So... I bought an xps 13

[craigyy]

Hi All,
First time posting on here and before you all attack I'm trying to do this to be helpful and share my experience
So I have a 2010 13" MBP which is getting extremely difficult to use, I am constantly seeing the spinning wheel when I try to do anything and the battery doesnt last very long at all anymore. Now being the impatient person that I am I couldn't wait for the new MBP to come out, I know I could have bought the current gen one, but if early next year they release one that has a new design, that is something that being the person I am I would never forgive myself for. So after reading through some of the threads on here, reading some articles online and watching some youtube videos, I decided to order myself a new skylake xps 13. I justified it to myself because of the lower price and higher specs and windows 10 is meant to be not too bad from what I'd heard.
So After some haggling I got the core i7 model with 16gb Ram and a 512gb SSD drive, with a bit of a discount and I was happy. My estimated delivery date for it was a long way off and I then managed to get a bit of extra money back because of this too! Anyway fast forward a little bit and the laptop was delivered on Wednesday, which makes me probably one of the first people to get the new skylake one as I don't think theres too many videos of it on youtube!
Its now friday and I am typing on the device right now... Unfortunately this will probably be one of the last and only times I do so as the next thing I plan to type up is the form to return it. The first thing I noticed on wednesday evening (after marvelling at the size and sturdiness of the device) was the trackpad which I am afraid to say, for me anyway, is almost un-usable. I am someone who uses the 2 finger swipe to scroll and this is something that even after a lot of tinkering with the settings is still a very laborious task, I had heard mixed things about this before so thought I would continue to try different settings and see if I could make it useable, but alas it is not to be. When scrolling this way the page will sometimes jump up or down suddenly, perhaps because the pad is too sensitive and even when this isnt happening the scrolling is nowhere near as smooth as to what I am used to. I know I could always get a mouse to use, but this is a big purchase, probably a laptop for another 4-5 years and I don't want to have to compromise for this amount of time.
I started to use my old mbp along side this to see if I noticed anything else and although the bezels on the screen are amazing, the fact that on the dell you cannot turn the brightness up as high as you like is another thing I don't want to have to compromise on.
This is becoming a longer post than what I anticipated, the reason for writing the whole thing is that I am sure that there are others on here who need a new laptop and don't feel like they can wait until feb/march/whenever and I want to say to them please think harder than I did about it and don't rush the decision as even things that you didn't think would bother you (like being able to open it up with one hand, I really didnt think I would be fussed about that at all) may actually bother you more than you think!
Now I'm left having to pay the return freight on this things which isn't awful and some of you may be able to put up with the little niggles I have with it. Windows 10 itself was actually a nice surprise. But myself, I've learnt my lesson and I will be waiting now. If you do have any questions about the Dell or what I was happy/unhappy with about it, please feel free to ask

 

[Queen6]

Simple OS X trackpad, is the way to go, Windows a mouse is the the solution. A small investment would save you the cost of retuning a perfectly good Notebook. The arguments of OS X vs Windows are irreverent in 2015, as both are solid operating systems. It comes down to little more than personal taste, both have positives & negatives.

Q-6

 

[maflynn]

I don't get that after all these years, Only apple seems to be able to make a decent trackpad.

The XPS looks like a sweet machine, I think it has a lot of positives. OP, get what you need, and since you're not happy with the Dell, return it.

 

[reundo]

I don't get that after all these years, Only apple seems to be able to make a decent trackpad.

The XPS looks like a sweet machine, I think it has a lot of positives. OP, get what you need, and since you're not happy with the Dell, return it.

The trackpad was and still is my biggest issue with using any laptop besides a mac since I got my first one. All the multi-gestures seem to work on the Thinkpad T440 I use but the Apple like "the trackpad is the button" is a total fail. I always end up switching to a mouse on windows computers.

 

[maflynn]

First let me say, that I don't like trackpads in general but Apple has always seemingly done the best job in producing trackpads. I much prefer mice, but its not always feasible to carry a mouse.

 

[austinpike]

?.. I am constantly seeing the spinning wheel when I try to do anything and the battery doesnt last very long at all anymore.

To address the original issue, an SSD, a fresh OS install and a replacement battery can be had pretty cheaply and would make your machine feel better than new. It would at least hold you over if/until a MBP redesign. (You may not even feel you need a new machine after the new parts.)

But yes, any PC trackpad will give you a new appreciation for Apple's refinement. I've tried a few lately that have gotten much better, but still only takes a couple minutes before some kind of lag or frustration that just doesn't happen on Apple hardware.

 

[Max(IT)]

working on Dell machine every day. Quite a lot of different models (notebooks and desktops).
I would never buy one for myself.
Spec list is different from user experience....

 

[marc55]

I purchased a preowned 2013 15" MBPr this past March, and all I can say is I've never had such a good computer.

I've used PC's since the early 80's, and switching to the MBP was relatively easy. We still have a 2013 Dell XPS-15, 9530 with Windows 10, which my wife uses sometimes when I'm monopolizing the MBP. I only use the XPS-15 when I need to help her with something, and I can't wait to get back on the MBP.

While our XPS-15 is a fairly decent PC, it's not a MBP. The XPS-15's track pad was the nicest I've ever used, UNTIL I used the one on the MBP, and the battery doesn't last nearly as long.

m

 

[dogslobber]

The trackpad was and still is my biggest issue with using any laptop besides a mac since I got my first one. All the multi-gestures seem to work on the Thinkpad T440 I use but the Apple like "the trackpad is the button" is a total fail. I always end up switching to a mouse on windows computers.

PC trackpads are terrible to use. Two finger scrolling Is the epic fail for me. Some of those laptops require you to scroll via single finger on the right of the trackpad. It has to be very precise or your scroll doesn't register or it overshoots.

Easier to run win10 under an emulator in OS X so you get decent scrolling on the Windows side.

 

[Clairvoyant129]

PC trackpads are terrible to use. Two finger scrolling Is the epic fail for me. Some of those laptops require you to scroll via single finger on the right of the trackpad. It has to be very precise or your scroll doesn't register or it overshoots.

Easier to run win10 under an emulator in OS X so you get decent scrolling on the Windows side.

Agreed. Was using my friend's Asus Zenbook and the gestures were non-responsive. PC OEMs still don't get it.

 

[jackson93]

Or.... You could buy the 2015 MBPr now and sell it when/if the redesign model shows up. You'll lose some money, but you will have a much more pleasant workflow that you're used to.

 

[Adamantoise]

First let me say, that I don't like trackpads in general but Apple has always seemingly done the best job in producing trackpads. I much prefer mice, but its not always feasible to carry a mouse.

It's honestly a mystery to me too. I mean, I've used PCs where the trackpads were actually decent and comfortable to use, but they didn't compare to the MBP trackpad for some reason.

It's all moot to me though. Given the choice, I'd always pick a mouse.

 

[whodatrr]

Usually, for a new piece of hardware, it takes a bit of time to get the drivers right. Just saying that because you can probably expect a patch or two coming down the pipe that should improve trackpad performance. If two finger-swipe is supposed to work, and it isn't, that'll likely be addressed in an update. Then again, if there are other reasons it doesn't work for you, best to get something that does.

 

[maflynn]

Agreed. Was using my friend's Asus Zenbook and the gestures were non-responsive. PC OEMs still don't get it.

I think they get it, they just don't care. I think for a number of them, its quantity over quality. They know they'll sell x number of units, and improving the trackpad won't in of itself increase that number too much so they just live with it.

 

[michaelsviews]

How bout the fact that Apple does it one way and Windows does it another? Windows dominates. Boot into say Linux Mint and it's totally different. Either better , the same , or worse

 

[Quu]

Trackpads have always been a weak point on PC notebooks. I think it's a lack of caring. Their customers are not banging loud enough about the issue for them to feel it needs to be fixed.

 

[michaelsviews]

Trackpads have always been a weak point on PC notebooks. I think it's a lack of caring. Their customers are not banging loud enough about the issue for them to feel it needs to be fixed.

Or there customers are using mice instead of the trackpad, I used a thinkpad 420 and had NO problems with the trackpad at all. Could be allot of people just griping about nothing. You don't like it take it back, I've learned over years to NEVER EVER jump on the update wagon when something is released, give it 45 days or so, listen to what others are saying, maybe its something in there configuration?