New work laptop - Need feedback.

[Khratoz]

I am planning to get a new laptop. I will be using this one mainly for work so I don't need anything too fancy.

Main tasks I will be doing:
- Email
- Skype and other meetings software.
- Running software for regression analysis and other statistical analysis.
- Finance software.
- I started self-learning programming (I am trying HTML now and working on Dreamweaver quite often).
-Mainly looking for the best combination of portability and performance.

I have 2 main options as of right now, but I am also open to consider other viable option that you may propose.

1. DELL XPS 13 Non‐Touch (~U$ 999.99)

• 
  Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64‐bit English
  Memory: 8GB LPDDR3 1866MHz
  Processor: 6th Generation Intel Core i5‐6200U (3M Cache, up to 2.8 GHz)
  Display: 13.3” FHD AG (1920 x 1080) InfinityEdge display
  Keyboard: Backlit Keyboard, English
  Video Card: Intel® HD Graphics 520
  Driver: DW 1820 Driver
  Hard Drive: 128GB Solid State Drive
  Wireless: DW1820A 2x2 802.11ac 2.4/5GHz + Bluetooth4.1
  Primary Battery: 56wHR, 4‐Cell Battery

2. ThinkPad X1 Carbon (~ U$ 1,142.40)

• 
  Processor: Intel Core i5-5200U Processor (3MB Cache, up to 2.70GHz)
  Operating System:Windows 10 Home 64
  Display: 14.0" FHD (1920 x 1080) with WWAN
  Memory: 8GB PC3-12800L on MB
  Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 5500
  Keyboard: Keyboard Backlit - US English
  Security Features: With Fingerprint Reader
  Camera: 720p HD Camera
  Hard Drive: 128GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA
  Battery: Rapid Charge, Integrated
  Wireless: Intel 7265 AC/B/G/N Dual Band Wireless + Bluetooth Version 4.0

Looking forward to your comments and feedback.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Brendan]

I'd steer clear of getting the Dell XPS. My dad got one (Albeit a couple of years ago) and it started to run very slow, very quickly. The harddrive failed very quickly, and it was an expensive fix too.

 

[Khratoz]

I'd steer clear of getting the Dell XPS. My dad got one (Albeit a couple of years ago) and it started to run very slow, very quickly. The harddrive failed very quickly, and it was an expensive fix too.

Thanks for your insights.

I decided to go ahead and purchase the Lenovo, as I already had an XPS in the past and I had to change the hard-drive 2 times.

 

ThinkPad X1 Carbon for sure!

 

You're probably going to get a lot of conflicting answers because the specs on both are pretty similar. I'm going to recommend that you choose the XPS 13, and here's why:

• Lenovo has gone to shit recently with poor hardware and flimsy design
• The battery on the XPS is better than in the Thinkpad. Lenovo has had issues with their battery's metres dying after only a few months. I currently have a bricked Y40-80 that has 100% battery status, permanently.
• You'll never be able to go back to using a screen that has a thick bezel after using the XPS infinity screen.
• The XPS is lighter (marginally, but still).
• The XPS has a marginally better CPU, but since it's also the cheaper of the two options, it's a no-brainer.
• Skylake CPUs have better battery performance as well so you'd be able to squeeze more up-time out of the XPS.

Overall you'll be happy with both, honestly. The XPS is just the better buy. If you end up getting the Thinkpad, for god sake don't use the express charge feature. It's what ruins your metre.

 

Honestly, everything you described can be done with both machines. Since you went ahead and already bought the Lenovo I'll close your thread for you