Surface Book Performance Base vs Kaby Lake XPS 15

[skaif]

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?

 

[skaif]

Anyone?

 

[skaif]

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!

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?

 

[skaif]

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!?

 

[skaif]

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
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.

 

[skaif]

I7
16gb
512gb ssd
Qhd+ screen

Could have picked up that spec in the xps13 today on the Dell outlet site for 1107.

I just can't bring myself to buy it knowing that I would hate the dual core and lack of dedicated graphics fingerprint scanner etc!

What on earth is wrong with me?

 

[skaif]

You're an OcUK member. That's what is wrong with you, you colossal tech nerd. Embrace it.

LOL, genuinely made me chuckle!

So in typical OcUK fashion I have asked for the best but settled for average.

Ended up ordering the XPS 13 at £1107



Shoot me now

E:
Jakspyder I'm taking that quote as my signature as it pretty much sums me up right now and made me laugh, hope you don't mind!

 

[skaif]

I have also done the same, bought XPS13 9360 from the outlet for £1107 using the voucher (and tried 3.3% quidco too).

I was going to buy the Surface Book with similar specs, but that is about £2300. Can't justify paying double!

Awesome! When is yours coming?

Mines scheduled for tuesday, already got my D-Brand skin coming as well. Looking forward to it!

 

[skaif]

By Wednesday apparently (although it has been years since I ordered from the Dell outlet, so can't remember if the tracking is accurate). Have literally just ordered a DB skin too, went for matte black top + trackpad!

Haha great minds and all that jazz

Can't remember what I went for, carbon something or other. Will get a surprise when it comes, thats for sure!

 

[skaif]

Mines still work in progress and delivery date is today

 

[skaif]

My tracker now says 7th of Feb. Not happy, may just cancel mine too.

Jakspyder how did you manage to order the fingerprint scanner? I was told it's not available till 2nd week of Feb?

 

[skaif]

Fair enough.

I've just had a look again as I wanted to call them and see why it was taking so long and it has now been dispatched! No idea how long it will take (tracking isn't working so assume its relatively recent) but will see how it goes.

 

[skaif]

The last gen XPS15 had issues with USB-C charging.

I don't have a USB-C charging capable hub so i'll have to look into that for my desk at home.

I assume the provided power cable is faster for charging however?

Otherwise really enjoying mine!

Was meant to arrived wednesday but the courier said they couldnt get access (funny because id been sat with my nose poking out the letterbox since 6am!) they didnt even try, and the depot were useless over the phone.

At least it came the next day lol, super happy!

Did it come with the fingerprint reader?

What's initial thoughts on battery life?

 

[skaif]

Good stuff, be interesting to see the differences between yours and mine. Its coming today apparently! Will see when I get home.

 

[skaif]

Well its here! Stunning little thing. Just going through the motions of a clean install etc

 

[skaif]

Ok so I have had it a few days at work and can honestly say that its amazing! The screen res is awesome and I have set scaling to 125% which means I can mark work alongside a spreadsheet tracker with ease.

I completely overdid the usage scenario yesterday while at work, installing software, max brightness, constant usage and it just about survived! (was on 3% at the end of the day)

Today has been more conservative, still fairly heavy usage in terms of browing but it has had screen dimmed to 20% and quicker screen off / sleep settings. Its been used since 8:20 and is coming up to 4pm with 56% still to go and windows telling me its got another 7hrs remaining! Would love to see if there is an app that can actually calculate usage times and scenarios etc

I have not had any issues I was expecting with performance, web pages load instantly and even my heavy use of Google Chrome can't max out my RAM which currently sits around 8gb used.

The mouse is awesome and I find it so easy to use. Coming from a MacBook with BetterTouch installed this trackpad is nearly as good and with a few tweaks have my gestures and swipes sorted! Couldn't be happier.

The touch screen is actually fairly useful. I thought I would not be using it as much but to navigate between web pages with swipes and general browsing it works a treat. Certainly something I could get used to.

The build quality is very good too. It is slightly heavier than I expected, (I was expecting a feather to be fair) but feels solid and I have no hesitation in lugging it around the place.

I quite like the textured finish on the palm rests and the overall look of it. I have it wrapped in a temp skin while I wait for the DBrand one so will take some pics once I get that!

All in all very happy with it. I kinda do miss the windows hello log on functionality that a fingerprint sensor or camera would have given but a quick 4 digit pin while at school means its easy to keep secure.

So far so good though!

 

[skaif]

So in case anyone is interested, I googled a way to get your battery stats from Win10. Turns out it keeps a log and you can tap into it. I have made a batch script to run the report and open it. Gives some nice charts and graphs etc.

Here is a snippet of the info (it does give you minute by minute and % by % breakdown also)


And the code (I realise this isn't the most efficient as the script needs to be run by admin I created a shortcut which has admin rights)

start powercfg /batteryreport /output "C:\battery_report.html"
start chrome.exe "C:\battery_report.html"

Basic steps are to save that as a .bat file on your c drive, create a shortcut from it, go to properties, advanced and run as admin. Move that shortcut wherever (mine lives on the desktop) and double click anytime you want an instant battery report!

If there is a more efficient way then please let me know!

Just realised the last 4 posts in this thread are by me! Yay for one way convo's

 

[skaif]

So this one is suffering from coil whine didn't think it was that bad (did hear some when Installing windows etc) but it's getting worse as I was installing more software today and tried some light gaming and it is obvious. Will contact Dell and see what they can do. Not too happy now. Kinda wishing I went for the bigger brother 9560

 

[skaif]

I think I read about a "fix", by manually updating the audio drivers (I think from realteks site directly?). I've no coil whine on mine, at least none I can notice!

Yeah I am returning it.

Managed to swing a deal on the 15inch for 1750 in the end including the fingerprint scanner with the 4k screen, 16gb, 512 ssd and 3 year warranty.

Hope it all works out now!

 

[skaif]

any excuse for an upgrade

My 9560 has coilwhile but i literally have to turn everything in the room off and press my ear to the keyboard. So i guess thats not really coilwhine so much. Could well just be tinnitus too lol XD

You're getting the exact same model as me, you'll love it.

I'm also finding the touch screen super useful as someone else mentioned, especially when demonstrating things to people. Only downside is my clammy hands leave horrible marks! Its a tough trade off between marks and functionality

Haha we all love an upgrade!

I am looking forward to it, will take around 2 weeks though. Wondering how big the size difference is between the 2, I love how small the 13 inch is! Hope its not too dissimilar to my old Macbook!

I already find the screen to be useful, particularly when browsing with Chromes support for swipey gestures.

Edit
So found some comparisons with my old Macbook (late 2013 retina)

Dell
1. Depth: 9.27 in (235mm)
2. Width: 14.06 in (357mm)
3. Height: 0.45-0.66 in (11-17mm)
4. Weight: 4.5 lbs (2kg)

Macbook
1. Depth: 8.62 in (219 mm)
2. Width: 12.35 in (314 mm)
3. Height: 0.71 in (18 mm)
4. Weight: 3.46 lbs (1.57 kg)

So a bit thinner, wider and longer but not by much! Considering its a full 15.6inch screen vs the 13.3 on the macbook!