XPS 9300 i5 vs I7 2 in 1

Hello all,

Wondering if you can give me some advice.

Trying to figure out which one of these to buy. My previouys 9350 suddenly died and almost ceraintly has a motherboard failure.

These are my options:
XPS i7 2 in 1 £1219
XPS 9300 I5 £1399

So quite a big jump in the price for what is a weaker processor and non touch.

On the flipside it is debatable how often I will use the 2 in 1 features but in theory could be nice to have them.
My main concern is the keyboard. Have heard it can be quite polarising? And the battery life is worse on the 2 in 1 according to the reviews. I also prefer to design of the clamshell version.

The other option is the Hp x360, not overally concerned with a 16.9 screen. The trackpad would be my main concern. It is slighly more expensive as well than the 2 in 1 but it does have a much nicer design.

What do you guys think?

I was going to get a 4 year warrenty so not overly concerned re reliability.

 

I've had the 9350/9360/9370 and then most-recently, the 7390 2in1. They continue to get better year-over-year.

As far as the keyboard....unless you have the 9300 and 7390 2in1 side-by-side, you won't be disappointed with the keyboard. I remember noticing a difference before I sold my 9370 (I was looking for the difference, since the reviews said it was a different type)....and while I could tell, I am quite happy with the new one and can't remember the difference at this point. Not one complaint.

Like you, I have no use for a 2in1....in fact, with toddlers, I disable the touch. But it's super nice to be able to bend the screen further back than the clamshell models could ever go. Super nice while standing and the table lower than convenient for a normal screen view - simply push a bit further back, this can go as far back as you'd want. Now that the 7390 2in1 is the same power as the non- 2in1, especially when it's cheaper - it's hard not to go with this one.

Battery life is slightly less, but not by much - and I'm comparing to a 1080p 9370, and this being 16:10 and 1200p, it's hard to gauge what should have dropped - plus, it's hard for me to test, since with the whole world on lockdown, i'm often near a plug.

Bottom line - get the better specs for the cheaper price, you won't regret it. The laptop is fantastic, and with the exception of the hinge design, is identical in appearance. For future-proofing, I highly suggest 16gb or 32gb memory....and being that the SSD is soldered (on the 2in1 only), get what you would need for the future. I got 512gb, but admittedly, never even get close to 256gb. Last side note: the 2in1 doesn't have Windows Hello via Facial recognition, only finger print. I liked using it on the 9370 (it's on the 9300)....but that's the only other difference, not worth the price increase.

The XPS 13 series continues to just be a marvel in it's size to power ratio. I've tried the X360 a few years back and loved this model so much more. Maybe they've since improved, but you surely won't be disappointed with the 9300 or 7390 2in1.