Surface Book Performance Base vs Kaby Lake XPS 15

Soldato
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So the new XPS 15 has dropped and is available to order.

I am in 2 minds whether I should go for the XPS or the Surface Book.

I am after the i7 16gb 512 versions (4k screen on the XPS)

After offers and discounts its

£1750 (3yr premium warranty) for the XPS

£2000 for the Surface book (no extended warranty)

Is the older architecture really that bad for the surface book?
Skylake vs Kaby Lake?
Maxwell vs Pascal?

I know it seems an open and shut case to go for the XPS but the versatility of the Surface Book, the pen and my use case for it (I work in a school so would be ideal) swings me back towards the Surface book.

So, what would OcUK do?
 
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Well, all I can input is how delighted I am with my Surface Book (i7/16GB/512GB). It really is very capable machine, and a wonderful piece of design. Admittedly, I don't really push the metal that hard - most use is regular Office, accounts, internet and so on - but it handles whatever I have thrown at it with aplomb.
For me, the pen is a great thing to have in reserve, although I haven't had much need to use it; however, when needed, it works very well, both in hardware and Win10 integration. There is always something handy about being able to detach the screen half way through whatever you are doing, and relocate/show to colleague.....highlight a few bits and bobs with the pen, and then reconnect and carry on!

I guess it really boils down to what you want the machine to do - primary usage, and secondary etc.
 
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Ive just gone for the exact XPS15 you mentioned. Got it for 1596 with student discount and such.

I'll be doing a lot of programming on it so a traditional laptop suited my needs best. I also wanted the GPU.
 
Soldato
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depends on what you want to do on it really, the XPS will destory the book in performance terms but then it's a big 15.6" laptop.

dual vs quad core
Maxwell vs Pascal

it's not even a fair competition here
 
Soldato
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Well, all I can input is how delighted I am with my Surface Book (i7/16GB/512GB). It really is very capable machine, and a wonderful piece of design. Admittedly, I don't really push the metal that hard - most use is regular Office, accounts, internet and so on - but it handles whatever I have thrown at it with aplomb.
For me, the pen is a great thing to have in reserve, although I haven't had much need to use it; however, when needed, it works very well, both in hardware and Win10 integration. There is always something handy about being able to detach the screen half way through whatever you are doing, and relocate/show to colleague.....highlight a few bits and bobs with the pen, and then reconnect and carry on!

I guess it really boils down to what you want the machine to do - primary usage, and secondary etc.

The pen is what is drawing me in, that and the ability to detach and use in tablet mode. My main usage is going to be web based cloud apps with google and such. Some Office thrown in there for good measure and the occasional light gaming when bored. Thanks for the feedback but its made my decision harder! :D

Ive just gone for the exact XPS15 you mentioned. Got it for 1596 with student discount and such.

I'll be doing a lot of programming on it so a traditional laptop suited my needs best. I also wanted the GPU.
Is that including the 3yr warranty? If so what did you do to get it to that price? Best I could get is around 1750! That was including student discount and the discount on the warranty
depends on what you want to do on it really, the XPS will destory the book in performance terms but then it's a big 15.6" laptop.

dual vs quad core
Maxwell vs Pascal

it's not even a fair competition here

I understand the performance margins here, and the inner geek wants the XPS due to the spec, but is that really going to be noticeable day to day?
 
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Go for the xps 15, it is actually a 15.6inch screen in a 14 inch enclosure (due to the infinity edge screen design) so you should definitely get that for programming as its small enough to fit on lecture desks as well.

The extra grunt won't hurt either
 
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Go and see an XPS somewhere, trust me you'll die for that screen.

before the 18th of jan dell had a £100 off offer on premium laptops, You can't have it + the student discount of 10% so i went into live chat and haggled. both discounts together would have been £280 off, i got £230ish (added the finger print reader)

It sounds to me like the tablet style functionality may suit you well, but you wont really be gaming on it as you wont have a GPU.

The XPS has the most epic screen, id certainly try your best to use each device first, find a local high street shop that sells either (previous gen XPS15 9550 is the same screen) and see what you prefer.
 
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So the new XPS 15 has dropped and is available to order.

I am in 2 minds whether I should go for the XPS or the Surface Book.

I am after the i7 16gb 512 versions (4k screen on the XPS)

After offers and discounts its

£1750 (3yr premium warranty) for the XPS

£2000 for the Surface book (no extended warranty)

Is the older architecture really that bad for the surface book?
Skylake vs Kaby Lake?
Maxwell vs Pascal?

I know it seems an open and shut case to go for the XPS but the versatility of the Surface Book, the pen and my use case for it (I work in a school so would be ideal) swings me back towards the Surface book.

So, what would OcUK do?

I too work in schools (8) and decided to go for portability and lightness. I chose the xps13 - i7 6560, 16gb, iris 540 and 1tb pcie ssd.

The pen and 'detachability' of the surface book were not as important in the end so the xps won. If you need the pen though it'll have to be the sb.

I don't think the xps15 will be too big but the 13 was perfect for me.

As mentioned the screen real estate and look is much better on the dells.

There's also the new xps 13-2in1 if you fancy tablet mode etc.

Depends if you really need the slight extras the sb and xps15 can offer.
 
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If you're going to go with the XPS15, and you plan on using it on the go, i'd advise going for the 1080p model over the 4k model.

The 4k touch model eats the battery up. I've had to switch from the 4k version to the 1080p version due to this, i'm now getting at least double the battery life I got before.
 
Soldato
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My main gripe will be over performance vs battery life.

I like the fact that the SB has the base to kick it a new lease of life, the fact that when I'm moving from class to class I can just have tablet mode, but when I am in my main room the base can give me another option. The pen is also useful for things like marking etc.

The XPS range is beautiful and I would love to go for the 4k screen - Multitasking FTW! - how bad is the battery life in reality?

The XPS 13 just doesnt represent value for money. I cant justify spending that much and then think 3-400 extra would have got me 4k, dedicated graphics etc.

I am still so torn its unreal - actually put my name down for one of the XPS and pulled out due to no fingerprint scanner until Feb.

Does anyone have a clue when the performance base SB will be available?

Also when I saw the announcement for the 2in1 I literally had a crisis moment! I genuinely thought Dell have heard me! Then I saw the price and the hardware. M or (y) processors for flips sake! WTH DELL, WTH!?
 
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The battery life will probably be disappointing regardless of anything you can buy nowadays. Manufacturers seem to have missed the fact that a solid product with outstanding battery life would likely be something everyone would consider purchasing above extra bells and whistles and average battery life.

As far as the xps13 not representing value for money, I think it does and when don't you get more from any such device when you spend just another 3-400 quid :D
Saving money appeals to some ;)
 
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All subjective points, wrong but subjective.

Longer battery life and better screen aren't subjective points.

4-4.5 hrs on the XPS15 4k vs 12+ hours on the SB Perf Base under the same light loads.

1080p XPS15 gets a better battery life than the 4k... but still half that of the SB.

Screen has been tested better on the SB. Reviewer subjective opinion of it also mirrors the results.

Keyboard is subjective - but again, reviews agree with my opinion on that one.

Some people seem to like the soft touch rubber.

The battery life will probably be disappointing regardless of anything you can buy nowadays. Manufacturers seem to have missed the fact that a solid product with outstanding battery life would likely be something everyone would consider purchasing above extra bells and whistles and average battery life.

As far as the xps13 not representing value for money, I think it does and when don't you get more from any such device when you spend just another 3-400 quid :D
Saving money appeals to some ;)

How can anyone find 12+ hours of general use disappointing? 8 would be my minimum "perfect" amount for daily use... 12 is awesome... especially for something so (relatively) powerful. Even the standard model is impressive.
 
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Soldato
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The battery life will probably be disappointing regardless of anything you can buy nowadays. Manufacturers seem to have missed the fact that a solid product with outstanding battery life would likely be something everyone would consider purchasing above extra bells and whistles and average battery life.

As far as the xps13 not representing value for money, I think it does and when don't you get more from any such device when you spend just another 3-400 quid :D
Saving money appeals to some ;)

I agree with others in that 8 hours actual use time is more than enough for my needs. 12hrs+ is 2 days full use for me so thats awesome.

The XPS13 vs 15 VFM argument is down to the fact that they are both around 1500 and when you spend that much and compare specs, the quad core processor, 4k screen, dedicated graphics, finger print scanner are all available for not much more.
 
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