Dell XPS 13 getting quad core CPU

[frankgrimes]

http://www.pcworld.com/article/3219...xps-13-with-intels-quad-core-kaby-lake-r.html

The 8th-generation Kaby Lake R CPUs will be the first to offer quad-core processing power (four cores and eight threads) for ultrabook machines

Why this matters: As one of the first laptops to ship with Kaby Lake R, the Dell XPS 13 ushers in an intriguing new era for laptops, one where quad-core power could start to erase the compromises between portable and desktop PCs.

if that's true and the prices are somewhat on par with MBP, Surface Book this could be the ultimate portable powerhouse. And with Microsoft not doing anything against light bleed issues on the new sirface pro maybe Dell's time to shine has come.

I mean a quad core in a 13inch laptop is a dream come true this baby is going to fly through excel spreadsheets and word documents while having foxit, Netflix running in the background glad I've paid for a cheap laptop just to have a full windows experience and now seeing this.

well Apple and Microsoft Dell is upping their game big time, so better fix your Keyboard (Apple) and quality control issues (Microsoft)

 

[Queen6]

Will be interesting to follow, am very impressed with the performance and capabilities of my own Surface Book, add in 10 series Nvidia dGPU and a Quad Core CPU will be a very impressive notebook, as long as Microsoft delivers. As for Apple not a priority, even then Apple will likely loose a lot of 15" MBP customers with the event of a 13" Quad Core, like as not Apple will just "jack up" the price of the 13" as they have become "insanely" greedy of late. Same as Microsoft Apple needs to get a hold of it's QC and in isolation sort out the design for the people that need to use the computers, not the people that just admire them...

Q-6

 

[frankgrimes]

Yeah you are right and it's a good thing.

Which version of the Surface Book do you have and are there any light bleed issues. I love the idea of the Surface lineup but the lack of premium quality control and MS not accepting the issues with the new Surface Pro as real has me really worried because these things are so tough to repair.

As a Windows 7 freak I think there are only 3 choices nowadays: Dell XPS line, MS Surface Pro 4 and Lenovo Thinkpads

Hopefully Dell is smart enough to not bundle the quad core 13 each with 1 tb ssd and touch because that would push it close to 3.000 euros i guess which is overkill for students

 

[Queen6]

Yeah you are right and it's a good thing.

Which version of the Surface Book do you have and are there any light bleed issues. I love the idea of the Surface lineup but the lack of premium quality control and MS not accepting the issues with the new Surface Pro as real has me really worried because these things are so tough to repair.

As a Windows 7 freak I think there are only 3 choices nowadays: Dell XPS line, MS Surface Pro 4 and Lenovo Thinkpads

Hopefully Dell is smart enough to not bundle the quad core 13 each with 1 tb ssd and touch because that would push it close to 3.000 euros i guess which is overkill for students

My Surface Book is a 2016, i7, 8Gb, 256 SSD with dGPU, display is excellent certainly no more light bleed than any of the recent Mac's i've owned & used. So far zero issue with the Surface Book with 10 months of professional use. Also considered the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon, another excellent Windows notebook, however the Surface Book edged it out.

Also have a Huawei MateBook X (MB-X) which is replacing my Retina MacBook, well recommended very impressive passively cooled (i5/i7U) Ultrabook, having both with me now on my current engineering project. When I return next month I'll bring the Surface Book & MB-X as I miss the added utility of Pen & Touch input and the flexibility.

Q-6

 

[frankgrimes]

My Surface Book is a 2016, i7, 8Gb, 256 SSD with dGPU, display is excellent certainly no more light bleed than any of the recent Mac's i've owned & used. So far zero issue with the Surface Book with 10 months of professional use. Also considered the Lenovo Thinkpad X1 Carbon, another excellent Windows notebook, however the Surface Book edged it out.

Also have a Huawei MateBook X (MB-X) which is replacing my Retina MacBook, well recommended very impressive passively cooled (i5/i7U) Ultrabook, having both with me now on my current engineering project. When I return next month I'll bring the Surface Book & MB-X as I miss the added utility of Pen & Touch input and the flexibility.

Q-6

Wow such a nice specced machine and you also have the Matebook X? Nice combination but I really need a machine that's stable and works because after lectures I will attend the libary on a daily basis that's why I've mentioned the 3 top guys but man that Surface Screen is something else to look at the 3:2 should be great for excel, PDF and Word.

Guess I'll try all three and then decide

 

[Queen6]

Wow such a nice specced machine and you also have the Matebook X? Nice combination but I really need a machine that's stable and works because after lectures I will attend the libary on a daily basis that's why I've mentioned the 3 top guys but man that Surface Screen is something else to look at the 3:2 should be great for excel, PDF and Word.

Guess I'll try all three and then decide

One of the draws for the MateBook X is the excellent 3:2 aspect ratio display, which clearly works very well with small form factor notebooks. Both my Surface Book & MateBook X have proved to be extremely stable, exceeding all of my portable Mac's by a good margin, which equally disappoints and impresses.

The 3:2 aspect ratio definitely lends to productivity over media consumption. I generally opt for an ultraportable, a 13"class and a 15" class depending on the demand's of the trip and or project. MateBook X has now really blurred this line as it offers a 13" 3:2 display with a full Core i5/i7 CPU, admittedly it doesn't offer the same flexibility & usability of the Surface Book, equally a highly impressive ultraportable given this is Huawei's first attempt at a premium clamshell notebook, Huawei now certainly has my interest.

Much the same here with no indication of throttling under real-world usage, impressive. Once you move to a passively cooled notebook, one does tend to be more aware of fan noise, previously you were generally stuck with a Y series CPU. Between my 6th Gen i7 Surface Book and 7th Gen MateBook X there's very little performance differential, barring the dGPU. Having both the 2015 M5 Retina MacBook and MateBook X with me on this trip really amplifies the difference between the two notebooks, with the Huawei being the goto system...

Q-6

 

[frankgrimes]

One of the draws for the MateBook X is the excellent 3:2 aspect ratio display, which clearly works very well with small form factor notebooks. Both my Surface Book & MateBook X have proved to be extremely stable, exceeding all of my portable Mac's by a good margin, which equally disappoints and impresses.

The 3:2 aspect ratio definitely lends to productivity over media consumption. I generally opt for an ultraportable, a 13"class and a 15" class depending on the demand's of the trip and or project. MateBook X has now really blurred this line as it offers a 13" 3:2 display with a full Core i5/i7 CPU, admittedly it doesn't offer the same flexibility & usability of the Surface Book, equally a highly impressive ultraportable given this is Huawei's first attempt at a premium clamshell notebook, Huawei now certainly has my interest.

Much the same here with no indication of throttling under real-world usage, impressive. Once you move to a passively cooled notebook, one does tend to be more aware of fan noise, previously you were generally stuck with a Y series CPU. Between my 6th Gen i7 Surface Book and 7th Gen MateBook X there's very little performance differential, barring the dGPU. Having both the 2015 M5 Retina MacBook and MateBook X with me on this trip really amplifies the difference between the two notebooks, with the Huawei being the goto system...

Q-6

wow that's very nice thank you. To be honest a little bit of noise doesn't concern me smooth performance is more important. How is the track pad of the Matebook X? It's so hard to get your hands on a Lenovo Carbon or Matebook X in Austria :ro try this stuff out, same with Dell

 

[lowendlinux]

I was just pondering a Galago pro from System 76 now maybe I'll wait and see if the revised version has the quad.

 

[Queen6]

wow that's very nice thank you. To be honest a little bit of noise doesn't concern me smooth performance is more important. How is the track pad of the Matebook X? It's so hard to get your hands on a Lenovo Carbon or Matebook X in Austria :ro try this stuff out, same with Dell

MB-X trackpad excellent as it's a Microsoft Precision. X1 Carbon is a great choice and it offers a 14" display and one of the very best keyboards in the ultraportable class, also having a reasonable upgrade path if required; SSD etc. MB-X similar to Apple's rMB focus is portability although a more flexible system. Dell I wouldn't consider anything outside of the Precision lineup, seen too many of their lower range notebooks fail miserably. Personally never got much more than 18 months out of a Latitude when I was in corporate, before incurring issue. Dell for me has always been about great spec's however often poorly executed.

Personally I only purchase the spec I need for the tasks, although as my notebooks are a significant factor in generating revenue, the cost is not the over riding factor. These days it's making more sense to replace more frequently as opposed to paying for high in-house upgrades (especially Apple) and retaining the notebook longer (professional usage).

Performance is pretty good as long as an i5 upwards, more cores, sure more performance, equally only is the software can take advantage of the additional CPU cores. i7 buys you 10% - 13% more, however again dependant on software. For day to day productivity doubt the majority would see much if any tangible difference.

Generally I always travel with two notebooks, so for one portability is definitely a high priority as keeping the volume & weight down helps.

Q-6

 

[frankgrimes]

Thank you your input does help a lot. To be honest I don't think the Carbon Fibre is as premium as aluminum or the Surface magnesium but that almost bezel less display looks damn nice although 16:9 just isn't great for productivity.

The Carbon in 14inch with wqhd seems to be a productivity monster with decent upgrade abilities but the reviews on Amazon aren't that impressive.

Going to my local saturn store tomorrow and trying to get my hands on a matebook.

As for the quad core I think it's nice to have my desktop pc has an i7 quad a few years old but it still works perfectly.

But another important thing is customer service for a premium price I expect that.

 

[_Kiki_]

still Alienware 13 is nicer because OLED screen