Recommendation For 15 Inch Laptop

rosco

Gawd
Joined
Jun 22, 2000
Messages
722
I'm looking for recommendations on a 15" laptop. This is for a business environment but for a power user that is used to speed. It needs to run Windows so I would rather steer clear of Apple products.

This user would like something thin and light but a lot of the thin and light notebooks don't seem to be available in a 15" size.

What would you guys recommend?
 
I agree on the XPS, but look at the Precision equivalent as well.

512 GB ssd, 16 GB ram and a 1080p screen resolution. Ask the user what applications they use, he/she might have issues with 4k resolution and high DPI scaling. I'm progressing to smaller laptops. I've gone from the m6700, to m4800 and would love the XPS form factor. Components are finally to a point where speed and performance can come in a small package.
 
Ditto for the XPS 15 recommendation. It's probably about as slim and light as you'll get for a full-power laptop, and it's relatively easy to get. Just be sure to skip the base model, since that Core i3 is going to be a bit weak.
 
These are some best 15 inch thin and light laptop
Dell Inspiron 15z
Asus N550
Samsung Ativ Book 9
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 15
HP Envy 15
 
I can vouche for Dell XPS 15.

My configuration ran me $12xx,xx.

I can't find another comparable laptop at that price range and form factor. The screen, slimness of laptop, power combo of 6300hq and gtx 960m, great battery life.. you won't be disappointed.

These are some best 15 inch thin and light laptop
Dell Inspiron 15z
Asus N550
Samsung Ativ Book 9
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 15
HP Envy 15

How did you come up with this list? :confused:
 
Last edited:
I got a previous gen XPS 15, maxed at around 2400$. Great machine and the new one is even better.
 
Agree XPS 15 with the 1080P screen with the middle spec config is what you want.
 
I just ordered a nearly maxed out xps 15. i7, 4k, 512, 16

wow, how is that not maxed out? congrats, i hope you enjoy it. i've been eyeing this laptop since they added the edge-to-edge screen.
 
Can you provide more details. You.have the 1080p correct?

Yes it's listed in my signature.

That's disappointing. How did you like it besides the ghosting problem?

It was great with a few flaws.

  • CPU throttles when going from ac adapter to battery only. To fix, put in sleep mode and turn back on. (Bios fix is coming, mid December they claimed but still no bios update)
  • Speakers pop/crack makes weird noise here and there. Sound good otherwise, has slight distortion when maxed out.
  • No dedicated app or button to keep keyboard back light on full time. It turns off after 2-3 seconds of not typing or not touching the touch pad, very annoying and completely cancels out the point of having a back lit keyboard.
  • I have a good 2 inch back light bleed from my screen in the top center, it's pretty horrendous. Enough to call it severe.
  • My power jack on the laptop is soooooooo loose it's not even funny. WAY too much play than what I am comfortable with.

Dell as always has poor QA. Fingerprints on the lid of my laptop when I unboxed it, fingerprints on screen. Did I mention I waited over 2 months for this? If you are used to using Mac OSX, get a MBP and pay the premium. It's worth it. Sure you won't get a GTX 960M or a 6300HQ but you won't have to deal with the flaws listed above. The back light again is so bad when watching a movie.. It's unbearable.
 
^^ I was planning to replace my rMBP with an XPS 15 or Precision 5510, next month. Your complaints, along with several I've read elsewhere, really dampened my enthusiasm. :(
 
Yes it's listed in my signature.



It was great with a few flaws.

  • CPU throttles when going from ac adapter to battery only. To fix, put in sleep mode and turn back on. (Bios fix is coming, mid December they claimed but still no bios update)
  • Speakers pop/crack makes weird noise here and there. Sound good otherwise, has slight distortion when maxed out.
  • No dedicated app or button to keep keyboard back light on full time. It turns off after 2-3 seconds of not typing or not touching the touch pad, very annoying and completely cancels out the point of having a back lit keyboard.
  • I have a good 2 inch back light bleed from my screen in the top center, it's pretty horrendous. Enough to call it severe.
  • My power jack on the laptop is soooooooo loose it's not even funny. WAY too much play than what I am comfortable with.

Dell as always has poor QA. Fingerprints on the lid of my laptop when I unboxed it, fingerprints on screen. Did I mention I waited over 2 months for this? If you are used to using Mac OSX, get a MBP and pay the premium. It's worth it. Sure you won't get a GTX 960M or a 6300HQ but you won't have to deal with the flaws listed above. The back light again is so bad when watching a movie.. It's unbearable.

Of the 12 we got for work not a single one exhibits any of these problems.
 
wow, how is that not maxed out? congrats, i hope you enjoy it. i've been eyeing this laptop since they added the edge-to-edge screen.

There's an option for 1TB PCIE SSD but it's too expensive imo and I bought a Microsoft signature edition version and they only had a 256 of 512 option. I would recommend everyone buy from the microsoft store to avoid any of the bloatware.

Also, to the guy who said it took 2 months to get his laptop, wow man that seriously sucks. Why did it take so long?
 
There's an option for 1TB PCIE SSD but it's too expensive imo and I bought a Microsoft signature edition version and they only had a 256 of 512 option. I would recommend everyone buy from the microsoft store to avoid any of the bloatware.

Also, to the guy who said it took 2 months to get his laptop, wow man that seriously sucks. Why did it take so long?
the problem with this is the ms signature version is only with the 4k screen.
 
Of the 12 we got for work not a single one exhibits any of these problems.

Of the 12 how many did you touch and use?

The CPU throttling was with all 2015 Skylake XPS's, not just mine. It's well known, thus the reason why dell said a bios fix is coming out soon since they were able to replicate the issue.

Just take a quick glance at the Forums over at NBR. Link.

I wouldn't recommend this laptop to anyone at the moment. I could probably live with it if the screen didn't have such bad ghosting. Also if you can run HWInfo64 and tell me the panels that are in the 12 you guys have at work? I doubt they changed panels but maybe I could try to convince dell to give me a replacement with a different lcd panel.

the problem with this is the ms signature version is only with the 4k screen.

Turns out they were out of the FHD screens and memory sticks. Maybe I got my xps with a bad batch of lcd panels, I don't know. I wish Dell would be more willing to help me out vs telling me it's not an issue when it clearly is. I also forgot to mention on top of the f3 key there is the slightest nick there as well. Thought it was dust when I first opened it but it wasn't. I don't hate dell but this experience with them isn't all that great is all.

NBR's Review

5th comment on that review. I have the same Sharp panel.

The response time is too slow to accept, why Dell put on this screen with GTX960m? Unable to gaming at all.

I have this model and replace once with Dell, same issue! I thought i was unlucky to get defective display twice, but now I understand it is can not be sloved unless Dell change this Sharp panel completely with another manufacture!
 
Last edited:
With the cpu throttling issue, you have to restart the laptop to get that fixed right?
 
Yes the throttling you either have to put the laptop to sleep or restart.

I prefer the sleep method.

It's annoying nonetheless. I use the laptop in my room, decide I want to take it out to the living room. Unplug the power cord, go to living room, plug in charger, put laptop to sleep, turn it back on to be able to get the CPU to boost back up to normal speed.

When it's capped at 1.5/6ghz it's sluggish.. The throttling effects all Skylake XPS 15's. It's not a hardware issue.
 
Last edited:
Of the 12 how many did you touch and use?

All of them, albeit briefly. We are using the 5510's, so not the XPS 15; however, I would assume they are close enough to have the same problems. The throttling probably isn't noticeable due to our use of the machines. I wouldn't have noticed it setting them up. But the ghosting isn't noticeable, again might be our use of the machines; however, I would assume using Proworks and Solidworks, and a few others would tax the system. We're using the Xeons with 16gb of ram and the 4k screens.

I wouldn't recommend this laptop to anyone at the moment. I could probably live with it if the screen didn't have such bad ghosting. Also if you can run HWInfo64 and tell me the panels that are in the 12 you guys have at work? I doubt they changed panels but maybe I could try to convince dell to give me a replacement with a different lcd panel.

I'm out of office until after the new year. I'll check with IT and see if they can run it but I doubt they'll be willing to.


Turns out they were out of the FHD screens and memory sticks. Maybe I got my xps with a bad batch of lcd panels, I don't know. I wish Dell would be more willing to help me out vs telling me it's not an issue when it clearly is. I also forgot to mention on top of the f3 key there is the slightest nick there as well. Thought it was dust when I first opened it but it wasn't. I don't hate dell but this experience with them isn't all that great is all.

NBR's Review

5th comment on that review. I have the same Sharp panel.

I'm surprised Dell is giving you the runaround on this. Generally I've always had excellent support from Dell with their laptops; however, I'm using business services and so that may bias their support a bit.
 
All of them, albeit briefly. We are using the 5510's, so not the XPS 15; however, I would assume they are close enough to have the same problems. The throttling probably isn't noticeable due to our use of the machines. I wouldn't have noticed it setting them up. But the ghosting isn't noticeable, again might be our use of the machines; however, I would assume using Proworks and Solidworks, and a few others would tax the system. We're using the Xeons with 16gb of ram and the 4k screens.



I'm out of office until after the new year. I'll check with IT and see if they can run it but I doubt they'll be willing to.




I'm surprised Dell is giving you the runaround on this. Generally I've always had excellent support from Dell with their laptops; however, I'm using business services and so that may bias their support a bit.

I'm sure Dell takes better care of those who uses Dell computers for their business work, my assumption anyway.

5510 would be similar to the XPS but I don't think it shares the same Bios, I can't imagine it would. (bios was what dell said causes the throttling) You would also know if it throttled, the XPS ran like a pig when it would cap at 1.5/6Ghz. NBR made that very clear as well, their review is almost a 1:1 experience with mine.

Just saw this over at NBR.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Dell-X...HD-InfinityEdge-Notebook-Review.156462.0.html

Seems bios version 1.1.14 fixes the throttling but is currently not yet available to the public. That's good to hear that that's fixed!
 
Update.

I talked to dell one more time before dropping off my XPS at UPS and the person I talked to was very very cooperative. He did take over control of my laptop and installed various dell apps to try and cure the problem (though I knew none of it was going to work) and in the end he offered to either replace the part or replace the system. I opted for replacing the system as a whole and hope that it comes back with a non faulty panel, maybe?
 
I ordered a 5510 with the 4K screen, today. Figured it's worth a shot. If I have any trouble or just don't care for it I can always go back to Mac.
 
I ordered a 5510 with the 4K screen, today. Figured it's worth a shot. If I have any trouble or just don't care for it I can always go back to Mac.
Order canceled. I accepted a short contract gig, today. Don't need the money or work, but I'll get to do some cool stuff with a VR start-up in California. They're providing a fully-maxed rMBP 13 that I get to keep when the job's finished in March. I'll sell it then and put the $$ towards another Precision 5510. :D
 
I'm strongly considering getting either an XPS15 or XPS13.

Leaning towards the XPS15 which is why I'm in this thread.

I can't decide whether I want the 4k screen or not. About the extent of my gaming will be playing Minecraft, and that's it.

Thoughts?
 
xps 15. We have 3 at work and they are top notch, The above flaws arent anywhere in our models.
 
xps 15. We have 3 at work and they are top notch, The above flaws arent anywhere in our models.

Bios 1.1.15 fixed cpu throttling.

Today my right side speaker was very staticky, few minutes later it died completely so only the left side works.

My replacement gets here Monday.
 
Back
Top