Reddit mentions of Dell XPS 9350-1340SLV 13.3 Inch Laptop (Intel Core i5, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD, Silver) Microsoft Signature Image

An excellent option that you should look into is the Dell XPS 13. It's known for having one of the best build qualities and touchpads for a windows laptop. If you get the non-touchscreen version the battery lasts upwards of 10-12 hours, or 8-9 hours if you get the touchscreen version. I would recommend at least the 8GB ram model though.

I'd look into the Dell xps 13. You can get the i5 non-touch screen variant (9350) for about 780-800ish on amazon. Has the build quality that you described, and the battery on my unit lasts for most of the day.(Programming/web browsing/streaming music). Thing is light as a feather and screen is very nice too.

Here is the model that I ended up with: http://www.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_2&smid=A2R87W6XPBZ1J4

Would keep in mind that the RAM is not replaceable (soldered on), so if you do plan to buy, at least go with enough ram that you think your wife will need.

Another model to look at is the Razer Blade Stealth which is around $999 as well. Better specs than both, and build quality is supposedly very good too.

I wouldn't worry a whole lot about Kaby Lake. You'd be waiting quite some time, and there's always something around the corner.

The big thing with USB-C is external graphics card support, and USB-C gives better data bandwidth and is mostly about charging capabilities.

If you go the XPS 13 route, also consider something like this manufacturer refurb which takes a chunk off of retail price without losing the factory premium service warranty.

The xps 13 or the Dell XPS 9350-1340SLV two of the best choices for you

Then the XPS 13 would be fine. Cheaper here.

It can be just different reserllers, but I think this one is better, because this one is a windows signutre version, which means no bloatware, but if you want to save 20 USD, you can buy this one and remove the bloatware later manually

Thanks for your point of view. Upping the XPS 9350 to 8GB would make it a $200 difference. ;)

this nicely built lightweight dell xps 13 would be a good option to consider. it comes with a decent i5 cpu good 8gb ram a great screen display and a super fast 128gb ssd storage.

This laptop fits your budget and needs pretty well https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B016FKG020/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1

Hey all, I've got a typical "incoming college student looking for a laptop" question.

So after doing some researching, I've settled in on the Dell XPS 13, probably the 9350 (as opposed to the newer 9360) for the lower price point. Also, the config I was going with was Intel Core i5 for the CPU, 8 GB of Ram, and a 128 SSD for Storage (the storage is upgradeable; everything else is not). The Graphics card is an integrated Intel HD520.

Here are my questions:

1. Should I spring for the i7? I am going to college to major in Computer Science, and I also do some hobby 3D modeling on the side, mainly in Cinema 4d and 3ds Max. The thing is though, I don't think I totally need a killer CPU; most of my 3d work is just modeling (not rendering; as none of my models are even worthy of being rendered, lmao), and for CS I am honestly not sure how important the CPU is. Do VMs require a good CPU? What do you think?
   
   
2. Is this laptop fairly good for gaming (ie, can I run mid-to-high range games, on low setting, with atleast like 40 FPS)? This awesome Dave 2d Review seems to indicate I'm good. I've noticed that I actually don't really game all that much anymore -- maybe just the occasional minecraft now and then -- and so I've decided to sacrifice gaming performance that I don't need for a lighter laptop and longer battery life.
   
   
3. Just, in general, do you think this is a good buy for me? To summarize, I'm an incoming college freshman, a CS major, price range is $800 to $1200(max), I value highly portability, build quality, battery life, and good all around performance (ie, snappy at opening apps, semi-decent at game running) etc, and I occasionally practice 3d modeling (but not often rendering). Sound like a good choice?
   
   Thank you for any guidance or comments!
   
   P.S.: I considered the awesome gaming desktop+ low end chromebook setup, but I think I value portability to highly to have that work for me. I don't plan on being in the dorms all that much.
   
   Totally unrelated question: Does anyone know how easy it is to use a laptop as a "slave computer"? I've got a Dell Inspiron 15R as my daily driver right now, and was considering selling, but I don't think I could get that much for it. Any value in keeping it?

You seem very knowledgable on the subject; Would you say the ASUS UX330 is business grade? Is the Dell XPS 13 (relatively barebones, looking at this) is worth the increase in price and it is indeed business quality?

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020?ie=UTF8&SubscriptionId=AKIAJQYFXGBZ6MDO67HQ&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B016FKG020&linkCode=xm2&psc=1&tag=shopineer-20

https://smile.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1466906709&sr=1-1&keywords=dell+xps+13+9350

A 3rd option could be the [XPS 13] (http://www.dell.com/us/p/xps-13-9350-laptop/pd). Supposedly it has a bit higher build quality than the ZenBook but it also cost more for the same spec. You may get better deals at [amazon] (http://www.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020) or if you look around in the [Dell Outlet] (http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/22/campaigns/outlet).

okay, didn't realise you had universities over there at all, my bad. Something like this, this, this, this or this would be best, depending on just how much you game, whether you need touch-screen/all-in-one capabilities, thinness etc

The Dell XPS 13 9350 is on sale for $790 on amazon at the moment.
i5/8Gb/128Gb (SSD)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B016FKG020/ref=twister_B0141R3OV4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020/ref=dp_ob_title_hi

good screen and infinity display

its at $850 now so not really worth the hassle

http://www.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020

You can use this website camelcamelcamel that lets you track prices on Amazon. It doesn't always work but it's better than checking Amazon every day

http://camelcamelcamel.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/product/B016FKG020

Use the website and have it send you an Email reminder when the price drops to below $800. That's what I did and purchased two of them for $790 each

You don't necessarily have to get it from the Microsoft store; I got this one from Amazon (ignore the bad reviews, they're from when the laptop was first released and had graphics driver issues).
https://smile.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466401788&sr=8-1&keywords=microsoft+xps+13

13 inch laptops i was comparing within the sub $1000 price point. and alienware site has 10% coupon right now (they almost always have some sort of discount around 10%)
http://www.dell.com/us/p/alienware-13-r2/pd 960m 500gb $999
https://www.amazon.com/ZenBook-UX305UA-13-3-Inch-Generation-Titanium/dp/B01BMERZJ6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474433551&sr=1-1&keywords=zenbook integrated graphics 256gb $750
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-9350-1340SLV-Laptop-Microsoft-Signature/dp/B016FKG020/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474433904&sr=1-1&keywords=xps+13 128gb integrated graphics. $899


To get a 940m in either of those the price goes up to $1100. my 2009 alienware still runs LoL well enough that my sister doesn't complain. And their support is fantastic, they replaced most of the guts at the ass end of my warranty when I sent it in after unintentionally using it as an ash tray for 2 years while gaming.

I was just looking for a small laptop that can play some games with high settings, not my main gamer.
I'm wondering what specs you're talking about because their 15inch with a i7 quad core and 980m with a ssd + hdd and 8 gb ram is only ~$2100, that's like their most expensive one, even if you bump it up to 16gb thats $100 more... looking at amazon that too looks pretty competitive.
https://www.amazon.com/G752VY-i7-6700HQ-NVIDIA-Windows-Notebook/dp/B01CIK5PLI/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474435660&sr=1-4&keywords=980m&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011
This one is ~500 less but its 6700 not 6820 & you lose 4gb vram on the video card compared to alienware, I don't know if that really matters though https://www.amazon.com/GL502VY-DS71-Gaming-Laptop-NVIDIA-GTX980M/dp/B01G1TURPG/ref=sr_1_11?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474435660&sr=1-11&keywords=980m&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011
https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-P35Xv5-SL1-GeForce-i7-6700HQ-Notebook/dp/B01AAYC3IW/ref=sr_1_29?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1474436071&sr=1-29&keywords=980m&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289792011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011%2Cp_n_condition-type%3A2224371011 again 6700 not 6820
Other brands with the same specs seem to be pretty close to me after looking at amazon & their 10 series are releasing on thursday i think? the 15 will have a 1070 available and the 17 will have 1080 available, I cant find the prices or specs for those yet and the 13 is coming in november with the 1060 available