Decisions: New XPS 15 or XPS 15 2-in-1?

[nemophoto]

I need to replace my laptop in the next couple weeks so it can be up and running for my next big shoot. I had my choices narrowed down to the two Dells above or the Gigabyte Aero 15x v8 4K4P or the Asus Zenbook Pro 15 UX580GE. All notebooks have Adobe RGB (important for me). The problem is the Gigabyte and the Asus are announced but no delivery date. The other consideration is that I have Dell Business Credit Financing since I'm a full C Corp. (I learned that my Capital One Business card zaps my credit score, even though it's used for business, not personal, as opposed to my Amex business cards. So, financing without it being personal is important to me.)

So, I think I'm narrowed down to the Dells. 1) Has ANYONE bought or used these two new Dells? 2) Your thoughts? Do you utilize the pen for retouching in PS on either? 3) Battery life

I could go either way. They both fit my needs. The XPS 15 is more powerful, but I like the tablet aspect of the 2-in-1, especially for travel. (Have you ever tried to watch a movie on your laptop on a plane when the asshole in from fully reclines their seat?) Neither laptop would serve primary duty. I have a desktop for that. They are for location work when I need to either tether or offload cards and turning around images when shoots are back to back and I am away. Oh, last point. I actually like the all USB-C of the 2-in-1. I wish the XPS 15 had two USB-C Thunderbolt and two USB-A ports (like the Asus has).

Thanks for any thoughts. I almost pulled the trigger a couple days ago, but then left things in the cart.

[mcbroomf]

I was/still am hovering on my purchase as the 32GB option for the 2 in 1 is not available until Q4.  However my 2-3 year old XPS13 (not 2 in 1) just died so while I have small Samsung laptop for casual email/surfing I also need a more powerful one for location work (personal not pro/business).  I have almost decided on the non 2 in 1 XPS 15 with 32GB and 4k infinity edge touchscreen, 4GB GTX 1050 Ti GPU.  Available through Costco for ~$2300.  I may order it in the next 1-2 days but it's back ordered for a couple of weeks (which is OK for me).

BTW I just got notification from B&H that the HP Zbook Studio X360 is now shipping.  HP web site also have some options, however the prebuilt ones don't seem to have the 4k Dreamcolour screen, nor a 32GB option, and the custom option starts at a crazy price for no reason I can see (and goes up to $5k+ for 32GB and 4k)

I'll post my thoughts if I get the XPS, but it may be a few weeks.

[nemophoto]

Is the XPS 15 you saw at Costco the newest one (model 9570) or one of the older ones (model 9560)? That's a decent price if it's the newest version. I have both the 2-in-1 and reg sitting in my cart at Dell. I'm torn between the two for different reasons. 32GB is not as important, but the power of the 9570 over the 2-in-1 is significant. Since my Asus lasted 4 years (a record for me), I hope to get at least 3 out of a new model.

[mcbroomf]

It's the new one with the i7 8750H, also has 1TB M.2 PCIe SSD as well as the other things I listed, only Win 10 Home though.  I had planned to get a 4 yr warranty from Dell.  Not sure what I'll be abl eto get through Costoco.  Using their card the 1 yr is extended to 2 but I'd like more.  It's item 1233527 if you look on their website.

It has a 90 day return so if I buy it and take it away for 2-3 weeks over September and early October and decide I want the 2 in 1, or if it gives me trouble or poor performance I can still return it.

[nemophoto]

Wow. That’s a great price then. I have the exact same model in my Dell cart and it’s $2599 less $50 for a coupon they have. My wife and I toyed with joining Costco a couple weeks ago. The only down side is that I was thinking of financing with Dell Business so I don’t have it on a personal card. (Advantage of a c-Corp.) still, the thought of saving $300-400 is appealing. Get it and let me know how it is!


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[mcbroomf]

An alternative to the Dell XPS 15 2 in 1 might be the HP ZBook Studio x360 G5 Convertible Workstation.  Initially I could not figure out what the screen was (B&H don't have the specs listed), but I found them on the HP website.
It's a little more expensive than the Dell but has the advantage of the same CPU as the non 2 in 1 Dell (ie the i7 8750H) and also faster memory (2666 vs 2400 on the Dell 2 in 1).  For video it has NVIDIA® Quadro® P1000 (4 GB GDDR5 dedicated).  Not sure if that makes a difference, and it has the 4k Dreamcolour screen.  B&H have it listed as $200 less than MSRP

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1416659-REG/hp_4nl13ut_aba_zbook_studio_x360_g5.html
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/laptops/product-detail.html?oid=23143647#!tab=specs

Like the Dell this is a new product (and especially the 32GB version).  I think for that reason I either want a 4 yr warranty or will skip this gen and get the non 2 in 1.

[nemophoto]

I looked at the HP ZBook early. REALLY expensive, so that knocked it out. I’ve almost decided to go with the XPS 15 9575. There are trade offs, but I feel aspects of usability may serve me better. What tipped me in that favor was a video review I saw from a woman named Judy Gade at Mobile Tech Review. It as a good balanced assessment that seemed to click. One thing that impressed me was that she kept saying it had one of the best screens out there — spectacular. And the way of the future is USB-C, and I can deal with buying several C to whatever cables. I also figured that it’s not the most powerful notebook out there, but will blow away my 4 year old Asus with a 4700HQ. That notebook falls to its knees when I start working with full res 5Ds files, though I have 16GB.

Unless the new Razer 4K is released or the new Asus UX580GE in the next day, Dell will get my money. (Also the big plus of business finance rather than on my Amex.)


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[mcbroomf]

Nearly bought the Dell today but I have to wait until my new CC is in hand, so the end of the week I think.  I would love to see the HP and Dell next to each other, both have 100% aRGB 4k screens.  The Dell is slightly brighter than typical (400 nits) but the HP goes to 600.  While these may be brighter then wanted for calibration the brighter screen of the HP would be useful (to me) for displaying my work to people in bright places as even the OLED Samsung tablets struggle.  I've been using the clamshell type XPS 13 for a few years so although I know I'd prefer the 2 in 1 I can manage without.  Most of my travelling peripheries are already USB-C and my desktop has 2x and uses a TB array as one of my backups, so I swallowed the TB Koolaid a while ago ...

[nemophoto]

Well, last night I DID pull the trigger since I was getting about $260 in discounts. I feel pretty good about it. Several other computers might have been more powerful like the Gigabyte 15x v8 with the 4K screen. That one (along with the Asus UX580GE) were the other alternatives. But the Asus is MIA, though it was supposed to be available by now. (It IS available, strangely, in Canada through Amazon.ca.) The Gigabyte, I was VERY tempted by, though it was very hard to find but is available via Amazon from ExcaliberPC. In the end, I went with Dell, largely because of business financing rather than putting it all on a card. I should have it by the end of the week, or beginning of the next. I also decided to buy the Premium Active Pen with 8000+ steps of sensitivity and the 65WH Power Bank Battery so, when I shoot tethered on location (fortunately, not often since I only like to shoot tethered in the studio).

[mcbroomf]

Did you get the 2 in 1 or the clamshell?  If you got the 2 in 1 with 16GB of RAM I may wait to hear how it works for you.

[nemophoto]

I bought the 2-in-1. I read so many reviews. Some reviewers didn't care for it that much, but in the end, it scored reasonably high. I could find enough reviews on the clamshell. I'd been leaning towards the 2-in-1, so thought, what the hell. It's not peak performance, and may have some issues, but is still far above my old Asus at this point. Fingers crossed that 16 gigs is enough. I have 64 gigs on my desktop, which is where I do 90% of my work. The main thing for me for the notebook was a combo of being lighter weight, updated connections, fairly zippy processing, AdobeRGB screen (though some reviews say this isn't close, though it's basically the same screen on the older 9560). Essentially, I needed an "all rounder", not the hottest notebook. I'll give my impression once I get it and have a handful of programs on (the first of which will be Spyder5 to calibrate the screen and see where it falls). I'll be curious what you end up doing. If there is any "buyers remorse", it's that I didn't wait for the new Asus or grab the Gigabyte (especially since it has a Pantone Certified screen). But, I needed to get new notebook and have it up and running for my next big shoot in a couple of weeks.

[armand]

Seems to be available here: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16834233239

[nemophoto]

Yes, saw that yesterday. At $3K, it just became a bit too pricey. Since it's easier to install a second m.2 card< I figured I could do it myself and save a couple hundred. But, got the Dell instead. Fingers crossed. At least Dell has great support.

[mcbroomf]

I just ordered the XPS 15" (clamshell not 2 in 1).  32GB, i7 8750, 1TB NVMe and the 4k Infinity Edge screen.  Should be here next week.  I almost got cold feet as there are some early reviews with a rating of only 1 or 2 but I'll have 90 days to return.

[nemophoto]

I almost bought that exact same model. Like you, I read a few iffy reviews. In the end, the 2-in-1 cost me about $300 less with some incentives and I bought some peripherals. I don’t think the 16GB RAM will limit me — fingers crossed. I don’t want it for heavy lifting. I want it for tethering (which is only about 20% of my work), occasional location processing and MOVIES when I travel . As you said, they have a generous return policy, so if the 9575 doesn’t work, I’ll go the same route as you.


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[mcbroomf]

I posted some observations of the XPS 15 in the thread about 15" notebooks for photo editing;
http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=124023.20

[nemophoto]

See the other XPS 15 topic for some initial observations of the XPS 15 2-in-1 I ended up buying.

http://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=124023.0