Asus Zenbook UX305 or Dell XPS 13?

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xorbe

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The $699 Zenbook has 1 stick of 8GB, but the $799 Dell has 2x2GB. Sticking to the base models for best battery life. Which will be less problematic to own? Will 4GB be enough for someone that basically web surfs and uses Office lightly? How big a chunk of system ram will the integrated graphics take?

Hmm, the Zenbook has no fan, so there is no fan to clog up or fail. The Zenbook also has the integrated cam in the correct location.
 
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The Dell XPS 13 has a U-series Core i series CPU and the Zenbook UX305 has a Core M so they're not really comparable performance wise. If you're not looking for performance the Core M is probably going to be ok and it will use less power.

For basic tasks 4GB is ok, but that's about it. The way integrated graphics work now they mostly just share RAM based on usage so it's not really a concern.
 
The correct answer is the spectre x360.


get the 1080p
i5 u series part
8GB ram
256GB ssd

price 999, couple hundred more, but the best of the bunch.
 
Having gone from i5-4300U to Core M 5Y10 I don't miss the fan noise, throttled performance that makes it slower overall and questionable life of active fan.

As for memory, I was concerned about 4GB but it's been a non-issue and can even run Battlefield 4.

Only question is Asus quality. I tend to go Lenovo Thinkpad line or Microsoft.
 
Okay, checking out the HP Spectre x360 also. Hmm, only single channel memory. Kinda pricey for that.

Yeah, speed isn't a top priority, as long as it isn't classic-Atom sluggish.

Dell would have a more interesting laptop with the slower cpu (for battery life) but with the 2x4GB ram from the faster model.

Oh, and my go-to vendor Acer has *nothing* interesting in the 13" laptop space. They managed to eff up every single model. U-frames and missing function keys.
 
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If you're interested in the Dell XPS 13 (9343) I suggest you get the 1080P model. The touch enabled 3200x1800 res display overwhelms the Intel HD 5500 gpu.
 
StryderxX said:
If you're interested in the Dell XPS 13 (9343) I suggest you get the 1080P model. The touch enabled 3200x1800 res display overwhelms the Intel HD 5500 gpu.
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Yeah, sticking to 1080. qhd also kills the battery life.
 
Wait for the next outlet sale and pick up an 8GB machine. It's only a matter of time before you find something that causes you to regret 4GB or the weak CPU of the Asus.

I picked up an 8GB/128GB/1080p machine for $726 including Win8.1 Pro back in April. Fantastic machine with an easily upgraded SSD. 8.1 vanilla machines cost even less.
 
Is the XPS 13 upgradeable? As in, would it be worthwhile to buy the base model (4GB RAM, 128GB SSD) and drop in an 8GB RAM kit and a larger SSD?

Do these things ever go on sale? How do outlet sales work?
 
I suspect the ram is soldered on for the XPS 13 form factor.

Grabbed a $329 Acer 11.6" something with a 1.6GHz Ivy Bridge, 4GB, 500gb hdd, Win7, 1366x768, webcam, and an ethernet port (and wireless of course). The old model with the 1.5GHz chip is at Tiger Direct for $305. Gonna pop 2x4GB into it and send it off.

There are so few "basic" small laptops that aren't brain dead. Now if you like Chromebooks, Atom chips, 32gb flash storage, or expensive trendy 2-in-1 tablets, tons of those.
 
I'd go for the XPS 13 given the performance and overall design. If you can spring for the $999 model, do it -- you get a faster processor and 8GB of RAM to go with that 1080p screen.
 
Also look at deals on the microsoft store site. They have quite a few laptops with the Signature OS install for cheaper than anywhere else.
 
mi7chy said:
Having gone from i5-4300U to Core M 5Y10 I don't miss the fan noise, throttled performance that makes it slower overall and questionable life of active fan.
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Was it throttled in order to conserve battery or to keep it cool, or both?
 
I got the XPS 13.

I purchased the basic i3 model with the 4GB of ram. I like the laptop a lot for the price I paid.
 
I got the qhd model and i really like it so far. Battery still lasts me around 5 hours with basic uses like web browsing, documenting and a little of coding so it will work for me.

It's just that the adaptive brightness annoys me too much. :(
 
Silent Knight said:
I got the qhd model and i really like it so far. Battery still lasts me around 5 hours with basic uses like web browsing, documenting and a little of coding so it will work for me.

It's just that the adaptive brightness annoys me too much. :(
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yet another reason the spectre x360 still takes the best laptop of the year crown this year, the display does not have that.

Too bad it never got the same press push and attention as the dell xps 13 due to the shiny bauble of "omg them bezels so thin"

the verge has still not bothered to review it (while taking time to review the most infinitesimal refreshes of each and every macbook), and as a consequence, a lot of people never knew there was a better laptop option and chose accordingly. The xps would still have a lot of sales because a lot of people place a high premium on the smallest / lightest chassis they can get, but for people that are strong enough to handle an extra .5 pounds and a slightly larger case, they would probably be better served by the spectre.
 
tybert7 said:
yet another reason the spectre x360 still takes the best laptop of the year crown this year, the display does not have that.

Too bad it never got the same press push and attention as the dell xps 13 due to the shiny bauble of "omg them bezels so thin"

the verge has still not bothered to review it (while taking time to review the most infinitesimal refreshes of each and every macbook), and as a consequence, a lot of people never knew there was a better laptop option and chose accordingly. The xps would still have a lot of sales because a lot of people place a high premium on the smallest / lightest chassis they can get, but for people that are strong enough to handle an extra .5 pounds and a slightly larger case, they would probably be better served by the spectre.
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I dont know, as i already lost my trust in HP last year after I ordered an HP Spectre and had problem with the battery and charging port 4 times in a row (4 replacements, then gave up and returned for full refund).

So, I have used Dell xps 13 2013 model, and now upgraded to the 2015 model. This one pleases me more than HP laptop I have to say.
 
Silent Knight said:
I dont know, as i already lost my trust in HP last year after I ordered an HP Spectre and had problem with the battery and charging port 4 times in a row (4 replacements, then gave up and returned for full refund).

So, I have used Dell xps 13 2013 model, and now upgraded to the 2015 model. This one pleases me more than HP laptop I have to say.
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The previous spectres were not in the same league. The spectre from 2014 was a solid entrant in the ultrabook space, but the spectre x360 is where they truly shined. ALL previous spectres had compromises that cut them short of greatness, and that was even IF they were working flawlessly. The spectre xt had terrible battery life, I remember when one of the 15 variants was on the market with a ulv intel part, getting worse battery life than the full quadcore intel part on a retina 15 mac, that was also lighter weight. It was a blood bath. No, THIS is the version that is finally worthy of being called great, after so many effing YEARS of apple dominance. But I still xps 13 is a close second for best notebook of 2015 in the windows space. And some people prefer the matte screen on the 1080p model.
 
sad to see people recommending a fat and ugly notebook like the spectre when the OP is clearly looking for an ultrabook.

my friend has an xps 13 , he has nothing bad to say about it.
 
a3venom said:
sad to see people recommending a fat and ugly notebook like the spectre when the OP is clearly looking for an ultrabook.

my friend has an xps 13 , he has nothing bad to say about it.
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The standards of the female modeling world transferred to notebooks

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2009-10-15-350865366_7f308d82c91.jpg



lenovo chased the thinnest/lightest convertible they could make with the yoga pro 3, and it's a worse machine for it. If .5 pounds is too much for you or others, then take the xps 13, but it is not as aesthetically pleasing to look at, like the previous 15 it's a very bland looking slab of a notebook with the only noteworthy feature being their securing the thin bezel display as far as styling goes.
 
tybert7 said:
The standards of the female modeling world transferred to notebooks

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2009-10-15-350865366_7f308d82c91.jpg



lenovo chased the thinnest/lightest convertible they could make with the yoga pro 3, and it's a worse machine for it. If .5 pounds is too much for you or others, then take the xps 13, but it is not as aesthetically pleasing to look at, like the previous 15 it's a very bland looking slab of a notebook with the only noteworthy feature being their securing the thin bezel display as far as styling goes.
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thats gross
 
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