Laptop recommendations, XPS 9510?
Discussion
I've got an 8-year-old EliteBook 8470p with an i5-3230M CPU, 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD.
It's not bad for general use, and it certainly feels well built, but it's got a few issues that annoy me. It's not fast enough to play native 4k footage, such as holiday videos recorded on an iPhone. The speakers are crap, and the screen lacks any colour or depth. It also lacks a dedicated graphics card, so it's incapable of playing any games whatsoever.
I'm trying to find a laptop that won't suffer the same faults, and I'd love to be able to play the odd game too, such as Flight Simulator or whatever the latest FPS might be.
I've got no budget as such, but I suppose it would be nice not to spend more than £2k.
Dells XPS 15 9510 laptops look great on paper, but a friend said it wouldn't run Flight Sim although I'm not sure how true this is.
On a final note, I've noticed a lot of laptops don't have many ports. I'd need to be able to connect two external monitors, so I'm not sure how to get around this?
Any recommendations or advice would be appreciated.
It's not bad for general use, and it certainly feels well built, but it's got a few issues that annoy me. It's not fast enough to play native 4k footage, such as holiday videos recorded on an iPhone. The speakers are crap, and the screen lacks any colour or depth. It also lacks a dedicated graphics card, so it's incapable of playing any games whatsoever.
I'm trying to find a laptop that won't suffer the same faults, and I'd love to be able to play the odd game too, such as Flight Simulator or whatever the latest FPS might be.
I've got no budget as such, but I suppose it would be nice not to spend more than £2k.
Dells XPS 15 9510 laptops look great on paper, but a friend said it wouldn't run Flight Sim although I'm not sure how true this is.
On a final note, I've noticed a lot of laptops don't have many ports. I'd need to be able to connect two external monitors, so I'm not sure how to get around this?
Any recommendations or advice would be appreciated.
Looking at the specs for the xps 15 9510:
1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ with (DisplayPort/PowerDelivery)
2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
so potentially you've got three external screens.
Keep in mind the thinner the laptop , the worse the sound will tend to be, and I'd also wonder how well it will run flight simulator. The 3050 TI and CPU are going to be pretty thermally limited in a thin laptop. There's a reason gaming machines tend to be bulky.
1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ with (DisplayPort/PowerDelivery)
2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
so potentially you've got three external screens.
Keep in mind the thinner the laptop , the worse the sound will tend to be, and I'd also wonder how well it will run flight simulator. The 3050 TI and CPU are going to be pretty thermally limited in a thin laptop. There's a reason gaming machines tend to be bulky.
xeny said:
Looking at the specs for the xps 15 9510:
1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ with (DisplayPort/PowerDelivery)
2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
so potentially you've got three external screens.
Keep in mind the thinner the laptop , the worse the sound will tend to be, and I'd also wonder how well it will run flight simulator. The 3050 TI and CPU are going to be pretty thermally limited in a thin laptop. There's a reason gaming machines tend to be bulky.
Thanks for that, I'm a bit out (very) when it comes to technology so I had no idea how functional USB-C was.1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C™ with (DisplayPort/PowerDelivery)
2 Thunderbolt™ 4 (USB Type-C™) with DisplayPort and Power Delivery
so potentially you've got three external screens.
Keep in mind the thinner the laptop , the worse the sound will tend to be, and I'd also wonder how well it will run flight simulator. The 3050 TI and CPU are going to be pretty thermally limited in a thin laptop. There's a reason gaming machines tend to be bulky.
This may be a daft question, but if I spec an XPS with the 3.5k OLED screen...will I still be able to use 4k resolution on an external 4k monitor?
You might be right about the thermal limitations, unfortunately, most gaming laptops are so big and bulky. Whats confusing me, is if they are really superior in performance then why are they half the price?
Careful, it isn't USB-C that does display, it is USB-C with display port, the two don't necessarily go together
People pay a premium for thin laptops and business workloads don't tend to be significantly CPU GPU intensive, so cooling isn't a priority. Look at serious workstation class laptops, expensive and not thin.
Can you see the difference in that high a resolution? I'd expect it won't stop you running a 4K display, but GPU performance isn't unlimited. I wouldn't burn it on more resolution than I can see
People pay a premium for thin laptops and business workloads don't tend to be significantly CPU GPU intensive, so cooling isn't a priority. Look at serious workstation class laptops, expensive and not thin.
Can you see the difference in that high a resolution? I'd expect it won't stop you running a 4K display, but GPU performance isn't unlimited. I wouldn't burn it on more resolution than I can see
Edited by xeny on Sunday 12th December 12:39
- speakers in the XP15 and 17 are among the best out there... macbook is pretty much the benchmark and the XPS's are a close 2nd, all other laptops take quite a step down in terms of speaker quality.
- screen is the best thing about both the 15 and 17, made better if you can get the OLED for the 15.
- its a quality looking machine, just ports are limited, if that's an issue for you then probably don't buy it. as it's more geared to content producers than gaming.
- GPU, for the price is worse off than a comparable alienware X15/x17. even the base RTX alienware version will have a GPU that's better, and a higher TGP.
If you want to be able to run 4k/4k monitor then perhaps the XPS isn't for you. go for an alienware.
however!! having just watched a video review on the lenovo legion 7, it's £1k cheaper than a comparable alienware with the same top spec RTX 3080.
there are tons of reviews out on youtube on all laptops, with afew people doing comparisions between the XPS/alienware, and XPS/alienware/legion.
- screen is the best thing about both the 15 and 17, made better if you can get the OLED for the 15.
- its a quality looking machine, just ports are limited, if that's an issue for you then probably don't buy it. as it's more geared to content producers than gaming.
- GPU, for the price is worse off than a comparable alienware X15/x17. even the base RTX alienware version will have a GPU that's better, and a higher TGP.
If you want to be able to run 4k/4k monitor then perhaps the XPS isn't for you. go for an alienware.
however!! having just watched a video review on the lenovo legion 7, it's £1k cheaper than a comparable alienware with the same top spec RTX 3080.
there are tons of reviews out on youtube on all laptops, with afew people doing comparisions between the XPS/alienware, and XPS/alienware/legion.
A while ago now, but I wasn't impressed with the build quality of the XPS line up and thought the keyboards were rubbish.
If money's not a big concern I would recommend either a Lenovo X1 Carbon (to stay with Windows) or a Macbook Pro.
The speakers on all laptops are a compromise IMO. Gwme playing isn't something I generally do, though my older X1 will play World of Tanks happily and I did have a brief go with the Google flight "sim" recently which worked well.
If money's not a big concern I would recommend either a Lenovo X1 Carbon (to stay with Windows) or a Macbook Pro.
The speakers on all laptops are a compromise IMO. Gwme playing isn't something I generally do, though my older X1 will play World of Tanks happily and I did have a brief go with the Google flight "sim" recently which worked well.
SkinnyPete said:
You might be right about the thermal limitations, unfortunately, most gaming laptops are so big and bulky. Whats confusing me, is if they are really superior in performance then why are they half the price?
As has been already said, you pay a premium for thin and light. Gaming graphics cards generate lots of heat and need big heat pipes and cooling fans which does not work with thin and light.The XPS has a 3050ti graphics card, which is by no means rubbish but will definitely struggle with graphically intense games. Also bear in mind graphics card suppliers have different wattage version of graphics cards, so it is possible that the 3050ti in the XPS is not the full power version.
I know this is definitely the case with the 3060 with very few manufacturers (Lenovo is one of the few who do) going for the full 130W version.
Basic rule of thumb, if you want a thin, light, sexy looking laptop it is unlikely to be able to play graphically intensive games.
I have a Lenovo Legion Pro with the 16 inch 16:10 screen, Ryzen 7 5800H processor and 3060 graphics card. I paid £1125 for it and it is awesome, but it is a heavy old beast and the power supply is massive.
If you are happy with a one year warranty then dell outlet has plenty of machines in your price range.
I was lucky enough to see a deal on the 9510 a couple of months ago.
15"
i7-11800
32gb ram
1TB drive
4K touch
For £950 off.
At £1440 it was a bloody bargain so I got one for work.
I write software as a job and it suits me down to the ground.
I don't do any gaming so sorry can't comment on that.
Keep an eye out is what I recommend.
15"
i7-11800
32gb ram
1TB drive
4K touch
For £950 off.
At £1440 it was a bloody bargain so I got one for work.
I write software as a job and it suits me down to the ground.
I don't do any gaming so sorry can't comment on that.
Keep an eye out is what I recommend.
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