Macbook alternatives?

Well, the search for a reasonable priced XPS 13 has been more challenging than I expected. I ended up finding a pretty good deal on a MS Surface Book so I decided to give it a try. Specs are: i7, 16gb, 512gb & nVidia GPU. Really liked the SP4 when I had but didn't care for the kickstand setup. It is a bit bigger than I wanted though. Hoping MS comes around with a hinged smaller version at some point.
 
I'm not a big fan of the MS SB simply because of the bulky design. The hinge design leaves such a big gap when closed. Specs are great, but when I buy ultrabooks, weigh, battery life and size is a priority for me.
 
TFchris said:
I'm not a big fan of the MS SB simply because of the bulky design.
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After spending a week with it I'm coming to the same conclusion here. The fan kicks on even when it's charging too. Is that normal? Between those things and the erratic track-pad bug, I'm not liking it as much as I thought I would.

An XPS 9360 might still be in my future.
 
Etherton said:
After spending a week with it I'm coming to the same conclusion here. The fan kicks on even when it's charging too. Is that normal? Between those things and the erratic track-pad bug, I'm not liking it as much as I thought I would.

An XPS 9360 might still be in my future.
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I actually do not own a SB, but many of my friends do and they don't seem to mind. But any erratic trackpad behaviors are due to microsoft drivers. 99% of the time on the XPS 13 9360, it's pretty free of problems on the trackpad end of things. As for the fan, that is the first time I ever heard of it. Perhaps a SB owner can shine some light on this?
 
i picked up a lenovo t460s for windows purposes and it feels premium like my macbook pro ;)
 
antok86 said:
i picked up a lenovo t460s for windows purposes and it feels premium like my macbook pro ;)
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Nope. Owned a Thinkpad Carbon X1. Poor customer service and horrid horrid tackpad. Not enough gap between screen and keyboard also left marks/etching on otherwise beautiful touch screen.
 
Ended up returning the SB. Picked up a Dell XPS13 from the outlet with an i5-7200u, 8gb, 256gb and a 3200*1800 touchscreen. They knocked 2% off (everything counts) and free 2 day shipping. Great service so far.

Beautiful machine. This seems a lot slimmer than the one I previously used. SD card slot is a plus for me (photography). Overall, loving it. Thanks for harping on it! :D

Went ahead and picked up a dBrand skin too. I ordered the tackpad skin but am not sure I'll use it. For those that have used one, does it effect the trackpad? Also, do you recommend using a screen protector? If so, which one? I believe the SSD is user up-gradable if I ever need to?
 
Etherton said:
Ended up returning the SB. Picked up a Dell XPS13 from the outlet with an i5-7200u, 8gb, 256gb and a 3200*1800 touchscreen. They knocked 2% off (everything counts) and free 2 day shipping. Great service so far.

Beautiful machine. This seems a lot slimmer than the one I previously used. SD card slot is a plus for me (photography). Overall, loving it. Thanks for harping on it! :D

Went ahead and picked up a dBrand skin too. I ordered the tackpad skin but am not sure I'll use it. For those that have used one, does it effect the trackpad? Also, do you recommend using a screen protector? If so, which one? I believe the SSD is user up-gradable if I ever need to?
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I have the the black carbon skin on the exterior and i also used the matte black skin on the trackpad but I ended up taking it off the trackpad. I personally preferred the feeling of the natural pad. I didn't notice a major difference with the skin on the trackpad. It's similar to the screen protectors on phone screens. My suggestion is, do NOT throw away 3M paper the skins rest on. Keep them in the envelope in case you want to take off the skin later on.

And yes, the SSD is upgradable. I purposely purchased the 128GB version of the xps13 (cheapest option), because I was going to put my own 500gb M2 ssd in it. The stock SSD provided is actually pretty decent. It is a Sandisk X400 but I wanted something slightly better so I picked up a Samsung EVO 850. But if 256GB is enough for you, that sandisk is pretty solid.

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-...196&sr=8-1&keywords=m.2+samsung+evo+850+500gb
 
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Etherton said:
Are there any comparable size, build quality and battery life Windows 10 based laptops out there to the 2015/16 Macbooks? Loved the Macbook but OSX, meh... Other than the Dell XPS13.
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HP Sceptre X365. http://store.hp.com/us/en/pdp/hp-spectre-x360---13-ac075nr

I have the dark ash/bronze colored one and it's an awesome laptop.

http://store.hp.com/us/en/mdp/laptops/spectre-x360-211501--1

It's second only to a space gray MBP in looks.

It is VERY Mcbook Pro 2016 like.
 
iRUSH said:
What makes the Xps so expensive? Is the build quality that top notch? What else?
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I just purchased an XPS 15 last week and I've owned numerous MBP's are build quality to me is easily just as good if not better. XPS has a carbon fiber interior which probably cost a good amount more then just going with solid aluminum construction. So far everything on this laptop is pretty much top notch I can't really complain about anything maybe expect the keyboard and no FN key bind to disable track pad.
 
Just got also a HP Spectre 16GB/512GB in addition to my MBP. Why ? Because I made the "mistake" to have only 256GB storage on my MBP and not enough space left for a virtual windows. Also when doing software I like to "test" on real device. In addition the HP looks and feels nice.
 
The MacBooks are unrivaled I am a fan of them, they are build like tanks and everything from them is just better except the hefty price tag !

From the countless of laptops I've seen online there are only two that can put up a fight (no more than a few rounds) with them:

DELL XPS 13 & 15 for the PRO.
Azus ZenBook for the Air (keyboard quality of the ZenBook is what sucks here hence can only last 3 or 4 rounds).
 
MichaelCERN said:
The MacBooks are unrivaled...
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Having owned 2 now, unrivaled is not a word I would describe them as. Are they nice? Yep, built like tanks? No.

5230783-7370839945-44088.jpg
 
Etherton said:
Having owned 2 now, unrivaled is not a word I would describe them as. Are they nice? Yep, built like tanks? No.

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I don't have a MacBook anymore, wish I did. I actually have a 17inch beefy windows HP Laptop and a chromebook. Back when i was a student I did have an Air, it was built like a tank. I dropped it so many times and still was going strong...the battery life was incredible....too. Unfortunately it had that shiny apple logo....and eventually disappeared from my sight.
 
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