Looking at a Dell XPS laptop

[G 2]

I am going to be looking for a light laptop to use for traveling soon. Because I'll be carrying it in my bag, portability will be of high importance. I would still like for it to be in the 13" to 14" range and obviously thin and light. I don't need that powerful of a computer since this will mainly be used for internet use, office documents and light videos. However battery life will be critical because I can go long periods without having a plug near me.

What I'm very interested in is the Dell XPS 13. It has excellent reviews. Looks like it is thin, light and has good battery life. However I'm always skeptical about manufacturer rating battery life. Dell says it will last up to 18 hours but I don't think in real life that is possible.

Any one have any experience with this laptop or others?

 

[NVGator]

Considering there's so much Apple hate in this crowd, I'll refrain from providing my two cents.

Enjoy your new machine, whatever you choose.

 

[URGatorBait]

I am going to be looking for a light laptop to use for traveling soon. Because I'll be carrying it in my bag, portability will be of high importance. I would still like for it to be in the 13" to 14" range and obviously thin and light. I don't need that powerful of a computer since this will mainly be used for internet use, office documents and light videos. However battery life will be critical because I can go long periods without having a plug near me.

What I'm very interested in is the Dell XPS 13. It has excellent reviews. Looks like it is thin, light and has good battery life. However I'm always skeptical about manufacturer rating battery life. Dell says it will last up to 18 hours but I don't think in real life that is possible.

Any one have any experience with this laptop or others?

Now that you narrowed down what it is you want out of a laptop. Take note of the specs, and look at other brands. See if you can do better with same or similar specs in an Asus.

 

[LagoonGator68]

Now that you narrowed down what it is you want out of a laptop. Take note of the specs, and look at other brands. See if you can do better with same or similar specs in an Asus.

Why?

 

[LagoonGator68]

Didn't Gateway belly up into Asus?

 

[URGatorBait]

Why?

Because most of these companies use the exact same internal parts. Dell is one of those that you could pay more just for the brand name.

 

[URGatorBait]

Didn't Gateway belly up into Asus?

Acer aquired Gateway

 

[G 2]

Now that you narrowed down what it is you want out of a laptop. Take note of the specs, and look at other brands. See if you can do better with same or similar specs in an Asus.

I have an Asus Zenbook Pro. The battery life is only marginal. I'll be keeping it for my workhouse though. I just really need something small which can last me a long time not plugged in. It looks like the XPS13 can run off an external battery pack which could really help.

 

[Concrete Helmet]

I can tell you that Acer's stand up well to real world conditions. Mine sits at my dining room table and gets the worst of it when it comes to getting food, coffee and beer spilled all over it on a daily basis....just the other night one of the keys was acting up so I held it open, turned it upside down and tapped it on the table....Holy sh!t, I couldn't believe how many crumbs and pieces of food came out of the keyboard. It easily could have sustained a homeless person for weeks.......Not sure if that helps or not, just my .02 cents.

 

[TLB]

I can tell you that Acer's stand up well to real world conditions. Mine sits at my dining room table and gets the worst of it when it comes to getting food, coffee and beer spilled all over it on a daily basis....just the other night one of the keys was acting up so I held it open, turned it upside down and tapped it on the table....Holy sh!t, I couldn't believe how many crumbs and pieces of food came out of the keyboard. It easily could have sustained a homeless person for weeks.......Not sure if that helps or not, just my .02 cents.

Now I'm hungry. Thanks.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

I can tell you that Acer's stand up well to real world conditions. Mine sits at my dining room table and gets the worst of it when it comes to getting food, coffee and beer spilled all over it on a daily basis....just the other night one of the keys was acting up so I held it open, turned it upside down and tapped it on the table....Holy sh!t, I couldn't believe how many crumbs and pieces of food came out of the keyboard. It easily could have sustained a homeless person for weeks.......Not sure if that helps or not, just my .02 cents.

Why does this post from bertcrete not surprise me at all?

 

[pilot-in-fla]

I can tell you that Acer's stand up well to real world conditions. Mine sits at my dining room table and gets the worst of it when it comes to getting food, coffee and beer spilled all over it on a daily basis....just the other night one of the keys was acting up so I held it open, turned it upside down and tapped it on the table....Holy sh!t, I couldn't believe how many crumbs and pieces of food came out of the keyboard. It easily could have sustained a homeless person for weeks.......Not sure if that helps or not, just my .02 cents.

LOL -- you can get a custom keyboard cover to prevent potential damage from crumbs, liquids, etc. But, in general, newer keyboards are much better than older ones relative to foreign materials and dirt.

 

[grengadgy]

LOL -- you can get a custom keyboard cover to prevent potential damage from crumbs, liquids, etc. But, in general, newer keyboards are much better than older ones relative to foreign materials and dirt.

It has nothing to the keyboard, Acer is just a kickass tough laptop.

 

[G 2]

It has nothing to the keyboard, Acer is just a kickass tough laptop.

Tougher than Apple?

 

[URGatorBait]

Tougher than Apple?

 

[grengadgy]

Tougher than Apple?

It's impossible to compare the two. One is a status symbol , right arm, left nut soulmate and etc,etc,etc....and other is.merely a computer.....

 

[G 2]

 

[Swamp Donkey]

If I were buying soon, and I may, it will probably be one of those new IBM Thinkpads,. IBM split them off and they are called Lenovo now. They are aggressively trying to reacquire marketshare. Seem to be the best bang for the buck in quality machine. Id at least look at them. They have a midlevel gaming machine with a 4 gb gpu that I may get my son. It's very nice for the money.

I think all of them have milspec 810g ratings. That's a big deal for me.

I had zero luck w Acers. I dont know how much of that was due to using them in the desert, maybe a lot of it, sometimes without air conditioning but generally in a relatively dustfree environment. I know the heat is a big problem. However, they also have a lot of bizarre one off stuff under the hood. Weird proprietary stuff meaning it's hard to replace just a wifi or power port. I'm just not a fan.

 

[grengadgy]

If I were buying soon, and I may, it will probably be one of those new IBM Thinkpads,. IBM split them off and they are called Lenovo now. They are aggressively trying to reacquire marketshare. Seem to be the best bang for the buck in quality machine. Id at least look at them. They have a midlevel gaming machine with a 4 gb gpu that I may get my son.

I had zero luck w Acers. I dont know hiw much of that was due to using them in the desert, maybe a lot of it, but they also have a lot of bizarre one off stuff under the hood. Just not a fan.

I think most people except Crete were joking about Acer.

 

[78]

I use a MacBook at home but if I were in the market for a Windows notebook, I'd probably go VAIO. I had a good experience with one about eight or nine years ago.