Finding a laptop is driving me insane ....
Hi!
I'm sorry I haven't been around, but I was without an internet connection (apart from work) for quite a while ... which is quite horrible if you have a handful of laptops coming for testing and you can't even launch it / run updates etc.
Anyway, it's getting ridiculous.
You could think I'm working for a PC magazine, testing all these machines .... I'm tired of it.
I've narrowed it down to 2 now.
(I've sent the HP Elitebook 850 G5 back. The display was strange, it was slow and some things were weird from the start ... maybe just got a faulty model.)
Just for reference, my current notebook is 8 years old and was a Lenovo Thinkpad T510. :)
You can see how bulky my old laptop looks compared to the HP which is almost an ultrabook.
I have the feeling that most laptops tend to be that thin nowadays. Problem is a lot of things are missing (less ports, no DVD drive etc.)
Because the colors of the HP display seemed weird to my eye, I did a lot of color calibration (well, as much as you can do on a laptop) ..... and I kind of became obsessed.
Which is weird because my old laptop surely didn't have a very good display. But I guess now that I buy a new one and spend a lot of money on it, I want the best I can get.
After all I work a lot with photos and graphics, so having a color accurate display is necessary.
At the peak time I had 4 laptops lying around (one being my old one ....). INSANE!!
Dell XPS 15 vs Lenovo Thinkpad T580:
Dell XPS 15 (9560):
FHD (1920 x 1080)
color gammut: 98% sRGB
i7-7700HQ, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
Thinkpad T580:
UHD display (3840 x 2160)
color gammut: 91% sRGB
i7-8550U, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD
As you can see, the Dell seems a lot smaller although they're both 15-inch laptops.
Dell uses the so-called "infinity edge" display, the bezels are so thin that it's a 15-inch display in a 14-inch housing.
As both laptops are much slimmer than my previous one, I have to look further down to see the display which isn't very ergonomic. I do get neck tension easily that way.
Of course, the problem becomes even more apparent with the Dell.
So, what I did for now is this:
Meanwhile I've put it even higher than this. Just used some of my manga. Eventually I'll have to buy a proper laptop stand. :)
I even thought about buying an external display and have a similar setup as at work which looks like this:
I don't have much space in my 1-room apartment, though. And it's additional costs.
I guess for now I'd prefer an all-in-one solution. :)
So, now I have a few more days to decide which laptop to keep, the Dell or the Thinkpad.
The Dell XPS has been hyped a lot. It's a consumer laptop, so a lot of "normal" people buy it and thus you find a lot of information, reviews, complaints online.
The Thinkpad is a premium business laptop. Mainly companies buy it, not so much individuals for private use. I suppose that's why you'd find less about it online.
I know Thinkpads used to be a tank. They don't fall apart, they can't be destroyed. Hell, I even dropped mine a few times and it's still as good as new after 8 years! Go figure!
It's been tested under military standards, can withstand heat, cold, strong vibrations, shocks and fluids to a certain degree. It comes automatically with a 3-year warranty.
I've never had issues with my Thinkpad so I can say nothing about Lenovo's customer service, but I didn't hear good things about it.
As for the Dell, I read some horrible stories.
A lot of people have complained that they had to send it in several times because first the battery bloated, then the keyboard stopped working, then the motherboard etc. ... at some point they had pretty much everything replaced there is.
I have opted in for a 3-year warranty (comes with only 1 year as standard), but I'm still worried. Because it's annoying as hell if you can't use your machine for several days or weeks as it has to be repaired again and again.
As the Dell has been sold to individuals A LOT MORE than the Thinkpad, it's hard to tell if that means that the Thinkpad will last longer.
To be honest I'm hoping to keep the new laptop for around 8 years (just like my previous one), so I'm expecting quite a lot and that's why I'm willing to invest a lot.
The Dell did cost me almost 1500€ (1750$US), the Thinkpad almost 2000€ (2300$US). That's a 500€ (~600$US) difference!!!
My heart says Thinkpad, but only because I'm so used to it.
My wallet clearly says Dell.
Even if that thing breaks regularly, due to the warranty I should be safe for 3 years ... just would have to send it in for repair again and again in the worst case ....
Display:
The displays are different, but about the same standard. Good color gamma, good brightness.
The UHD of the Thinkpad is even sharper because of the higher resolution, but there are also scaling problems with older programs. So much that the test is way too small to read. But for most things there's a workaround.
The Thinkpad uses PWM which can cause dizziness and headaches, but at a high frequency, so most people shouldn't notice that.
The Dell XPS 15, at least with the UHD display (glossy, touch) is being compared to the Macbook Pro 15!
So, there you go!
I opted for the lower FHD version because I don't need UHD on a 15-inch notebook and I'm not sure about the glossy version. ;)
Also, I don't care about touch displays. It's not necessary.
Keyboard:
The Thinkpad keyboard is the best out there. Hands down.
But you can get used to the Dell one as well.
If I get a laptop stand, I'd get an external keyboard anyway (which is almost a sin if I keep the great Thinkpad keyboard ....).
Both laptops have fingerprint readers which is AWESOME when logging in. No more password typing. It speeds up the booting process so much more. :)
Battery:
The battery of the Thinkpad is a joke. After 3 hours it's over while the Dell could last another 6 or even more.
Ok, to be fair, all UHD displays need a lot more energy.
Emissions and performance:
Other than that, both have fans that can get a bit louder under load.
I'm not yet sure which one I find more annoying, but I think the Thinkpad one is barely recognizable.
No coil whine. My old Thinkpad had it, but it never bothered me too much. :)
I do have the feeling that performance-wise the Dell is a bit better.
The Thinkpad seems to get to its limits faster. I just tested by opening the exact same programs. The Dell also opens them a tiny bit faster.
The HP I had was a loooot slower in that regard. But like I said, maybe I just had a faulty model.
Of course, I could keep searching to maybe find a powerful 13-inch machine that I could just plug into an external display, external keyboard etc.
Then I'd also have a lightweight machine for when I travel.
But most powerful 13-inch machines aren't much cheaper - and when I drive back home (about 1-2 times a month), I'd only have that tiny machine ....
Plus, I've already spent SO MUCH time on this whole topic, I should just decide and shut the fuck up.
It's so annoying. It's like I'm a researcher of some kind ...... I don't have time for this! :(
Does anybody here have one of the machines and can give me the pros and cons?
That would be very helpful. Thanks. :)
More entries are coming up soon!! ... unless my internet stops working yet again ...
Sorry that was also the reason I couldn't read or reply to most of your entries recently. I'll catch up soon. :)
Bye~chuu!
