Question XPS 13 or Inspiron 13

RoboDog

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Hi Everyone,

I'm looking to purchase a new 13 inch laptop and have a question that I was hoping you could help me with.

My budget is about £600 (£700 if it is really worth it) and I wanted to stick with Dell as I have always been happy with them. I've narrowed down my search to the XPS13 and the Inspiron 13, but I'm having a really hard time trying to figure out why there is such a massive premium on the XPS? It has an older and slightly slower processor and half the hard drive space. I don't know which of them has a better graphics card. The XPS seems heavier and the dimensions are almost identical, so I was wondering if it is worth it? Note that I get a 12% corporate discount on XPS, which is why I am considering it, but it appears that in terms of specs the Inspiron is a superior product. Or am I missing something obvious? Any thoughts / words of wisdom?

Thanks
 
Generally a better model will be better built, have higher quality screen/keyboard/touchpad and more capable ports (Thunderbolt etc.). It may also have other benefits such as being lighter, having a higher capacity battery or a better cooling system.

Processing power generally doesn't change much as you go up the range for laptops, you're paying for general quality and usability. For example a brighter and less reflective screen can mean a higher end laptop is usable outdoors when a low end one is just too washed out to see.

In this instance the Inspiron 5301 is a newer model than the XPS 7390 so the processing power is better on the cheaper laptop.
 
XPS 13 is an aluminium chassis and a carbon deck. I have a 2017 model. Also check battery life. The XPS has a 52WH and the Inspiron a 40WH.


To be honest I'd always buy the XPS model over the Inspiron. That said. I'd be buying a 16 GB, 512GB model minimum because you can't upgrade them once built as far as I'm aware. Pretty sure the Inspiron is a much thicker laptop. The XPS is very thin. The XPS is only 15mm ish at back it gets progressively thinner towards the front. The Inspiron uses tricks to look like it's thinner at the front but is the same width throughout.
 
I have an 8th gen XPS13 and just got a Lenovo ThinkBook 13s Gen 2 as wife always uses XPS.

Seriously consider this, just released Lenovo with 11th Gen i5. Its close to XPS quality and cheaper.

Might find it cheaper if you can get with Windows 10 Home instead of pro Lenovo ThinkBook 13s G2 Core i5 8GB 256GB SSD 13.3" Win10 Pro Laptop | Ebuyer.com

Seems cheaper here but no sure what cashback part is 20V90003UK, Lenovo ThinkBook 13s G2 | Box.co.uk

I find Lenovo more reliable than Dell (I spec & buy PC's for work).
 
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