xps13 (2015) vs E7240 loaded

Hi, I'm torn between a refurb E7240 (i7 4th gen, 8gb ram, 256gb) for $650 vs a new 2015 XPS13 (i5 5th gen, 4gb ram, 128gb,fhd) for $810. My wife are I will be sharing this for heavy home use but nothing too strenuous (ie no gaming, video editing etc). I know the E7240 is a business laptop but I like the idea that it's a robust and somewhat lightweight machine. I know that the 1920 x 1080 screen is much better on the XPS but I think I can deal with the 1366 X 768 on the E7240.

Does anyone have experience with the E7240, and is there any reason to spend an extra $160 when it seems to have impressive and at least comparable specs to the xps13?

 

If you want light weight by all means do go for the E7240. But if you really do want robustness do consider the prior model of E6230. I passed over the 7240 because the 6230 feels much to work on. Guess I am stucked in time. I do plan to have a few more years out of my 6230. Not satisfied with the factory installed win 7 Pro on it I just did a clean installed on it with a smaller ssd that what it came with. Now its just sporting 80GB mSata and it rocks...

 

Between those two options, I'd say that the Dell E7240 is a better deal, for a few reasons:

(1) It's cheaper. For just general purpose non-intensive computer use, cheap is good.
(2) It has better specs. The 8GB of RAM and 256GB SSD will go a long way in the future.
(3) The 1366x768 screen can actually be an advantage when you're talking about small 12.1" or 13.3" displays. That means you can use the laptop at native resolution without doing DPI scaling to make fonts look legible (and that's a good thing).

The Dell XPS 13 (9343) is a fantastic laptop. But you're paying a premium for the thin-and-light design. So unless you're in a situation where it is worth paying a premium for that thin-and-light design (e.g. road warrior, students, etc), then you're better off getting the higher-speced-and-cheaper laptop for general purpose home use.

 

If you have bad eyes and would scale the xps screen anyway because of it's smaller size/higher res, then I'd say the 1366.768 screen is an OK compromise.
Otherwise, if you have good eyesight I urge you to go with the XPS and it's nicer screen.

My actual advice would be get a 7240/7250 with the 1920x1080 screen but I guess that is more up to your use case.
I think either laptop would last you quite a while. But personally the crappy res screen would have me wanting to upgrade immediately.