Alternative to Dell Inspiron i7559-763BLK 15.6" w/o Dedicated GTX

[Jsunv]

Hey all -- this is really troubling me that I cannot for the life of me find the same or similar specs to the 'gaming laptop' that Dell makes without a dedicated video card... How can this be possible that no one makes a laptop with those specs?

15.6" 1080p screen (IPS preferred but not required)
128 or 256 GB SSD
8 GB RAM
WIN 10

I just don't get it -- i cannot find one manufacturer that makes this and it's what I'm looking for for the wife's day to day business laptop. I don't need the dedicated video card, but i want all the other specs (SSD, 15.6" 1080p)...

Any idea -- I'm about to just buy the Dell and be done with all the time wasted searching and paying the extra for the video card which she doesn't need.

Thanks all

 

[hang-the-9]

Yep, you are pretty limited with systems with an i7 CPU and just the onboard video Newegg has 4 with that size SSD and a 15.6" screen, two are refurbs.

http/www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740+600004378+600423157+600423158+600423163+600423302+600425161+600457669+600003982+4814%20100006740%20600004378%20600423157%20600423158%20600423163%20600423302%20600425161%20600457669%20600003982%204814%20601183897&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=30

For an i3 or i5 CPU there are more options, but for the prices you are better off with a system with a dedicated video card, they will be about the same price. http/www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100006740+600004378+600423157+600423158+600423163+600423302+600425161+600457669+600003982+4814%20100006740%20600004378%20600423157%20600423158%20600423163%20600423302%20600425161%20600457669%204814%20601183897%20600003982%20600003986%20600003988%20600004420&IsNodeId=1&bop=And&Order=PRICE&PageSize=30

 

[Jsunv]

thoughts on spending a tad more and getting the XPS 15? Similar spec without dedicated card is $950 with the $50 coupon from dells website. Although i see it has a 500gb mechanical drive an 8gb flash storage... Do they install the OS on that little 8BG or is it only used for swap memory? If the OS isn't on that, I'm hard pressed to go with it...

 

[hang-the-9]

The 8 GB storage is a cache not something that gets things installed in it. It's a hybrid setup between an SSD and a spindle hard drive. XPS is a good series to get, they are more solid than the other models outside of the business class ones.

 

[jaguarskx]

8GB is too small to install Windows anyway.

Since you are considering the least expensive Dell XPS 15 which has a dual core i3-6100H CPU, then I assume you are okay with a laptop with a dual core CPU since the Dell Inspiron 7559 has a quad core i5-6300HQ CPU. If that is the case, then you have more open to you.

 

[Jsunv]

I am certainly open to a dual core for what it's going to be used for (general office/browsing/youtubeing/nonsense)... I am against the low end XPS 15 now since it doesn't have an SSD... The $800 dell just looks like it can't be beat for the price...

 

[jaguarskx]

Are you okay with cloning the HDD to install a SSD? Many time it is actually a little cheaper to simply buy a laptop and not choose the option for a SSD, then simply the SSD and install it yourself.

If your wife is doing normal office stuff like using spreadsheet, power point and e-mail, then a dual core CPU will be fine. If she is heavily into financial modelling and work with / managing large database, then a quad core CPU would be recommended.

 

[Jsunv]

i'm certainly open to doing that... is there a good utility for 'cloning' the drive to ensure you get the boot sector etc. and all the key stuff necessary? i also assume this would void the warranty with pretty much any manufacturer... even though it's a rather mundane and simple task. that certainly does open up a lot more options though... given that there is an easy way to do the hdd clone

 

[jaguarskx]

Samsung EVO 850 series SSDs are probably one of the best consumer level SSDs currently on sale. The retail box versions should come with Samsung Magician which is the software used for cloning purposes.

The 500GB SATA III version (2.5") is $150. SSD prices has dropped significantly over the years. I remember when it was like $1 per 1GB back in 2009 / 2010.


http/www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E500B-AM/dp/B00OBRE5UE/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1455825841&sr=1-1&keywords=samsung+evo+850+500gb

 

[Jsunv]

well i just found this guy on the lenovo outlet and picked it up... don't think it can be beat for the $ and what i'm looking for.

ThinkPad L540 - New
Part number: R90HZCQK-20AVCTO1WW

Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4340M Processor (3M Cache, up to 3.60 GHz)
Operating system: Windows 10 Professional 64 - English
Display: 15.6" FHD (1920 X 1080) LED backlight
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 4600
Memory: 4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3L SDRAM 1600MHz SODIMM Memory
Hard Drive: 128GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA3
Optical Drive: DVD Recordable Serial ATA

Total: $571.27 shipped

 

[jaguarskx]

The ThinkPad L540 is a good laptop. In general ThinkPads are known for having really good keyboards. The one thing a lot of previous ThinkPad owners had problems with The L540 and other ThinkPads from that generation is the buttonless touchpad.

The elimination of the touchpad buttons caused some serious vocal outrage. So much that Lenovo brought them back in the next generation of ThinkPad laptops using the 5th generation Intel Broadwell CPUs.