Which XPS 15 series to buy

Looking to get one of XPS 15 for work purposes. However I am buying it from ebay with international shipping so returning an item is going to be very difficult. Just wonder which series out of 9550/9560/9570 had least of the problems in terms of hardware/screen etc (4K screen).
Thanks

 

I mean they all have issues, but not really hardware issues. I would get the 9570 since you can get it in a 4 or 6 core setup and has a better screen in the FHD variant. You didn't specify what you will be doing with the laptop, so it would be hard to give you any real advice.

 

Will be using it for work purposes, a bit of a CAD work and watching some youtube when get a chance.

I am planning to get 4k version to have a better screen and it wont be used for travel that much (Occasionally will be taking it to the office as and when required).

I see there are some good machines available on ebay for 9560 + 4k so if there are no big issues with this model, then may be I can buy one of these. I don't play games at all so laptop is not for gaming.
Thanks

 

Yeah any of them will work well for you. The screen is beautiful. If you need portability, make sure it has the 97whr battery.

 

9560 is a pretty solid device. While the 4K screen is beautiful to look at, it isn't the most practical screen. Battery life is a fair bit lower, and I am not sure how well (3D) CAD programs run on it, as the rendering at 4K is more taxing on the GPU. Really, the 4K screen is mostly ment for content creators and consumers. While it may also benefit you greatly when you are reading a lot of text. Of course, if it is within budget and you don't care too much for battery life, it's a stunning screen.

You may also want to look at the Precision line (5520, 5530). These have Quadro cards which are supposedly more effective for CAD workflows. Another interesting point of the 9570 and the Precision 5530 is that they have a Thunderbolt 3 port with 4 PCIe lanes, better than the 9560. It's one to keep in mind for potential "futureproofing".

I personally wouldn't go for the 9550 (or the Precision 5510), as these have fairly outdated GPUs.

 

Besides the significantly lower battery life with the 4K screen, I also question how much added value there is with 4K resolution on a 15" screen for most uses. With a screen that is only 15", for watching video or viewing photos, my eyes aren't good enough to see any more detail with 4K resolution than what I would see with a 1080p screen. Further, with some of the older software that I use, I have scaling issues with the 4K screen, and it is often not possible to get text and menus to be large enough so that they can be read easily.

I have the 4K screen on my XPS 15 9560, but I was pleased with the 1080p screen that I previously had on an XPS 15 9550, and, if I had to do it over again, I would have chosen not to get the 4K screen on the XPS 15 9560 that I am currently using.

 

I'm curious but if you buy the 9550 or 9560, isn't it going to be either used or refurbished? On dell site, they only sell the 9570. Also does that mean on dell.com, once a new model comes up, the older one such as 9550 or 9560 isn't available on the site anymore?

 

The 97whr battery that you speak of. I'm curious but if you buy an xps from the dell site, does it come default with either the 56 or 84 and you need to upgrade it from the site?


Also i know the 97whr is obviously heavier than the 56whr and 84whr but how much heavier is it for the entire laptop?

 

Depends on your use case. I find that 150% scaling is very much usable. This effectively gives you a 2560x1440 workspace, but sharper than a 1440p panel. I can notice a difference in sharpness between the 1080p and 4K panel, especially when reading text. The sharpness of the letters is noticably less fatiguing.

Besides that, like I said, the 4K panel is mostly useful for content creators. The 100% AdobeRGB of the 4K panel is especially helpful with designing for print. Plus, I personally like a glossy screen more than a matte screen, but that is a preference of course.