Just to add to Tony's experience, I've been using a Dell XPS 15 (9550) since March. I did end up getting the battery replaced because it turned out there was something weird inside it that was pushing up against the touchpad, making it hard to 'click'. After that it's been pretty good - quite reliable. I don't make much use of the thunderbolt port though (I've seen a few firmware/driver updates come out for that so it does sound like there's been some issues there)
This is the second Dell laptop I've had (first one was a 1645) and one other thing I've noticed is that they tend to be pretty good working with various data projectors. A number of occasions I've been at a venue where my laptop has worked fine where other brands have problems with cropping or just refusing to work at all. David On 15 December 2016 at 08:09, Tom P <tompbi...@gmail.com> wrote: > Wow thanks for the comprehensive email Tony. During my research I actually > did read about horror stories like yours where people ended up sending > machines back several times. It's really disappointing when you're spending > so much money. I know several people who just refuse to deal with Dell now > after having many issues with them. I'll keep looking... > > On Wednesday, 14 December 2016, Tony Wright <tonyw...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hi Tom, >> >> I have been reviewing laptops lately for value for money and decided the >> battery life on the x360 sucked. >> >> Most of the laptops in the $3000 range are dual core as well. >> >> If you're after a 2in1 and dual core is fine you could consider Lenovo >> thinkpad x1 yoga, or the Lenovo yoga 910. Lenovo yoga 910 is consumer and >> had 7th gen Intel chip but no pen capability. Thinkpad x1 yoga has pen but >> different port configuration. >> >> Check ports on all laptops you consider. Thunderbolt ports are best if >> you can get them. Usbc is second best (you can run multiple external >> monitors + Ethernet cable via those ports) But you will also need adapters >> to fit. >> >> The best value I ended up coming up with was a Dell Xps 15. But I have >> had major issues. They have now replaced my motherboard 3 times due to >> crashes, screen flickering and thunderbolt port failures. Tomorrow they >> will replace my motherboard for the fourth time. Not good enough. If it >> fails this time, I'm getting a refund. >> >> My advice is look for discount codes as well. My son has a student >> account giving him access to discounts on hp (limited selection up to 40%), >> Dell (15%) and Microsoft (15%). Lenovo had up to 20% recently but have >> removed that deal. Lenovo often have other deals. Apple 10% through a >> student discount. Auto clubs, like racv, also have discounts. >> >> If my laptop fails again and I have to buy another laptop, I think I >> might get a Lenovo P50, but they're expensive and not as sexy,but I can get >> a xeon chip or high end quad core, go up to 64gb ram, and put a second nvme >> pcie ssd of I like. >> >> The other laptops I considered were surface book. Didn't like the lack of >> thunderbolt. Apple Macbook pro, which you can install windows natively on. >> It's got an awesome configuration but bad battery life, and that's reduced >> further by windows. Asus Zenbook pro 15 but couldn't find a price for the >> right configuration I want (I only want 1920x1080 as I want more battery >> life) >> Hp omen - lacks extensibility. Dell precision 7510 far too expensive in >> Australia. >> >> Hope this helps! >> >> Tony >> >> On 14 Dec 2016 5:34 PM, "Tom P" <tompbi...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Hi Folks, >>> >>> I'm thinking of buying the HP Spectre x360 13 inch with high specs (16gb >>> ram, 512 ssd, i7) which ends up costing about $3100 with the warranty. Have >>> any devs here had bad experiences with this machine or recommend a better >>> alternative >>> for the price? >>> >>> Cheers >>> Tom >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Thanks >>> Tom >>> >>> > > -- > Thanks > Tom > >
