13'' laptop for photo editing? XPS 13?

jerd · Nov 16, 2015

I'd like a laptop mainly for photo editing (Lightroom, etc.), but will use it for general internet browsing and other simple tasks, and wouldn't mind the ability to play a few games here and there (nothing too intensive).

I like the design of the XPS 13, and it seems very thin and portable. I'd get the non-touch version, so I'm curious how the panel is, especially for photo editing. Looks like with a 256gb ssd, it would cost ~$1200.

Is there anything better for the price, or less? I saw a deal on the Inspiron 15 7000, which is bigger than I'd ideally want, but the specs look pretty nice (i5 skylake, 8gb ram, 256gb ssd, dedicated graphics, etc.) and it's only $760 at Amazon.

How do the two compare? Panels the same? XPS 13 better for the increased price?

jaguarskx · Nov 16, 2015

The IPS panel on the Dell XPS 13 is much better than the IPS panel on the new Dell Inspiron 15 7000. That is assuming the new Dell XPS 13 uses the same IPS panel as the original Dell XPS 13 w/ Infinity Diplay that was released in late 2014 / early 2015; see link below.

http

/www.mobiletechreview.com/notebooks/Dell-XPS-13-2015.htm

From what I have read the Dell Inspiron 15 7000 uses a lower quality IPS panel which is okay for normal use, but not good enough for photo editing. The Dell XPS 15 should have a much better display since the XPS series is Dell's premium brand, while the Inspiron series is more consumer oriented middle of the road brand.

jerd · Nov 16, 2015

jaguarskx :

Thanks. Is that the only real distinguishing feature between the two, or am I getting more than just the better panel with the XPS? Cost difference is ~$300.

jaguarskx · Nov 16, 2015

Much like the Dell XPS 13, the Dell XPS 15 uses an Infinity Display which means it has very thin bezels. That means despite having a 15.6" screen the Dell XPS 15 is closer to the size of a 14" laptop and it also weighs about 4.4lbs which is lighter than the Dell Inspiron 7559 which is around 5.75lbs.

You are paying extra for a better quality screen as well as the engineering an materials necessary to make the Dell XPS 15 smaller and lighter. However, you are also giving up the m.2 SSD slot in the Dell XPS 15 because of the smaller form factor.

The price difference between the least expensive Dell Inspiron 7559 and the least expensive Dell XPS 15 with the i5-6300HQ CPU and the nVidia GTX 960m is $400.

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13'' laptop for photo editing? XPS 13?

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