Ultrabook Or Surface Pro 6?
Discussion
I’m after a new device, mainly for work use and I can’t decide between the Dell XPS 13 (9370) or the new Surface Pro 6.
The majority of my work is Office/Google Docs based so whilst I don’t need a powerhouse it would be nice to have a half decent spec device that I could use for a few years to come.
Specs wise the XPS 13 with an i7, 16GB of ram and a 512GB SSD is pretty much the same price as a Surface Pro 6 with an i5, 8GB of ram and 256GB SSD and the keyboard cover so on paper the XPS wins.
Portability wise the Surface Pro 6 seems nicer and slimmer. It would also come in handy to replace my battered old iPad mini 2 for Youtube and web browsing.
If you had the same options, which one would you chose?
The majority of my work is Office/Google Docs based so whilst I don’t need a powerhouse it would be nice to have a half decent spec device that I could use for a few years to come.
Specs wise the XPS 13 with an i7, 16GB of ram and a 512GB SSD is pretty much the same price as a Surface Pro 6 with an i5, 8GB of ram and 256GB SSD and the keyboard cover so on paper the XPS wins.
Portability wise the Surface Pro 6 seems nicer and slimmer. It would also come in handy to replace my battered old iPad mini 2 for Youtube and web browsing.
If you had the same options, which one would you chose?
Not sure if things are different now, but I have a Surface from a few years back, and the biggest issue I had was you couldnt load other browsers such as Firefox or Chrome on it, and as there are no decent Ad Blockers for IE it was a big no no for me, it has been in a drawer for a few years now, shame really as apart from that little issue was a decent enough bit of kit and very compact for travelling, but I have found my Android tablet to be way more flexible than the Surface for travelling. Ad blockers exist for MS Edge now so may be different if the latest Surface supports Edge that is.
I also have several Dell laptops in the family and they are superb machines, pretty bombproof and way better than any Lenovo or HP equivalent IMHO.
I also have several Dell laptops in the family and they are superb machines, pretty bombproof and way better than any Lenovo or HP equivalent IMHO.
Edited by ninepoint2 on Tuesday 6th November 19:12
ninepoint2 said:
Not sure if things are different now, but I have a Surface from a few years back, and the biggest issue I had was you couldnt load other browsers such as Firefox or Chrome on it .....
Was that a Surface 1 or Surface 2?They ran a cut down version of windows (Windows RT), based IIRC on Windows 8. Windows RT restricted you to installing apps from the Windows Store only.
Since Surface 3, the Surface range have all run full blown Windows so you can install any Windows software ... same as you would on any other PC or Laptop
ninepoint2 said:
Not sure if things are different now, but I have a Surface from a few years back, and the biggest issue I had was you couldnt load other browsers such as Firefox or Chrome on it, and as there are no decent Ad Blockers for IE it was a big no no for me, it has been in a drawer for a few years now, shame really as apart from that little issue was a decent enough bit of kit and very compact for travelling, but I have found my Android tablet to be way more flexible than the Surface for travelling. Ad blockers exist for MS Edge now so may be different if the latest Surface supports Edge that is.
I also have several Dell laptops in the family and they are superb machines, pretty bombproof and way better than any Lenovo or HP equivalent IMHO.
Yeah but that was pre-intel Surface (either 1st or 2nd gen) which runs Windows RT. Current gen runs full Windows 10 which makes it the same as any other windows laptop, software-wise. And the latest gen is really slick, i5 is fan less which makes it silent like an iPad.I also have several Dell laptops in the family and they are superb machines, pretty bombproof and way better than any Lenovo or HP equivalent IMHO.
Also take a look at HP. They make some cracking kit these days in their business range. We have a few hundred EliteBooks at work and rarely see faulty hardware. In particular the Elitebook 840 G5 feels solid and still has some sensible ports (although VGA needs a dongle). They also have x360 models if you want to use them like a tablet or in tent mode on occasion.
Surface are nice but Microsoft have a few too many firmware and driver issues for my liking.
Surface are nice but Microsoft have a few too many firmware and driver issues for my liking.
I've been using a Surface pro (4?) since Jan 2016. It's an i5 one and still going strong. I use the dock and multiple screens. At first there were firmware issues, but these soon remedied and since it's been a reliable and flexible workhorse.
Probably missing a bit of oomph if you do anything more demanding than office stuff, but fine for me.
Probably missing a bit of oomph if you do anything more demanding than office stuff, but fine for me.
I personally have a Surface Pro 4 i5 and love it. You can't easily use it on your lap to type but this isn't an issue with my use cases. Light gaming is fine but it can get a bit noisy on full chat. Work is currently rolling out 11k Surface Laptops and I have been really impressed with mine, it is extremely light and thin but has enough power for most office type stuff.
Type R Tom said:
Have you seen the Surface Laptop 2, just come out. Heard some good things about it.
It's nice, except for 0 repairability, once it clogs up with dust it's done, unless you keep it clean regularly, but even then if anything goes wrong it's going to be disposed of rather than fixed.sgrimshaw said:
Was that a Surface 1 or Surface 2?
They ran a cut down version of windows (Windows RT), based IIRC on Windows 8. Windows RT restricted you to installing apps from the Windows Store only.
Since Surface 3, the Surface range have all run full blown Windows so you can install any Windows software ... same as you would on any other PC or Laptop
They ran a cut down version of windows (Windows RT), based IIRC on Windows 8. Windows RT restricted you to installing apps from the Windows Store only.
Since Surface 3, the Surface range have all run full blown Windows so you can install any Windows software ... same as you would on any other PC or Laptop
Bullitt Five-Oh said:
Yeah but that was pre-intel Surface (either 1st or 2nd gen) which runs Windows RT. Current gen runs full Windows 10 which makes it the same as any other windows laptop, software-wise. And the latest gen is really slick, i5 is fan less which makes it silent like an iPad.
Yeah was a Windows RT MachineI have Surface Pro (5) 16GB and 1TB.
Its awesome, the only thing I would change would be to upgrade to Surface Book 2 of the same Spec to have the GPU, etc.
Other than that, I wouldnt change a thing as its more powerful than most laptops out there and I can code on it, etc.
Would I pay £2400 for it and all the other accessories... No.
I paid £1100 for my Surface Pro and at that price Im happy.
Its awesome, the only thing I would change would be to upgrade to Surface Book 2 of the same Spec to have the GPU, etc.
Other than that, I wouldnt change a thing as its more powerful than most laptops out there and I can code on it, etc.
Would I pay £2400 for it and all the other accessories... No.
I paid £1100 for my Surface Pro and at that price Im happy.
We went from Lenovo to HP at work (not my choice!). The HP are noticeably less reliable and I personally would not spend my own money on one. They look nice, but are pretty crap in all honesty. As far as I understand they are at the lower spectrum of the reliability ratings and I can see why. Everything from poor hardware reliability to unsolved driver problems. We have stacks of faulty ones, contrary to the poster a few posts above.
The Surface Pro 3s we had weren’t all that much cop either, but I’m assuming the latest gen might be better, you would hope so anyway. I use one as a spare at work with a vanilla win10 OS and no company bloat and its OK but quite heavy for what is supposed to be a tablet and the kickstand is not comfortable for lap use, and the k/b and pad not up to normal laptop levels.
Depends what you want really. I’d probably go for the XPS13 out of your choices though, and wouldn’t touch HP with a barge pole. Lenovo might be worth considering.
The Surface Pro 3s we had weren’t all that much cop either, but I’m assuming the latest gen might be better, you would hope so anyway. I use one as a spare at work with a vanilla win10 OS and no company bloat and its OK but quite heavy for what is supposed to be a tablet and the kickstand is not comfortable for lap use, and the k/b and pad not up to normal laptop levels.
Depends what you want really. I’d probably go for the XPS13 out of your choices though, and wouldn’t touch HP with a barge pole. Lenovo might be worth considering.
Bullitt Five-Oh said:
Du1point8 said:
I paid £1100 for my Surface Pro and at that price Im happy.
How did you get it that cheap?I bought a Surface Pro 4 16GB with 256GB HD, with docking station, Office 365 and keyboard for $2400 (20% off)... claimed the GST (9-10% back in airport) off it as I was in Sydney and Im usually a resident of UK, so now its circa $2200, I get paid £1 = $2 (even after referendum) so it cost me circa £1100 or so.
Luckily I was in Sydney and they have an MS Store.
1st one) I destroyed the graphics card when windows 10 said I should go beta... Got a replacement as it shouldnt recommend beta to anyone.
2nd one) I had screen wobble and it was quite bad, so another graphics card fried... Replaced.
3rd one) refused to update, crashed and then the keyboard stopped working... Replaced.
4th one) Broke in the MS Store and died when doing the initial update.
Explained Im leaving Sydney (I was) and I needing a fully working Surface Pro as I use it for business and was prepared to pay for an upgrade to Surface Pro 5.
5th one) This is the current one.... They couldnt give me the 256GB model as the Surface Pro 5 doesnt come in that and they didnt have any 512GB in stock, but would I take a 1TB model and due to the fact I had been through 4 others, this one was on the house and a free upgrade.
I was very lucky, fortunate and played the system well.
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