[LAPTOP] Does anyone use a Dell XPS 15?

[SpecialEd]

I have some concerns about the state of my present laptop and I'm looking at either a Dell XPS 15 or a system76 Gazelle. Both products get mixed reviews from the amateurs but the Dell consistently gets voted Best by more reliable reviewers -- who of course, don't review system76. The amateur reviews of system76 on YT, spend more time talking about how cool the box is and the stickers that come with it while glossing over things like fit and finish(a lot of them mention things about the touchpad and keyboard and finish that seem off but they quickly dismiss it as people, who just spent a bundle on something, tend to do-- confirmatory bias).

I like the Dell's smaller footprint as compared to the Gazelle and better use of screen space but the camera being at the bottom of the screen is kind of weird. Also I suspect the speakers are better on the Gazelle. I just keep thinking it's a lot of money to pay for a "re-branded Clevo."

ADDED: Also the Dell comes with the option for a 4K screen which I think I want but don't know if I would really get that much out of it.

[Snowhog]

The + you get with the System76 is it is preloaded and configured with Ubuntu Linux, so you know it's going to work.

[SpecialEd]

The + you get with the System76 is it is preloaded and configured with Ubuntu Linux, so you know it's going to work.

I'm pretty sure you can also get the Dell XPS 13 and 15 with Linux preloaded.

[vinnywright]

I cant speak of the Gazelle or the Dell ,,,,,,hay that rimes,,,,,,,,but I did drop a load on a system76 Bonobo extreme "Bonox8" a year or 2 ago and am completely happy with it .

vinny@vinny-Bonobo-Extreme:~$ inxi -Fz
System:    Host: vinny-Bonobo-Extreme Kernel: 4.10.0-26-generic x86_64 (64 bit) Desktop: KDE Plasma 5.10.3
          Distro: Ubuntu 17.04
Machine:   Device: laptop System: System76 product: Bonobo Extreme v: bonx8
          Mobo: System76 model: Bonobo Extreme v: bonx8 BIOS: American Megatrends v: 4.6.5 date: 04/15/2014
Battery    BAT0: charge: 56.1 Wh 100.0% condition: 56.1/59.0 Wh (95%)
CPU:       Quad core Intel Core i7-4910MQ (-HT-MCP-) cache: 8192 KB 
          clock speeds: max: 3900 MHz 1: 1903 MHz 2: 2395 MHz 3: 2900 MHz 4: 2658 MHz 5: 2903 MHz 6: 2900 MHz
          7: 1799 MHz 8: 1799 MHz
Graphics:  Card: NVIDIA GK104M [GeForce GTX 860M]
          Display Server: X.Org 1.19.3 driver: nvidia Resolution: 1920x1080@60.01hz
          GLX Renderer: GeForce GTX 860M/PCIe/SSE2 GLX Version: 4.5.0 NVIDIA 375.66
Audio:     Card-1 Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel
          Card-2 NVIDIA GK104 HDMI Audio Controller driver: snd_hda_intel
          Sound: Advanced Linux Sound Architecture v: k4.10.0-26-generic
Network:   Card-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller driver: r8169
          IF: enp3s0f2 state: down mac: <filter>
          Card-2: Intel Wireless 3160 driver: iwlwifi
          IF: wlp4s0 state: up mac: <filter>
Drives:    HDD Total Size: 1500.3GB (40.8% used)
          ID-1: /dev/sda model: HGST_HTS725050A7 size: 500.1GB
          ID-2: /dev/sdb model: HGST_HTS721010A9 size: 1000.2GB
Partition: ID-1: / size: 301G used: 15G (5%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda1
          ID-2: /home size: 301G used: 15G (5%) fs: btrfs dev: /dev/sda1
          ID-3: swap-1 size: 4.29GB used: 0.00GB (0%) fs: swap dev: /dev/sda2
RAID:      No RAID devices: /proc/mdstat, md_mod kernel module present
Sensors:   System Temperatures: cpu: 57.0C mobo: N/A gpu: 53C
          Fan Speeds (in rpm): cpu: N/A
Info:      Processes: 261 Uptime: 29 min Memory: 998.3/15996.2MB Client: Shell (bash) inxi: 2.3.8

VINNY

[Snowhog]

I'm pretty sure you can also get the Dell XPS 13 and 15 with Linux preloaded.

That may well be true, but there is a difference between a company that "will put Linux on their PC" and a company that "builds PC's for Linux", which System76 does. Dell doesn't.

[SpecialEd]

Vinny: Thanks for the input.

Snowhog: Point taken.

[GreyGeek]

My son purchased a System76 Gaz three years ago and it is currently running Kubuntu. He loves both the Gaz and Kubuntu! Everything works!

[SpecialEd]

My son purchased a System76 Gaz three years ago and it is currently running Kubuntu. He loves both the Gaz and Kubuntu! Everything works!

Thanks GG, from what I read they are better built today then even just 3 years ago. I wish I could afford an Oryx Pro with the 4K display.

[GreyGeek]

Me too!

[chimak111]

That may well be true, but there is a difference between a company that "will put Linux on their PC" and a company that "builds PC's for Linux", which System76 does. Dell doesn't.

Well, Dell does or did something special. They put in software to disable the meta aka super key and they ship with Unity in which the super key is pretty central.

See https://askubuntu.com/questions/7516...ey-not-working

I bought a cheaper Dell laptop with Ubuntu 16.04 pre-installed, and that too had the super key disabled in the Unity session.