Dell XPS 15 review: A bigger version of the best PC laptop
arstechnica.com
arstechnica.com
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-XPS-15-9550-i7-512GB-UHD-I...
NotebookCheck folks do some of the most thorough testing of notebooks you can find anywhere.
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[1] For example: ArsTechnica review seem to have botched graphics tests somehow.
Having Nvidia GTX 960M GPU is a big part of XPS 15 value proposition (and what makes it stand out from e.g. Macbook Pro).
This doesn't show up in ArsTechnica review, yet it is completely obvious in NotebookCheck one.
[1] Rift needs better video latency than you get with routing the DGPU output through the IGPU. Apparently there are now some specialized 17" gaming laptops that support a "direct mode" that might allow GPU passthrough to HDMI given software support.
Really tired of bad ideas like this becoming universal traits.
It's inconsistent enough to be frustrating.
Not having a numpad means my keyboard takes up significantly less space on my desk and means mousing is more ergonomic; not having one on my laptop makes it much prettier and lets me have nice speaker grills.
I suspect that this is true of the vast majority of people, except maybe accountants, data entry folks, and some scientists. But I generally do finance, math, and programming just fine without a numpad.
IP addresses 127.192.168.00.1
You can enter many calculations quickly: 327.5 / 15.3 * 7
[enter] also means you can add type in a column on numbers quickly which is useful for setting up spreadsheets or depending on software time sheets etc. Teachers often enter lot's of grades at the same time etc etc.
The downside is wider keyboard. But, you can just use a separate USB device.
http://www.amazon.com/V7-Ergonomic-Resistant-Notebook-KP0N1-...
But, I would not really have an issue with there being laptops that don't have them if it weren't for the fact that it has become a near universal trait of laptops, even when there's plenty of bezel to accommodate them.
Some of us do use those keys, and having that option would be nice.
edit: What if this column were on the left of the keyboard to offset the quote key? Then the keyboard would be symmetric with respect to the F and J keys.
It mostly works, but I've found I still don't use it as often as would the real keys.
I can understand that for people using arrow keys a lot or entering tons of numbers the extra number block is important. I have seen several times that accountants bought external number blocks because their laptops didn't have it (and I think because in France entering numbers is extra difficult due to the AZERTY layout - you have to press SHIFT for the digits).
So it's really about ergonomy due to habits. I think the best would be if vendors would provide several keyboard options - centred, with or without trackpoint, different layouts even in non-US countries (this is something that Lenovo provides for ThinkPads and I am very happy about).
The DPI of the screen is really high and doesn't scale well under XFCE, but I'm not sure if that's really a fault of the laptop.
I had some success modifying things like border width, font sizes manually.
I agree with regard to the touchpad size/palm sensitivity - accidental clicks are a big problem.
Maybe when someone finally gets a trackpad that's as good as the Macbook. Almost every PC laptop I've tried has paled in comparison.
It's amazing how the tables have turned; I can't imagine myself saying anything like this 5-6 years ago.
The proper comparison is to Apple's mainstream models.
MacBook weight: 2.03 lb
Not even remotely the same category.
My point stands: the best comparison is to Apple's mainstream laptops such as the MacBook Air, not to an ultralight.
(This message is just about the OS; yes, yes, privacy etc., and there's still yet more stuff yet to fix up like battery life, etc. I only game in Windows so honestly I don't much worry about it. I'm just saying, it's much slicker than I've ever seen Windows be even on new hardware, let alone 6-year-old hardware.)
did you touch a Surface Book?
Just another third party app you need to make MacOs behave like a normal operating system (on top of the one that enables proper tabbing, oh and one that makes the alt key work properly in the terminal).
Normal is relative. Having used OS X for a long time, I assure you it is quite normal to me.
Why is Apple the only one that can build a 15" retina laptop with 9-10 hours of battery life?
One could make the argument that substandard drivers for the Apple hardware is to blame here, so perhaps battery benchmarks on a Hackintosh vs the same hardware in Windows would settle the debate, but that's some tinfoil hat shit… Apple has been vocal about battery life as a top priority for the company going all the way back to the PowerPC/Intel switch.
Apple didn't write Darwin from scratch, after all.
I use XPS-13 (4k display version), and certainly don't get the battery life promised by Dell.
The XPS 15 has better than a Retina display:
- Reina: 2880-by-1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch.
- 4K: 3840-by-2160 resolution at 282 pixels per inch (60% more pixels).
So you're comparing apples and oranges (minor pun intended). It is unsurprising that a display which literally has more work to do will consume more battery in the process.
You argued that Apple was the only company able to engineer laptops with good screens, when it was pointed out that in fact it was Dell that had the better screen, you're now using that point to argue that Apple is still superior.
So I guess your only point is that "Apple is superior" and you'll massage the facts to support that notion.
- Earlier argument: Worse screen = Apple is superior.
- Latest argument: Better screen = Apple is superior.
That is not what he said.
Because "retina" in the context of displays is an Apple-trademarked marketing term, which is why Apple is the only one who can build a "retina laptop", irrespective of size or battery life.
More to the point, another manufacturing aping Apple's tradeoffs means the two end up competing on price, which neither wants to. So, naturally, other competitors who are interested in claiming some segment of the price-insensitive market by competing on something other than price make different trade-offs -- in this case, better DPI and shorter battery life. For lots of laptop usage patterns, this is a superior tradeoff; for others, its not.
An easy answer to that question would be to submit for consideration some non-Apple laptop that accomplishes that. I'm sure it must exist, and that would be a good thing to know about.
That there is some random Dell laptop with better resolution than a retina display and worse battery life is simply not responsive to the question.
After the first, short paragraph addressing the strict issue with "retina", the longer, second paragraph of the grandparent post directly answered why that would be the case: competing on different feature trade-offs rather than making the same trade-offs and competing on price allows greater profits because it avoids entering a market with direct substitutes, even if doing so in a way constrained by the trade-offs earlier entrants have made results in entering what is effectively a smaller market without direct substitutes instead of a larger market with direct substitutes.
Why is Apple the only one that can build a 15" retina laptop with 9-10 hours of battery life?
The answer "Dell makes a laptop with a better-than-retina screen with terrible battery life" is not in fact responsive.
Recommended display brightness for standard office conditions is 150 nits. The rMBP goes up to double that, which obviously has a battery life cost. Also Chrome is poorly optimized for Mav, it takes several hours off the total.
Try using Safari instead of Chrome. And check if you're running a lot of Flash. The usual problem is that Chrome is engineered to gorge power with no regard to your battery. Flash, of course, is pure abuse and stupidity.
It all disappoints me because I prefer Chrome for its tools. But Google simply doesn't seem to care that it goes overboard on power and RAM drain.
http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/latitude-e7470-ultrabook/p...
So before you RDP, you need to change the local resolution to something compatible with normal font size (100%) and 15". It is such an annoyance to change resolutions back and forth that you end up configuring the lower resolution permanently.
The only gripe I have with the layout of the keyboard is that sometimes the palm of my hand grazes the touchpad while typing, which on Ubuntu causes a click and moves the mouse cursor - a minor annoyance when typing but easily undoable.
The Ubuntu installation process is a little dicey but some person on the Ubuntu forums posted a detailed list of instructions and they mostly worked for me. Upgrading the kernel did not fix my suspend/resume problem, though. (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2301071)
The battery life is not as stellar as a macbook but I don't mind. It can last through a flight across the United States, so that works for me.
Storage: all SSDs are PCI-e.
Graphics: 2GB GT 750M. Can't imagine needing anything more unless you do intensive gaming or visual work.
Excellent build quality. Haven't seen a single knock on it.
Very thin and light.
Getting all this at ~$2000.
None of these points are exclusive to this laptop, but I don't know of any other machine that offers everything in one package for a reasonable price.
ThinkPad P50 comes close, but doesn't offer the same screen resolution (with touch), and it's more expensive.
I only know this because I'm in the market. If anyone has any advice, I'd love to know more.
The bezel looks sexy on top, but overall, it's just more crappy design decisions from Dell.
As a consequence I have a collection of unused 500GB laptop hard drives since you have to order with some storage and that is the cheapest Lenovo do. I immediately replace them, but this is wasteful and silly. If their prices were far closer to normal then I'd just get Lenovo to do it, and they'd make more money. Instead they see me getting the lowest specs, instead of what I actually use.
crucial is overcharging too. 16gb ram kits are $75
i also have a large box of 500gb drives
If Lenovo charged an amount substantially similar (or better) than regular retail, then I'd gladly pay them for the upgrades. But at multiples of the retail price it makes no sense.
1) the touchpad never worked; 2) the keyboard still has problems; 3) some of the more important programs look just horrible on Linux, as the resolution is just too high; 4) sometimes WiFi just does not work;
...so much for the Sputnik project.
Also, regarding #3, I've heard Linux Mint as great HiDPI support in their last version.
Also take out the broadcom wifi and burn it with fire! Replaced with Intel wifi card and have zero wifi issues.
Overall the only problems I face is with - GTK2 apps, they look awkward. Eg. very small icons - Spotify, Steam, Skype will look very small
However the biggest turnoff is that whenever I connect to external display (1080p), I have to apply a weird command with scaling and panning options. This results in blurred look, a bit lag and fan spinning hard. I wish there was some option to do selective font scaling based the screen.
The current situation with XPS 15 seems much worse: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2301071
For decent experience, one should wait until April until 16.04 comes out. And some issues will probably remain for a release or two after that.
External GPU helps.
I've often thought that the reason I don't have RSSI and shoulder issues (which one can get using a mouse) is that I amp the acceleration (or whatever the term is) up all the way. I use a small mouse (currently a wireless logitech, thanks Doug) and I can move my pointer quickly and precisely across the entire screen while keeping the outside pad of my lower hand (near the wrist) resting on the desk (or couch at the moment). I move the mouse entirely with my fingers, no wrist or shoulder movement at all. If you watched my hand moving the mouse, and took the mouse out from under it, it would like like I was gently scratching the desk/couch.
The downside is that when someone else walks up to my machine to show me something they get vertigo when they first move the mouse.
With the extended battery and bay battery (no slice battery) I was seeing over 14 hours of real world wireless usage (inc. fullscreen video) on my 14" Thinkpad. The Thinkpad is a workhorse, not a toy.
Maybe we don't have the same screens, i.e. there are different models?
Beside, keyboard aren't everything, these laptops are sturdy. Most laptops are flimsy and fail early. I own lots of 2005-2009 models that are impeccable.
Finally, 2nd hand Thinkpads are cheap, You can find a decent one for as much as a raspberrypi2 kit.
Even if you're going to run a different distro, I find the arch wiki to be one of the best resources for "should I try installing linux on this?"
i7-6700HQ, GTX960M, 512 GB PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD, 4K IPS display 15 inch for $1500
Unfortunately, even though it's been out for over a month, no major websites have reviewed the laptop.
http://www.amazon.com/UX501VW-DS71T-Touchscreen-Skylake-H-i7...
Couldnt they just say NVME so I know what they are talking about? Industry standard terms exist for a reason. Imagine if someone stopped using USB port and came up with their own description of the standard.
1. Extremely poor graphics performance in benchmarks.
2. More than 5 hours less battery life than the MacBook Pro. (!)
3. No Thunderbolt port that can be used while charging the machine.
Now, when I read something like this, it's obviously an ad.