shipped with about 3.5gb of RAM utilization in pure absollutely ****** DELL specific applications pre-installed using Microsoft's AppX Packaging. Meanign even if you "uninstall" them, they're still technically running and installed and show back up when any new user logs in, or even after some updates. You'll have to use POwershelll to fully remove them from running. On shipping, this laptop started with 6gb of the 16 utilized due to bloat. I was able to remove most of it, and bring it's footprint down to 1.5gb of RAM utilization.

The power button was moved to where the delete key used to be. And delete key / function key shrunk. not a fan of this. I end up smacking the power button instead of the Delete key when I touch type.

Simply put, the 11th gen based Dell XPS 13 is a massive regression from the previous generations. I have never had the same problems with the 10th or 9th gen XPS 13s with my users as I have now with the 9310s. My VP has outright removed windows and installed Ubuntu over the issues and it's been amuch much btter experience. but the BIOS overheating issues just won't go away.

Thanks for the reply..

Yes I've read they run hot but I kind of expect that for as thin and small as it is especially when running an i7... I thought about configuring with the i5 as that might help some..If it runs to hot then it will go back to the mothership!

As far as the bloat goes, not really an issue as I always install fresh Windows from USB stick then just download the drivers for the machine from the support site.

I am not a fast typer and as a matter of fact I am a hunt and pecker. Not sure if the del key will effect me but time will tell..

I use to strictly use Ubuntu several years ago but moved away from it. I might try it again on the machine as it appears to support Linux very well..

Thanks again for the feedback..

 

[lcseds]

Will do..

My worry with OLED is screen burn in.. I had an LG OLED TV a few years ago and the scrolling tickers that are common on news channels and ESPN was burnt into the screen after several months. I wonder if the same will happen with a PC as the bottom menu bar is static...

Also concerned over brightness as the OLED only rated at 400 nits but I believe OLED screens do not need to be as bright so it might be fine..

Same with an LG OLED TV here also. Wife likes a music channel on cable. The music channel likes to show a yellow or pink horizontal bar. Well the LG OLED made that bar more permanent. Only two years old and NOT a warranty issue. I will do UHD rather than OLED for a notebook. Nobody will warranty OLED burn in.

 

[LordVic]

Thanks for the reply..

Yes I've read they run hot but I kind of expect that for as thin and small as it is especially when running an i7... I thought about configuring with the i5 as that might help some..If it runs to hot then it will go back to the mothership!

As far as the bloat goes, not really an issue as I always install fresh Windows from USB stick then just download the drivers for the machine from the support site.

I am not a fast typer and as a matter of fact I am a hunt and pecker. Not sure if the del key will effect me but time will tell..

I use to strictly use Ubuntu several years ago but moved away from it. I might try it again on the machine as it appears to support Linux very well..

Thanks again for the feedback..

The Dell XPS's do support Ubuntu almost right out of the box. I think for a while they were even selling them with Ubuntu so that's probably why. I find in testing it runs cooler, and faster than Windows on the same hardware.

Good on refreshing the device without the bloat. But Windows10 (20h1 and later) is bloated on it's own. Microsoft's added a lot of "features" that they turn on by default and install.

A base windows10 20h1 install will take about 30gb of space (win10 on launch was around 12). And about 2.5gb of utilized RAM on boot. I still recommend running some basic powershell to remove the bloatware you don't intend to use. A "clean" debloated windows will run a lot leaner at around 1 to 1.5gb of utilization on idle.

Other than the power button location, the keyboard is quite nice, clicky and responsive. the screen is bright and really really nice.

As for the overheating. why I bring it up as a concern is that it's far worse than the previous XPS's. I have never had my i7 XPS overheat the same way this thing will. I've had to turn it off at times and put it on my AC Vent just to get it to cool down after a sustained load. Never had this problem on the previous XPS I used. I'm not the only one. Everyone who has received one of these laptops has reported the overheating problem and the fans ramping up constantly.

I don't know if this is Dell's fault or Intel's 11th series CPU's are just blowing past thermal limits. But I honestly cannot recommend the 13" XPS at this point of time. Unless these issues really don't bother you.

 

[raqball]

Same with an LG OLED TV here also. Wife likes a music channel on cable. The music channel likes to show a yellow or pink horizontal bar. Well the LG OLED made that bar more permanent. Only two years old and NOT a warranty issue. I will do UHD rather than OLED for a notebook. Nobody will warranty OLED burn in.

Same thing LG told me, not covered under warranty.. I've read these PC OLED have shifting pixels to mitigate the problem but I am skeptical..

The Dell XPS's do support Ubuntu almost right out of the box. I think for a while they were even selling them with Ubuntu so that's probably why. I find in testing it runs cooler, and faster than Windows on the same hardware.

Good on refreshing the device without the bloat. But Windows10 (20h1 and later) is bloated on it's own. Microsoft's added a lot of "features" that they turn on by default and install.

A base windows10 20h1 install will take about 30gb of space (win10 on launch was around 12). And about 2.5gb of utilized RAM on boot. I still recommend running some basic powershell to remove the bloatware you don't intend to use. A "clean" debloated windows will run a lot leaner at around 1 to 1.5gb of utilization on idle.

Other than the power button location, the keyboard is quite nice, clicky and responsive. the screen is bright and really really nice.

As for the overheating. why I bring it up as a concern is that it's far worse than the previous XPS's. I have never had my i7 XPS overheat the same way this thing will. I've had to turn it off at times and put it on my AC Vent just to get it to cool down after a sustained load. Never had this problem on the previous XPS I used. I'm not the only one. Everyone who has received one of these laptops has reported the overheating problem and the fans ramping up constantly.

I don't know if this is Dell's fault or Intel's 11th series CPU's are just blowing past thermal limits. But I honestly cannot recommend the 13" XPS at this point of time. Unless these issues really don't bother you.

Thanks again. I don't mind some heat and fan noise when the machine is pushed but if it behaves differently, then back to Dell it will go..

 

[raqball]

The XPS 13 came this morning and I got it all setup.. 1st I booted it to the stock Dell install and noticed there was a lot of Dell apps and programs on there. Next I ran the BIOS update and then booted to a fresh Windows 10 USB install stick. I noticed there were 4 or 5 partitions on the SSD so I deleted them all, formatted and started fresh... Installed from the USB stick then downloaded and installed all the relevant drivers from Dell's website for the machine.. The only Dell program I downloaded was Dell Update..

After that I deleted some more stuff via Powershell and axed a few others via registry.. It came with Win 10 home but I might add a Pro license to it later...

The machine did get warm when running Windows updates. It did not get blazing hot but it was warmer than most PC's I've had experience with. I expected this as the machine is so thin, light and compact.. It also has an i7 crammed in there. While it did get above average warm I would not say it got hot..

The OLED screen is absolutely gorgeous! No if ands or buts about it.. WOW!

I've only had it a day so I can't really comment more than that at the moment. So far, with the fresh Windows 10 install, everything is fine..

 

[maflynn]

noticed there was a lot of Dell apps and programs on there.

I'd say at this point, Dell is probably one of the worst, if not THE worst offender when it comes to bloatware.

As for the partitions, windows creates 2 or 3 (I forget to be honest) and there's probably a 4th partition that contained the recovery image, so that you could have brought back to factory fresh condition (if that was important to you).

 

[raqball]

I'd say at this point, Dell is probably one of the worst, if not THE worst offender when it comes to bloatware.

As for the partitions, windows creates 2 or 3 (I forget to be honest) and there's probably a 4th partition that contained the recovery image, so that you could have brought back to factory fresh condition (if that was important to you).

There was quite a bit of what I'd consider bloat / junk on the machine..

Yes one of the partitions was recovery but I doubt I'd ever want to put all that crud back on via factory reset...

 

[raqball]

Disappointed to hear about your X1 Yoga Gen 6 experience. That was the machine I had narrowed down to. What problems did you have?

Apologies, I missed your post..

My 1st X1 Yoga had a screen defect. At 1st I thought it was a dead pixel but it was not. I think it was a spec of dust or something behind the panel.

The 2nd X1 Yoga bricked during BIOS flash.

Maybe it was just a bad batch / run or maybe Lenovo is going downhill. I've had several Thinkpads in the past and didn't have many issues at all with them.

I was going to try a 3rd but decided against it. Don't let my experience steer you away as they are fantastic machines. If you get a dud, just return it for a refund. I believe they have a 30-day return policy like Dell..

 

[entatlrg]

Was just about to order an XPS 13. Glad I read user comments beforehand.

How fast I forget all the hassles of setting up a new windows notebook …uninstalling / reinstalling, finding and installing the right drivers. The potential problems if you make a mistake. It all comes back to me now.

Seems like not much has changed since I last tried an XPS 5 years ago.

In my case the near perfect notebook is right under my nose. My M1 MacBook Air. I bought Macs over the years to get out of Dell hell. Every once in a while I get the idea to try Windows again, every time I regret it.

Maybe updates or the next gen will improve. Until then time to get back to enjoying my hassle free MacBook Air!

 

[raqball]

Was just about to order an XPS 13. Glad I read user comments beforehand.

How fast I forget all the hassles of setting up a new windows notebook …uninstalling / reinstalling, finding and installing the right drivers. The potential problems if you make a mistake. It all comes back to me now.

Hassle? Naw it's actually very easy. A clean Win 10 install is lightning fast these days. The drivers are right there on the product page and there is really nothing to mess up unless you want to tweek it even more by editing the registry or removing stuff via Powershell. Neither of those are needed but I do it to have a cleaner install..

I was resetting my M1 Air at the same time I was setting up the Dell.. The Dell was done before the Air was reset. When I reset the Air I erased the SSD, downloaded and installed macOS and let me tell you, it's slow..... Very slow.. As far as Mac's go you can be done at that point, just like a clean Win 10 install or you can continue to remove bloat and tweek.

I consider a lot of the macOS pre-installed apps as bloat. I'm looking at you Chess, Garageband and a few others. Deleting Mac apps is not as simple as dragging them to the trash if you really want them gone. If you do really want a mac app completely gone then there are several areas (libraries) in the macOS file system where you need to go, know what files to delete, and then delete them to completely remove the app.. This is very time consuming depending on how much you want to thoroughly debloat macOS..

Not sure why the process I followed would scare anyone off. It's easy, fast, and issue free... Again, there is no need to further tweek with fresh Windows unless you want to...

 

[pdauser92]

I have owned an XPS 9310 2 in 1 for about 3 weeks. Initially it ran hot and the fans were constantly on, but I put some of that down to running Windows updates and syncing with OneDrive.

Downloading and installing Dell's Dynamic Tuning Driver (https://www.dell.com/support/home/e...e=wt64a&productcode=xps-13-9310-2-in-1-laptop) instantly dealt with the fan noise and heating issue. This is with setting the performance to "optimised" via the Dell Power Manager.

I currently have no issues with the machine, although I appreciate that the 2 in 1 has slight differences compared to the standard clamshell version. I haven't performed a clean install and am using it as-is apart from installing the tuning driver previously mentioned.

The machine is an i7 with 32GB ram and a 1TB drive.

 

[maflynn]

How fast I forget all the hassles of setting up a new windows notebook …uninstalling / reinstalling, finding and installing the right drivers. The potential problems if you make a mistake. It all comes back to me now.

I've not needed to "find" drivers, and reinstalling the OS is something even Mac users do by and large ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't think its a hassle, but rather something to do so you configure your computer exactly how you want it too, again whether its a Mac or a PC