I was assigned a Macbook Pro at work and I asked for a non-Mac laptop, reason being I'm a Linux developer and Macbook did not work well for me(keyboard,etc).
I ended up with a XPS 15 that has 64GB DDR and 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD around $2750, comparing to 32GB+1TB of MacBook Pro it is about $800 less expensive.
I did not realize Precision 55xx series is even better built than XPS15 otherwise I will probably go that route. Time will tell how this goes(still waiting for XPS15, it's shipped).
Side note: My family had an xps13 and the hinge broke after 3 years, after opening it I found it's made with plastic, I was disappointed that XPS did not even use a metal hinge, which is probably just 25 cents more. so yes XPS does not use the best quality parts from my experience. Next time I will try Precision series.
Only the XPS 13 from te XPS range is "Linux compatible". The rest are a crapshoot.
I had a little look at the Precision 7760. With Ubuntu there's only 1 version available in the UK and it's a beast with 64GB RAM and 4TB SSD. It cost £6,091.39[1].
Looking at Apple for a rough equivalent[2] I spec'd a 16" up with 64GB and 4TB and it's £4,599.00
I'm an XPS 13 Dev Ed owner myself. It's OK for the most part, I don't have many problems with it.
I'm not in the market for a 16"/17" laptop right now but when it's time to replace this it's going to be hard to look past what Apple are offering.
> I was disappointed that XPS did not even use a metal hinge, which is probably just 25 cents more. so yes XPS does not use the best quality parts from my experience.
I normally hate laptops but I had to buy one due to Covid and went with a Precision 7750. I didn't bother with a dedicated graphics card, and chose the minimum spec RAM and NVMe, but I did opt for the 4K display with WWAN for the 4G modem. I purchased 128GB RAM and a 2TB NVMe elsewhere and just put them in. Final cost was under £4k
It's actually quite decent. I'm not sure I can upgrade the modem to 5G though.
That's what I'm going to do: replace DDR and NVMe myself to save a bit.
I am also keen on something between a NUC and mini-tower, that is small enough to carry, powerful enough to build heavy code bases. You do need find a display with keyboard etc to use them, which works for home and office and lab settings well. Or, just use it as a build machine connected to the network, headlessly(no need keyboard,mouse and display)
> I did not realize Precision 55xx series is even better built than XPS15
Bought an XPS15 for an intern. I pulled the screen to open, and it remained stuck with the base, because they didn’t even tune the hinge. How can someone work with such a device, you can hear the fans and feel the heat through the keyboard: If XPS15 is in the top 3 money can buy after System76 and Precision 55xx, then Apple can double the prices and they would still have customers.
I ended up with a XPS 15 that has 64GB DDR and 2TB PCIe NVMe SSD around $2750, comparing to 32GB+1TB of MacBook Pro it is about $800 less expensive.
I did not realize Precision 55xx series is even better built than XPS15 otherwise I will probably go that route. Time will tell how this goes(still waiting for XPS15, it's shipped).
Side note: My family had an xps13 and the hinge broke after 3 years, after opening it I found it's made with plastic, I was disappointed that XPS did not even use a metal hinge, which is probably just 25 cents more. so yes XPS does not use the best quality parts from my experience. Next time I will try Precision series.