Surface Pro 4, Surface Book or Dell XPS 13

Hi guys,

I'm in the market for a new laptop (2010 15" MBP is on its last legs...). My options seems to be the Surface Pro 4, Surface Book (2015) or Dell XPS 13 (2016).

It would mainly be used for light photography work, accountancy work (cloud/Excel based), web browsing, web coding and the odd bit of video editing at 1080p for my Go Pro. Gaming would be awesome but if I get a monitor I have a desktop I might be able to use.

In the long run I would probably look to dock the laptops into a separate monitor but need the ability to work on this for up to a few hours at a time comfortably.



Any recommendations? At the minute I'm thinking Surface Pro has too short of a battery after a year's use/too small of a screen? Heard great things from the new XPS 13's but the additional functionality of the SB could be useful for taking notes in my business.

Razer blade stealth could be another option, looks like a really nice piece of kit.

Review

I have a Surface Pro 3 which has an even smaller screen, 10.1" I think, and I only use it in conjunction with two external monitors via the Microsoft dock. The screen is too small to be comfortable (to me at least) for long periods. A small screen is less good for usability too. It's a shame, because the pen functionality is very good. Fortunately Microsoft has just bought out a big screen desktop with pen functionality, the Surface Studio PC.

Personally I find I need at least a 15.6" screen for a laptop to be usable standalone.

WILD9 said:

Razer blade stealth could be another option, looks like a really nice piece of kit.

Review

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Yeah, just been reading about that. I notice the screen is much smaller than the Dell and SB though at 12.5"? Maybe I should consider the Dell XPS 15 too but that has a hybrid SSD I think. Not sure how well they work.

Kemik said:

Yeah, just been reading about that. I notice the screen is much smaller than the Dell and SB though at 12.5"? Maybe I should consider the Dell XPS 15 too but that has a hybrid SSD I think. Not sure how well they work.

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On that note Razer do another very nice and still small 14" laptop (Razer Blade) with a 1060 which would tick the gaming box too but its not cheap at £1750.

I am also looking to upgrade/replace an ageing mac. I was researching the laptops I would like and thought I'd chime in. I've narrowed it down to these:

Macbook Pro (2016) - Apple have went crazy and removed the magsafe, and ultimately went for a thinner and therefore poorer design for thermals, keyboard, so thats no longer an option ... never mind that price jump!

Razer Blade (not stealth) - I would buy it tomorrow if those bezels were half the size. The CPU and GPU are top of the line and you can upgrade the SSD when you want. Not to mention the design quality, which I know is a copy of apple, but thats not a bad thing! This led me to researching the razer core, which I also really want...

Surface Book - I love the screen ratio, its taller than everything else which would be great for productivity. However, they failed to include a usb C/thunderbolt which greatly limits how future proof it is. Not so much a problem now, but in 2-3 years it would be very annoying. The CPU is also a 6th gen U processor like the rest in your list... while great for low power, I would prefer something with a little more power.

XPS 15 - It currently has a i7-6700HQ unlike most other ultrabooks. It also has 1 USB-C connector AND legacy HDMI/USB type A connectors. The dedicated GPU is also quite good. However, it has not had an upgrade in over a year now as Dell are waiting on the 7th gen kaby lake processors and the new nvidea GPU lines. I know theres virtually no difference between skylake and kaby lake, but the support for thunderbolt is improved. If I can, I will wait for the XPS 15 kaby lake which will probably also jump to 10XX gfx's, and although not officially supported (yet) I will get the razer core at a later date to turn the portable xps into my desktop experience when I get home. Another important note, the XPS is the only laptop on this list that has non-soldered RAM slots, so although you can only buy 16gb, it can be expanded in the future up to 32gb. The PCIe SSD can also be upgraded.

Hey guys, I just asked a sales rep at dell when the new kaby lake laptop should arrive and got January... waiting 2 months... ah

I recently sold my Surface Pro 3. Ordered the xps 13 kaby only yesterday. It's a fantastic piece of kit. Photos don't do it justice, and it's built like a beast. It's very solid!

Got it from the purple shirts online, had a discount code and it turned up next day

i5 7200u, 8gb ram, 256gb pcie ssd. My main requirement was that it didn't have the touch screen as I prefer the matte 1080p one.

It has USBC inc PD which means you can plug in a single cable from a hub to allow charging, external monitor and usb3 hub. The idiots at Dell though decided not to include the usbc charger, instead you get the regular one. The usbc from dell is £35. Shame, and a bit annoying. There was also no option for Windows 10 Pro which is super annoying!! You are stuck with the home edition.

glen8 said:

I recently sold my Surface Pro 3. Ordered the xps 13 kaby only yesterday. It's a fantastic piece of kit. Photos don't do it justice, and it's built like a beast. It's very solid!

Got it from the purple shirts online, had a discount code and it turned up next day

i5 7200u, 8gb ram, 256gb pcie ssd. My main requirement was that it didn't have the touch screen as I prefer the matte 1080p one.

It has USBC inc PD which means you can plug in a single cable from a hub to allow charging, external monitor and usb3 hub. The idiots at Dell though decided not to include the usbc charger, instead you get the regular one. The usbc from dell is £35. Shame, and a bit annoying. There was also no option for Windows 10 Pro which is super annoying!! You are stuck with the home edition.

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What do you use the laptop for? Interested to hear how the colour profile is like for photography (not heavy duty) and if you have seen the contrast issues people have been describing due to the battery saving feature.

Side note, has anyone managed to get the Dell XPS 13 or 15 configured? Their sales line told me I can't but I want the 84Whr battery with the FHD screen on the 15. The RAM and SSD are user upgradable so was thinking of doing that in the future.

I had the choice at work of a SP or an XPS. I opted for the XPS and have never looked back, whilst all my colleagues at work who went for the SP are always moaning about one thing or another.

I had last year's XPS 13 and loved it. I switched it for a Surface Book which is equally nice, but not quite as nice and there are "quirks" which you have to learn to live with sometimes.

Kemik said:

What do you use the laptop for? Interested to hear how the colour profile is like for photography (not heavy duty) and if you have seen the contrast issues people have been describing due to the battery saving feature.

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sorry mate, it's going back for a refund. Nothing but trouble with it.
Dell use the Toshiba NVMe disk which makes a horrible noise (worse than a mechanical disk) when accessing data. If that wasn't enough, the rear metal is scratched and the page down key is broken.

be wary of the new xps kaby lakes, the ssds they use are very fiddly with fresh installs of windows 10. I hate the dell bloat / mcafee and always like to install windows 10 pro on its own. I had a right game getting the storage drivers working so it found the disk to install it on.

maybe I just got a lemon, but the thing felt very slow

oh, and the dell usb recovery stick I made doesn't work! Windows can't find the recovery image (even though it seems to boot fine)

Spike_UK said:

I had last year's XPS 13 and loved it. I switched it for a Surface Book which is equally nice, but not quite as nice and there are "quirks" which you have to learn to live with sometimes.

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Which quirks are you referring to? About to buy and would like to know






I'm in a similar position OP.

I had an XPS15 which arrived in January... top i7 + 16gb + 512gb ssd.

It was fast and well build with a decent trackpad for a windows laptop... but I couldn't get on with the rubberised finish and so sold it after a month or two.

So I won't buy an XPS13 as it has the same finish... even if they're technically good laptops.

My choice is between the SB, Razer Blade, Razer Blade Stealth and MSI variant.

Had a proper play with the SB yesterday and really like it... the keyboard is really good and the trackpad lag is one of the lowest I've seen on a laptop. The screen is also really good and the stylus is something I fancy + it works really well.

I would really like to have a play with a Razer - but don't know anywhere I can try one before I buy. Although Linus from Linus Tech Tips rates them very highly - so I think that's a good recommendation.

The MSI has the best keyboard I've tried on a laptop - that Steelseries keyboard is really nice. With one big exception - the american size/shape return key on a UK keyboard layout is very annoying... I will keep hitting the # key above it because my finger usually hits the top of the enter key. A GTX1060 (although the Razer has that too) is tempting so I can game on the move. But I have a beastly system at home for gaming and don't think I'd game all that much on the move, so it might be wasted... where the extra battery life and stylus of the SB would come in more useful to me.

I think I'm sold on the SB.

WILD9 said:

Razer blade stealth could be another option, looks like a really nice piece of kit.

Review

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So I ordered a Razer Blade Stealth the other day direct from Razer. Unfortunately, there aren't all that many places in the UK to get them from. Since then I've heard a decent chunk of horror stories about their support and about the order backlog. I don't know if anyone here actually wanted to get one but it might be worth waiting to buy from elsewhere if that becomes a possibility later on.

I've not had an order shipping confirmation yet and the impulse purchase part of my brain needs it to hurry up and arrive!

TheBDog said:

So I ordered a Razer Blade Stealth the other day direct from Razer. Unfortunately, there aren't all that many places in the UK to get them from. Since then I've heard a decent chunk of horror stories about their support and about the order backlog. I don't know if anyone here actually wanted to get one but it might be worth waiting to buy from elsewhere if that becomes a possibility later on.

I've not had an order shipping confirmation yet and the impulse purchase part of my brain needs it to hurry up and arrive!

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I've been looking at them this morning. The XPS range seem to have major coil whine issues. I guess that's what I was hearing on my 13 kaby lake model. The sound was horrific and reading on reddit it seems that the kabys are worse than the skylake ones.

The blade stealth looks interesting, but I've also heard stories about their customer service and I'm not sure the keyboard is supposed to be very good. It's less than 1mm key travel.

Do I tempt fate and get another xps 13 (knowing full well it will be just the same) or do I go with the stealth knowing I'll hate the keyboard and then have issues sending it back.

If you ordered it a few days ago, and are still to get a shipping email alarms bells would be ringing. This is another thing putting me off the razor. My XPS arrived the next day!

glen8 said:

I've been looking at them this morning. The XPS range seem to have major coil whine issues. I guess that's what I was hearing on my 13 kaby lake model. The sound was horrific and reading on reddit it seems that the kabys are worse than the skylake ones.

The blade stealth looks interesting, but I've also heard stories about their customer service and I'm not sure the keyboard is supposed to be very good. It's less than 1mm key travel.

Do I tempt fate and get another xps 13 (knowing full well it will be just the same) or do I go with the stealth knowing I'll hate the keyboard and then have issues sending it back.

If you ordered it a few days ago, and are still to get a shipping email alarms bells would be ringing. This is another thing putting me off the razor. My XPS arrived the next day!

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I went Stealth + Core for future upgradeability and, if I'm honest, the only thing that has let it down for me thus far is the customer service. I don't think I'll have issue with the keyboard but if that's a turning off point maybe the XPS is more worthwhile (i.e. you know what you're getting)?

Every laptop needs to come with TB3 now for that external GPU option

Yeah you'd think that the higher end items would all be next day delivery. Perhaps I'm spoilt by better customer services.

I've contacted their support team. Might have a go at their Twitter account too. I will keep you posted.

TheBDog said:

I went Stealth + Core for future upgradeability and, if I'm honest, the only thing that has let it down for me thus far is the customer service. I don't think I'll have issue with the keyboard but if that's a turning off point maybe the XPS is more worthwhile (i.e. you know what you're getting)?

Every laptop needs to come with TB3 now for that external GPU option

Yeah you'd think that the higher end items would all be next day delivery. Perhaps I'm spoilt by better customer services.

I've contacted their support team. Might have a go at their Twitter account too. I will keep you posted.

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Thanks mate

I do like the look of the razor it has to be said. The i7 128gb model is £999.99 and funnily enough I have a 256gb PM851 to swap it with.

It's mainly the thought of when it will arrive

I've ordered the stealth!

Not going to risk another dell

glen8 said:

I've ordered the stealth!

Not going to risk another dell

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How can you get used to a 12" screen?